Secrets of the Dead

History Series / 8 Seasons

Secrets of the Dead is part detective story, part true-life drama that unearths evidence from around the world, challenging prevailing ideas and throwing fresh light on unexplained events.

55m 15s / TV-14

Preview | Hidden in the Amazon

32s / TV-PG

Recent discoveries and technological advances are shedding new light on our understanding of pre-Columbian societies in the Amazon. Scientists speculate the rainforest was home to between 8 and 10 million people living in large, well-established communities.

Wasps Surround Oldest Traces of Human Settlement in Amazonia

2m 5s

Archaeologist Edithe Pereira travels deep into the heart of the Monte Alegre region of Brazil to study paintings found on the rockface there. Careful to avoid the surrounding wasp nests, she and her team have dated these paintings to 12,000 BCE — the oldest known traces of human presence in the whole of Amazonia.

Preview | Decoding Hieroglyphics

32s / TV-PG

A review of how ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics were first translated 200 years ago, and a look at the archaeological work now being done in Egypt to understand one of the empire’s most important scribes.

Understanding Ancient Artists through 'Handwriting' Analysis

1m 41s

Egyptologist and paleography expert Elizabeth Bettles analyzes hieroglyphs painted on the walls of tombs in the Theban necropolis. By identifying different "handwriting" techniques — distinct shapes, styles, spellings — she learns more about the artists themselves.

Preview | The End of the Romans

32s / TV-PG

Is history repeating Itself? Follow an in-depth investigation into the real causes of the decline of the Roman Empire. Three deadly epidemics and climate change could have caused its collapse — drawing frightening parallels to today.

Tooth Samples Reveal Scope of Justinianic Plague

1m 43s

Scientists analyze DNA from tooth samples collected from dig sites across Europe, dating to the Late Roman Empire, and identify Yersinia pestis – the bacteria that causes the Black Plague. Gradually they map where they’re finding plague, noting that, based on the succession of waves of illness, the epidemic lasted roughly a century.

Preview | Last Days of Pompeii

32s

What were the last days in Pompeii like before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius 2,000 years ago? The dazzling discovery of an intact wooden chariot, the only one ever found, provides new insight into the social classes of the ancient city.

Ancient Pompeii's Modern Solution to Traffic Jams

2m 7s

Professor Eric Poehler is an expert at understanding the patterns left behind by the estimated 10,000 carts and wagons that rolled around ancient Pompeii. He examines the archaeological evidence, carved into the stone streets, to show how the city dealt with its relentless flow of traffic.

Preview | Archaeology at Althorp

32s / TV-PG

Discover one of the most significant British archaeological finds of the century at the Althorp estate, ancestral home of the Spencer family, including Diana, Princess of Wales. What treasures will this extensive excavation reveal?

Evidence of the Iron Age Emerges at Althorp

2m 15s

During an archaeological dig at Althorp, the ancestral estate of the Spencer family, archaeologist Cat Jarman and her team begin to uncover fragments of manmade artifacts from the late 17th century. Further excavation uncovers even more evidence of human activity, suggesting an Iron Age settlement may have once existed on the property.

Plotting to Recover a Stolen Caravaggio

3m 1s

Father Marius Zerafa (director of museums in Malta), the Malta Police Force, and the Armed Forces of Malta all work together to recover a priceless Caravaggio painting. Utilizing an established channel of communication with a trio of thieves, Zerafa and a detective negotiate the return of the stolen work of art.

Preview | A Samurai in the Vatican

32s

In 1613, feudal lord Date Masamune sent a Japanese diplomatic mission to Europe to negotiate with the Pope and the King of Spain in hopes opening a new trade route. Led by samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga and Franciscan monk Luis Sotelo, the expedition spent seven years traveling one-third of the globe.

A Samurai's Christening Affects Global Trade Routes

2m 52s

In Spain, samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga was baptized and christened Felipe Francisco Hasekura. This new identity for the Japanese ambassador would potentially unlock a new trade route between Japan and New Spain. However, King Philip III ultimately passed the responsibility for approving the trade route onto the Vatican, leaving Hasekura to seek the Pope's approval.

Recently Discovered Letter Anticipates Hindenburg Problems

2m 13s

A recently discovered letter reveals that Captain Ernst Lehmann, the world's most experienced Zeppelin pilot, knew about the Hindenburg's damaged gas bag and it's crude repairs. Not anticipating catastrophe, these specific problems led Lehmann to fly on the infamous airship's trans-Atlantic flight because he worried there would be a problem that the staff and crew may not be equipped to handle.

Preview | The First Circle of Stonehenge

32s

A decade-long archaeological quest reveals that the oldest stones of Stonehenge originally belonged to a much earlier sacred site — a stone circle built on a rugged, remote hillside in west Wales.

Modern Geotechnology 'Fingerprints' Stonehenge's Bluestones

2m 28s

Archaeologists, led by Professor Mike Parker Pearson (University College London), use the latest tools of geotechnology in their painstaking search for the evidence that reveals the Stonehenge Bluestones originally came from a specific location in West Wales' remote Preseli Hills.

Preview | Lady Sapiens

32s

Incredible scientific investigations from across the globe are helping piece together the untold story of prehistoric women. The latest research separates fact from fiction and sheds light on our ancient foremothers.

Misgendered Skeleton Changes Views on Prehistoric Women

2m 24s

The 1995 discovery that an important Paleolithic skeleton was actually a woman changed how historians perceived the role of our foremothers in ancient societies. No longer relegated solely to the home and hearth, it is now understood that ancient women were also hunter-gatherers and held prominent positions of importance within their communities.

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