Old city walls. He brings history to light. Over the past centuries hundreds of archaeology yes half a minute he inspected the holy city inch by inch. The phone was astonished. But professor but leaves he can still uncover new facts. Tehran mount zion he hopes to learn more about how people live centuries ago. There is a bit of cool interest that you always have here we are at the center much that is to say the Old City Center in the confusion we can distinguish for strategy here and see how people lived in four distinct periods this is a rare opportunity because the old city is completely built over otherwise it will go through but i cant just go and ask someone to tear down their house so i can see whats beneath it from said. Trees ago thats why these excavations on mount zion are so special. That. For millennia jerusalem has drawn countless generations to the holy mountain. The city is a treasure trove for historians and archaeologists. Today it is a divided city hotly contested in the bitter Israeli Palestinian conflict it seems as though everyone in jerusalem has their own version of history and their own agenda jerusalem is holy to Jews Christians and muslims alike. Think is the city has been a home away from home for data feed veiga. He has been director general of the german protestant institute of archaeology since two thousand and five. This is consistent in fact its a very important to explain a citys development and when people come to jerusalem they always think theyre tracing the footsteps of jesus christ or king david or suleiman the magnificent and of course they think this is exactly where history took place this in through for increased to the last and you will say and i want. You know whose line shall be preselected memory and tradition say this was the via dolorosa for that even if thats not historically correct it will bombs think of it as such thinking they dont follow the actual historical route because it would take them through the jewish quarter and its also completely inaccessible. By as pretty as you can get lies fourteen meters underground people going to that mr peter vega is not only an archaeologist but a theologian underclass. Well the corruption in communist east germany on top theology that before studying archaeology and his background gives him unique insight into christianity struggles for stetson has to predict is the thing that might not make sense at first to somebody from Central Europe but there are sixty different christian denominations and no single one has a monopoly on we simply live our faith in different ways your crystal comes under the church of the holy settle receives hundreds of thousands of visitors each year in to many of the holiest christian sites in jerusalem tradition teaches that jesus was buried here and rose from the dead one man down in the previous in the nation when i see how touched people are at the stone of the annoying ten or at the grave moved almost to tears by just being there and i have to admit that although its not the protestant form of piety i learned in Central Europe this is their faith is at least as profound before because of this and weve just received a bit of a bargain on par with these and they just express it in a different way to teach you even once theyve all gone to work in this place can teach you a lesson about open mindedness on the sort of ones are you sure there are going to forget us and its a remark to say that somebody who doesnt pray quietly in a whitewashed church is not a christian would be absurd to have so. Close by is the new three in charge of the ridhima and most of the german and arab speaking Protestant Community in jerusalem. The german kinds of vilhelm the second built the church over the ruins of the old crusader headquarters and personally came to jerusalem for its consecration. A group of academics from germany showing them around an Academic Exchange held every year. Concert welcome to the church of the redeemer youve just been to the church of the holy supper curse so you might think this church was built during the crusades but it wasnt. The church is built on ground that is fourteen meters high and in the days of herod. Like the rings of a tree each layer reveals how the city has graham since. Spent years looking underneath the church. Covered goes back over two thousand years and is now open to visitors in the archaeological park. Here is the law this is the wall and heres the entrance to the market. But not for constantine or any of the nobility. Or course there has to be this is the servants entrance where goods were delivered. As current take on mount zion is also investigating the citys Historical Development one month each summer the cost is revealed today if i lay on the ground as measured and cleaned or traveled back as archaeologists say go through the fence in jerusalem is a very complicated construct this is like every ancient city in the middle east its a tell a mound of occupation debris the ruins of the old the city lie at the very bottom a new city is built on top of it. Then enemies come and destroy it and earthquake comes and yet another city is built on top of that one in time this forms layers in which you can find one city built atop the next from different periods. Piece tells what captivate feed vegas academic curiosity and passion like peeling back the layers of an onion each surface reveals something new. Jerusalem grew from south to north towards the south this is a city gate presumably the gate of the scenes of jewish sects that flourished at the time of jesus the not much is for the gate hinge is a well preserved right behind inside the city walls was the residential area. Archaeologists continuously unearth new discoveries of four thousand year old st for instance. Professor and his team are not the first to explore this site. In eight hundred ninety three british army offices were here investigating the byzantine city wall to do so they dont tunnels through other historical city lay as which they later filled again. But sadly they were approached to screw it what would have been valuable evidence for us to find today archaeologists some more careful even the smallest of finds is recorded and documented. And we archaeologists destroy things but its also our responsibility to document everything we excavate with each item is measured sketched photographed and published in our plans of course the newer layers dont stand much of a chance im interested in prehistory and early history so we want to reach the older layers the question is whether i respect the early layers whether i document and publish what i find that determines everything. On the very his feet if im obsessed with one period say the iron age and the beginnings of the kingdom of israel and i take away Everything Else i am being an idealogue. Whether in a cemetery or anywhere else in jerusalem archaeology always has a political dimension in the holy city a city whose status is still heavily contested internationally. Dita fever always has to keep the current political context in mind. Here we are standing on israeli territory or from my fifty meters farther is occupied territory im not allowed to dig there. East jerusalem with its predominantly palestinian population was occupied by israel in the six day war of one nine hundred sixty seven and annexed in one nine hundred eighty a territorial claim the International Community has refused to recognize. The neighborhood so one is home to mostly palestinian families and to the city of david Archeological Site right below the old city walls. Its running part by jewish settlers who have made their homes on the edge of the park and lay claim to this part of the city. Controversial to say the least. To them is the eternal and undivided capital city. This is where david settled. Not conquered the city and made it the center of the whole kingdom of today and israel. Thats why they consider this their spiritual home thats why Israeli Settlers stay here. But its difficult to understand because it goes beyond history as we see it. Really here paul. What else would settlers be doing on an archaeological site who are not. Jewish settlers use archaeology to support their reading of jerusalems history. To the whole of the city to feel its important to stay mindful of the current political situation wherever he is excavating. High up on the mount of olives on the offices of the german protestant institute of archaeology it was founded in one thousand nine hundred by the german Protestant Community with support from Kaiser Wilhelm in the second. The institutes founding Charter States that its mission is to explore the holy land and its diverse past cultures and religions whatever they learned should then not only be made accessible to experts for debate but also to the general public that is why widely different groups regularly come to visit as an. Archaeology was scorned for a long time as a kind of religious discipline that aim to prove the bible was historically correct for my part i would define biblical archaeology as a science that uses the bible as its main source but thats it was a sort of through on the us now from proved in the early Twentieth Century german academics were eager to play a role in researching the holy lands cultural history. Leading colonial nations britain france and the United States already at work. The institute has many keep sakes from its early days including these old models by Conrad Schick a german architect from the mid nineteenth century. Professor fever has particular respect for the institutes founder and first director lutheran theologian stuff down man. To me hes a role model because weve had similar lives. He was from a very pious community and saxony where people had all. The answer is to the bible before you could even ask the question. Everything had to be taken very literally and nothing could be questioned. Emancipated himself from that. German scholars pioneered modern Biblical Studies that back then it was still in its infancy and questioning the bible was not taken lightly a small museum in the basement documents the early days of the institute down one couldnt take in the holy land but was still intrigued by how people lived in the time of jesus as. He began to collect things what flowers existed back that are going to how did people build their houses how would jesus have spoken aramaic at the time. He thought a lot about how the things we read in the bible today could be understood in their Historical Context so worked with. Old measuring instruments maps sun drawings document institutes first steps. If we are right next door is where findings from a few vegas excavations on mt zion are recorded and counts along. With. His wife can china is also an archaeologist and while its at the institute. The couple share a passion for early history. Consistent items are identified by comparing them with known facts. But a handful of shots isnt enough. Often several thousand needed to identify a find with any degree of certainty. Before. It takes a lot of effort to achieve results and you need an eye for the little things. Were not so interested in the shards themselves as in what people did with the objects were interested in what the objects tell us about life. With if you want to reconstruct their life you have to develop an enthusiasm for these many dead things and enjoy finding out about their past. Once a year leaves his son a work place in jerusalem to spend a University Term involved in western germany. The city is best known for its suspended monorail which dates back to nine hundred one. At the time it was a state of the sensation. Thieving again now teaches in western germany but he grew up in the formerly communist east. And they were going to kick back then i wanted to study mathematics but i wasnt even allowed to go to university. The German Protestant Church offered me a safety net by letting me finish school there. The degree wasnt worth much but it let me stay in school for another two years. During those two years it occurred to me that i could work for the church too. I have never regretted it i decided i wanted to become a pastor and i did i lived as a pastor and my main topic was faith should set you free. In east germanys form and freedom was a sensitive subject free thinking or worse yet free speech could be dangerous. As a. Once a maverick always a maverick you can never change that and its been very useful to me it gave me the opportunity to get a much better education so that i was equipped for life when the communist regime collapsed at thirty one i was able to go out into the world and. He was then teaching theology at the humble. What moving to vote was in that same average day i was a professor in berlin but in theology. But if i was going to teach the ology i wanted to know what i was talking about and really understand how things were in biblical times with this so i decided to study archaeology i made the request but they wouldnt let me so i told the head of faculty im going to start applying it different universities and im moving to the First University that will also let me study archaeology and that was so here i am youve been here. A short distance from fatah is the private victim had to give you this. The institution has a decidedly holistic approach to education professor fever his course is a track students of medicine philosophy Political Science and economics. Yes were going to talk about a state that did something historic its the first arab state to make peace with israel it will talk about the peace treaty and what the situation is today but first its over to you. Today the students are discussing one of the most important unsuccessful peace agreements of recent history the peace treaty between israel and egypt. Where they are going to my phone i said i would like to know whether you think it was right to give all three politicians the nobel peace prize. Nobel prize. How many of you think that was good. That is going to come forth and then that i would invite them and. Thinking out of the box tell us is a very popular. Business and. Nowadays lots of people look to the future or worry about today you. Know i think the past is also very important and i need to get more people excited about it. If i succeed ill be followed by lots of new fellow researchers and if not i will remain alone in archaeology will die out. So there arent many of us left in germany. Just as in jerusalem his office here is half exhibition hall and tough research lab. His main focus is on early history archaeology but the current middle east conflict also preoccupies him. Crime a political creature i cant just go to palestine israel jordan or syria we were often in syria until it was close to us in two thousand and eleven and ignore the political situation. I once had a long discussion with chancellor merkel she asked me about the Peace Process and i said there isnt any peace theres just an absence of war but she couldnt believe it and i couldnt believe that she couldnt believe it we talked about it for a long time and then i decided i had to write it down. You know what if i was wrong. I had to research more about the topic and so i wrote a book its an issue that really concerns me. His latest most popular book is about the Israeli Palestinian conflict and has been reprinted several times another one of his passions is writing books for children and young adults in the hope of getting them interested in history one of his books has been translated into arabic. When spring comes around fi vega returns to the middle east they stine to the jordanian capital amman the german protestant institute of archaeology has another Research Center here to feed vega is visiting the georgian Archaeological Museum in the amman Citadel High School students have come to a reading from his book about the tells. The past he paints a picture of the archeological mountains that contain the secrets of history wants to inspire the following generations. Plan here the stone that is on the bus is of course that has to do with the fact that i used to be a pastor and taught children. To fruition but i worked with the st thomas choir of leipzig here and ive always tried to express things in simple terms that children and teenagers can understand i want to pass my interest on to them into us here at. The Museum Opened in one thousand nine hundred fifty one and contains incredible artifacts from prehistory to the fifteenth century a German ResearchFoundation Helps the Museum Catalog it stretches. You to hasan manages a project for the protection of Cultural Assets in amman some of these perfectly preserved clay figure has a more than eight and a half thousand years old of one all. We have super pieces here that are truly unique they were discovered in jordan so they should be shown here. They need to be protected so they arent sold in the next time theres unrest. Or destroyed by people who view them as something godly and dont want them in this world. On to northwest jordan to visit the excavation house by gadara archaeological sites museums have always been the target of plundering. This and the illegal trade in antiquities threaten cultural acids the current wars in syria iraq yemen and other middle Eastern Countries have resulted in vast numbers of archaeological treasures being destroyed stolen or lost. Finds every day attitudes about the past concerning. Thats why hes delighted by every small archaeological find. You can see here this is typical for ceramics of the iron age. Through the chronicle and when you smash ceramics you can see their properties in the fracture. Of the clay mixture was entirely different in the roman and byzantine periods. These few fragments here are not criminal. The crime is that the whole settlement was. Or at least this part of the edge of a settlement and nobody cares. Nobody can save the remains because were all busy with other things. Not every site can be excavated in recent years jordan has taken in hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the war in neighboring syria and iraq the refugee crisis is more urgent. While many ancient sites have yet to be explored other archaeological sites are famous tourist attraction in this like the ancient city of daraa some one hundred kilometers north of amman its a popular destination for jordanians and foreigners in the grecoroman era the city was a cultural hub. From here you can see the sea of galilee in northern israel next to its the Israeli OccupiedGolan Heights on the syrian border. The war is not far away every year if you take a spend several weeks in jordan to him its just as relevant as jerusalem. Because a good friend of mine used to say you need to excavate in jerusalem nobody sees what happens here and its true most people arent paying attention to jordan. But for archaeologists this is a tremendously important region with a very ancient culture this site is much older than jerusalem it was always much larger than jerusalem in the bronze and iron ages so excavating here is nothing in significant even if it isnt necessarily grabbing Media Attention thats not really our job and as i hear all. The excavation site is in the great to area of windy allaround thats the region along the ancient train route that used to run from the mediterranean through palestine to syria and iraq and this area alone has taken part in eighteen separate dick so far its a long term project that will also keep future generations busy. More than five thousand years of Human History buried him. Its almost as if they were here just yesterday. Its a great privilege to be able to live and work here im very grateful that i was able to come here and be given a job here i have the wonderful projects that i was allowed to choose myself this tell is a site that i discovered myself one that i thought important enough to excavate. It has more than repaid my investment im not unhappy here on the contrary it has become my life. Move. On. From her. Name to reset the computer game brings action to ancient egypt. Like small selfmade can do you can move maybe even to some of the demands of the hunger games. Its a boon to egyptologists. To oral tradition thirty minutes. Form. Time for an upgrade. How up front youre there grows all by. A house with no roof. Design highlights you can make yourself. Trends tips and tricks that will turn your home office special. Upgrade yourself with d. W. s interior design channel on you tube. Im scared that the a war thats hard and in the end is a me youre not allowed to stay here any more we will send you back. Are you familiar with this. With the smugglers were alliance of. Whats your story. On what numbers of women especially in victims of violence. Take part and send us your story we are trying always to understand this new culture. Are not even a turn other guests you want to become a citizen. In for migrants your platform for reliable information. Where is home. When your family is scattered across the globe. With the kids it is a book as a journey back to the roots gamut of the. Shahs family from somalia live around the world. Want to i did urgent assistance. To family starts generally twenty third on t. W. This is d. W. News live from berlin and eighteen year old saudi woman pleading for help and her life. I have no choice. They said i have to go to model into. No one can hold me right now no im not ok if tight the teenager has barricaded herself in a hotel room in thailand to avoid being too ported she says her family will kill her if shes sent back home also coming up. Bracing for