Secrets of the Dead

Historian Charles Allen investigates whether ash and bone discovered in Northern India in 1898 are remains of the Buddha.

Forensic anthropologists excavate the early American colony of Jamestown, Va., and find bones of a 14-year-old English girl.

On June 11, 1962, bank robbers, Frank Morris and Clarence and John Anglin, launched a patchwork, raincoat raft into the frigid waters of San Francisco Bay surrounding Alcatraz Prison. The men disappeared, leaving behind a cold case that has mystified law enforcement for over half a century. Now, three Dutch scientists have used 3D modelling technology to show that it may have been possible for the men to have survived. Putting their theory to the test, the Dutchmen are recreating the daring escape as closely to the original as possible, right down to launching their own raincoat raft into the bay. Will they make it through the treacherous waters to safety or be swept out to sea? And can they prove once and for all what happened to the escapees?

Archaeologists have long believed that while the Egyptians were building pyramids 3,000 years ago, the people living in Western Europe were far less advanced. But a new discovery suggests something far more exciting. Five years ago, the remains of an incredible, ancient site began to emerge from a quarry in eastern England. Due to its delicate nature, experts have largely been working in secret – until now. What they've found is simply unheard of: a 3000-year-old settlement that would have risen above the marshy fens, made up of well-built houses on stilts. A thriving economic hub the size of a modern country town surrounded this settlement – complete with busy harbors and rivers packed with metalwork traders, selling their goods across Europe. Shockingly, evidence suggests the town may have been attacked and set afire before being abandoned. The ancient artifacts – unprecedented in number and quality – are telling a dramatically new story about Bronze Age life in Britain.

A mining operation in Cerrejón, Northern Colombia, opened a window into a previously unknown period of the earth’s history, where a world teeming with giant creatures emerged. The biggest of them all was Titanoboa—a 43-foot snake, the largest that ever lived. No other creature could match Titanoboa in its size and strength…or so it was thought. New discoveries in Cerrejón suggest that Titanoboa’s rule was challenged by a giant crocodilian. Now, follow scientists as they come to grips with the size of this animal and uncover what made it so successful. Close analysis of fossils and scientific experiments reveal unmatched hunting prowess. So which one was the apex predator in Cerrejón 58 million years ago?

Underwater secrets reveal a seaside city where Nero and Julius Caesar once lived.