Around 1500 BC, the great Minoan civilization thrived on the islands of Minos (modern-day Crete) and Thera (modern-day Santorini, for St. Irene, protectress of the island) in the eastern Mediterranean. An ancient architect conducts a virtual guided tour of the legendary sites at Akrotiri, Phaistos, Ayía Triáda, and Knossos, which culminates in a visit to the palace of King Minos, famous for its legendary labyrinth.
8.30 p.m. |HINT| The Fabulous Centers of Hellenism
Between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC, many cities in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) reached unprecedented artistic levels. They were the new centers of Hellenism--the fruit of the junction of Greek and Eastern civilizations. In this episode, we visit the cities of Ephesus and Pergamum. State-of-the art technology coupled with enhanced 3D graphics allows us to view the cities as only the original inhabitants could as we take a virtual tour of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Leptis Magna, and the Altar of Zeus complex at Pergamum, which the citizens considered a symbol of the cultural supremacy of Hellenistic people over the rest of the world. Features high-end location photography and insights from some of the world's leading archaeological experts.
9.00 p.m. |HISTC| The Tomb of Christ
For centuries, those who visited a certain spot in Jerusalem believed they stood within what was merely a symbolic representation of Jesus Christ’s burial place. But what if the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, an ancient, crumbling structure, actually did house Christ’s tomb? Tomb of Christ explores this possibility using a decade of painstaking research, infra-red thermography and a rigorous archeological technique known as photogrammetry.
9.30 p.m. |HINT| Meet the Ancestors: A Roman Plot
Grand Roman houses once lined Walcot Street in Bath, England--one of which was excavated in 2000, unearthing a surprising discovery. According to Roman rules, burials took place outside built-up areas, so archaeologists were puzzled to find a lead coffin and a wooden one right next to the wall of the house. The burials were aligned on an east-west axis, indicating Christian ritual. We set off to learn more. The trail leads from the bath and temple complex at the heart of the Roman city where Christianity was taking hold, to the last days of Roman rule in Britain. The wooden coffin contained a local-born woman with a simple diet, who broke her right leg some time before death. The lead coffin held a man with a diet high in meat and seafood, suggesting considerable wealth, and genetic analysis reveals DNA markers common to people from Syria. This is the story of these two individuals, who shared a faith and a puzzling burial site in the heart of a once thriving Roman city.
10.00 p.m. |SCI| The Ram
This team of military engineers must recreate a Roman tortoise ram and try to demolish a recreated replica of an ancient city wall. Can they overcome a few obstacles and construct this weapon to breach a 20-feet-high, 12-feet-thick wall?
HINT - History International
HISTC - History Television (Canada)
SCI - Science Channel