Secrets of the Dead

Human skeletal remains found in the basement of Ben Franklin's British residence may have been used for science.

In many ways, President Lyndon B. Johnson was the most unlikely champion of Civil Rights. But his actions in the White House told a different story when he dared to champion two laws that changed America and the world—the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

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?

Join Dr. Kathleen Martinez, criminal lawyer turned maverick archaeologist, as she searches for Cleopatra's lost tomb. Very little evidence remains of Egypt's last queen, but Kathleen’s radical new theory about the real Cleopatra has led her to look where no one else has dared -- and her hunch is paying off as she stuns the archaeological establishment with her discoveries of incredible artifacts, a network of mysterious tunnels, and even a vast city of the dead dated to the time of the Queen and her Ptolemaic dynasty. Now Kathleen has made her biggest breakthrough so far: a 35-meter deep underground shaft that, according to the experts, has all the hallmarks of a royal burial shaft. Could Kathleen be closing in on Cleopatra's final resting place?

Follow a team of international scientists documenting an archeological sensation: the exploration of royal tombs beneath the ancient Mexican city of Teotihuacán. Despite many decades of research, not much is known about this long-lost society. When archeologists discover evidence of a sacrificial chamber beneath the famous Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent, they find the clues that may finally tell us who these mysterious people were.

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.