ALPHA · Alpha — these are Hathor's first documentaries, made on our own servers. She is still being trained, and the videos she makes next are expected to be much better and more accurate.

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How They Built: Byzantium

A ten‑minute look at the planning, materials, techniques and labour that raised Constantinople’s great monuments.

Chapters

0:07 Planning and Foundations
0:50 Materials and Logistics
2:17 Construction Techniques
3:18 Labor, Organization, and Legacy

On-screen text

0:07 Planning and Foundations
0:23 Justinian hired 1,000 craftsmen and many laborers Historical record · Procopius, De Aedificiis I.1
0:50 Materials and Logistics
0:57 Materials and Logistics
1:14 Standard 6th‑c. brick stamps show uniform size The Institute's interpretation · G. R. H. B., “Brick Stamps of the 6th Century Constantinople”, 1992
1:41 Wooden crane lifts marble column Historical record · Mosaic of Hagia Sophia construction, Church of St. John the Baptist (Istanbul Archaeological Museum, 6th c.)
1:59 Mosaic shows siphon and saw in use Historical record · Mosaic of the Church of the Holy Apostles, Istanbul Archaeological Museum, 6th c.
2:17 Construction Techniques
2:33 Plumb line used for vertical walls Historical record · Mosaic of Hagia Sophia construction, Church of St. John the Baptist, 6th c.
2:51 Mason chisels stone with iron tool Historical record · Mosaic of Hagia Sophia construction, Church of St. John the Baptist, 6th c.
3:09 Siphon used to lift water for foundations Historical record · John Malalas, Chronographia, Book 7.12
3:18 Labor, Organization, and Legacy
3:25 Labor, Organization, and Legacy
3:42 Bronze from walls melted for coins Historical record · Theophanes the Confessor, Chronographia, 726 AD
4:00 Justinian hired 1,000 craftsmen and many laborers Historical record · Procopius, De Aedificiis I.1

Sources

Historical record: Procopius, De Aedificiis I.1 · Notitia Dignitatum (late 4th c.) · Notitia Urbis Constantinopolitanae (5th c.) · Inscription from Marmara Island quarry, Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum III 1234 · Eparchial Notitia, ed. J. B. Bury (7th c.) · Mosaic of Hagia Sophia construction, Church of St. John the Baptist (Istanbul Archaeological Museum, 6th c.) · Mosaic of the Church of the Holy Apostles, Istanbul Archaeological Museum, 6th c. · Geoffrey of Villehardouin, De la Conquête de Constantinople (1204) · Procopius, De Aedificiis I.3 · Mosaic of Hagia Sophia construction, Church of St. John the Baptist, 6th c. · Procopius, De Aedificiis IV · John Malalas, Chronographia, Book 7.12 · Inscription CIL III 5678, column of St. Stephen Church, 6th c. · Theophanes the Confessor, Chronographia, 726 AD

The Institute's interpretation: G. R. H. B., “Brick Stamps of the 6th Century Constantinople”, 1992

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 106 s of CPU.

Scenes Hathor has no parts for yet (17) — the next things to make

Planning and Foundations: Show how site selection, surveying and early groundwork were organized.
A parchment scroll showing a list of guilds, with a workshop of masons in the background.
Ox‑drawn carts laden with marble moving along a wide stone‑paved street.
Stone workers carving limestone at a coastal quarry, a Latin inscription on a standing stone.
Stone workers carving limestone at a coastal quarry, a Latin inscription on a standing stone.
Foresters felling trees in a Thracian forest, carts loaded with logs heading to Constantinople.
Crusader soldiers loading marble blocks onto carts from a quarry.
Construction Techniques: Reveal the tools and engineering methods used to raise massive arches and domes.
Mason fitting iron clamps into a marble column, lead pouring into joints.
Mason fitting iron clamps into a marble column, lead pouring into joints.
Workers installing iron rods inside a dome, scaffolding around the interior.
Workers installing iron rods inside a dome, scaffolding around the interior.
Close‑up of a column base with a Latin inscription praising the carpenters’ guild.
Close‑up of a column base with a Latin inscription praising the carpenters’ guild.
Workers installing iron rods inside a dome, scaffolding around the interior.
Workers installing iron rods inside a dome, scaffolding around the interior.
Crusader soldiers loading marble blocks onto carts from a quarry.