10.0/101 votesLoading...#1 - Vampire Legend
Season 15 Episode 1 - Aired 10/27/2015
Information gathered about aberrant, unorthodox burial practices from medieval times shed some light on how today's myths about vampires may have started.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
9.0/101 votesLoading...#2 - The Woman in the Iron Coffin
Season 17 Episode 3 - Aired 10/3/2018
On October 4, 2011, construction workers were shocked to uncover human remains in an abandoned lot in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens, New York. So great was the level of preservation, witnesses first assumed they had stumbled upon a recent homicide. Forensic analysis, however, revealed a remarkably different story. Buried in an elaborate and expensive iron coffin, the body belonged to a young African American woman who died in the first half of the 19th century, before the Civil War and the federal abolishment of slavery. But who was she? Secrets of the Dead: The Woman in the Iron Coffin follows forensic archaeologist Scott Warnasch and a team of historians and scientists as they investigate this woman’s story and the time in which she lived, revealing a vivid picture of what life was like for free African American people in the North.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
1.0/101 votesLoading...#3 - Archaeology at Althorp
Season 20 Episode 1 - Aired 10/9/2022
Charles, Ninth Earl Spencer — best-selling author and brother to Diana, Princess of Wales — may be sitting on the greatest British archaeological find of the century. Searching Althorp, the Spencer family estate, for a medieval village, a team of British archaeologists find evidence of something far older.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#4 - Catastrophe (1)
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 5/15/2000
Did a cataclysmic event plunge humankind into the period known as the early Dark Ages? Scientists now believe the early Dark Ages may have been triggered by a natural event that occurred around 535 A.D. Science writer David Keys is convinced that the cause was a phenomenon of cataclysmic proportions. At the center of a complex chain of events seems to be "a loud bang" -- a volcanic explosion equal to "two thousand million Hiroshima size bombs." The subsequent environmental calamity, Keys believes, affected human civilization from Mongolia to Constantinople, precipitating plague, famine, death, great migration, the fall of the great Mexican city of Teotihuacan, the Anglo-Saxon victory over the Celts and perhaps even the rise of Islam. (UK / PBS) Released to video (VHS) as a single episode. Run time 1:50.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votesLoading...
#5 - Catastrophe (2)
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 5/15/2000
Did a cataclysmic event plunge humankind into the period known as the early Dark Ages? Scientists now believe the early Dark Ages may have been triggered by a natural event that occurred around 535 A.D. Science writer David Keys is convinced that the cause was a phenomenon of cataclysmic proportions. At the center of a complex chain of events seems to be "a loud bang" -- a volcanic explosion equal to "two thousand million Hiroshima size bombs." The subsequent environmental calamity, Keys believes, affected human civilization from Mongolia to Constantinople, precipitating plague, famine, death, great migration, the fall of the great Mexican city of Teotihuacan, the Anglo-Saxon victory over the Celts and perhaps even the rise of Islam. (UK / PBS) Released to video (VHS) as a single episode. Run time 1:50.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#6 - The Lost Vikings
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 5/16/2000
Why did Greenland's Vikings disappear? The Vikings of Greenland left no clues to their sudden and mysterious disappearance. Or did they? On a desolate coast of Greenland, an international team of archaeologists, forensic anthropologists, entomologists and botanists sets out to investigate clues in a complex chain of events that may have led to the demise of a Viking colony. Unearthing the ruins of a settlement that included a cathedral complete with stained glass, the scientists carefully identify and date the vestiges of the Viking society. Among their discoveries are a "mini Ice Age," a war with neighboring Inuits, and a religious order that may have doomed the Vikings to obsolescence. (UK/PBS 55 min)
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#7 - What Happened to the Hindenburg?
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 6/15/2000
Why did the great airship Hindenburg explode? The disintegration of the Hindenburg in 1937 is one of the most famous disasters of the 20th century. It took more than 100 years to develop what was, in its day, the fastest, most technologically advanced and most luxurious form of transportation in the world -- and 34 seconds to destroy it. The accident that ended the golden age of airships is generally attributed to the ignition of hydrogen gas used for lift. Addison Bain, a retired NASA scientist and hydrogen specialist, sets out on a personal quest of theorizing and experimentation to prove the Hindenburg's real flaw was only skin deep. (UK/PBS 55 min)
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#8 - Cannibalism in the Canyon
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 5/17/2000
What happened to the peaceful ancient Pueblo civilization of the American southwest? For 1000 years, the Anasazi -- a democratic people with rich achievements in architecture, agriculture, astronomy and art -- flourished in what is now New Mexico. Yet around 1200 A.D., something brought their utopia to a sudden and mysterious end. Paleo-anthroplogist Christy Turner has found what he believes are clear signs of cannibalism among the Anasazi ruins, but American Indian groups and other archaeologists are skeptical. And while the evidence is difficult to refute, the meaning of the findings is still open to debate. In the shadow of a debate both scientific and political, question remain: Did the Anasazi culture become cannibalistic, or did cannibals from afar stumble across the perfect victims? (UK/PBS 55 min)
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#9 - Witches Curse
Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 6/26/2001
(Disease & Disaster) “The Witches Curse” poses a shocking new idea about the violent convulsions, delirium, and strange skin sensations that struck a group of young girls in 17th-century Massachusetts and inspired the infamous Salem Witch Trials. In 1692, 19 of the town’s residents were put to death because they were believed to have been witches. For hundreds of years, this tragedy was blamed on religious fanaticism, adolescent cruelty, and contagious hysteria. But these explanations failed to satisfy a “detective” who embarked on her own fact-finding mission. Was Salem’s Puritan community unwittingly living on bread infected by the fungus from which LSD is derived? Could toxic amounts of this fungus, known as ergot, be the real reason the accusatory teens endured psychotic episodes and saw blood dripping down their walls at night? And what clues could the 2,300-year-old corpse of a Danish murder victim possibly hold for Salem investigators? Tracking down historic outbreaks of ergot poisoning, Dr. Caporael compares its symptoms to those that plagued the girls in Salem, revealing a whole new side of this unsettling period. (UK/PBS 55 min)
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#10 - Murder at Stonehenge
Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 7/3/2001
A mysterious skeleton buried in a shallow grave beneath a famous ancient monument. Who was he? How long had he been there? And why had his head been severed from its body? Archaeologist Mike Pitts works with scientists, forensics experts and historian to dig up ominous information about early Britain and the circumstances that surrounded the man's death. Was he a cattle thief, an insurgent, or a pagan sacrifice in a newly Christian world? (UK/PBS 55 min)
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#11 - Death at Jamestown
Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 7/10/2001
The settlers at Jamestown, the first British colony in the New World, were looking for wealth and adventure. But within six months 80 of the original 100 arrivals were dead; 440 of the first 500 died within three years. Death came in sudden, brutal waves marked by severe bruising, weakness, wasting and madness. Did the men die of disease and starvation? Or is it more than a coincidence that the deadly outbreaks always seemed to strike just after the supply ships set sail? Clues from Europe and the recently rediscovered Jamestown site have led pathologist Frank Hancock to a radical new theory that implicates some unlikely suspects. (UK/PBS 55 min)
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#12 - Day of the Zulu
Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 7/17/2001
During the Anglo-Zulu wars in South Africa, the success of small British regiments against huge numbers of native warriors became the stuff of legend. But in one key 1879 battle, Zulu fighting unites known as Impis decimated the British forces at the battle of Isandlwana. Historian Ian Knight and forensic archaeologist Tony Pollard investigate the battle scene, trying to assess the impact of a solar eclipse on the outcome, and discovering the Zulu use of performance enhancing "battle drugs" that included cannabis and a powerful hallucinogenic mushroom. New evidence reveals the changing tide of the battle, the innovative strategy of the Zulu and one Critical, irreversible British mistake. (UK/PBS 55 min)
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#13 - Tomb of Christ
Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 7/24/2001
For centuries, visitors to the Church of the Holy Seplulchre in Jerusalem believed that they stood within what was merely a symbolic representation of Jesus' burial place. But what if the edicule within the church, an ancient crumbling structure, really does house Christ's actual tomb? Oxford archaeologists Martin and Birthe Biddle reconstruct Jesus' final day and trace the history of the various incarnations of the edicule -- looking for evidence that there is a tomb present, and trying to decipher whether or not Christ actually lay there. (UK/PBS 55 min)
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#14 - The Syphilis Enigma
Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 7/31/2001
In 1492, Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic in search of gold. But what his men carried back with them to Europe was something far less appealing. They brought the scourge of syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease never before seen in the Old World. At least that is what scientists have generally believed. But now, the discovery in Europe of a pre-Columbian body with definite signs of syphilis has archaeologist Charlotte Roberts convinced that syphilis existed in the Old World long before Columbus ever set sail. New evidence from across Europe is beginning to turn the prevailing Columbus theory on its head (UK/PBS 55 min)
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#15 - Search for the First Human
Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 5/8/2001
Explore the scientific mystery of human genesis through a close investigation of 13 fossils found in October 2000. The bones are the oldest hominid remains ever discovered — so old that they come from the time when the divergence of man and ape is thought to have occurred — and could be the blueprint for the first generation of the species that ultimately evolved into modern humans
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#16 - Mystery of the Black Death
Season 3 Episode 2 - Aired 10/30/2002
In 1665, a British tailor opened a flea-infested shipment of fabric from London. In a matter of days, the tailor and much of the village were suffering the telltale signs of bubonic plague, the disease that wiped out a third of the European population. 350 years later, an American geneticist is delving into the reasons why some managed to survive the Black Death while others were not so lucky.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#17 - Titanic's Ghosts
Season 3 Episode 3 - Aired 11/20/2002
In the aftermath of the Titanic, Canadian rescue ships recovered 328 bodies and buried dozens in unmarked graves. Today, scientific breakthroughs may help 3 families of missing passengers learn the true fate of their relatives.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#18 - The Great Fire of Rome
Season 3 Episode 4 - Aired 11/27/2002
In 64 AD, Rome was the most magnificent city in the world. Then, in the early hours of July 19, fire broke out in the cook shops and cafés lining the Circus Maximus. Centuries later, questions linger. Was the fire an accident, or was it arson? Is Tacitus a reliable witness? Nero blamed the catastrophe on the Christians — is there any truth to his accusation?
Director: Mark Halliley
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#19 - Tragedy at the Pole
Season 3 Episode 5 - Aired 1/15/2003
In March of 1912, a team of seasoned Antarctic explorers perished on their way back from the South Pole. Was it possible the explorers were blind-sided by conditions they could never have anticipated?
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#20 - Bombing Nazi Dams
Season 3 Episode 6 - Aired 2/12/2003
In the spring of 1943, Allied forces to begin preparations for a top secret Allied raid. Each aircraft carried a top-secret weapon -- a newly-invented bouncing bomb -- designed to shatter Germany's major dams.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#21 - Blood Red Roses
Season 4 Episode 1 - Aired 11/1/2003
The Battle of Towton in North Yorkshire, fought during the Wars of the Roses, was reputedly the bloodiest battle ever seen on English soil. In 1996 a mass grave of soldiers was discovered there by chance. This was the catalyst for a multi-disciplinary research project, still unique in Britain ten years after the initial discovery, which included a study of the skeletal remains, the battlefield landscape, the historical evidence and contemporary arms and armour. The discoveries were dramatic and moving; the individuals had clearly suffered traumatic deaths and subsequent research highlighted the often multiple wounds each individual had received before and, in some cases, after they had died. As well as the exciting forensic work the project also revealed much about medieval weaponry and fighting. Blood Red Roses contains all the information about this fascinating discovery, as well as discussing its wider historical, heritage and archaeological implications. (UK/PBS)
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#22 - Bridge on the River Kwai
Season 4 Episode 2 - Aired 11/12/2003
(Modern Mysteries) While remnants of the abandoned structure exist today, jungles have consumed much of what remains. Construction records and documents revealing the railway’s route are scarce. So just how did a team of men in such poor condition and confronted with so many obstacles manage to build the railway? And how did their Allied brethren achieve its demolition?
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#23 - Killer Flu
Season 4 Episode 3 - Aired 3/3/2004
(Disease & Disaster) In 1918, a flu pandemic ripped through the global population with such speed and virulence that by the end of the following year an estimated 40 million people would be dead. Where did this come from and what made it so deadly? Virologists and epidemiologists the world over are still hunting down the answers.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#24 - Shroud of Christ?
Season 4 Episode 4 - Aired 4/11/2004
In the summer of 2002, a team of textile restorers was invited to Turin to undertake an unprecedented renovation of the shroud, which called for the removal of the shroud's backing cloth and all of its medieval patches. The results were staggering -- brand new forensic evidence that the shroud is indeed 2,000 years old, dating from the time of Christ. Is it the authentic burial shroud of Jesus Christ, or just a brillian medieval fake?
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#25 - D-Day
Season 4 Episode 5 - Aired 5/19/2004
In the three years leading up to D-Day, the Allies had assembled an array of weapons and transport vessels specially designed to overcome Hitler's defenses -- among them gliders, landing craft, minesweepers, and swimming tanks. This is the story of the maverick innovators who conceived of such an armory and its implementation into the largest amphibious invasion in the history of the world, and of the brave young men who woe;dd it so capably on the beach of Normandy. Runtime: 1:36.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Secrets of the Dead
Every episode of Secrets of the Dead ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Secrets of the Dead!
Part detective story, part true-life drama, long-running series explores some of the most iconic moments in history to debunk myths and shed new light on...
Genres:DocumentaryMystery
Network:PBS
Best Episodes Summary
"Vampire Legend" is the best rated episode of "Secrets of the Dead". It scored 10/10 based on 1 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 10/27/2015. This episode scored 1.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Woman in the Iron Coffin".