Documentary AreaSimply the best Documentaries

More than 2,000 years ago, the thriving city of Petra rose up in the bone-dry desert of what is now Jordan. An oasis of culture and abundance, the city was built by wealthy merchants whose camel caravans transported incense and spices from the Arabian Gulf. They carved spectacular temple-tombs into its soaring cliffs, raised a monumental Great Temple at its heart, and devised an ingenious system that channeled water to vineyards, bathhouses, fountains, and pools. But following a catastrophic earthquake and a slump in its desert trade routes, Petra's unique culture faded and was lost to most of the world for nearly a thousand years. Now, in a daring experiment, an archaeologist and sculptors team up to carve an iconic temple-tomb to find out how the ancient people of Petra built their city of stone. Meanwhile, scientists using remote sensors and hydraulic flumes uncover the vast city and its sophisticated water system. The race is on to discover how these nomads created this oasis of culture in one of the harshest climates on Earth.

Beneath the modern streets of Rome lies a city of breathtaking scale and ambition, once the heart of an empire that shaped the world. In this 15-part journey, archaeologist Dr. Darius Arya becomes your guide into a vivid time machine, where stunning CGI reconstructions resurrect the capital in all its glory. From the steamy elegance of vast bath complexes to the roar of chariot races, from awe-inspiring temples to political halls where history was forged, each episode reveals how engineering brilliance, artistic mastery, and human will transformed humble hills into the Eternal City. This is not just a tour of ruins—it’s Rome as its citizens once knew it.

Thanks to stunning reconstitutions with computer-generated images, this documentary retraces the manufacturing secrets of the largest and most exceptional city of Antiquity: Rome, the capital of the Mediterranean world. Three of its most emblematic monuments come to life. The Pantheon and its majestic dome, the sumptuous palace of Nero which covered a quarter of the city, and finally the legendary Colosseum, the largest Roman amphitheater ever built.

The unearthing of a gruesome grave filled with thousands of skeletons at the beach of Kamakura in Japan could be about to unlock the true extent of the merciless violence and mystery surrounding the true origins of one of the most feared and revered warriors of all time: the Samurai.
In the Middle Ages, Kamakura was the capital of Japan. The 'Shogun', a kind of aristocratic military dictator, ruled here. This shogunate ended in 1333 with the Battle of Kamakura. A drastic event in Japanese history, because this resulted in not only political, but also social, philosophical and technical innovations. The remains of the samurai warriors who fell near Kamakura now provide scientists with detailed insights into the time of the Kamakura shogunate and the bloody conflict between the shogun and the emperor.
The chilling burial ground dates back to 1333. Kamakura was one of the most heavily fortified regions of Japan. When the Emperor became angered by the growing powers of the ruling Hojo family, he sought to retake control of the region, setting the stage for a war that would change the shape of the nation. Among over 4000 sets of remains, six have a unique story to tell: the husband and wife involved in a sword fight to the death; the warrior monk; a peasant boy soldier; and members of the ruling Hojo family, captured and decapitated, with their heads displayed as trophies of victory. These remains reveal the secrets of the Samurai, their ferocious fighting skills and their merciless killing techniques.

Embark on a captivating journey as a groundbreaking excavation reveals the intricate and ingenious world of Neanderthals, challenging long-held misconceptions. At the heart of this documentary lies an extraordinary find: the most impeccably preserved Neanderthal skeleton discovered in over a quarter of a century.
Dive deep into the enigmatic lives of these ancient humans, exploring the clues left behind in their fossils and uncovering the secrets of their existence and eventual disappearance. This documentary promises to change the way you perceive our ancient relatives, offering a fresh perspective on their intelligence, creativity, and the mysteries that still surround them.

An ancient bronze disk adorned with gold may contain the oldest images of the cosmos ever discovered; using new research and the latest tech, experts investigate if this artefact could be the work of a prehistoric astrologer. Is it just a decorative disc or is there some hidden meaning?
A strange 11,000-year-old deer skull can have links to a British Atlantis.