Summary: The Palace of Zimri-Lim at Mari was one of the wonders of the Mesopotamian world. This program documents the opening of an excavation site at the palace's gate, while an animated walk-through of the palace precincts enables viewers to follow in the footsteps of courtiers and the king himself. Information on life inside the palace-from the business of keeping it functioning smoothly, to matters...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: What led the great powers of antiquity to install themselves on the minuscule island of Delos? And how did Delos, one of the most important religious centers in Greece, come to be an international trading hub, as well? To answer these questions, this program traces the island's history between the 9th and 1st centuries BC: Delos' renown as the mythological birthplace of Apollo; the subsequent...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: It has long been held that ancient Egyptians viewed the east bank of the Nile as life on Earth and the west bank as life in the hereafter, a vision that strictly ruled their urban planning. But recent archaeological digs at Thebes have revealed a somewhat different story. This program examines the houses of priests and other structures that indicate bustling activity on the funereal west...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Recent research at the 12th-century Frankish castles of Shobak and Kerak in what was called Transjordan provides valuable insights into life and death in the Holy Land during the time period of the Crusades. In this program, historian Cedric Devais, of the French Institute of the Near East-Amman, and history guide Mustapha Kiwan talk about prior archaeological missions to the region, structural...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: The Decapolis was a group of ten cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire, and Gerasa, known also in antiquity as Antioch on the Golden River and today as Jerash, is the best-preserved of them all. In this program, Jean-Francois Salles and other members of the French Institute of the Near East-Amman exhibit their efforts at Gerasa, including the ongoing stone-by-stone restoration of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Transjordan-the Oultrejordain of Crusader times, known to the ancients as Edom and Moab-is steeped in biblical history. In this program, archaeologists Fawzi Zayadine, Mohammed Waheeb, and Carmelo Pappalardo attempt to match up biblical events with the terrain where it is said that they occurred. The refuge of Lot, the trail of the Exodus, the place of Jesus' baptism, Moses' vantage point on...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Discovered by chance in the early 1930s, the ancient city of Mari provides insights into Mesopotamian culture and humankind's first steps toward urbanization. In this program, archaeologists Jean-Claude Margueron and Beatrice Muller-Margueron lead a team in the excavation of Mari's urban center as they work to uncover the successive layers of the third, second, and first towns. Geographic and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Once the Berber town of Volubilis, in modern-day Morocco, was absorbed into the Roman Empire, subsequent construction aimed at Romanizing it. The result was a blend of European and African, imperial and tribal, that brought out some of the best of both worlds. This program tours the ruins of the town to point out key landmarks and explain their primary political purpose: to tightly bind this...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: In ancient Greece, Delphi held a central position between Attica, governed from Athens, and the Peloponnese, ruled by Sparta. Using the ruins at Delphi as a lens, this program views the continuous struggle for power that characterized the Greek city-states through accounts of the "big dig" carried out between 1892 and 1902 and recent archaeological studies conducted by researchers at the French...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Ancient Egypt's greatest concentration of divine and funerary monuments is located on the west bank of the Nile at Thebes. Using computer-generated animation, onsite commentary by members of France's National Center for Scientific Research, and close-up archaeological footage, this program addresses the origin and evolution of religious belief in Egypt, the offices and power of the priesthood,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007