Around 3,600 years ago, reliefs in Egyptian tombs and temples depict pharaohs and warriors proudly riding into battle on horse-drawn chariots. Some historians claim that the chariot launched a technological and strategic revolution, and was the secret weapon behind Egypt’s greatest era of conquest known as the New Kingdom. But was the Egyptian chariot really a revolutionary design? How decisive a role did it play in the bloody battles of the ancient world? In Building Pharaoh’s Chariot, a team of archaeologists, engineers, woodworkers, and horse trainers join forces to build and test two highly accurate replicas of Egyptian royal chariots. They discover astonishingly advanced features, including spoked wheels, springs, shock absorbers, anti-roll bars, and even a convex shaped rear mirror, leading one of them to compare the level of design to the engineering standards of 1930’s-era Buicks! By driving the pair of replicas to their limits in the desert outside Cairo, NOVA’s experts test the claim that the chariot marks a crucial turning point in ancient military history.
Subjects: History
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NOVA: Who Killed Lindbergh’s Baby
In the aftermath of his 1927 solo transatlantic flight, Colonel Charles Augustus Lindbergh-Lucky Lindy-became the most famous human being on earth. But on the evening of March 1, 1932 Lucky Lindy’s luck ran out. Bold kidnappers snatched his baby son, Charlie, from the family home near Hopewell, New Jersey while everyone in the house was awake. Negotiations with the kidnappers stretched out for weeks, but little Charlie never came back. His body was discovered not five miles from Hopewell. A German immigrant, Bruno Richard Hauptmann, was executed for the crime. But was he really guilty? And could there be other kidnappers that were never caught?
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The Churchills
An astounding portrait of one of history’s most important families. They overcame doubters with powerful persuasion. They overthrew enemies with ruthless determination. They overjoyed the public with courageous leadership. The Churchills–regally descended from the first Duke of Marlborough–blended aristocratic privilege with ceaseless ambition to ultimately bring glory to their nation and their name. Special DVD features include: a link to the American Experience Web site; closed captions; and video descriptions. (2.5 hrs on 1 disc)
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Riddles of the Sphinx – Home Use
For 45 centuries, the Great Sphinx has cast its enigmatic gaze over Egypt’s Giza plateau. The biggest and oldest statue in a land of colossal ancient monuments, its scale is staggering: the mighty head towers as tall as the White House while its body is nearly the length of a football field. This strange half-human, half-lion image has inspired countless fantastic theories about its origins. How was it built, and who or what does it represent? Surprisingly, the scribes of the period when it was built-during Egypt’s Old Kingdom-passed over it in silence. Adding to the mystery, archaeologists found that its creators abruptly discarded their tools and abandoned the structure when it was nearly complete. Searching for clues, NOVA’s expert team of archaeologists carries out eye-opening experiments that reveal the techniques and incredible labor that was invested in the carving of this gigantic sculpture. The team also unearths new discoveries about the people who built the Sphinx and why they created such a haunting and stupendous image.
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Riddles of the Sphinx – Public Performance
For 45 centuries, the Great Sphinx has cast its enigmatic gaze over Egypt’s Giza plateau. The biggest and oldest statue in a land of colossal ancient monuments, its scale is staggering: the mighty head towers as tall as the White House while its body is nearly the length of a football field. This strange half-human, half-lion image has inspired countless fantastic theories about its origins. How was it built, and who or what does it represent? Surprisingly, the scribes of the period when it was built-during Egypt’s Old Kingdom-passed over it in silence. Adding to the mystery, archaeologists found that its creators abruptly discarded their tools and abandoned the structure when it was nearly complete. Searching for clues, NOVA’s expert team of archaeologists carries out eye-opening experiments that reveal the techniques and incredible labor that was invested in the carving of this gigantic sculpture. The team also unearths new discoveries about the people who built the Sphinx and why they created such a haunting and stupendous image.
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Ghosts of Machu Picchu – Home Use
Perched atop a mountain crest, mysteriously abandoned more than four centuries ago, Machu Picchu is the most famous archeological ruin in the Western hemisphere and an iconic symbol of the power and engineering prowess of the Inca. In the years since Machu Picchu was discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911, there have been countless theories about this “Lost City of the Incas,” yet it remains an enigma. Why did the Incas build it on such an inaccessible site, clinging to the steep face of a mountain? Who lived among its stone buildings, farmed its emerald green terraces, and drank from its sophisticated aqueduct system? NOVA joins a new generation of archeologists as they probe areas of Machu Picchu that haven’t been touched since the time of the Incas and unearth burials of the people who built the sacred site. Ghosts of Machu Picchu explores the extraordinary trail of clues that began on that fateful day in 1911 and continues to the present.
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Ghosts of Machu Picchu – Public Performance
Perched atop a mountain crest, mysteriously abandoned more than four centuries ago, Machu Picchu is the most famous archeological ruin in the Western hemisphere and an iconic symbol of the power and engineering prowess of the Inca. In the years since Machu Picchu was discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911, there have been countless theories about this “Lost City of the Incas,” yet it remains an enigma. Why did the Incas build it on such an inaccessible site, clinging to the steep face of a mountain? Who lived among its stone buildings, farmed its emerald green terraces, and drank from its sophisticated aqueduct system? NOVA joins a new generation of archeologists as they probe areas of Machu Picchu that haven’t been touched since the time of the Incas and unearth burials of the people who built the sacred site. Ghosts of Machu Picchu explores the extraordinary trail of clues that began on that fateful day in 1911 and continues to the present.
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Lost Treasures of Tibet
Join the race against time as art and restoration experts mix history, science, and politics in a complicated and daunting mission to preserve the surviving sacred masterpieces of an ancient Buddhist kingdom. Travel to a remote part of the world for a remarkably rare look at the spectacular art created by a clandestine Buddhist culture. See astonishingly intricate and expressive Medieval wall paintings, woodcarvings, and a gravity-defying monastery built atop a cliff. And watch as science helps reveal vibrantly colored treasures from the past.
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Pocahontas Revealed
On May 13, 1607, three English sailing vessels drop anchor beside a small island fringed by swamps in the James River, Virginia. On board: 104 colonists who will establish the first successful English settlement in the New World at Jamestown. The exploits of one colonist — the brash, swashbuckling John Smith; the venerable chief Powhatan; and his infatuated daughter Pocahontas will be recited, retold, and embroidered until they gather the status of an epic founding myth of the new nation.
Now, 400 years later, science is investigating the truth behind the myth. Virginia archaeologists recently discovered the site of Chief Powhatan’s capital, Werowocomoco, some 17 miles from Jamestown. This is the very spot where the smitten Pocahontas begged her father to spare the neck of the captive John Smith – or so Smith claimed. Join NOVA on this exclusive investigation of the archaeological clues that are revealing the Native American side of the Jamestown story for the first time. -
Lost King of the Maya
In an ancient Mayan arena, enemies of notorious King Yax K’uk Mo square off in a ball game that appears much like modern soccer. But in this fateful contest, winners live- and losers lose their heads. From 200 to 900 A.D., Yax K’uk Mo’s dynasty of Blood Lords presided over the Maya city of Copan, conducting hallucinogenic vision quests, ritual warfare and human sacrifice. Join a team of archaeologists and historians who are piecing together the fascinating rise and fall of this ancient city, its legendary founder, Yax K’uk Mo and its amazingly advanced culture. This set also includes Maya Lords of the Jungle: The civilization of the Maya, which rose out of Central America’s rain forests more than 2000 years ago, grew to dizzying heights of achievement before declining precipitously in the ninth century AD No one yet knows why Maya civilization collapsed, but in Maya Lords of the Jungle, we witness the quest for an answer as archaeologists investigate temples and monuments, piece together the meaning of a complex hieroglyphic language, and analyze Maya trade routes and agricultural techniques. (112 min on 2 DVDs)