The Worst Episodes of Ancient Discoveries

#1 Worst Episode
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#1 - Warfare
S2:E18/21/2005
Warfare technology is examined, including the Helepolis, a square fortified tower on wheels; and "Greek Fire," an incendiary liquid that stuck to people and objects and couldn't be extinguished with water.
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#2 - Machines II
S2:E312/11/2005
Ancient mechanical devices are examined: A jar that appears to be an electric battery, a flour mill in France that is run by waterwheels, and Archimedes use of solar power to defeat the Romans.
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#3 - Machines III
S3:E83/27/2007
For the first time, this program unveils the remarkable story of how China created a myriad of ingenious devices including cosmic machines able to collect data on the stars, hydraulic hammers, water-controlled clocks and even paper. We discover that ancient China was an industrial superpower, armed with devices such as heaven carts' able to drill down deep underground, geared milling machines and mass production plants powered by water. Incredibly, unlike the ancient Egyptians, the Chinese developed their inventions with an eye for safety. Sophisticated mining props were designed to prevent cave-ins; ancient "carburetors" to control volatile natural gas; they even managed to design the world's first earthquake detector. Setting out on an epic journey across all of China, we meet leading historians and model-makers who keep tales of ancient China alive. We visit a reconstruction of an ancient Chinese iron furnace to unravel insights into how the Chinese created a forty-ton iron artefact five centuries before the West discovered cast-iron technology. Most impressive of all, we meet the leading clay expert Professor Ye Hongming who has spent a lifetime seeking to discover the secrets of how the ancient Chinese created their vast terracotta army. This pioneering documentary seeks to lift the centuries-old veil on China's greatest inventions, revealing how many of the West's modern-day inventions owe an extraordinary debt to ancient China's greatest minds.
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#4 - Airborne Assault
S6:E111/5/2009
Assault from the air didn't begin with the era of the airplane. The kite bomb was a medieval siege weapon that dropped bombs from a kite over cities. Ancient bouncing bombs that actually skipped across water terrorized shipping in Turkey in 1453. Ancient China's whistling arrows, the world's earliest rocket-powered explosive missile, and the earliest known successful parachute, are also examined.
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#5 - Ancient Secret Agents
S6:E412/19/2009
The systems by which ancient intelligence services transmitted messages over thousands of miles is investigated. Methods by which ancient spies sent secret messages are reviewed such as invisible ink made of human sperm and how they wrote on the inside of a raw egg. Discover how the ninja used explosives, not just darts and poisons. How a Roman James Bond used a suit made of cork to support him in full armor across a river is also explored.
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#6 - Gruesome Medicine
S6:E512/18/2009
Explores ancient medical techniques and possible new applications in the modern era. Techniques reviewed include blood letting by leeches, reading from a torpedo fish, trepanning to relieve pressure on the brain, and Roman battlefield surgery and tools. Other items reviewed include how snake venom was used as medicine and using replica tools and virtual surgery in a computer to see how an arrow was removed from the skull of Prince Henry V of England.
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#7 - Riots and Revolution
S6:E612/18/2009
The show tracks down the secret manual that explained how the Vietnamese defeated not only the US in the 20th century, but the Mongols 700 years earlier. It reveals the largest booby trap in history, one that snagged an entire battle fleet, how king Mithridates used a substance called burning mud in his revolt against Rome, and how the terrorist booby-traps and letter bombs of today were invented hundreds of years ago.
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#8 - Ancient Commandos
S6:E712/18/2009
Ancient commandos fought deep behind enemy lines in some of the harshest terrains know to man. The show examines such exploits through storms and snowdrifts, revealing the tech and truth behind the world earliest known ski commandos. A journey to the deserts of Egypt reveals how a tiny army beat off a major invasion force using deception and a bunch of farm animals. The Bayeux tapestry is featured as well as one of the ancient worlds most feared and successful commando units, the Naftun.
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#9 - Ancient Special Forces
S6:E812/18/2009
The show reviews ancient Roman navy SEAL techniques of capturing enemy ships from underwater and replicates the feat. The tactics of ancient Roman war dog units are explored including a historically savage breed of dog, the Mastiff. Finally, the secrets of the samurai sword and how it was made is reviewed and they build and test an ancient Horro, a Japanese device that could protect a galloping cavalryman from arrow fire using thin silk.
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#10 - Twisted Weapons of the East
S6:E912/18/2009
The show travels first to India where they encounter martial artists wielding terrifying 6-foot-long (1.8 m) swords, a projectile that can sever the limbs of any enemies, and an ancient Indian booby trap which impales its victims as they sleep. In Egypt, how camels were turned into weapons of war are explored. Finally, through painstaking research, they construct the world's first unmanned weapon that went onto the battlefield over 2000 years ago.
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#11 - Ancient Record Breakers
S6:E1012/22/2009
This episode explores some ancient world records that still stand today. The most valuable thing in the ancient world is still the most valuable thing today at 2000 dollars per gram. A replica of a 2000 year old jet engine is built and a weapons team finally reveals the only weapon in history that can shoot around corners. They review what was the fastest thing in the ancient world and explosives experts reveal that the first gun was made of fruit.
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#12 - Mega Ocean Conquest
S6:E1112/22/2009
From conquering the depths of the oceans to defending the freedoms of the seas--ancient man pushed the technological boundaries to the limits in the mega battle for the oceans. New discoveries will reveal how an ancient destroyer rammed its way to victory in one of the most significant battles in human history. In Denmark, a team of divers build and test the world's first ever deep sea diving suit that was designed 350 years before the history books tell us it was possible to walk along the seabed. Can CSI science unravel the mystery of a time traveling ghost ship? And in a groundbreaking sea cannon experiment, naval experts will discover how a 16th century war fleet blasted their way to victory against an enemy armada seven miles wide, without the loss of a single ship.
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#13 - Rituals of Death
S6:E1212/22/2009
Travel to Egypt to discover the mysteries of the mummified crocodiles of Kom Ombo. We'll x-ray an ancient mummy that has held a secret for 2000 years, and reveal the lengths that people will go to to ritualize death. New discoveries at the site of the world famous terracotta army in China reveal incredible insights into the mind-state of the great first emperor of China and his people; and what they believed about death. In Britain, forensic scientists solve a year old murder using 15th century forensic science, as well as hundreds of mini-detectives--blowflies. And using virtual reality techniques doctors will now look inside the body of a victim during a live crucifixion to discover horrific new truths about the suffering on the cross.
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0.0/10(0 votes)
#14 - Secret Science of the Occult
S6:E1312/28/2009
In Mexico, explorers use a sacred ancient Mayan temple code to search for an occult underworld engineered in the depths of the earth--a mysterious site where no TV cameras have ever ventured. In Britain, investigators uncover the secret technologies behind a life size statue of Jesus Christ that miraculously came to life. Weapons experts reveal the science that saved a holy military order from certain annihilation in the bloodiest siege in history. In Greece, archaeologists solve the mystery of the oracle of the dead; an eerie sanctuary where flying ghosts appeared from the depths of hell.
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5.9/10(13 votes)
#15 - Death Weapons of the East
S5:E110/23/2008
Comparison test between a shotgun and a staff, the oldest known weapon; the deadly Chinese ermei underwater attack weapon; examining whether Chi warriors can really kill a man with a single touch; ancient Chinese crossbows.
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6.1/10(9 votes)
#16 - Machines of the Gods
S3:E32/6/2007
With so many gods to choose from and so many temples vying for the average worshiper's fidelity, Ancient Greece and Rome was a buyer's market for religions. Priests were desperate to demonstrate the supremacy of their particular god and his or her personal involvement in their temple. To that end, Wonders of the Ancient World were constructed, iron chariots were suspended in mid-air, and automatic soap dispensers were installed.
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6.2/10(9 votes)
#17 - Ancient Super Navies
S4:E22/4/2008
Using the latest scientific techniques to solve the greatest mysteries of the ancient world's naval technology, our team of modelmakers, underwater detectives and elite naval commandos are investigating legends that speak of lethal, high explosive grenades... covert underwater attack equipment... and highly toxic biological warfare. Their life-threatening experiments will forever transform our understanding of antiquity's greatest naval inventions.
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6.2/10(10 votes)
#18 - Ancient Tank Tech
S5:E311/6/2008
The history of the elephant as the ancient tank, right up to the addition by the Indian emperors of a fully rotational cannon. The ancient battering ram - the king of siege machines - how did it work, and could the ancients have really discovered the secrets of chemical fire-proofing? The amazing flexibility of the medieval fully armoured cavalry knight. An investigation into English civil war bullet-proof armour. Anti elephant rockets - how the rocket ended the elephants 2000 year domination of the battlefield.
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6.8/10(6 votes)
#19 - Ancient New York
S4:E63/10/2008
Long before Wall Street and Broadway, before even the Dutch, New York was a special place. It's unique topography and resources made it an ideal settlement and so its history stretches far back before the arrival of Europeans. ANCIENT DISCOVERIES journeys back in time to experience the Big Apple when it was still the "Island of Many Hills." While New York's towering skyline and world-leading technology have made it the ultimate modern city, breathtaking new discoveries reveal that the blueprints for this megalopolis were in fact laid thousands of years ago. Now, through the wonders of CGI and dramatic reenactment, you can see first-hand how people have been "making it there" for thousands of years. Witness brutal blood sports staged in ancient Madison Square Gardens. And mark the passage of time — as if in Times Square on New Year's Eve — with a gigantic Neolithic calendar.
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6.8/10(14 votes)
#20 - Ancient Torture Tech
S5:E411/13/2008
Revealing the terrifying truth behind torture; ancient inventors go to great lengths to develop precision devices to exact pain; the rack; burning at the stake; Vlad the Impaler.
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6.9/10(14 votes)
#21 - Cars & Planes
S3:E21/30/2007
Many ancient inventors imagined - and sometimes even constructed - machines for transport that would not be out of place today. This captivating episode reveals surprising new information about transportation technology invented by our distant ancestors. You will marvel at railway cars built in Greece in the 6th century BC and at the fantastic thirty-passenger wind-car designed in 6th Century AD China. You will trace the strings of evidence that hint at flying machines in ancient Greece, Egypt and China thousands of years before the Jet Age.
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6.9/10(12 votes)
#22 - Egyptian Warfare
S3:E62/27/2007
Egyptian monuments and great works of art still astound us today. But ANCIENT DISCOVERIES strives to reveal another surprising aspect of Egyptian life: their sophisticated weapons of war and their great might on the battlefield. A common perception of the Egyptians is of a cultured and civil people, yet there is fascinating evidence which reveals they were also an accomplished war-faring people. Visit the great tombs and search the ancient archives to discover the secrets to their military might. Discover how Ancient Egyptians pioneered weapons technology that is still put to use to this day, and experience their absolutely epic battles.
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6.9/10(10 votes)
#23 - Machines of the East
S3:E104/24/2007
From the internal combustion engine to the artificial heart, the legacy of Al-Jazari, the 12th century Muslim inventor, is everywhere around us. It's no exaggeration to say he laid the technological foundation for modern life as we know it. From cranks to pumps, from water clocks to mechanized robots, Al-Jazira wasn't just years ahead of his time, he was centuries ahead. In this thorough ANCIENT DISCOVERIES examination of Al-Jazari's influence, modern reproductions of his greatest breakthroughs bring his genius to life. See his famous elephant-themed, fully-operational water clock and other stunning technological achievements.
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6.9/10(16 votes)
#24 - Ancient Death Machines
S4:E42/25/2008
ANCIENT DISCOVERIES digs for the roots of today's war machinery. Throughout history, military requirements — killing more effectively than the enemy — have driven the leading edge of technological innovation. Almost all technology on the planet today owes its origins to inventions driven by the imperatives of war. This episode surveys the ANCIENT DEATH MACHINES that have left a legacy on today's battlefield. From apocalyptic skyscraper siege machines to ancient landmines and flamethrowers which had the potential to extinguish hundreds of lives in minutes, ANCIENT DISCOVERIES puts the lethal tech of yesterday to the test.
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7.0/10(9 votes)
#25 - Super Ships
S3:E42/13/2007
SUPERSHIPS reveals recent, extraordinary discoveries of ships from the ancient world. New scholarship and breakthroughs in underwater archaeology have vastly increased our store of knowledge regarding ancient navies. But with new information comes many questions. What do these finds say about the societies which created them, and the techniques they used in their construction? Who could have mustered the resources and know-how to construct such impressive nautical marvels? How did they build such remarkable ships? And, most intriguingly, why? Travel back to ancient Egypt and learn about the "Khufu Boat" which had not one metal nail in its construction, and uncover huge sailing vessels, dating from 3000 B.C., in Abydos near the Nile. Some of the most exciting discoveries that have been made include ancient warships, some massive enough to carry a crew of 7000.
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