The biggest building programme since the pyramids. He was Ramesses the II, and his crowning glory was the construction of a magnificent new capital city Pi-Ramesses. A city that vanished from history. Ancient Mysteries s1e2: The Lost City of the Pharaohs
Excavations have uncovered an important military base from the reign of Ramesses II … a great city lay hidden beneath the fields. ibid.
The tomb of the boy-king Tutankhamun – one of the most incredible discoveries in the history of archaeology … But the tomb is only full of mysteries that have baffled scholars. Ancient Mysteries s1e3: King Tut’s Tomb: The Hidden Chamber
Some archaeologists believe they’ve found just 1% of this once great empire. Beneath Egyptian sands lie lost cities, forgotten tombs, even buried pyramids. Egypt’s Lost Cities, BBC 2013
Satellite technology has changed everything. ibid.
Many sorts of inanimate object were manufactured during the fascist era … Such potent symbols of modernity and the fast life. Jonathan Meades, Ben Building, Mussolini, Monuments and Modernism, BBC 2016
In time, the buildings made in fascist Italy will be purged of their fascist links. ibid.
Flaming Star: The story of one man’s search for vengeance in the raw and violent world of international archaeology. Monty Python’s Flying Circus s2e8: Archaeology Today, BBC 1970
In 1912 the skull and bone fragments of what was thought to be a prehistoric man were discovered in a gravel pit in Sussex in England. What became known as the Piltdown Man was claimed to be one of the most important archaeological finds of all time: but was it genuine or was it a carefully engineered hoax? History’s Greatest Hoaxes s1e6: Piltdown Man
In 1915 Charles Dawson claimed to have found three fragments of a second skull called Piltdown 2 at a new site, Sheffield Park, about 2 miles away from the original find. ibid.
In the heart of Europe there is a treacherous landscape with a dark secret: humans from the depths of prehistory: their blackened skin and flame-red hair tell a gruesome tale of murder. These are the bog bodies. For decades these preserved ancient people have baffled archaeologists. Ancient Mysteries s2e7: Bog Bodies, Channel 5 2017
Dozens of similar bodies have been found. ibid.
Part of an ancient religious ceremony … of human sacrifice. ibid.
Eden: The original Biblical paradise … A prehistoric structure uncovered in Turkey has rocked the foundations of stone-age anthropology. Could the Bible’s oldest story actually be rooted in reality? Ancient Mysteries s2e8: Garden of Eden
Rocks protruding from the ground on a mound called Gobekli Tepe. ibid.
A 22-acre site composed entirely of circles built in stone. ibid.
There’s always been one of human history that has really captured my imagination. I’m talking about ancient Egypt. Almost a hundred years ago Howard Carter and his discovery of Tutankhamun crowned a golden age of tomb exploration. But right now the archaeologists are back. And the world of Egyptian tombs is as exciting as ever. Tony Robinson, Egyptian Tomb Hunting, Channel 5 2018
Some remarkable tomb discoveries which I’m about to join … John and Maria have been systematically revealing a large burial ground known as a necropolis … ibid.
I was hunting for the men and women who built ancient Egypt when Egypt was at the peak of its powers and the tombs were spectacular. ibid.
‘About 120 [pyramids] all around Egypt.’ ibid. expert
Summer 1939: a golden age of exploration and archaeology is coming to an end. It was an era that saw adventurers set out to explore the remotest corners of the globe in search of clues to unlock our ancient past. And it was during that last summer of peace as the world stood on the precipice of a war that threatened to end civilisation itself, that three extraordinary treasures were discovered, treasures that would radically change our understanding of the origins and diversity of human culture. And bring us closer to our distant past. Janina Ramirez, Raiders of the Lost Past I, BBC 2019
The discovery of an incredible Anglo-Saxon ship burial in Suffolk, dating from the early seventh century AD. The final resting place of a supremely wealthy warrior king. ibid.
The single greatest archaeological discovery ever made in England: the Sutton-Hoo hoard. ibid.
Ship burials are incredibly rare in Britain: there are only two others ever discovered at this time. ibid.
Oserberg ship, Norway, excavated 1904-1905. ibid.
Treasures of unimaginable quality emerged thick and fast. ibid.
These Saxons and Angles came together and gave us the basis of the English language. ibid.
A pair of spectacular shoulder clasps. ibid.
The miraculous story of the hoard’s survival. ibid.
This was Page One of England’s history. ibid.
I’ll be on the trail of a cast of remarkable archaeologists each a product of their era: from a self-taught amateur to a pair of charismatic adventurers. And an academic driven by a dark political agenda. They are fascinating tales of intuition, eccentricity and luck. Janina Ramirez, Raiders of the Lost Past II
I come to the caves of southern Germany where just a week before hostilities began, an ice-age treasure from our distant past emerged from the gloom … Carved from a single piece of mammoth ivory, this half-human half-animal is a modest work of art by modern standards, but it makes a revolution in the human story. ibid.
Numerous chance discoveries across eight decades, discoveries that at times seem to defy belief … The oldest known representational work of art in human history. ibid.
Volgelherd Cave 1931 excavation: It seems we were brilliant artists from the very beginning … There are exquisitely carved mammoths, and powerful muscular lions, an array of tiny masterpieces. ibid.
In the late 1950s as Germany rebuilt after the War, Robert Wetzel was back at the Stadal cave … He completely ignored the exciting find made by his team in the summer of 1939. ibid.
What would become known as the Lion-Man … It caused a sensation … It required a high degree of technical skill. ibid.
In the caves of the Swabian Jura archaeologists have uncovered not only the earliest examples of representational art but the first evidence we have of music. ibid.
I’ve come to Mexico where just before the outbreak of war stunning examples of Meso-American art began to emerge from the jungle … These remarkable colossal heads heralded the discovery of a lost world. It was a culture that turned out to be larger and more magnificent than anyone could have imagined. Nothing like this had ever been found in the Americas before. Janina Ramirez, Raiders of the Lost Past III
The state of Veracruz: I’m following in the footsteps of two of America’s greatest pre-war archaeologists: husband and wife team Matthew & Marion Stirling … The Olmec: they built the very first pyramids, palaces and planned cities. ibid.
At the same time as ancient Egypt the Olmecs flourished here. ibid.
Wonderful symbol of the jaguar … repeating throughout Olmec art. ibid.
We see the barbaric up against the civilised. ibid.
The oldest tomb ever found in Meso-America. ibid.
Masterpieces in jade … The complexity of Olmec society … sourced from elsewhere … Jade was the most precious commodity in the Olmec era. ibid.
[Olmec] Accomplished wood carvers. ibid.
The story of a rebel archaeologist who in 1961 made a discovery that should be as famous as Pompeii: in central Turkey James Mellaart cracked the mystery of when humanity made its first leap out of the Stone Age into the urban living we made today. What he found was the world’s oldest city. Raiders of the Lost Past with Janina Ramirez s2e3: World’s Oldest City, BBC 2021
His own reputation lies in tatters. Mellaart became engulfed in scandal, accused of forging evidence and stealing from his own sites. ibid.
Jimmy had overturned the idea that there was just one cradle of civilisation. ibid.
It was one of the most remarkable finds in modern archaeology: the giant statue of a pharaoh buried deep beneath a Cairo suburb. But this was a king unlike any other. Experts believe they have found the colossus of a game-changing Egyptian pharaoh. He was a Pharaoh that rescued his crumbling country from vicious invaders, brought a new golden era to ancient Egypt and left a legacy that shaped Western civilisation for millennia. The Pharaoh in the Suburbs, Channel 5 2019
Ramasses the Great: In the 13th century BC he ruled Egypt for 66 years … and left vast monuments to himself throughout the land. ibid.
Moved to its new home at the Cairo museum where archaeologists could finally get a closer look … But a series of hieroglyphs revealed a name almost erased from history. ibid.
‘A pharaoh we know today as Psamtik I. This is a name almost unknown except to Egyptologists.’ ibid. archaeologist
The pharaoh had become an international statesman … Psamtik was now trading with his Mediterranean neighbours and Egypt had a wealth of assets to export … Once again Egypt was the most powerful country in the Mediterranean. So how did the greatest symbol of this revered leader end up discarded in a muddy hole, shattered in a thousand pieces? ibid.