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6 Episodes 2025 - 2025
Episode 1
Peruvian burial mounds at Huaca Rajada and San José de Moro reveal Peruvian elite, honoured after death with ceramics, jewels, and other grave goods. But a recurring scene etched into Moche artifacts suggests a darker vision of mortality and ceramic cups pulled from the San José do Moro burial mound test positive for human blood. In one of the driest places on Earth, ancient boats hold a startling discovery: 4,000 year-old mummies, carefully preserved by nature. Foreign textiles suggest the dead may have been travellers. Are these the bodies of migrants or Silk Road traders? All across Europe, archaeologists discover an unusual burial custom that emerged around 500 AD. Men, women, and children are buried in their beds, their bodies posed as if they are sleeping. In England, the practice is limited to women. How does a single relic, plucked from one of these burials, unlock the mystery of bed burials?
Episode 2
47 mins
Although archaeologists have uncovered many burials from the Holocene era, one remains unique. In a cave on the Indonesian island of Alor, the 8,000 year old remains of a child are found, buried with obvious ceremony. Its positioning is unique, but its adornments and disarticulations bear a strange resemblances to adult Holocene burials across Southeast Asia. How did these practices spread and who was this special child? During excavations near the ancient Greek city of Paestum, a necropolis is uncovered. Though it is Greek in origin, its frescoes bear no reference to the gods of the Greek pantheon. What can be learned about the tomb's mysterious origins and occupant? Under the rolling hills of the Old American Northwest are expansive burial mounds built by the indigenous community now known as the Hopewell. Precise geometry, advanced engineering, and perfect astronomical orientation underlie massive structures that now shelter ancestral remains. Were these mounds once the ancient epicenters of trade and worship?
Episode 3
47 mins
Perched on the cliffs of the Cordillera Mountain range on the island of Luzon are the hanging coffins of the Igorot people. Hoisted high after death to be with the sky gods, Igorot communities have been engaging in this sky-high death ritual for more than two millennia. Under the bustling city of Alexandria lie the silent catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa. Mysterious sarcophagi, a feast hall, and perplexing iconography lead archaeologists through a time line of Egyptian upheaval. Elaborate burial mounds scattered across the Central Asian Steppe remember the Scythians, a warring nomad people deeply tied to war and to nature. Who were these ancient warriors on horseback, and why did they build these hulking formations to honour their dead?
Episode 4
47 mins
In life, the Lycians were a formidable civilization. In death, their power was put on full display with soaring tombs carved into limestone cliffs overlooking the sea. Though these cities in the sky have been looted over millennia, the ornate facades provide clues to long-lost civilization. The indigenous Lhop of Bhutan send their loved ones off with feasts and intricate ceremonies. Fearing vengeful spirits, every rite is fraught with peril. As the Lhop lay the dead to rest in stone rombu, they proffer offerings and pleas to leave the living in peace. In Sudan, archaeologists encounter a sea of small pyramids built by the ancient Nubians. Though the tombs seem to emulate those of the Egyptian pharaohs, closer inspection reveals curious differences.
Episode 5
47 mins
On an ancient lake bed in southern Sweden, archaeologists find 8,000 year-old shattered skulls. Although the injuries suggest these humans died a violent death, the placement of the bones and the presence of grave goods suggest otherwise. Under modern-day Mexico City lies what's left of a lost capital: Tenochtitlan, the centerpiece of the Aztec Empire. Pulled from the ruins of their most important temple, the Templo Mayor, skeletons and skull racks seem to corroborate the claims of Spanish Conquistadors encountering a bloodthirsty culture engaged in human sacrifice. Modern archaeology provides a more nuanced picture. On the outskirts of the Israeli town of Yavneh, an ancient kiln serves as a makeshift tomb for two women buried centuries apart. Ceramics, amulets, and nearby donkey burials provide clues to the identities of the dead.
Episode 6
47 mins
Hidden away in caves in the Canary Islands are all that remains of the Guanche people, a civilization decimated by Spanish conquest. Mysterious mummification methods preserve organs, skin, and even hair, giving historians a glimpse into a lost civilization. Scattered around the tombs of ancient Japanese emperors and kings are mysterious figurines made of clay. Taking on the aspect of people, animals, and structures, what do the Haniwa figurines tell us about ancient Japanese beliefs surrounding the afterlife? Under iconic stones dotting the English countryside are the cremated remains of Neolithic and Bronze Age men, women, and children alongside a host of grave goods. The find adds yet another perplexing facet to the mystery of Stonehenge and Europe's megaliths.