How did the Rapa Nui people disappear? Is South Africa the cradle of Humankind? Who are the builders of Stonehenge? Peter Eeckhout travels the world, meeting with other archeologists to reveal recent findings and shed light on the enigmas of History.
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Episode 1
In southern Italy, an archaeologist and a chemist are joining forces to achieve the impossible. Thanks to scientific advances and the alliance of archeology and chemistry, it is now possible to rediscover these forgotten fragrances.
Episode 2
In the Dampier archipelago, Australia, archaeologists are deciphering one of the greatest books ever written. A million motifs carved in the rocks by the aborigines that are gradually eroding this territory.
Episode 3
In Serra da Capivara, a Franco-Brazilian team found traces of the very first Americans... Archaeologist Eric Boëda has discovered man-made tools fashioned out of quartz pebbles, and dated between 22,000 and 25,000 years BC…
Episode 4
What if the veil was finally lifted on one of the greatest enigmas in the history of mankind, namely the disappearance of the Rapa Nui, the inhabitants of the mysterious Easter Island lost in the Pacific?
Episode 5
A small town lost in the Ethiopian mountains, Lalibela, has attracted tens of thousands of Orthodox pilgrims every year for the past 800 years. They come to visit one of the 12 rock-hewn churches, listed as world heritage by UNESCO.
Episode 6
In Zimbabwe, at the heart of the Zambezi plateau, African archaeologists are attempting to shed light on the history of Great Zimbabwe, one of the most fascinating sites in Africa.
Episode 7
In the Hijaz desert, lies a mysterious ancient city called Hegra. These vestiges are the signature of a legendary people called the Nabataeans. This lost necropolis had fallen into oblivion until UNESCO listed the site as World Heritage in 2008.
Episode 8
In Ichijôdani, Japan, deep beneath the rice fields, archaeologists have excavated a medieval town abandoned 400 years earlier. In fact, they discovered an entire city as it was during the 16th century, with its streets, houses, and palaces.
Episode 9
The Maya flourished in the forests of Guatemala and Chiapas, before the arrival of the conquistadors in the sixteenth century. According to the recent findings of a team of archaeologists in Guatemala, astronomy was more than science for them.
Episode 10
In Peru, an Inca city buried under the desert sands has intrigued archaeologists for almost a hundred years. This ancient city is known as “Pachacamac”. Archaeologist Peter Eeckhout has finally discovered the reason for this strange desertion...
Episode 11
Nestled in the Iranian highlands, lies the cradle of the Persian Empire. Persians built the city of Persepolis, an architectural masterpiece. Recent discoveries are nevertheless shedding new light on Persepolis.
Episode 12
In Italy’s capital city, archaeologists of the École Française de Rome have discovered an exceptional building that had been sought for centuries...
Episode 13
On the borders of Scotland, in the Orkney Islands, archaeologists have been digging for nearly 13 years the remains of a mysterious set of very large buildings surrounded by a massive stone wall erected during the late Neolithic.
Episode 14
The "El Argar" civilization ruled over all of southern Spain between 2200 and 1550 BCE, until it suddenly disappeared. Spanish archaeologists have nevertheless found traces of the Argaric culture a few kilometers from the city of Murcia.
Episode 15
In the mountains of Cambodia, 50 km from Angkor and its famous temples, archaeologist Jean-Baptiste Chevance tirelessly excavates the remains of Mahendraparvata, another vast ancient Khmer city.
Episode 16
The craziest theories have attempted to explain the famous Nasca lines. Astronomical calendar, divine frescoes, extra-terrestrial signals... Archaeologist Markus Reindel has been trying to bring science back at the forefront of this search for meaning.
Episode 17
Yakutia extends beneath the polar circle to the east of Siberia. This land is home to a unique people whose origins were completely unknown until the recent discoveries of a team of archaeologists and geneticists.
Episode 18
Lake Titicaca was considered a sacred site by the Incas. In the 15th century, they made it the cradle of their civilization, the sun’s place of birth. And yet, beneath the lake’s waters, lies a different story.
Episode 19
Has the legendary city of Troy described by Homer in the Iliad ever existed? For centuries, the question has sparked much controversy. And if the answer is positive, did the Trojan War really take place?
Episode 20
One of the driest deserts in the world lies at the foot of the Andes. 1,500 years ago, the Mochica culture, flourished in this environment. Between the 2nd and 8th century AD, they tamed the desert, and built huge adobe pyramids called “huacas”.
Episode 21
For nearly 400 years, one of the largest pre-Columbian cities remained unnoticed, submerged in the rainforest. Known for its gold, “cuidad perdida” remained a mystery until a team of Colombian archaeologists rediscovered it in the late 1970s.
Episode 22
The Minoan civilization flourished in Crete and demonstrated a high level of craftsmanship. A labyrinth sheltering a minotaur, royal palaces housing a tyrannical king…For a long time, the Greek myths served as the sole explanation for the architecture.
Episode 23
The Vikings were capable sailors who colonized a number of islands such as England, Ireland, and further north, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland. Was Greenland the only territory to have resisted the Vikings?
Episode 24
Mexico City, with a population of 22 million, it is North America’s second-largest urban agglomeration after New York City...In fact, according to a team of archaeologists, this urban lifestyle takes its roots in Mexico.
Episode 25
Stonehenge is one of the world’s most famous and most enigmatic prehistoric monuments. Dozens of huge standing stones were erected here during the Neolithic period, around 2900 BC... Who were the men and women who erected such a monument?
Episode 26
The Chachapoyas were long considered the fiercest warriors of the Andes. Recent archaeological discoveries paint a completely different. Far from being bloodthirsty and morbid, this people maintained an intimate and happy relationship with the deceased.
Episode 27
For thousands of years, men have painted no less than 35,000 rock paintings on the walls of these caves. Nowhere else in the world can one find such a high number of rock artworks... What do these works tell us?
Episode 28
Along the eastern coast of Africa, the Swahili people has long intrigued scientists. It is believed that between the 10th and 15th centuries, the Swahili erected dozens of stone-built opulent cities in this area.
Episode 29
Situated in the heart of the Peruvian Andes, 160 km north of Cusco, Choquequirao is one of the greatest achievements of Inca architecture. Standing at an altitude of over 3000 meters overlooks one of the deepest canyons in the world.
Episode 30
In the heart of the Amazon rainforest, archaeologists are busy debunking one of the most powerful myths put forward by colonization. The primeval forest, described in 1492 by Christopher Columbus, never existed!