Secrets of the Dead

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.