From dinosaurs to mammoths, when our ancient ancestors encountered the fossil bones of extinct prehistoric creatures, what did they think they were? Just like us, ancient peoples were fascinated by the giant bones they found in the ground. Historian Tom Holland goes on a journey of discovery to explore the fascinating ways in which our ancestors sought to explain the remains of dinosaurs and other giant prehistoric creatures, and how bones and fossils have shaped and affected human culture. In Classical Greece, petrified bones were exhibited in temples as the remains of a long-lost race of colossal heroes. Chinese tales of dragons may well have had their origins in the great fossil beds of the Gobi desert. In the Middle Ages, Christians believed that mysterious bones found in rock were the remains of giants drowned in Noah's Flood. Tom encounters a medieval sculpture that is the first known reconstruction of a monster from a fossil, and learns about the Native Americans stories, told for generations, which contained clues that led bone hunters to some of the greatest dinosaur finds of the nineteenth century.
Filmmaker Daniel McNicoll explores the emerging movement to reclaim the ancient medieval and renaissance martial arts in this documentary narrated by Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies, and produced on corroboration with Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson. The Medieval and Renaissance blade was a remarkable weapon crafted with the utmost attention to detail. Though the history of the sword remains largely shrouded in mystery for younger moviegoers, their presence on the big screen can still be felt in the Star Wars saga, as well as films like Chronicles of Narnia and The Pirates of the Caribbean. Join host Davies as he traces the history of this remarkable weapon throughout the ages, in the process giving us a better understanding of the sword's unique role in both history, and films.
The human brain is the most complex object we’ve discovered in the universe, and every day much of its neural circuitry is taken up with the tens of thousands of decisions we need to make. ‘How do I decide?’ is a journey through the unseen world of decisions, and how they get made. Decisión-making is what allows us to navigate a course through life. Discover how important emotions are in making decissions and, as we learn more about our own brains, we can break away from slavery to our impulses.
Neuroscience shows that you're made up of multiple competing drives and by understanding how choices battle it out in the brain, we can learn how to make better decisions.
Travelling forward in time to 30,000 years ago, it's the middle of an ice age. The landscape is dominated by mighty mammoths, living side-by-side with woolly rhinos, giant deer and two separate species of human. The programme follows the fate of a herd of mammoths in their annual struggle against the harsh ice-age conditions. Every summer they spend on the grassy plains of what will one day become the bottom of the North Sea, but every winter they are forced to head for the less exposed valleys further south. It is a journey fraught with danger: mammoths can get trapped in frozen bogs, and the herd must run the gauntlet of hunters like cave lions and the deadly Neanderthals.
A gripping investigation into one of the most chilling maritime disasters in modern history. When a luxury submersible vanishes while descending toward the Titanic wreck, the world watches in suspense. Four days later, the truth shocks the globe: a catastrophic implosion, five lives lost, and a trail of ignored warnings. Through exclusive interviews and chilling archival footage, this film exposes the ambitious vision of an entrepreneur who defied engineering norms in pursuit of glory—and the irreversible consequences that followed. A haunting portrait of hubris, and the unforgiving power of the deep.
This acclaimed multi-million dollar 4 part series shows the rise of the tribes of a primitive culture on the fringe of northern Europe to become the heirs of the Roman Empire. Since the age of Caesar this Roman-Germanic conflict was characterized not only by fierce battles but also by phases of co-existence & cooperation. the Germans dug the grave of the Roman Empire, but were also the preserves of the Roman legacy.
In Classical Greece, petrified bones were exhibited in temples as the remains of a long-lost race of colossal heroes. Chinese tales of dragons may well have had their origins in the great fossil beds of the Gobi desert. In the Middle Ages, Christians believed that mysterious bones found in rock were the remains of giants drowned in Noah's Flood.
Tom encounters a medieval sculpture that is the first known reconstruction of a monster from a fossil, and learns about the Native Americans stories, told for generations, which contained clues that led bone hunters to some of the greatest dinosaur finds of the nineteenth century.