Summary: Standing in the Jordanian desert is a singular archaeological treasure: the bath complex at Qusair Amra. Inside, the walls display lively frescoes depicting hundreds of characters engaged in a wide variety of activities. Using a computer-generated reconstruction of the least well preserved paintings, this program restores the faded images to their original vibrant colors in order to unravel the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Considered the most imposing Hellenistic site in Jordan, the Qasr al-Abd at Iraq al-Amir was the dream of Hyrcanus, an unscrupulously ambitious member of the influential Tobiad family. With the assistance of architect Francois Larche, of the National Center of Scientific Research, this program virtually reconstructs the ornate but uncompleted palace-ironically, a symbol of Hyrcanus' failed...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: To travel the Mediterranean is to sail into a past that scattered Roman temples in Lebanon, Greek theaters in Jordan, and Phoenician houses in Tunisia. This program studies the unifying influence of the Mediterranean on the civilizations that flourished on its shores. Vivid archaeological footage and computer-generated animation capture distant echoes of the clash of conquest and the jingle of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Hatshepsut, Egypt's only female pharaoh, was said to be a ruler with two faces: one political, the other artistic. This program tours her architectural masterpiece, the terraced and rock-cut temple at Deir el-Bahri that her people called djeser-djeseru, "sacred of sacreds." Numerous paintings adorning the interior chronicle her achievements and peace-loving enterprises, and a computer-generated...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The fusion of Mayan construction techniques with later elements from central Mexico makes Chichen Itza one of the most important examples of the Mayan-Toltec civilization in Yucatan. In this program, archaeological footage and computer re-creations spotlight prominent locations in the city, including the imposing Pyramid of Kukulcan, the Temple of the Warriors, the circular observatory known as...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Set in the heart of the Puuc hills, the imposing remains of Uxmal-Thrice Built, in the Yucatec Mayan language-testify to that city's extraordinary past. This program travels to the Yucatan Peninsula to explore the ruins of this significant Mayan cultural center. Aerial photography captures the magnitude of the site, while a ground-level inspection homes in on details such as the long-nosed Chac...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Thriving in the shadows of the Roman and Parthian Empires, the polyglot oasis town of Palmyra, "the Venice of the Sands," grew rich on the caravan trade between northern Syria and Babylonia. In this program, archaeological footage and 3-D computer-generated images enable viewers to step into that bustling multicultural center, with its busy streets, temples to ancient gods, and silent tombs. In...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Reputedly the first great city of the Western hemisphere, Teotihuacan, the City of the Gods, is also one of the most mysterious. Who lived there? What were its inhabitants like? And why did their culture collapse? In this program, archaeologist Ruben Cabrera Castro, co-director of the site, leads the way down the Avenue of the Dead-and inside both the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006