2011-01-01
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For over 4000 years, the Sphinx has puzzled all who have laid eyes on it. What is this crouching lion, human-headed creature? Who built it and why? To unlock its secrets, two teams of scientists and sculptors immerse themselves in the world of ancient Egypt — a land of pharaohs and pyramids, animal gods and mummies, sun worship and human sacrifice.
The adventurous life of Natacha Rambova (1897-1966), an American artist, born Winifred Kimball Shaughnessy, who reincarnated herself countless times: false Russian dancer, silent film actress, scenographer and costume designer, writer, spiritist, Egyptologist, indefatigable traveler, mysterious and curious; an amazing 20th century woman who created the myth of Rudolph Valentino.
Go beyond the lost human history! A profile and examination of the recent findings of a highly advanced human settlement submerged at the end of the Ice Age when the sea level rose. The story of Atlantis has its roots in actual historical events!
In the beginning was sex. To the ancient cultures, sexuality, love and sex were inextricably connected with the creation of the earth, the heavens and the underworld. To the citizens of the ancient civilizations that gave birth to ours, sensuality and sexuality were an integral part of society. This series exploration of Egyptian and Roman sexual practice allows viewers the opportunity to see how attitudes and beliefs about sexuality functioned in the early civilizations, and how those attitudes reveal the unspoken rules that defined public and private behavior. Episodes cover human sex and sexuality from a historical perspective, and examines in detail different texts and images which provide us with evidence about sexual practices, beliefs and ideologies in the ancient world – from erotica on pots to legal texts, phallic votive objects, fertility ceremonies, prostitution, female and hermaphroditic creator deities, from religious rituals to sex manuals.
Egyptians were famed for their extravagant building techniques and extraordinary gods, but what about the ordinary citizens? How did they lead their day to day lives? What did they do for entertainment? Did they believe in their gods? Discover astonishing facts that throw new light on our understanding of the Ancient Egyptians.
Rome was famed for the decadence of its ruling class, however, what about the ordinary citizens of these ancient cultures? How did they lead their day to day lives in an age when the average life expectancy was little more than forty? Did they believe in the Pagan Gods? What were their sex lives like? What did they do for entertainment? How ordinary Romans lived is, for the most part ...
Travel to ancient Egypt to see how science was used to tell time, make a workable calendar, and align huge buildings. You'll learn about the connection the ancient Egyptians felt with the stars and various astronomical phenomena, and experience some of the most spectacular temples and tombs of the ancient world recreated in all of their original splendor. Telly Award winner. Narrated by John Rhys-Davies, of the Indiana Jones films and The Lord of the Rings films.
Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Pyramid is the only one to survive. Many believe that even with our 21st-century technology, we could not build anything like it today. Based on the most up-to-date research and the latest archaeological discoveries, here is how the Pyramid came to be.
It is one of Egypt's enduring mysteries. What happened to Nefertiti and her husband, Akhenaten - the radical king, and likely father of King Tut? In a dark and mysterious tomb located in the Valley of the Kings, there is a small chamber with two mummies without sarcophagi or wrappings. At times, both have been identified as Queen Nefertiti by scholars, filmmakers and historians. But the evidence has been circumstantial at best.
Board a traditional felucca sailboat and travel down the Nile from Aswan to Cairo, visiting spectacular ancient Egyptian tombs and temples on the way.
3,200 years ago, Egypt is living the final hours of its golden age under the reign of Ramesses II. After ruling the country for 67 years, the great pharaoh dies at the old age of 92. His mummy is burried in the heart of the Valley of the Kings. This is the beginning of his great journey towards the afterlife but only under one condition: that his tomb remains off limits forever. However, in the 19th century, many European adventurers explore the tomb of the king searching for the burial chamber. Then begins an archeological investigation, which reveals the story of Ramesses II after-life.
The grail is not the gold, nor the books of ancient wisdom, but the 3,000 year old DNA of the mummies, which may lead to a cure for malaria.
Egypt's Great Pyramid may be humanity's greatest achievement: a skyscraper of stone built without computers or complex machinery. This super-sized tomb has fascinated historians and archaeologists for centuries, but exactly how the ancient Egyptians finished the monument and fitted its two and a half million blocks in a quarter of a century has long remained an enigma. Today the secrets of the pyramid are finally being revealed thanks to a series of new findings. At the foot of the monument, archaeologists are uncovering the last surviving relic of the pharaoh Khufu, whose tomb it is: a huge ceremonial boat buried in flat-pack form for more than 4500 years. It's a clue that points to the important role that ships and water could have played in the pyramids' construction. This documentary follows investigations that reveal how strong the link between pyramids and boats is. It's a story of more than how Egypt built a pyramid: it's about how the pyramid helped build the modern world.
Has the famed Egyptian beauty, Queen Nefertiti, been found in a secret chamber deep in the Valley of the Kings? A Discovery Channel Quest expedition led by Dr. Joann Fletcher and a team of internationally renowned scientists from the University of York Mummy Research Team hopes to find out. If they find her, it will be one of the greatest archaeological discoveries since Nefertiti's stepson, King Tutankhamen, was discovered in 1922. The "Great Royal Wife" of the renegade Akhenaten, Nefertiti was a mother of six who helped lead a religious revolution that changed Egypt and the world forever. Yet after her death, her enemies destroyed all evidence of her life. Now, drawing on 13 years of research, Fletcher and her team bring Nefertiti's turbulent reign to life like never before with cutting-edge computer animations to recreate ancient Egypt's great temples, x-rays to reveal the telltale signs of foul play on her mummy, and forensic graphics to recreate the mummy's face.
Stunning new archaeological evidence provides clues about the Egyptians who built the Great Pyramid of Giza--and how they did it. Join researchers as they delve into the logbook of a work crew and discover how the massive project transformed Egypt.
Explores the Pyramids of Giza as Egyptologists try to unravel the mysteries and decipher the clues behind these stone giants built over 4,500 years ago.
They are some of the biggest pyramids on the planet, millions of tons of stone and earth towering above the landscape in a display of massive wealth and power. But it wasn't the pharaohs that built these pyramids. This is the majestic ancient city of Teotihuacán, Mexico, home to one of the most powerful civilizations of its time. But why, around 750 AD, did the advanced civilization that created Teotihuacán suddenly vanish? The identities of its founders, the language they spoke and even the original name of the city are all unknown. DNA analysis of bodies from Teotihuacán shows they weren't Mayan, Incan or Aztec, but an entirely different civilization. It was assumed to have been a peaceful, utopian society, but the latest discoveries are revealing a much darker scenario. In the depths of Teotihuacán's pyramids, experts have uncovered vault after vault filled with curious human remains.
For centuries, the Great Pyramids have fascinated Mankind. Patrice Pooyard's The Revelation Of The Pyramids reveals what lies behind the greatest of archaeological mysteries: a message of paramount importance for humanity. From China to Peru, from Egypt to Mexico, through the world's most enigmatic and most beautiful sites, the director has spent 6 years meeting eminent scientific specialists and verifying his discoveries. The result will shake the teaching of history to its very core, and revolutionize Egyptology entirely. A great odyssey along a breathtaking route climaxes in a revelation as unexpected as it is staggering.
A debate rages over the credibility of the Bible. Most archaeologists today have concluded that there's no evidence that the Exodus of Israelite slaves from Egypt ever happened. Filmmaker Timothy Mahoney faces a crisis of faith: "Is this foundation event of the Bible really just a myth?" He embarks on a 12-year journey around the world to search for answers. The Exodus unlocks the mystery of this ancient saga, combining a scientific investigation with a retelling of the Exodus story to reveal an amazing pattern of evidence matching the biblical account that may challenge our understanding of history.