Mon, May 16, 2016
Ramesse II was one of the greatest pharaohs to rule Egypt. His reign, beginning in 1279 BC, saw stability, military success and a building programme unmatched since the construction of the Pyramids a thousand years before. But for Egyptologists, one great mystery hung over his reign. His capital city, Pi-Ramesses, the 'House of Ramesses', was known to be a large and magnificent city. But over the passage of time, it seemed to have completely vanished from history.
Mon, Dec 9, 2019
Ancient records marked a modest Tunisian coastal town as the location of a one-time thriving Roman metropolis called Neapolis, but for centuries there was little archaeological evidence to support such a claim. That all changed when a massive storm exposed the ruins of ancient streets and buildings beneath in the Mediterranean Sea.
Mon, May 23, 2016
Over a thousand years ago a great civilisation built a thriving metropolis in the heart of North America. It was larger than Paris, London and Rome at the time and was known as Cahokia. This vast city is one of the best kept secrets of western archaeology, but using cutting edge technologies like LIDAR Secrets: World's Greatest Pyramid can finally unravel its mysteries. Our investigators trace the rise and fall of this mighty civilisation which exploded into existence in 900 AD but vanished less than four hundred years later. Archaeologists John Kelly and Tim Pauketat explore the artifacts decades of excavations have unearthed at the site and what they teaches us about the culture and beliefs of the people here.
Mon, Oct 8, 2018
One of the most remarkable finds in modern archaeology was the discovery of a giant statue of a pharaoh, buried in the suburbs of Cairo. This was a pharaoh about whom little was known - until now. He was a leader who brought a new golden era to ancient Egypt and left a legacy that shaped western civilisation for millenia.
Mon, May 30, 2016
The fabled island that vanished beneath the waves is one of the greatest enigmas of the ancient world. Described by Plato, Atlantis was initially thought to be just myth and legend. But could the lost civilization be real? For decades archaeologists searched for evidence, then on the Greek island of Santorini they found a remarkable city that was buried 3500 years ago by a major volcanic eruption. Architectural Historian Clairy Palyvou walks us through the excavations, revealing an incredibly advanced civilisation; just as Plato describes. But what exactly happened to bury this ancient city?
Mon, Oct 22, 2018
It was a discovery that mystified the archaeological world. Buried among the ruins of Egypt's oldest city, a 6000-year old cemetery containing Egypt's first kings and the remains of wild and exotic animals. But these were not the bones from just any animals, they were the ancestors of Egypt's iconic gods. Have archaeologists finally found the source of ancient Egypt's religious imagery?