The film chronicles the last 3 years of Akhenaten -called "the heretic pharaoh"- and his wife Queen Nefertiti, their mysterious and convulse reign in the context of the profound political and theological reform they promoted.
Come back with us to Ancient Greece, 2,500 Years ago to the original Olympic Games. The ancient Games, like our modern Olympics, included champions and cheaters, glory and scandals, bitter rivalries and contests of strength, speed and savage combat. Set in 448 BC when the pounding of horse's hooves and the brutal hand-to-hand combat could be heard and seen by the crowds that filled the Olympic stadium. This one-hour special event follows the glory and corruption of the arc of a single, five-day Olympiad. The competitions include chariot racing, running, jumping, discus, javelin and two man-to-man combat finals-boxing and pankration, a form of extreme fighting in which death was not uncommon. With the help of sports historians and great athletes such as George Chuvalo and Olympic medallists Donovan Bailey and Angela Schneider, viewers travel back to a very different life-in a very different world.
Over the past 50 years, thousands of exquisitely painted Maya vases, almost all looted from tombs, have flooded into public and private collections. These amazing works of art, filled with humor and mystery, have opened an extraordinary window on the Maya past. But the race to unearth these treasures has destroyed temples and palaces, culminating in the takeover of entire ancient cities by looter armies. OUT OF THE MAYA TOMBS (formerly titled DANCE OF THE MAIZE GOD) enters the world of the vases to explore the royal life and rich mythology of the Maya, as well as the tangled issues involved in the collection and study of Maya art. The story is told by villagers, looters, archaeologists, scholars, dealers and curators. For each, these vases have a radically different value and meaning.
This historical drama tells the story of Qin Shihuang, who unified China's vast territory and declared himself emperor in 221 B.C. During his reign, he introduced sweeping reforms, built a vast network of roads and connected the Great Wall of China. From the grandiose inner sanctum of Emperor Qin's royal palace, to fierce battles with feudal kings, this film re-creates the glory and the terror of the Qin Dynasty, including footage of Qin's life-sized terra cotta army, constructed 2,200 years ago for his tomb.
In this gripping investigation, archaeologist Pepi Papakosta is on a hunt for Alexander the Great's lost tomb, and she makes an extraordinary discovery.
What is true and what is false in the hideous stories spread about the controversial figure of the Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (12-41), nicknamed Caligula? Professor Mary Beard explains what is accurate and what is mythical in the historical accounts that portray him as an unbalanced despot. Was he a sadistic tyrant, as Roman historians have told, or perhaps the truth about him was manipulated because of political interests?
Forensic experts scan Pompeii’s victims to investigate why they didn’t escape the eruption.
5000 years ago the ancient Elamites established a glorious civilization that lasted about three millennia. They created marvelous works in architecture and craftsmanship. These works of art depict the lifestyle, thoughts, and beliefs of the Elamites.
The 1st queen of the king dies in child birth, the prince survives. After the 2nd queen, gives birth to a new prince, she plots to kill the 1st prince, so that her son would get the crown after the king. A soldier senses this danger and ousts the prince to a rural village for survival. The village headman adopts the child without knowing the origin of the child. The prince gradually forgets his royalty, and grows up as a skillful and handsome farmer. After the death of the king, the soldier and religious leaders plan to bring the real prince to the crown.
Dr Glenn Godenho goes on the hunt for the tomb of Cleopatra.
What exactly happened to all the objects found by Howard Carter after he finished exploring Tutankhamun's tomb in 1930 after they had been lying there for the past 3200 years? The most precious of them are exhibited in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo but most were kept out of sight from the very beginning. Ninety years later, for the first time, most of these objects will finally be brought together in the precinct of the great Museum of Giza. Some of them will make their way to the U.S.A. and Paris, where they will be exposed at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industries in the autumn of 2018 - and then in London, Berlin, Tokyo and…
The ancient ancestors of today’s Maya people thrived in large sophisticated cities across Central America for centuries. Why, around 750 CE, did they begin to abandon many of their major cities? Archaeologists investigate dramatic new evidence of the catastrophic droughts and instability that pushed cities beyond their limits.
The Scythians, skilled horsemen and nomadic conquerors, built a feared empire in the vast Eurasian steppe between the 9th and 3rd centuries B.C. All that remains are their graves: the Kourganes. In April 1999, a 2400 year-old Scythian tomb was discovered in Kazakhstan. It contained, among other treasures, twelve horses completely harnessed in gold, suggesting high social status.
The movie is based on the legend of King Sinhabahu, the son of a lion and a royal princess Suppa Devi.
In the heart of the Jordanian desert, the ancient city of Petra is full of mysteries. How was this architectural wonder created over 2,000 years ago? The technical prowess of Petra, an ancient city in southern Jordan, which was a wonder in the middle of the desert.
Professor Bettany Hughes takes viewers on a journey of discovery as she investigates 10 of the greatest and most intriguing Egyptian mummies - and the secrets that lie beneath the bandages. Having remained in their tombs for thousands of years, wrapped, embalmed and buried with treasure, each mummy tells the story of the criminals, priests, children and pharaohs of Ancient Egypt.
La Cité oubliée de Ramsès II
Follows an international archaeological team exploring Saudi Arabia's Black Desert and Jordan, investigating ancient megastructures to uncover insights about humanity's oldest massive constructions.
Whether you are a Christian, atheist, or member of another faith, it's impossible to ignore the impact that Christianity has had on Western civilization. But most people don't actually know how Christianity began. In this lighthearted but factual film, we tell the "true" story of early Christianity. An honest attempt to piece together a very complex and fascinating story that everyone will enjoy.
In 16th century feudal Japan the war between the Iga clan and the Kouga clan continues unabated. Typically for such violent disputes it is the women who suffer the most – in this case lowly castrated Kouga clan ninjas are kidnapping woman from their rivals’ lands and transporting them back to their own, with the intent to use them as concubines. Unfortunately for a trio of inept Kouga ninjas, one of the women they’ve kidnapped is Kisaragi (Rina Takeda), a skilled ninja with a long standing vendetta since her mother was kidnapped when she was just a baby.