Secrets of the Dead

A Gruesome Discovery in Rural Poland

Residents of the rural Polish town of Pień have long avoided a particular hill in the village – and in 2022, a team of archaeologists led by Dariusz Poliński and Magdalena Zagrodzka learned why. They discovered the body of a woman buried with a sickle across her neck, and a triangular padlock attached to her toe. Had they dug up a gruesome crime scene – or evidence of the supernatural?

A Gruesome Discovery in Rural Poland

2m 50s

  • Picturing Shakespeare: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Picturing Shakespeare

    S23 E2 - 55m 15s

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  • Chasing the Plague: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Chasing the Plague

    S22 E10 - 55m 15s

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  • Cracking the Queen's Code: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Cracking the Queen's Code

    S22 E9 - 55m 15s

    In early 2023, three amateur codebreakers announced they had successfully decoded the secret correspondence of one of the most tragic characters in European history: Mary, Queen of Scots. 57 encrypted letters detail the exiled queen’s efforts to free herself from imprisonment and gain advantage over her rival, Queen Elizabeth. Now, after four centuries, Mary’s urgent pleas can be revealed.

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