LOST WORLDS
Upcoming episodes
Jun 9th
600a
Braveheart's Scotland
At the end of the 13th century, Scotland was a country under attack. Defeat seemed inevitable. But from nowhere emerged a man who became Scotland's greatest hero--William Wallace, commonly known as Braveheart. Rising from obscurity in a violent age, he became an inspirational leader and national symbol of patriotism and survival. Now, new research allows us to journey back to his world. Traveling down secret pathways that still lie beneath Scotland, we rediscover a surprisingly sophisticated culture that hasn't been seen for 700 years--a world Braveheart died to protect. Uncovering the mysteries beneath Eldersie, we reveal the town that gave rise to the Guardian of Scotland. Restoring the Castle of Lanark to its former glory, we visit the place where he sought revenge for the murder of his wife. And rebuilding Stirling Bridge, we relive Wallace's famous battle against the English army--a turning point in the history of Scotland and the life of its champion.
Jun 12th
100a
Hitler's Supercity
Hitler caused more death and destruction than anyone else in history. But he also planned to build on a massive scale and place a new Germany on a par with ancient Greece and Rome. Our investigators piece together a picture of how Hitler wanted Germany to look from the ruins of what was built and from plans of his architect Albert Speer. In Nuremberg, we recreate the Zeppelin Tribune: where 60,000 people could overlook a parade ground. We reveal the real purpose of the stadium Speer planned to hold the Olympic Games--with seating for 405,000 people. And we rebuild, with computer-generated images based on Speer's plans, the monuments Hitler planned for himself: the Triumphal Arch--twice the height, and four times the width of Paris's Arc de Triomphe--and the People's Hall--a structure so big the Eiffel Tower could fit inside it. Monstrous, intimidating, built on slave labor--this is the Lost World we'd now inhabit if WWII had gone differently.
Jun 12th
200a
Athens - Ancient Supercity
In the 5th century BC, one man leads his city to greatness and paves the way for western civilization. The city is Athens and Pericles is not a King or prince, but an elected man. He will mastermind the most costly and ambitious construction campaign undertaken in the western world - creating a model city of temples, houses, market places, civic buildings and a highly innovative sanitation system. But Pericles' decision to raid the Greek treasury and take the money set aside to defend all the city states will lead to the downfall of Athens and Pericles himself. It took thirty years to build, but it was brought down in one generation by war and disease. Now, two and half thousand years later we restore Athens to its former glory, we experience impregnable fortifications; the first senate house; the terrifying power of the Greek Navy; and one of the most advanced water systems in the world.
Jun 12th
300a
Knights Templar, The
A team of experts goes to modern-day Syria to look at what remains of the Templars' world, centered around the city of Tortosa. They piece together the clues left on the ground to recreate entire castles, great halls, and cathedrals in detail, adding depth to our knowledge of how the Templars lived. Along the way, get a detailed history lesson covering their battle techniques; their development of the first multi-national banking system; their secretive rituals, which are alleged to have involved severed heads and homosexual activity; their most prized possessions; their untimely demise at the hands of the Muslims; and their rude reception back in the Christian world, which saw their Grand Master ultimately burned at the stake and others strung up by the genitals. It's the ultimate world of greed, secrets, violence, and power, and it's re-built in all its glory in Lost Worlds: The Knights Templar.
Jun 12th
400a
Secret Cities Of The A-Bomb
In 1939 a group of scientists - Albert Einstein among them - warned President Roosevelt, of the possibility that Hitler's Germany might be close to producing an atomic bomb. Roosevelt issued an order - whatever it takes, the US has to be the first to develop an atomic bomb. And within three years they were well on their way to creating a hidden world of secret cities and classified nuclear facilities, built inside America. 400,000 people were part of it - though only a handful really knew the truth. Six decades later, a team of experts return to the once-classified sites where the course of history was decided. In top secret cities and nuclear facilities, they uncover and rebuild this lost world.
Jun 12th
500a
Atlantis
In the heart of the Mediterranean a peaceful island explodes with devastating force - it will be the biggest volcanic eruption in three and a half thousand years of recorded history. At a stroke, an entire civilization is wiped from the face of the earth and lost. All that remains are stories. Then, at the dawn of the twentieth century, the remains of a spectacular palace are discovered on the island of Crete, preserved beneath thousands of tons of volcanic ash. And out of the physical clues lifted from the ash, a radical theory emerges. These ruins could be the home of an ancient civilization: Atlantis. As they uncover a lost world, our investigators find that a palace on Crete and a town on Santorini are linked by the unique engineering of their buildings. Rebuilding incredible towns, temples, and the palace of Atlantis as described by Plato and uncovered by 21st century archaeologists, we reveal the majesty and the mystery of this lost world.
Jun 12th
600a
First Christians, The
A team of field investigators uncovers the clues that will recreate vanished or hidden worlds. They use the latest research, expert analysis and cutting edge graphic technology to take us back. The 1st century AD. In the aftermath of Jesus' crucifixion barely a hundred of his followers survive. Persecuted by the authorities, they are a cult on the verge of extinction. Yet within a few decades the new religion of Christianity will have thousands of believers spread around the Mediterranean and across the Roman Empire. The man responsible is St Paul. Once a fanatical persecutor of Jesus' followers, he undergoes a miraculous conversion, and gives his life to spreading the gospel. We revisit the places that were first to hear Paul's message and were altered forever.
Jun 13th
600a
Pagans, The
A team of field investigators uncovers the clues that will recreate vanished or hidden worlds. They use the latest research, expert analysis and cutting edge graphic technology to take us back. Five thousand years ago in the late Stone Age, before the pyramids of Egypt were built, the pagan people of the British Isles constructed some of the greatest monuments of the ancient world. Across the country fabulous constructions of wood, earth and stone were rising. We enter the world of their builders. We travel from the ancient stone villages of the Orkney Islands, off the north coast of Scotland, to Stonehenge, in Southern England. Lost Worlds reveals a startling new theory about the role that this extraordinary structure played in the lives of the people who erected it. Using computer animation we reconstruct the monument as it appeared to those people. We then trace a forgotten ancient pathway to Stonehenge's lost twin - Woodhenge.
Jun 14th
600a
Jekyll & Hyde
One of the most frightening horror stories ever written was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Was this story, however, Robert Louis Stevenson's disturbing fantasy or was it based on a series of blood-curdling episodes that took place in the town of Edinburgh? Follow a team of historical detectives who use evidence from recent excavations and historical documents to look under the grand fa?ßade of Edinburgh. Watch as an underworld of streets and houses with a blood-soaked history of grave robbers, body-snatchers and unspeakable crimes is uncovered. Computer graphics allows the viewer to fly over, enter the streets, walk through the halls and peer into the Edinburgh of long ago.
Jun 15th
600a
Al Capone's Secret City
Al Capone's, rise to power coincided with the notorious 'Roaring Twenties' period in Chicago. Capone and his fellow mobsters flooded the city with bootleg liquor, while buying off government officials. Follow a team of historical detectives as they travel back to a time of unimaginable wealth, speakeasies, and ruthless mobsters. Using evidence from excavations, scientific studies and historical documents watch as the team piece together clues as to what 1920's Chicago looked like. Computer graphics allow viewers to fly over, enter the streets, and walk through the halls of this era.