Three and a half thousand years ago, the tiny Aegean island of Thera was devastated by one of the worst natural disasters since the Ice Age – a huge volcanic eruption. This cataclysm happened 100km from the island of Crete, the home of the thriving Minoan civilization. Fifty years after the eruption, that civilization was in ruins. Did the volcano deliver a death blow
History - Page 9
Ancient Apocalypse: The Minoans
The Great White Silence
Over one hundred years ago, in July 1910, Captain Robert Falcon Scott set out from England on the ill-fated Terra Nova expedition. Scott’s goal was to be the first to reach the South Pole, at the white heart of Antarctica. For much of his journey, he was accompanied by early film-maker, Herbert Ponting. Ponting’s unique film of that expedition, The Great White
The Dark Lords of Hattusha
The Dark Lords of Hattusha looks at the lost Hittite Empire at around 1595 BC and the deciphering of their language that enabled archaeologists to finally retrace this great lost civilization. From their capital, the Hittites ruled a mighty empire. But, 2,500 years ago, their civilization disappeared and their capital city, Hattusha, was lost to history.
Warrior Empire: The Mughals
Warrior Empire: The Mughals is a sweeping, in-depth portrait of India’s most colorful, violent, and majestic era. From 1526 to 1858, this dynasty of nomadic warriors indulged their appetite for territorial expansion, spreading their rule throughout the Indian subcontinent. Though they conquered their kingdom with crushing brutality, the Mughals were also brilliant
Civilisation
In 1966 BBC Television embarked on its most ambitious documentary series to date. The eminent art historian Lord Clark was commissioned to write and present an epic examination of Western European culture, defining what he considered to be the crucial phases of its development. Civilisation: A Personal View by Lord Clark would be more
Space Race
Space Race is a BBC docudrama series first shown in Britain on BBC2 in 2005, chronicling the major events and characters in the American – Soviet space race up to the first landing of a man on the moon. It focuses on Sergei Korolev, the Soviet chief rocket designer, and Wernher von Braun, his American counterpart. The series was a joint effort between British,
Edwardian Farm
Following on from the hugely successful Victorian Farm, archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn and domestic historian Ruth Goodman now experience life on an Edwardian farm. Following life on the farm over a whole calendar year, Edwardian Farm goes deep into a lost rural world where life was tough and working together was the only means of
Athens: The Truth about Democracy
We choose to forget that in the name of democracy, Athens followed a policy of aggressive overseas expansion and persecuted some of its leading intellectuals. Despite its recent popularity in the West, democracy in ancient Athens did not flourish but quickly died. Bettany Hughes searches for the truth about the Golden Age of Ancient Athens investigating how
Namibia: Genocide and the Second Reich
A hundred years ago, three quarters of the Herero people of the German colony of Namibia were killed, many in concentration camps. Today, the descendants of the survivors are seeking reparations from the German government. This film tells for the first time this forgotten story and its links to German racial theories. Described by the BBC as the story of Germany’s
Iran: Seven Faces of a Civilization
Drawing on historical and archaeological evidence, this fascinating documentary by Dr. Farzin Rezaeian reconstructs 7,000 years of Iranian history. The film’s advanced animation techniques bring ancient wonders to life, giving an unprecedented look at Iran’s historical and cultural achievements. Rezaeian has reconstructed the major