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the ancient world on television               august 16-22, 2004
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All times Eastern

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n.b. official descriptions are provided by the respective
networks' websites
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Monday, August 16
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5.00 p.m. |DCIVC| Hidden Treasures: Artifacts and Civilizations
dna

5.30 p.m. |DCIVC| Ancient Clues: The Wounded King
dna

6.00 p.m.|HINT| Pompeii: Buried Alive
Exploration of the archaeological site of the city that was
encrusted by incendiary ash when deadly Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79
AD. Archaeological director Baldasarre Conticello takes viewers on a
tour of Pompeii's ruins, and visits Herculaneum, which was destroyed
by Vesuvius at the same time. 
 
8.00 p.m. |HISTU| Secrets of the Aegean Apocalypse
Around 1,200 BC, an ancient Armageddon destroyed nearly every known
civilization. What could have caused it? The theories are many, but
most now include one mysterious and massively destructive factor--a
force only the Egyptians survived to name: The Sea People. Who were
these warriors and how could they take down the world's greatest
powers in a span of just 50 years? Scale the dizzying heights of
Crete's mountain fortress with archaeologist Krzysztof Nowicki as he
searches for clues.
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Tuesday, August 17
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7.00 p.m. |HINT| King David: Poet Warrior
Did David really slay Goliath? What happened to Israel's archenemy,
the Philistines? Explores these and other fascinating questions about
King David. Includes a visit to Bethlehem, the city he founded, and
Ein Gedi, the desert oasis to which he fled to escape Saul's wrath.
 
7.00 p.m. |HISTU| Oracle of Delphi Secrets Revealed
Myth and science meet at Delphi, where the ancient Greeks said the
oracle (always a woman), in a trance and often a frenzy, spoke on
behalf of the gods. Scholarship rejected the claim that vapors rising
from the temple's floor inspired the oracle. But now, a wealth of
evidence compiled by a geologist, archaeologist, chemist, and
toxicologist suggests the ancients were right, and the discovery of
two faults intersecting below the temple indicate the geology could
have released intoxicating fumes.

8.00 p.m. |HISTC| Great Fire of Rome
In the early hours of July 19, 64 A.D, fire broke out in Rome. More
than one million people ran for their lives as flames devoured their
homes. The fire raged for more than a week. For centuries, questions
surrounding the fire have remained unanswered. What – or who –
started this raging inferno? This program takes viewers back to
ancient times in search of definitive explanations. Analyzing burnt
remnants of the fire excavated by Italian archaeologist Clementina
Panella, recreating the fire’s path and impact on Rome’s buildings
and streets, and assessing the validity and accuracy of Roman
documents, this episode tries to identify the real cause of ancient
history’s most infamous fire.

9.00 p.m. |HISTC| Myths and Legends
Messages from the past are often difficult to decode and until
recently much was left to speculation. Today’s archaeologists are
armed with forensic tests including DNA analysis, sensitive scanning
techniques, advanced chemical analysis and satellite imaging. This
three-part series demonstrates how, with the help of scientific
breakthroughs, new answers are being found to our oldest questions.

10.00 p.m. |DCIVC| Hidden Treasures: Ancient Cultures
dna

10.30 p.m. |DCIVC| Ancient Clues: The Wounded King
dna
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Wednesday, August 18
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7.00 p.m. |HINT| Ancient Altered States
An examination of the frightening and even deadly substances that
people have used to alter their consciousness over the centuries.
 
8.00 p.m. |HISTU| Secrets of the Acropolis
With a thrilling combination of dramatic reconstructions and 3-D
animation, we step back in time to the Golden Age of Greece and the
birth of democracy, to an era of unparalleled human creativity that
produced the magnificent architecture on the Acropolis. Powerfully
evoking the pagan rituals that made the Acropolis the heart of
Athenian life, we explore all four key buildings: the Propylaia, the
Erectheion, Athena Nike, and the Parthenon--the most influential
building in Western civilization.
 
9.00 p.m. |HISTU| The Colosseum
Nothing symbolizes the Roman Empire at its height or Rome in
magnificent ruins more than the Colosseum. Built in 70 AD, it seated
80,000 people, boasted a retractable roof, underground staging
devices, marble seating, and lavish decorations. It still serves as
the prototype for the modern stadium. The complexity of its
construction, the beauty of its architecture, and the functionality
of its design made it the perfect place for massive crowds to
congregate for the bloody spectacles it contained. 
 
10.00 p.m. |HISTU|  Athens Subway
Under the bustling metropolis of Athens, an engineering project is
transforming the city--a new underground Metro system to meet the
needs of its modern inhabitants. But to dig stations and tunnels in
the heart of one of the world's oldest sites of continuous
habitation, engineers had to accomodate the largest archaeological
excavations conducted to date in Athens. Thousands of artifacts were
found, spanning more than 25 centuries. We explore the difficult
balance between progress and preservation

10.00 p.m. |HINT| Time Team: Papcastle, Cumbria
When Ray and Helen Buckingham started building work on an extension
to their Cumbrian house in Papcastle, England, they found what looked
like Roman pottery and building-stone fragments. Puzzled, they
contacted Time Team--actor Tony Robinson (Baldrick in "Blackadder")
and his team of archaeologists, historians and other experts. Was the
couple's garden part of a Roman settlement or military staging post?
Time Team has just three days to piece together the surprising story.
 
11.00 p.m. |DCIVC| Greece: Journeys to the Gods
dna
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Thursday, August 19
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7.00 p.m. |HINT| The Great Empire: Rome: The Enduring Legacy
The final episode reveals the birth of Christianity and how this
religion that the emperors initially tried to destroy ultimately
passed on the empire's legacy. Highlights include: the crucifixion of
Jesus; religious persecutions; rise of Constantine, the first emperor
to embrace Christianity; and Justinian, Rome's last emperor.
 
8.00 p.m. |HISTU| Ancient Olympics: Let the Games Begin
Set in 448 BC, we recreate the main events of a single, 5-day
Olympiad. Dramatic reenactment, computer graphics, and expert
commentary bring these events to life. The athletes "starring" in our
games are real--their lives recorded in history. We meet the
competitors at their training camp, then see them in action. The
events covered include chariot racing, running, jumping, discus, and
javelin, and two man-to-man combat finals--boxing and "pankration", a
form of extreme fighting.
 
11.30 p.m. |HISTU| Thermopylae
Using cutting-edge computer gaming technology, we recreate conflicts
that shaped the ancient world and witness great battles like never
before. Hosted on location by Matthew Settle, we return to
Thermopylae in 480 BC, where 300 Spartans occupied a mountain pass
and held off the colossal army sent by the Persians to avenge their
defeat at Marathon. The Greeks held the pass for over a week in one
of history's greatest displays of military heroism--and died to the
last man rather than surrender.
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Friday, August 20
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6.00 p.m. |HINT| Monumental Statues
What inspires societies to create sculptures on a superhuman scale?
We'll examine gigantic statues and the monumental commitment of time,
money, and talent needed to complete them. We'll study the Sphinx,
Colossus of Rhodes, Statue of Liberty, Mt. Rushmore, Brazil's Christ
the Redeemer, Russia's Motherland, and the Crazy Horse Memorial.
 
7.00 p.m. |HINT| Joan of Arc: Soul on Fire 
A teenage girl so dangerous, she was burnt at the stake? Why did her
executioners believe she was a witch? How did an illiterate peasant
girl take command of an army and seat a king on the throne of France?
We'll explore the remarkable story of the woman warrior that became a
saint. 
 
7.00 p.m. |HISTU| Machu Picchu
The engineering marvel Machu Picchu sits perched on a ridge in the
Peruvian Andes. Originally built by the Incas, this magnificent
structure remains a mystery. Was it an observatory? Pleasure retreat?
Fortress? This program presents the most current theories.

8.00 p.m. |HINT| Foot Soldier: The Egyptians
Host Richard Karn looks at history's first organized fighting force.
The ancient Egyptians marched across the Middle East, brought home
booty to the pharaohs, and fought a great battle against the dreaded
Sea People.

8.00 p.m. |DTC| Mystery of the Minoans
The latest computer modeling techniques combine with fossil records
to reveal the fate of the 17th century Minoan civilization of Crete.
Tidal waves and torrents of burning ash from a massive volcano may
have altered the course of Western history.

9.00 p.m. |DTC| The Grasp of Empire
Rome's legacy of trade, roads and architectural and psychological
infrastructure relied on a fragile alliance of slaves, peasants and
the provincial. The glory years of the Roman conquest led to the
longest period of peace the world has ever known.

9.00 p.m. |HINT|  Foot Soldier: The Romans
Host Richard Karn looks at the Roman legionnaires, who conquered and
dominated most of the known world for 500 years, and left behind a
legacy of language, culture, architecture, and government.
 
9.00 p.m. |HISTU| Spartacus and the Slave Revolt
Spartacus is one of the Ancient World's most famous figures. A
Thracian soldier, Spartacus was captured by Romans and sold as a
slave for training as a gladiator. With 70 other gladiators, he
escaped and hid on Mount Vesuvius in 71 BC, where he raised an army
of rebel slaves and defeated two Roman legions. But Roman vengeance
was soon delivered by Crassus, who put an end to Spartacus's
desperate bid for freedom and crucified over 6,000 men along the Via
Appia as warning to other slaves.
 
9.30 p.m. |HISTU| Battle of Waterloo
Liberated from exile, in 1815, Napoleon raises an army and attacks
Belgium, headed towards Brussels. A master of the "divide and
conquer" strategy, Napoleon plans to attack a vital communication
point between the English and Prussian armies. At the height of a
difficult battle, the Duke of Wellington orders his secret cavalry
and infantry to charge down from a ridge and destroy Napoleon's
offense. Part documentary, part interactive game, viewers join
Wellington and Napoleon on the battlefield.

10.00 p.m. |DTC| The Cult of the Apis Bull
This true story of sacred twins is told in a letter they wrote to
the pharaoh over 2,000 years ago. The tragic tale of greed and
betrayal unfolds in the underworld of the great temple city of
Saqqara in the last decades of the Egyptian empire.
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Saturday, August 21
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3.00 p.m. |DTC| Mystery of the Minoans
The latest computer modeling techniques combine with fossil records
to reveal the fate of the 17th century Minoan civilization of Crete.
Tidal waves and torrents of burning ash from a massive volcano may
have altered the course of Western history.

4.00 p.m. |DTC| The Grasp of Empire
Rome's legacy of trade, roads and architectural and psychological
infrastructure relied on a fragile alliance of slaves, peasants and
the provincial. The glory years of the Roman conquest led to the
longest period of peace the world has ever known.

5.00 p.m. |DTC| The Cult of the Apis Bull
This true story of sacred twins is told in a letter they wrote to
the pharaoh over 2,000 years ago. The tragic tale of greed and
betrayal unfolds in the underworld of the great temple city of
Saqqara in the last decades of the Egyptian empire.

6.00 p.m. |DTC| The Emperor of the Steppes
In a huge undertaking, researchers and archaeologists working in
Upper Mongolia unearthed the sepulcher of the Emperor of the Steppes.
This expedition may reveal insight into Mongolian history dating back
to the second century BC.

8.00 p.m. |HINT|   Mail and Plate Armor
Produced with the Royal Armouries in the Tower of London, this
episode draws heavily on its superb collection of European chain mail
and Asian leather armor. In slow-motion experiments, mail and plate
are tested, and a knight shows that armor was more comfortable than
it seemed.
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Sunday, August 22
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7.00 p.m. |HINT| Time Team: Papcastle, Cumbria
When Ray and Helen Buckingham started building work on an extension
to their Cumbrian house in Papcastle, England, they found what looked
like Roman pottery and building-stone fragments. Puzzled, they
contacted Time Team--actor Tony Robinson (Baldrick in "Blackadder")
and his team of archaeologists, historians and other experts. Was the
couple's garden part of a Roman settlement or military staging post?
Time Team has just three days to piece together the surprising story.
 
7.00 p.m. |HISTU|  The Holy Grail
Rennes le Chateau is a small village in the Pyrenees of Southern
France. It's a quiet place until tourists arrive hunting its secrets.
According to legend, the Knights Templar brought the Holy Grail here
for safekeeping. Those who come on pilgrimage think the Grail is very
different than history records. Was it proof of marriage between
Jesus and Mary Magdalene? Did it verify their bloodline survived?
Permission has been granted to dig in Rennes le Chateau...and history
or legend is about to change.
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                        Channel Guide

A&E     The Arts and Entertainment Channel (cable)
DTC     Discovery Times Channel (U.S. Cable)*
DCIVC   Discovery Civilization (Canadian Cable)
DISCC   Discovery Channel (Canadian Cable)
DISCU   Discovery Channel (U.S. Cable)
HINT    History International (U.S. Cable)
HISTU   The History Channel (U.S. Cable)
HISTC   History Television (Canadian Cable)
NGU     National Geographic Channel (U.S. Cable)*
PBS     Public Broadcasting System (U.S. National Schedule)
TLC     The Learning Channel (cable)

*n.b. Canadian versions of these two channels have recently
been made available although the Canadian versions don't seem
to be making their schedules available yet. For what it's worth,
the Canadian version does seem to 'match up' in regards to
ancient programming most of the time.
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Copyright (c) 2004 David Meadows. Feel free to distribute these
listings via email to your pals, students, teachers, etc., but
please include the title and this copyright notice. These
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Thanks!
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