Naked History – Unearthed

Abydos, southern Egypt – two colossal temples rise up from the barren desert. They are built by Egypt’s mightiest pharaohs Seti I and Ramses the Great, miles from their capital. Why do they raise these huge monuments here? On a quest for answers, investigators use drone imaging to trace clues deep into the desert. Experts venture inside Egypt’s most bizarre subterranean megastructure for the first...

Rising up from the sparkling waters of the Nile, stands Philae – a stunning templecomplex on a remote island at the southern tip of Egypt. Today, investigators decode ancient inscriptions and use drone technology to discover why this secluded sanctuary attracted the greatest leaders of the ancient world, from pharaohs to Roman emperors. Hidden messages reveal traces of a hostile takeover, and unde...

Next door to the Valley of the Kings, lies an even more enigmatic necropolis - the Valley of the Queens. Investigators have unearthed 90 tombs here and are piecing together the truth of these forgotten rulers. Do these royal women hold more power than previously believed? How does one Queen manage to become a Pharaoh? And why are so many tombs catastrophically damaged? Now, investigators venture d...

The ancient city of Persepolis – in the mountains of Iran – is the capital of the first world empire, Persia. What can it reveal about the scale of this imperial powerhouse? Iranian archaeologist Ali Asadi investigates the ruins to reveal magnificent palaces, halls, and military quarters. How do the Persians conquer most of the known ancient world? And how do they control it for over two centuries...

Mount Nemrut - a mysterious sky-scraping monument perched high in the Taurus mountains of southeastern Turkey.  Giant decapitated statues surround an enormous man-made mountain summit. But why was Mount Nemrut built?  And how? Today, archaeologists decode ancient inscriptions to discover the purpose of this bizarre megastructure, and reveal the identity of the King who ordered its constr...

The Pyramid of Lahun – is this the strangest pyramid of all? Rising 160 feet above Egypt’s Western Desert, yet it’s once encircled by water, making it look as if it floats. It’s the brainchild of Pharaoh Senusret II, who builds it to overlook an oasis he creates to channel water from the Nile and help feed Egypt’s hungry millions. The pharaoh uses ground-breaking technology to stop the pyramid fro...

Deep in the Iraqi desert, lies the great Ziggurat of Ur. Long off-limits in a violent warzone, now we have exclusive access to explore these 4000-year-old ruins. What did the ziggurat look like in its prime? Is this lost city home to the first civilization ever known: the Sumerians of Mesopotamia? We reconstruct the ziggurat - revealing a shimmering white shrine on its summit, aligned with the moo...

On the coast of Greece lie the ruins of the world’s oldest sunken city: Pavlopetri. 500 years before the Pyramids, people build a metropolis here. It is shrouded in secrets.  Pavlopetri is not mentioned in historical records and has baffled archaeologists for decades. What is this mysterious city? Who lives here? And why is it submerged? Now a change in sea currents exposes Pavlopetri for the...

At the heart of England’s capital city soars a mega castle with a dark and mysterious past – the Tower of London.  Throughout the centuries the Tower of London is a place of execution and torture, a royal palace, an armoury and home to the Kings’ and Queens’ crown jewels. We uncover beheaded skeletons, hidden for centuries, to unearth the dark secrets of the bloody Torture Tower. Learn more a...

In 1998 a ferocious storm uncovers a mysterious wooden timber circle hidden beneath beach sands for almost 4000 years: Seahenge. But who is behind this unusual structure? Today archaeologists are utilising innovative technology and cutting-edge science to help uncover the secrets behind this ancient monument. They discover a group of people from mainland Europe build this timber circle. But these...

Hierapolis, in Western Turkey, is an extraordinary Roman city perched on top of dazzling white rock formations. This city hides a dark secret: the Romans believe it’s home to the Gate to Hell.  Ancient historians describe a dark cave filled with vapour where animals mysteriously drop dead. But where is this deadly grotto, and what is killing the animals?  Today, experts use the latest te...

King Midas: everything he touches turns to gold. But is the legend true? Now, investigators working at the ancient city of Gordion, modern-day Turkey, are shedding new light on the story. They discover Midas is a real king, the ruler of the Kingdom of Phrygia in the eighth century BC, a major power whose troops fight in the Trojan War. The kingdom is extraordinarily wealthy, the product of its pos...

Venice is one of the world’s most iconic cities. Built on unstable islands in a lagoon, it seems to defy the laws of physics. Can its ancient origins reveal why it is created here and how it is still standing?  Today scientists use pioneering technology to scan the canals, and dive into the lagoon to hunt for clues to Venice’s dark history. How does the city become so powerful? And how will scient...

The Pantheon is ancient Rome’s best-preserved monument. From its record-breaking concrete dome roof, with a 30-foot-wide hole in the center, to its curved marble floor and 25 feet thick walls, the Pantheon is a marvel of ancient engineering. Now, new evidence beneath the streets of Rome reveals clues to the Pantheon’s original purpose. Can pioneering 3D scanning reveal who builds this ancient wond...

Buried deep in Santorini’s picturesque cliffs, are the ruins of Akrotiri – a mysterious civilization wiped out by a volcanic eruption 100 times more powerful than Pompeii. Today, investigators use innovative underwater robots and dive beneath the waves to hunt for evidence of this ancient eruption. Using immersive CGI to break apart the island, and reconstruct the magnificent homes, we unearth fre...

Egypt – a country covered by desert. But could tantalizing clues suggest the success of this ancient civilisation is down to their mastery of the water? Today, investigators hunt for evidence across Egypt: from an underground shipyard near the Red Sea; to a vast waterfront at the Giza pyramids; and the discovery of the “Venice of Egypt” in the Nile delta. Using pioneering radar technology, marine...

The Black Pyramid is one of Egypt’s strangest pyramids - a crumbling ruin on the surface, it hides a pristine network of tunnels and chambers beneath. Today, investigators venture inside it for the first time, to hunt for clues of the pharaoh that builds it and discover what causes it to collapse. An ancient map beside the pyramid leads to a second pyramid 40 miles away - could this be the pharaoh...

The Twin Towers are two of the world’s most iconic skyscrapers. Remembered for their tragic final moments – this film delves deeper to uncover their surprising history and incredible inventions, to become the tallest buildings on the planet. Today, investigators have rare behind-the-scenes access to the 9/11 site, to uncover the towers’ little-known stories. Experts use pioneering laser technology...

The city of Babylon in modern-day Iraq. It is the capital of a vast empire and described by ancient writers as the home of many architectural wonders: The Tower of Babel, the Hanging Gardens, and the Ishtar Gate. But what is the reality behind the many legends? Can the ancient Babylonians really build such huge structures? How does this city become so rich and powerful? And why does the Bible desc...

Saqqara – a royal necropolis near Cairo, that’s been burying ancient Egypt’s ruling dynasties for centuries. It’s the site of the first-ever pyramid – the Step Pyramid of Djoser, one of the rulers of the Old Kingdom. But why did Egyptians start erecting pyramids? How did they build in stone, with such limited technology and resources? What happened to Djoser’s body after his death? And what can po...

Dozens of pyramids rise from the scorched, desert landscape of North Africa. But this is not Egypt – it’s Sudan, hundreds of miles to the south. Why are there pyramids here? Who built them? And what are they for? Investigators uncover the hidden story of the Kingdom of Kush, a state locked into a fluctuating rivalry with its mighty neighbour, Egypt. At times Kush is a client state of Egypt, supply...

The Bermuda Triangle – a mysterious patch of the Atlantic Ocean, where fact seems stranger than fiction. Here, planes and ships simply disappear from the face of the earth... So, why did a USAF training flight vanish off the coast of Florida, leaving behind not a trace of wreckage? Can a strange metallic rock really lure ships to their doom in the waters around Bermuda? What alien-like substance c...

It was the biggest aircraft ever flown, the size of four Jumbo Jets; the pride of Hitler’s Nazi air fleet. But when the airship Hindenburg exploded in a gigantic ball of fire over New Jersey in May 1937, it also became one of the most shocking images ever filmed. What caused the disaster? Was it the victim of sabotage, as the American authorities thought? A fatal flaw in its cutting-edge design? A...

It’s one of the most iconic structures in the United States – the giant granite faces of four American presidents, staring out from the side of Mount Rushmore. But how do you carve faces out of a mountain? Why is the site in South Dakota? What lies hidden behind the faces, buried deep within the rock? Today, investigators are piecing together the true story of Mount Rushmore – and discovering that...

Troy – the legendary city that’s said to be the scene of the Trojan War, immortalised by Homer is his epic poem, the Iliad. A war that’s said to have lasted ten years and ended by perhaps the most famous trick in history – the Trojan Horse. But do ancient ruins on the Western shores of modern-day Turkey show that Troy once really existed? Can archaeological finds at the site provide evidence for a...