Episode list

For centuries Troy was believed to be a mythical city. Now, a leading team of American archaeologists have discovered an ancient thriving city, and evidence of a real Trojan War.

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.

Archaeologist Danny Harman retraces the footsteps of the original 1952 expedition and visits the very cave where the heavily oxidized scroll was discovered. Rare archive footage reveals the tense moment scientists opened the fragile scroll for the first time in 2,000 years and Professor Lawrence Schiffman, an expert in ancient Hebrew guides us through the text which lists 64 hiding places of vast quantities of treasure - and he reveals why the original translation might not have been as accurate as originally thought.

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.

In 1922, in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, the final resting place of Ancient Pharaohs for almost 500 years, Howard Carter made the most momentous discovery in the history of archaeology: the tomb of King Tutankhamun.

In 2014 historian Margarita Torres discovered two Arabic parchments hidden in an Egyptian library. The documents record "The Cup of the Messiah" travelling from Jerusalem to Spain in the year 1055 as a gift to King Ferdinand of Leon. Examining an ornate chalice in Leon that once belonged to King Ferdinand's daughter, archaeologist Julian Henderson reveals that hidden behind the medieval gold embellishment is a simple onyx cup. Margarita Torres argues that this onyx cup is the one held by Jesus. Torres finds evidence to support her theory in a medieval painting of the Last Supper commissioned by King Ferdinand's daughter. The Arabic parchment contains a tantalizing description; it says that the cup arrived in Spain with a piece missing.

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?