What are the best episodes of Ancient Discoveries?

The best rated episodes of Ancient Discoveries are: Gruesome Medicine - S6E5 rated 9.5, Galen, Doctor to the Gladiators - S1E2 rated 8.7, Airborne Assault - S6E1 rated 8.7, Lost Cities of the Deep - S4E1 rated 8.2, Ancient Mega-Fort - S6E3 rated 8.0, Ancient Torture Tech - S5E4 rated 8.0, Ancient New York - S4E6 rated 8.0, Machines of the East - S3E10 rated 8.0, Chinese Warfare - S3E7 rated 8.0, Egyptian Warfare - S3E6 rated 8.0

What are the worst episodes of Ancient Discoveries?

The lowest rated episodes of Ancient Discoveries are: Death Weapons of the East - S5E1 rated 6.0, Ancient Special Forces - S6E8 rated 6.0, Secret Science of the Occult - S6E13 rated 6.5, Ancient Super Ballistics - S4E3 rated 6.7, Ancient Death Machines - S4E4 rated 6.7, Machines II - S2E3 rated 6.8, Machines of the Gods - S3E3 rated 6.8, Super Ships - S3E4 rated 7.0, Machines III - S3E8 rated 7.0, Ancient Chinese Super Ships - S4E5 rated 7.0

Ancient Discoveries Episode Rating Graph

Dec 2003 - Dec 2009

6.2

Ancient Discoveries Episode Rating Graph poster

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Browse episode ratings trends for Ancient Discoveries. Simply click on the interactive rating graph to explore the best and worst of Ancient Discoveries's 42 episodes.

Best Episodes of Ancient Discoveries

Gruesome Medicine
S6 Ep5
9.5
18th Dec 2009
Explores ancient medical techniques and possible new applications in the modern era. Techniques reviewed include blood letting by leeches, reading from a torpedo fish, trepanning to relieve pressure on the brain, and Roman battlefield surgery and tools. Other items reviewed include how snake venom was used as medicine and using replica tools and virtual surgery in a computer to see how an arrow was removed from the skull of Prince Henry V of England.
Galen, Doctor to the Gladiators
S1 Ep2
8.7
21st Dec 2003
"Medicine" is mostly devoted to Galen, a Greek physician in the Roman Empire who pioneered numerous medical techniques, honing his craft on wounded gladiators and soldiers on the battlefield. The unique discovery in this episode is a human skull that implies an effort to perform a rudimentary type of brain surgery.
Airborne Assault
S6 Ep1
8.7
5th Nov 2009
Assault from the air didn't begin with the era of the airplane. The kite bomb was a medieval siege weapon that dropped bombs from a kite over cities. Ancient bouncing bombs that actually skipped across water terrorized shipping in Turkey in 1453. Ancient China's whistling arrows, the world's earliest rocket-powered explosive missile, and the earliest known successful parachute, are also examined.
Lost Cities of the Deep
S4 Ep1
8.2
28th Jan 2008
Our modern day landscapes are littered with the remains of ancient superstructures. Now, cutting edge archaeology is beginning to reveal that this century's most exciting discoveries actually lie at the bottom of the ocean.
Ancient Mega-Fort
S6 Ep3
8.0
4th Dec 2009
Explore the defenses of ancient forts and cities. Discover the invisible underground defensive systems of Cappadocia and how they proved so successful. Test the ancient Mayan killer bee castle defenses, and release bees in an attack. A replica section of the ancient Roman fort of Alesia is built. And the most impregnable walls in history - the multi-layered defenses of Constantinople are investigated and along with the type of cannon that destroyed them in 1453.
Ancient Torture Tech
S5 Ep4
8.0
13th Nov 2008
Revealing the terrifying truth behind torture; ancient inventors go to great lengths to develop precision devices to exact pain; the rack; burning at the stake; Vlad the Impaler.
Ancient New York
S4 Ep6
8.0
10th Mar 2008
Long before Wall Street and Broadway, before even the Dutch, New York was a special place. It's unique topography and resources made it an ideal settlement and so its history stretches far back before the arrival of Europeans. ANCIENT DISCOVERIES journeys back in time to experience the Big Apple when it was still the "Island of Many Hills." While New York's towering skyline and world-leading technology have made it the ultimate modern city, breathtaking new discoveries reveal that the blueprints for this megalopolis were in fact laid thousands of years ago. Now, through the wonders of CGI and dramatic reenactment, you can see first-hand how people have been "making it there" for thousands of years. Witness brutal blood sports staged in ancient Madison Square Gardens. And mark the passage of time — as if in Times Square on New Year's Eve — with a gigantic Neolithic calendar.
Machines of the East
S3 Ep10
8.0
24th Apr 2007
From the internal combustion engine to the artificial heart, the legacy of Al-Jazari, the 12th century Muslim inventor, is everywhere around us. It's no exaggeration to say he laid the technological foundation for modern life as we know it. From cranks to pumps, from water clocks to mechanized robots, Al-Jazira wasn't just years ahead of his time, he was centuries ahead. In this thorough ANCIENT DISCOVERIES examination of Al-Jazari's influence, modern reproductions of his greatest breakthroughs bring his genius to life. See his famous elephant-themed, fully-operational water clock and other stunning technological achievements.
Chinese Warfare
S3 Ep7
8.0
6th Mar 2007
Exploring the military innovations of ancient China, including gunpowder, flame throwers, rockets, automated crossbows, siege machines, and the grand scale of their battles
Egyptian Warfare
S3 Ep6
8.0
27th Feb 2007
Egyptian monuments and great works of art still astound us today. But ANCIENT DISCOVERIES strives to reveal another surprising aspect of Egyptian life: their sophisticated weapons of war and their great might on the battlefield. A common perception of the Egyptians is of a cultured and civil people, yet there is fascinating evidence which reveals they were also an accomplished war-faring people. Visit the great tombs and search the ancient archives to discover the secrets to their military might. Discover how Ancient Egyptians pioneered weapons technology that is still put to use to this day, and experience their absolutely epic battles.

Worst Episodes of Ancient Discoveries

Death Weapons of the East
S5 Ep1
6.0
23rd Oct 2008
Comparison test between a shotgun and a staff, the oldest known weapon; the deadly Chinese ermei underwater attack weapon; examining whether Chi warriors can really kill a man with a single touch; ancient Chinese crossbows.
Ancient Special Forces
S6 Ep8
6.0
18th Dec 2009
The show reviews ancient Roman navy SEAL techniques of capturing enemy ships from underwater and replicates the feat. The tactics of ancient Roman war dog units are explored including a historically savage breed of dog, the Mastiff. Finally, the secrets of the samurai sword and how it was made is reviewed and they build and test an ancient Horro, a Japanese device that could protect a galloping cavalryman from arrow fire using thin silk.
Secret Science of the Occult
S6 Ep13
6.5
28th Dec 2009
In Mexico, explorers use a sacred ancient Mayan temple code to search for an occult underworld engineered in the depths of the earth--a mysterious site where no TV cameras have ever ventured. In Britain, investigators uncover the secret technologies behind a life size statue of Jesus Christ that miraculously came to life. Weapons experts reveal the science that saved a holy military order from certain annihilation in the bloodiest siege in history. In Greece, archaeologists solve the mystery of the oracle of the dead; an eerie sanctuary where flying ghosts appeared from the depths of hell.
Ancient Super Ballistics
S4 Ep3
6.7
11th Feb 2008
Since the first time a rock was thrown in anger, mankind has endeavored to deliver larger, deadlier payloads further and faster. ANCIENT DISCOVERIES reveals how the science and technology of ballistics — a seemingly modern, cutting edge technology — actually dates back thousands of years to the ancient world. Using state of the art forensic techniques and the world's leading firearms experts, this groundbreaking show reveals the accuracy, power and range of ancient bullets, rockets and bombs.
Ancient Death Machines
S4 Ep4
6.7
25th Feb 2008
ANCIENT DISCOVERIES digs for the roots of today's war machinery. Throughout history, military requirements — killing more effectively than the enemy — have driven the leading edge of technological innovation. Almost all technology on the planet today owes its origins to inventions driven by the imperatives of war. This episode surveys the ANCIENT DEATH MACHINES that have left a legacy on today's battlefield. From apocalyptic skyscraper siege machines to ancient landmines and flamethrowers which had the potential to extinguish hundreds of lives in minutes, ANCIENT DISCOVERIES puts the lethal tech of yesterday to the test.
Machines II
S2 Ep3
6.8
11th Dec 2005
Ancient mechanical devices are examined: A jar that appears to be an electric battery, a flour mill in France that is run by waterwheels, and Archimedes use of solar power to defeat the Romans.
Machines of the Gods
S3 Ep3
6.8
6th Feb 2007
With so many gods to choose from and so many temples vying for the average worshiper's fidelity, Ancient Greece and Rome was a buyer's market for religions. Priests were desperate to demonstrate the supremacy of their particular god and his or her personal involvement in their temple. To that end, Wonders of the Ancient World were constructed, iron chariots were suspended in mid-air, and automatic soap dispensers were installed.
Super Ships
S3 Ep4
7.0
13th Feb 2007
SUPERSHIPS reveals recent, extraordinary discoveries of ships from the ancient world. New scholarship and breakthroughs in underwater archaeology have vastly increased our store of knowledge regarding ancient navies. But with new information comes many questions. What do these finds say about the societies which created them, and the techniques they used in their construction? Who could have mustered the resources and know-how to construct such impressive nautical marvels? How did they build such remarkable ships? And, most intriguingly, why? Travel back to ancient Egypt and learn about the "Khufu Boat" which had not one metal nail in its construction, and uncover huge sailing vessels, dating from 3000 B.C., in Abydos near the Nile. Some of the most exciting discoveries that have been made include ancient warships, some massive enough to carry a crew of 7000.
Machines III
S3 Ep8
7.0
27th Mar 2007
For the first time, this program unveils the remarkable story of how China created a myriad of ingenious devices including cosmic machines able to collect data on the stars, hydraulic hammers, water-controlled clocks and even paper. We discover that ancient China was an industrial superpower, armed with devices such as heaven carts' able to drill down deep underground, geared milling machines and mass production plants powered by water. Incredibly, unlike the ancient Egyptians, the Chinese developed their inventions with an eye for safety. Sophisticated mining props were designed to prevent cave-ins; ancient "carburetors" to control volatile natural gas; they even managed to design the world's first earthquake detector. Setting out on an epic journey across all of China, we meet leading historians and model-makers who keep tales of ancient China alive. We visit a reconstruction of an ancient Chinese iron furnace to unravel insights into how the Chinese created a forty-ton iron artefact five centuries before the West discovered cast-iron technology. Most impressive of all, we meet the leading clay expert Professor Ye Hongming who has spent a lifetime seeking to discover the secrets of how the ancient Chinese created their vast terracotta army. This pioneering documentary seeks to lift the centuries-old veil on China's greatest inventions, revealing how many of the West's modern-day inventions owe an extraordinary debt to ancient China's greatest minds.
Ancient Chinese Super Ships
S4 Ep5
7.0
3rd Mar 2008
The master shipbuilders of the Far East created the most deadly warships of ancient times in their quest for supremacy of the seas. Uncover the extraordinary ingenuity of the ancient engineers whose innovations would take shipbuilding to new heights and create some of the largest and most fearsome navies of the ancient world.

Ancient Discoveries Episode Guide

Ancient Computer?
S1 Ep1
7.6
21st Dec 2003
"Computing" covers the advancement of time-keeping techniques, from the classic sundial to Ctesibius's use of constant water flow and primitive gear mechanisms, leading up to what is known as the Antikythera mechanism. An isolated artifact discovered in the wreckage of an ancient cargo vessel, the mechanism's origin and use are largely a mystery, but its elaborate system of gears suggest an advanced early device for calculating the positions of the heavenly bodies.
Galen, Doctor to the Gladiators
S1 Ep2
8.7
21st Dec 2003
"Medicine" is mostly devoted to Galen, a Greek physician in the Roman Empire who pioneered numerous medical techniques, honing his craft on wounded gladiators and soldiers on the battlefield. The unique discovery in this episode is a human skull that implies an effort to perform a rudimentary type of brain surgery.
Heron of Alexandria
S1 Ep3
7.8
21st Dec 2003
Robotics" is all about the great Heron of Alexandria, a clever machinist who used principles of air compression, wind power, and basic mechanics to swindle religious worshipers and entertain the masses at the theater. He also essentially invented the steam engine!

Ancient Discoveries was a television series that premiered on December 21, 2003, on The History Channel. The program focused on ancient technologies. The show's theme was that many inventions which are thought to be modern have ancient roots or in some cases may have been lost and then reinvented. The program was a follow-up to a special originally broadcast in 2005 which focused on technologies from the Ancient Roman era such as the Antikythera mechanism and inventors such as Heron of Alexandria. Episodes of the regular series expanded to cover other areas such as Egypt, China and East Asia, and the Islamic world. Ancient Discoveries was made for The History Channel by Wild Dream Films based in Cardiff in the UK. Much of the filming was done on location across the world. The series used contributions from archaeologists and other experts, footage of historical sites and artifacts, computer generated reconstructions and dramatized reconstructions along with experiments and tests on reconstructed artifacts.