Come back with us to Ancient Greece, 2,500 Years ago to the original Olympic Games. The ancient Games, like our modern Olympics, included champions and cheaters, glory and scandals, bitter rivalries and contests of strength, speed and savage combat. Set in 448 BC when the pounding of horse's hooves and the brutal hand-to-hand combat could be heard and seen by the crowds that filled the Olympic stadium. This one-hour special event follows the glory and corruption of the arc of a single, five-day Olympiad. The competitions include chariot racing, running, jumping, discus, javelin and two man-to-man combat finals-boxing and pankration, a form of extreme fighting in which death was not uncommon. With the help of sports historians and great athletes such as George Chuvalo and Olympic medallists Donovan Bailey and Angela Schneider, viewers travel back to a very different life-in a very different world.

Outside the Sudanese capital Khartoum, the remains of an ancient city stand in the desert. Are you ready to dive beneath the pyramids of Sudan's black pharaohs?

In this gripping investigation, archaeologist Pepi Papakosta is on a hunt for Alexander the Great's lost tomb, and she makes an extraordinary discovery.

The story of the Trojan Horse is probably one of the most famous stories ever told: after ten years of bloody war, the Greek coalition decides to lift the siege and depart, but not before leaving at the gates a huge wooden horse, which the Trojans confidently lead into the city. A few hours later, the once invincible Troy goes up in flames. What exactly happened? Is this myth true or false?

With over 60 tombs, the Valley of the Kings is the most-famous burial ground on Earth. In the biggest Egyptian excavation ever, a team of archaeologists led by Zahi Hawass heads into the Western Valley to hunt for evidence of an undiscovered tomb.

This historical drama tells the story of Qin Shihuang, who unified China's vast territory and declared himself emperor in 221 B.C. During his reign, he introduced sweeping reforms, built a vast network of roads and connected the Great Wall of China. From the grandiose inner sanctum of Emperor Qin's royal palace, to fierce battles with feudal kings, this film re-creates the glory and the terror of the Qin Dynasty, including footage of Qin's life-sized terra cotta army, constructed 2,200 years ago for his tomb.

Papyrology expert Margaret Mountford goes in search of the truth behind the legend of Sappho, the most controversial writer of the ancient world and the first authentic woman’s voice in Western history. The mysterious discovery of a lost papyrus containing the words to songs unheard for 1700 years sends Margaret on a journey to discover the truth about Sappho. Was she indeed the first lesbian, a priestess, sex worker, a stern schoolmistress or an aristocratic lady of leisure as readers over the centuries have variously alleged? We ask how each generation’s view of the archetypal liberated woman of letters tells us as much about us and our fears as it does about her.

Shocking new evidence of highly advanced civilizations mounts as previously unexplored regions of the earth reveal mind boggling artifacts that defy all convention and utterly mystify today's academic and scientific factions. It's clear there are massive gaps between our current understanding of the cosmos and the origins of humanity and that of ancient civilizations that existed before "recorded history". Experience unprecedented relics and artifacts that force us to re-evaluate the mainstream dogma of who we are and where we came from.

Starting from the colonial city of Trujillo, this documentary reveals natural and archeological features along the north coast of Peru, where the Moche culture thrived from the 1st Century BC to the 6th Century AD.

In the Formative Period 4,000 years before the Incas and the arrival of the Conquistadors, Peru’s earliest civilizations - the Chavín, Caral, Ventarrón, Sechin, Cupisnique, and Cajamarca cultures - built centers of learning and technological achievements, including the largest work of hydrological engineering in the ancient Americas: the Cumbemayo canals.

The location of the sanctuary of Artemis at Amarynthos has long remained one of the last great archaeological enigmas of Ancient Greece. This vast Artemision is mentioned in several ancient texts, which even go so far as to specify the distance that separates the sanctuary from the ancient city of Eretria. But despite the efforts of numerous scientific expeditions since the end of the 19th century, no trace of the sanctuary or its temple has ever been found. In the 1960s, a young archaeologist - Denis Knoepfler - set out in search of the lost temple of Artemis. His investigations soon led him into the hinterland of the island of Euboea, well beyond the limits of previous expeditions. It would take five decades of searching, unshakeable faith and moving tons of earth to finally unravel the mystery. In 2017, a tenacious Swiss-Greek team of archaeologists formally identified the sanctuary of Artemis, where Denis Knoepfler had predicted it lay buried.

This is the true and astounding saga of the Spartans at Thermopylae. It is among the greatest tales of war ever recounted. All the glory and grit of these warriors' last stand is captured in this exceptional documentary. It is almost impossible to understand how 300 Spartans managed to hold off the million-man Persian army for even a moment, much less seven days. To a man they paid with their lives but their stunning Last Stand assured that their sacrifice would resonate throughout history. Transporting dramatizations and incisive graphics put you in the heat of the battle and show the lay of the land. The complications and strategies of the conflict are revealed through careful analysis, and critical moments are reconstructed to show exactly what happened. Discover what the Spartans were fighting for, what made them capable of such heroics and what drove them to such sacrifice.