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Some stories never lose their hold on our imaginations. From tales of a lost continent to the secrets of the mighty pyramids… from golden Inca treasure to the rituals of human sacrifice…the mysteries of the ancient world haunt us still.

In ANCIENT SECRETS we travel the globe in search of the stories, the people, and the history behind the world’s most enduring mysteries.

Mummies , Human Sacrifice, Mysteries, Pyramids, and Treasures. Each episode brings a fresh perspective to some of history’s most intriguing stories. From the pyramids of Egypt and South America…to the fabled gems of India and the gold of Tut…to an ancient Maya well of human bones and buried treasure…we’ll explore the connections and the deepest secrets of these timeless tales.

Each episode will feature stunning film photography shot all over the world, handsome recreations, and in some cases, animation.

• MUMMIES – preserved Chinese aristocrats…to the frozen victims of Pompeii
• HUMAN SACRIFICE – a well of skeletons…to an underground palace of death
• MYSTERIES – rediscovering lost cities…to puzzling drawings in the sand
• PYRAMIDS – from bloody Maya rituals…to missing Egyptian tombs
• TREASURE – royal buried treasure…to the exotic spoils of war

MUMMIES The Egyptians are the most celebrated mummy-makers, but other ancient civilizations also refined this venerable art. From Egypt, we visit the extraordinary cemeteries of the deserts of Peru, where ancient civilizations even practiced brain surgery. Still in Peru, we explore the fascinating history of the former Inca kings, the only mummies who continued to live as if death had not intervened, ministered to by their servants in their great palaces. We visit China’s most famous mummy, the fabled Lady Xin, who was found buried with fabulous riches. And we experience the life-like forms of the Pompeiians, who have been resurrected along with their city, buried under a cloud of ash two millenia ago.

HUMAN SACRIFICE This dark side of history is rarely explored, but just about every ancient civilization practiced human sacrifice. With extraordinary re-creations and archaeological evidence, this program takes us inside these ancient practices…from the bloody rituals of the Aztecs and the Maya …to the custom of burying sacrificial victims with kings, practiced by many civilizations, including the Chinese and the Sumerians …to the horrifying sacrifices of the Moche of Peru, performed in honor of their god, The Decapitator. Even the peaceful Minoans resorted to sacrifice when their civilization was threatened by calamity.

MYSTERIES The mysteries of the ancient world continue to tantalize us today. From the tales of the lost continent of Atlantis…to the eerie prophesies of the oracle of Delphi…to the lost history of Great Zimbabwe in Africa… to the enigmatic lines in the desert etched by the ancient Nasca Indians of Peru…to the lost cities of Petra and Machu Pichu. This program probes the secrets of many of our most intriguing mysteries.

PYRAMIDS Egypt’s pyramids may be the most renowned, but the world is full of other remarkable examples of this ancient urge to build towards the sky. From Egypt, we travel to the first pyramids in Sumer… then on to the the fascinating theaters for bloody ritual built by the Maya in Mexico and Central America…the massive and mysterious pyramids at Teotihuacan outside Mexico City…and the great mounds of America’s prairies.

TREASURE Since the beginning of recorded history, cultures have treasured certain substances above all others. Men have traveled the world in search of them, launching trade networks and conquering entire civilizations. Adventure seekers have risked their lives in pursuit of elusive treasure. In this program, we’ll examine what makes a treasure, and how the pursuit of them has helped to shape our history. From the great Koh-I-Noor diamond of India…to the golden treasures of Africa and the Americas…to the fabulous tomb of King Tut…and the sacred treasures of the Holy Land.