Unearthed - Series Three

The Vikings are famous as marauding pirates but why did they also build monumental fortresses?

Archaeologists are investigating the great ring fort at Trelleborg in Denmark built at the end of the Viking Age. This huge circular structure lay hidden for more than a thousand years beneath the frozen soil of Denmark. Now new discoveries across the Viking world are revealing more about the story of Harold Bluetooth - the great king who united Viking people – and what brought the Vikings’ reign of terror to an end.

For 5000 years, the incredible Pyramids of Caral lay buried beneath Peru’s desert sands. Today, their discovery has forced archaeologists to rethink the history of civilization in the Americas. They’ve unearthed a lost culture unlike any other - a society based on trade, that apparently grew in peace, not through conquest. A people guided by religious rituals, skilled in engineering and architecture, who battled earthquakes, floods and drought to build their monumental city. How did these people survive in this inhospitable landscape? And could they really be the very first civilization of the Americas?

Thebes – the religious center of ancient Egypt’s New Kingdom. All the great Pharaohs from Ramses II to Tutankhamun worshipped here and were buried in its necropolis - the Valley of the Kings. But why did Egypt’s pharaohs abandon the pyramids and start building temples here at Thebes, 300 miles to the south? Stunning CGI blows apart the city’s great monuments to reveal the secrets of these astonishing structures. How did workers construct the largest religious site in the ancient world? And did the god the pharaohs worshipped here help them rise to power?  

The Statue of Liberty is one of the most famous monuments in the world. But what do we really know about this enigmatic lady? Today investigators are on a quest to uncover the Statue’s secret identity; was she inspired by the Colossus of Rhodes in Greece?  We’ll blow the statue apart with incredible CGI, revealing the amazing engineering hidden beneath her copper robes. Archaeological discoveries in the ground beneath her feet provide a unique insight into the history of North America; and using a facial recognition expert we try to answer the immortal question; who’s face is on the statue?

Knossos in Greece – the ruined city of the Minoans, Europe’s first super-power. Immortalized in Greek mythology as the home of the fabled Labyrinth and the Minotaur, Knossos has inspired many legends. But what really went on here 4000 years ago? Stunning CGI strips back the ancient ruins to reveal that truth is stranger than fiction. Ritual sports and secret codes expose an advanced civilization older than the Greeks and Romans. But at the peak of their powers, the Minoans disappeared – why? Evidence for a series of natural catastrophes and human sacrifice could reveal the chaos that ended their world.

The gigantic Moai statues of Easter Island are the legacy of one of the world’s most isolated civilizations: the Rapa Nui. For hundreds of years, they were cut off from the rest of the world by the vast Pacific Ocean, carving more than 900 monoliths using only stone tools. Archaeologists are unearthing evidence of how these unique statues evolved and the Rapa Nui’s incredible bid for survival, trapped on their remote island home. Why did the people of Easter Island carve so many of these magnificent monuments only to pull them down?

Attila the Hun was one of history’s most notorious warlords – but was he really responsible for the fall of the Roman Empire?  His terrifying army of horseback barbarians tore across Europe in the 5^th century – the dying days of the Empire – but for all the tales of rampage and destruction, they left almost no material evidence.  Now new investigations in the German city of Trier – once a capital of the Roman Empire – are revealing more about how a superpower of the ancient world came to its knees and Attila’s legendary reign of terror.

Destroyed by an eruption from Vesuvius in AD 79 and buried beneath rock and ash, the doomed Roman city of Pompeii is one of the greatest treasures of the classical world.  One third of the city has remained untouched ever since its discovery. Now archaeologists are finally digging inside this mysterious sector. New discoveries reveal the horror of the cataclysm that wiped out this metropolis. Can archaeologists answer some of Pompeii’s most enduring mysteries: who founded this city and why did they build it in the blast zone of mainland Europe’s most active volcano?

The Bent Pyramid in Egypt is one of the world’s most mysterious ancient mega-structures. Built by a pharaoh called Snefru, its angle changes half way up. Why does this pyramid have such a bizarre and unique shape? Now archaeologists and engineers investigate the true story of its construction. They crawl inside age-old tunnels to discover its engineering secrets. New discoveries beneath the desert sand reveal the ruins of a magnificent lost temple and an opulent palace fit for a king. Was this strange pyramid always intended to look like this? Or did something go catastrophically wrong? 

The sinking of the Titanic was a maritime tragedy that shocked the world but even after more than one hundred years, no one really knows exactly how she sank.  Today investigators use ingenious technology to discover how an iceberg ripped open the ship’s colossal hull. Scientists smash ice into solid steel in powerful collision tests and nautical experts deploy advanced marine simulation technology to relieve this fateful ship’s final moments.  Why did more than 1500 people lose their lives and can the investigations reveal if there was a way to save almost everyone on board?

China’s Forbidden City is the biggest palace complex the world has ever seen. This immense ‘city within a city’ stands in the heart of Beijing, built by one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history. Why is it so big and how did the emperors use this mega-palace to rule China with an iron fist? Now archaeologists are investigating its secrets and uncovering what lies beneath its massive walls and courtyards. New technology is shedding light on the Forbidden City’s mysteries and the ingenious feats of engineering that have kept this awe-inspiring structure standing for more than half a millennium. 

The Inca Empire was the largest ever to emerge in South America – ruled from a spectacular capital, Cusco. This mysterious city in Peru was said to be so dazzling it had a temple decked in pure gold. Why did the mighty Inca civilization that lived here fall to a handful of Spanish Conquistadors? New evidence - from unearthed mummies to microscopic DNA - reveals the role of this city and sheds new light on the biggest mystery of all: why did the Inca empire come crashing down? 

The great city of Thebes – the heart of ancient Egypt during its most prosperous and powerful age – the New Kingdom. For the pharaohs this was the holiest and most important place in their empire. In the city’s great temple of Karnak, they constructed towering obelisks from single blocks of stone. But how did they do it? In a ground-breaking experiment, archaeologists reconstruct how workers moved and raised these giant 300-ton needles. For centuries, this was the power-base of the pharaohs, but then Egypt fell into decline. In building up Thebes, were the pharaohs sowing the seeds of their own downfall?

Avebury, England is home to the world’s largest stone circle. 5,000 years old and three times larger than nearby Stonehenge, its true purpose and the people who created it have always remained a mystery. Archaeologists find out why it was made, and unearth where these Stone Age builders lived. But there are more wonders in the landscape- experts reveal why one of Britain’s oldest tombs and Europe’s largest prehistoric pyramid were all constructed nearby. Now shocking new discoveries using cutting edge DNA analysis of ancient human remains uncover a new mystery- 4,400 years ago this enigmatic civilization suddenly disappeared. 

Hidden deep inside the Guatemalan jungle lies the lost city of Tikal.  1200 years ago it was the most important settlement in the Maya world, home to more than 100,000 people. dominating a network of cities that it was home to over 100,000 people.  

Now a team of experts unlock Tikal's mysteries to reveal how it rose from jungle backwater to Maya superpower.

They uncover the ingenious engineering inside Temple IV - the tallest structure the Maya ever built; how Tikal's inhabitants thrived in times of drought; and the reason behind its sudden transformation into a ghost town.