Dr Michael Scott explores the role played by the Romans in the preservation of Greek drama, discovering how they adapted it to their own ends. Plus, he reveals how the empire served as a vital link between modern drama and the plays of the ancient Greeks. With contributions by professors Matthew Leigh, Tim Whitmarsh and Gesine Manuwald.

Classicist Michael Scott travels to Greece on a quest to find out how drama first began. In Athens, he discovers that the first stage plays were not so much story-telling as reactions to real-life events, and deeply connected to democracy in the city.

Explore the engineering and architectural feats that were characteristic of some of the greatest societies the planet has ever seen.

Day 22: after the evacuation due to heavy snow, the remaining seven tribe members continue the experiment. They must preserve and store every last ounce of a deer carcass for the remainder of the five weeks, which causes a disagreement within the group. Leader Steve decides to leave the tribe and Mel steps up but Josie does something inconceivable to JP, making any chance of survival look bleak.

Over a thousand years ago a great civilisation built a thriving metropolis in the heart of North America. It was larger than Paris and London at the time and was known as Cahokia. It's one of the best kept secrets of western archaeology, but using cutting-edge technologies, its mysteries are finally unravelled.

After 10 days living in the Stone Age, 12 members remain and food rations are desperately low. As temperature drops, mum Rachel is struggling. During snow fall, the situation becomes dangerous and there's no choice but to evacuate to modern day, giving everyone a taste of what they're missing.

Day eight: the tribe only have enough rations to get them through another day. Steve uses the last of his dried meat rations to bait a fishing basket, hoping to catch something that will save the group from hunger. But when he finds just two small crayfish, the pressure is on.

Four days ago, twenty modern Britons entered the Stone Age. They have just a few days of rations left and their energy levels are dropping. Two kilometres to the west of their Stone Age camp is a lake teeming with protein-rich fish. Leader Steve Nicholson takes a party on a mission, but with no compass, map or GPS device, it's no easy task.

Three days in 10,000 BC and the tribe's first morning without mentor stone age archaeologist Klint Janulis. It's down to the remaining eighteen strangers to work together if they're to stand any chance of surviving the next eight weeks. Emotions are high and food rations are low; it's up to designated leader Steve to make sure the group survives.

In a newly excavated tomb in the Valley of the Kings, a team from the University of Basel have found at least 30 bodies. But who are all these people? To solve this puzzle, the team must work with the fragments of evidence that remain, including dozens of broken pots. When these are reassembled they reveal the names of many of the occupants, including several royal princesses. The team turn to Professor Frank Ruehli, world-renowned physical anthropologist from Zurich University, to see what information he can glean from the broken mummies themselves. He soon establishes that there are not 30 bodies, but more than 90, and most of them are women from the time of Amenhotep III.

Twenty men and women from every conceivable walk of life in modern society are about to find out the hard way how we've changed as humans since our stone age ancestors. They've agreed to give up everything to live in the wilderness as a stone age community. In the first episode, contestants swap their iPhones and modern clothes for animal skins, basic tools and a pile of flint.

In 2011 a team from the University of Basel made two astonishing discoveries in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. By chance they came across a new tomb that was the first to contain a body since the discovery of Tutankhamun. Then they discovered that the tomb beside it, which had never been excavated before, held the bodies of around 50 people. But who were all the people in these two linked tombs? This film follows the archaeological detective story to uncover the answer. It pursues the trail that leads to one of Egypt's greatest pharaohs, Amenhotep III - and to the women he was close to. And the film also reveals the astonishing project behind the re-emergence nearby of the largest temple ever built in ancient Egypt - the lost mortuary temple of the same pharaoh, Amenhotep III.

This episode unlocks the secrets of one of the most sophisticated and mysterious civilisations the world has ever known.

An epic series that deciphers the life of Jesus through six extraordinary objects associated with his life and death. We discover fascinating new insights into the historical Jesus, utilising the latest state-of-the-art scientific techniques and archaeological research. We investigate the value and authenticity of six objects which could shed new light on Jesus - the Shroud of Turin, relics venerated as part of the True Cross, the Gospel of Judas, relics believed to be of John the Baptist, the Gospel of Mary Magdalene and the secret brother of Jesus. We are guided by breathtaking dramatic reconstruction and a first-class panel of on-screen contributors. We hear from representatives of the world's best universities including Yale, Harvard, Princeton and Oxford, as they provide historical and theological insight, while the likes of Fr James Martin SJ, Rev Paul Raushenbush and Erwin MacManus help bring our characters and their emotional journeys to life for our audience.

An epic series that deciphers the life of Jesus through six extraordinary objects associated with his life and death. We discover fascinating new insights into the historical Jesus, utilising the latest state-of-the-art scientific techniques and archaeological research. We investigate the value and authenticity of six objects which could shed new light on Jesus - the Shroud of Turin, relics venerated as part of the True Cross, the Gospel of Judas, relics believed to be of John the Baptist, the Gospel of Mary Magdalene and the secret brother of Jesus. We are guided by breathtaking dramatic reconstruction and a first-class panel of on-screen contributors. We hear from representatives of the world's best universities including Yale, Harvard, Princeton and Oxford, as they provide historical and theological insight, while the likes of Fr James Martin SJ, Rev Paul Raushenbush and Erwin MacManus help bring our characters and their emotional journeys to life for our audience.

This final episode charts how Egypt's enemies exploit a country weakened by internal strife, ultimately leading to its destruction.

The ancient city of Petra, a city carved from desert rock, has baffled experts for decades. Now, new technologies resurrect the city and reveal why the spectacular civilisation was suddenly abandoned.

Historian Bettany Hughes recalls the time that marked Rome's symbolic break with its 1000-year pagan past - the day in 337 AD that Emperor Constantine the Great was baptised a Christian. It was a moment of profound significance not just for the empire, but for the history of the world and one of its major religions. Constantine was one of the last great Roman emperors to rule over a united empire, giving it a new capital - Constantinople, today known as Istanbul - a city which would one day eclipse Rome as the greatest city on Earth.

Historian Bettany Hughes explores the day in AD 80 when the Colosseum opened its gates for the first time. For new emperor Titus, the spectacular games and events were an opportunity to win over the people and secure his place on the imperial throne, but why did the Romans - cultured and civilised in so many ways - enjoy witnessing such brutality and bloodletting? Bettany travels across the Roman world in a bid to find answers.

New evidence uncovers the ancient mysteries behind the iconic Colosseum. Archaeologists uncover the secret lives of the gladiators and make new discoveries that help explain the rise and sudden fall of the Roman Empire.

Examine the treasures of antiquity: the Great Pyramid, the Easter Island Heads, the Nefertiti Bust, Blackbeard's Ship, the Ark of the Covenant and the Spear of Destiny. Each object will be scrutinised by experts using a range of new techniques including state-of-the art forensics, which will unlock the mind-blowing truth for the first time ever. Filming with archaeologists, historians, scholars, and scientists, no stone is left unturned in search of answers. In this series, explore the history and possible implications of exposing the fascinating truth about each treasure. The extraordinary story behind one of the most famous images from the ancient world. Who was Queen Nefertiti? Who made the blue-crowned bust which turned her into a modern icon? Could the Nefertiti bust be a fake?

The Terracotta Army is one of China's greatest treasures, but there are still dark secrets surrounding this super-tomb. Newly discovered artefacts reveal the soldiers' supernatural enemy, and human remains point to ancient China's violent origins.

Historian Bettany Hughes focuses on events leading up to and after June 9, 68 AD, when Emperor Nero took his life. She examines his relationship with his mother, fondness for debauchery and how casual violence and murder began to destabilise what had once been touted as a new 'golden age' for Rome. Nero's death plunged the empire into anarchy and civil war. From here on in, the Roman Empire would be plagued by military coups and revolt, one of the crucial factors in its eventual decline.

The 15th-century city of Machu Picchu is one of the greatest mysteries in archaeology. Scientists do not know why this city in the clouds was built, but investigations into secret Inca codes and deformed skeletons might finally reveal its ultimate mystery.

Examine the treasures of antiquity: the Great Pyramid, the Easter Island Heads, the Nefertiti Bust, Blackbeard's ship, the Ark of the Covenant and the Spear of Destiny. Each object will be scrutinised by experts using a range of new techniques, including state-of-the art forensics, which will unlock the mind-blowing truth for the first time ever. Filming with archaeologists, historians, scholars, and scientists, no stone is left unturned in search of answers. In this series, explore the history and possible implications of exposing the fascinating truth about each treasure.

Historian Bettany Hughes focuses on the day when Roman troops earned the undying hatred of a fierce and fearless queen who led a revolt that came perilously close to ending the Roman occupation of Britannia. Around 60 AD, troops invaded Boudica's settlement, flogged her and raped her daughters. The outrage provoked the Iceni queen to lead a revolt that came perilously close to ending the Roman occupation of Britannia.

Armed with a 4500-year-old diary, and a radical new approach, engineer Peter James and leading archaeologist Mark Lehner set out to solve Ancient Egypt's greatest mystery. How was the Great Pyramid built? Examine the treasures of antiquity: the Great Pyramid, the Easter Island Heads, the Nefertiti Bust, Blackbeard's ship, the Ark of the Covenant and the Spear of Destiny. Each object will be scrutinised by experts using a range of new techniques, including state-of-the art forensics, which will unlock the mind-blowing truth for the first time ever. Filming with archaeologists, historians, scholars, and scientists, no stone is left unturned in search of answers. In this series, explore the history and possible implications of exposing the fascinating truth about each treasure.