Secrets of the Dead

History Series / 9 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 23s / TV-PG

Preview | The Princes in the Tower

32s

Find out if one of history’s greatest cold cases—the imprisonment of two princes in the Tower of London—can finally be solved. Their disappearance led to centuries of mystery and speculation. Were the boys murdered by their uncle, the notorious King Richard III? Or was it a massive conspiracy to hide the truth?

Preview | Death in Britannia

32s

Uncover what happens when archaeologists study a skeleton found with an iron nail through its heel bone, suggesting the person was the victim of crucifixion in Roman-occupied Britain. Only one other skeleton with evidence of crucifixion has ever been found in the world. Who were they? What was life in Roman Britain like? And why did they receive such a gruesome punishment?

Competing Theories for Nail Found in Heel Bone

1m 2s

Osteoarchaeologist Corinne Duhig is an expert an unraveling mysteries by studying bones. She wonders whether a nail found through the heelbone of Skeleton 4926 could be an ancient culture’s way of preventing a deceased spirit from wandering, or an accidental blow while constructing a coffin around a body. Ultimately, crucifixion is the only explanation that makes sense.

Identifying Biological Sex from Skeletal Remains

2m 7s

Corinne Duhig and Ben Garrod perform a virtual autopsy on Skeleton 4926, whose remains date to the time of the Roman occupation of Britain. Corinne, an osteoarchaeologist, and Ben, a biologist and her former student, inspect a number of features that can help indicate biological sex. Based on the angle of the pelvic bone and a defined brow ridge, they are confident the skeleton is male.

A Revolutionary Use of Iron

1m 26s

The designs for the competing tower projects represented to different visions for the future: On one side, tradition, as embodied by Jules Bourdais’s stone tower in the academic style as taught at the Beaux-Arts. And on the other side, innovation, exemplified by Gustave Eiffel’s tower that used iron as not just a structural element, but as the central aesthetic.

Gustave Eiffel’s Credentials

1m 34s

Gustave Eiffel already had several large projects to his name by the time the 1889 World’s Fair was announced. He had engineered Budapest’s railway station and Porto’s Maria Pia Bridge, and was in the midst of completing both the Garabit viaduct in France’s Massif Central and the Statue of Liberty. For Eiffel, building a thousand-foot tower would be a crowning achievement.

Preview | Eiffel's Race to the Top

32s

Find out about the race to build Paris’ most famous landmark when two men vied to be the first to build a monument 1,000 feet tall. See how one man’s vision transformed the Paris skyline, making the Eiffel Tower a global icon. Dramatic recreations, official renderings and personal correspondence tell the story.

A Collector Shows Off His Dinosaurs

1m 58s

Collector Ralph Wunsch shows off his collection of dinosaur fossils, including a Diplodocus and an Allosaurus that are 155 million years old and were excavated in Wyoming in 2016. Wunsch thinks of dinosaur skeletons as a similar to fine art – able to be displayed in museums and in private homes and collections.

Selling the Largest Triceratops Ever Found

2m 23s

Flavio Bacchia, the original buyer of Triceratops skeleton “Big John,” discusses his deliberations around the initial purchase. And on the other side, commercial paleontologist Walter Stein reflects on his conflicted feelings about selling to a private buyer, but why he ultimately chose to sell.

Preview | Jurassic Fortunes

32s

Discover the world of dinosaur collecting, a controversial hobby with a booming market. Hear perspectives on the fossil trade from private collectors, paleontologists, and others, as "Big John"—the largest Triceratops fossil ever found—is assembled in Italy and auctioned in France.

3D Modeling Brings a 4th-Century Basilica Back to Life

1m 39s

Archaeologist Dominik Maschek, a specialist in the architecture of Late Roman Antiquity, completes a 3D reconstruction of the 4th-century basilica that once stood on the shores of Lake Iznik. For Mustafa Şahin, who led the excavation of the basilica’s sunken remains, it is a dream come true to bring the basilica back to life.

An Underwater Dive to see the Sunken Basilica Up Close

1m 28s

Archaeologist Mustafa Şahin and geologist Julia de Sigoyer explore the sunken ruins of a 4th-century basilica in Turkey’s Lake Iznik. Of particular interest are the many tombs found along the inside of the building.

Preview | The Sunken Basilica

32s

Uncover the sunken remains of a 4th-century basilica in Turkey. Submerged beneath the waters of Lake Iznik for hundreds of years, the church could reveal crucial insights into the early days of Christianity. Join a team of international researchers as they travel back through time—and grapple with Turkey’s many earthquakes, which could sink the structure deeper at any moment.

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.

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