Dawn of Humanity

Nova and National Geographic present exclusive access to an astounding discovery of ancient fossil human ancestors.

2015-09-10 | en

The Vinland Mystery

This short documentary depicts the search, discovery and authentication of the only known Norse settlement in North America - Vinland the Good. Mentioned in Icelandic manuscripts and speculated about for over two centuries, Vinland is known as "the place where the wild grapes grow" and was thought to be on the eastern coast between Virginia and Newfoundland. In 1960 a curious group of house mounds was uncovered at l'Anse aux Meadows in northern Newfoundland by Drs. Helge Ingstad and Anne Stine Ingstad of Norway. Added to the United Nations World Heritage List, l'Anse aux Meadows is considered one of the most important archaeological sites in the world.

1984-01-01 | en

Viking Warrior Women

Drama-led documentary following the life of Signe, an orphaned Chief's daughter, who, driven by revenge, becomes an explorer and trader in the lands of the Rus Vikings.

2019-06-07 | en

Mystery of the Maya

Filmed in IMAX, a young Mayan boy who lives close to the ruins becomes acquainted with an archaeologist (Guerra) and asks her to tell him about his ancestors. The crew travelled to over 15 locations in Mexico and Guatemala, including Tulum and Chichén Itzá.

1995-01-01 | en

The Concavenator Valley

Three researchers work on a paleontological project focusing on two dinosaurs: one fictional, the one created by special effects genius Ray Harryhausen for the film The Valley of Gwangi (1969); the other real, the Concavenator corcovatus, whose remains were discovered in 2003 at the Las Hoyas site, in the province of Cuenca (Spain), very close to where the filming took place.

2023-09-28 | es

Secrets of Egypt's Lost Queen

Move over, King Tut: There's a new pharaoh on the scene. A team of top archaeologists and forensics experts revisits the story of Hatshepsut, the woman who snatched the throne dressed as a man and declared herself ruler. Despite her long and prosperous reign, her record was all but eradicated from Egyptian history in a mystery that has long puzzled scholars. But with the latest research effort captured in this program, history is about to change.

2007-01-01 | en

The 1001 Faces of Palmyra

Two thousand years ago, it was a flourishing city in the middle of what is now a Syrian desert. At the crossroads of trade routes, Palmyra attracted caravanners from Mesopotamia, India and China. In what remains of its ruins, rediscovered by Europeans in the 17th century, its numerous necropolises bear witness to a prosperous past. Carved in limestone in the first centuries of our era, the faces of the representatives - men, women and children - of its greatest families adorn the walls of its tombs. Since 2012, Danish archaeologist Rubina Raja has been leading a long-term project to find, document and retrace the family trees and daily life of these Palmyrenians.

2021-04-17 | fr

Mastodon in your Backyard

A documentary about the 1999 discovery of a Mastodon skeleton in a Hyde Park backyard.

2001-09-30 | en

Dinozaury I

Polish educational cartoon about dinosaurs

1963-02-28 | en

Le mystère Atlit Yam - 10 000 ans sous les mers

2013-08-16 | fr

Decoding Neanderthals

Over 60,000 years ago, the first modern humans left their African homeland and entered Europe, then a bleak and inhospitable continent in the grip of the Ice Age. But when they arrived, they were not alone: the stocky, powerfully built Neanderthals had already been living there for hundreds of thousands of years. So what happened when the first modern humans encountered the Neanderthals? Did they make love or war?

2013-01-09 | en

Joachim Barrande – ztracená moře

2019-09-24 | cs

Caligula with Mary Beard

What is true and what is false in the hideous stories spread about the controversial figure of the Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (12-41), nicknamed Caligula? Professor Mary Beard explains what is accurate and what is mythical in the historical accounts that portray him as an unbalanced despot. Was he a sadistic tyrant, as Roman historians have told, or perhaps the truth about him was manipulated because of political interests?

2013-07-29 | en

Narbonne: The Second Rome

More than 2.000 years ago, Narbonne in today's Département Aude was the capital of a huge Roman province in Southern Gaul - Gallia Narbonensis. It was the second most important Roman port in the western Mediterranean and the town was one of the most important commercial hubs between the colonies and the Roman Empire, thus the town could boast a size rivaling that of the city that had established it: Rome itself. Paradoxically, the town that distinguished itself for its impressive architecture, today shows no more signs of it: neither temples, arenas, nor theaters. Far less significant Roman towns like Nîmes or Arles are full of ancient sites. Narbonne today is a tranquil town in Occitania

2021-06-19 | fr

Po stopách starých Slovanů

1949-01-01 | cs

Shepherds in the Cave

An international team of art restorers and archaeologists begin work on the restoration of medieval frescoes inside a network of ancient caves. Faced with local bureaucratic challenges and systemic neglect of archaeological sites, the team encounters a community of shepherds and migrants that have used the caves for centuries and discover a living culture worth preserving most of all.

2017-01-02 | en

Der Aufstieg der Habsburger. Die Schlacht am Marchfeld

It was the battle that decided the future of Europe: on August 26, 1278, two dynasties faced each other at Marchfeld. On one side was the Roman-German King Rudolf I from the House of Habsburg, on the other Ottokar II from the Bohemian Přemyslid dynasty. Rudolf's victory over Ottokar laid the foundations for the unprecedented rise of the Habsburg Empire, which was to play a decisive role in Europe for more than six centuries.

2022-01-06 | de

The Mystery of the Trojan Horse

The story of the Trojan Horse is probably one of the most famous stories ever told: after ten years of bloody war, the Greek coalition decides to lift the siege and depart, but not before leaving at the gates a huge wooden horse, which the Trojans confidently lead into the city. A few hours later, the once invincible Troy goes up in flames. What exactly happened? Is this myth true or false?

2021-03-26 | de

Ice Age Death Trap

In a race against developers in the Rocky Mountains, paleontologists uncover a unique fossil site packed with astonishingly well-preserved bones of mammoths, mastodons, and other giant extinct beasts. The discovery opens a highly focused window on the vanished world of the Ice Age in North America.

2012-02-01 | en

Živé zkameněliny

1951-01-01 | cs