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
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Summary: Setting out from the ancient Red Sea port of Aqaba, this program travels to Petra, a pivotal trading center that sat astride the caravan route from Arabia to points north. An arid place of monumental structures carved into the colorful sandstone mountains, the Nabatean capital is also the site of innovative storm water management and water conservation systems. A low-altitude flight over the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: On the plains of Beqaa, on the site of the Phoenician city of Baalbek, stands what is arguably the world's most impressive testament to Imperial Roman architecture: the gigantic temple complex dedicated to Jupiter, Venus, and Bacchus. Its six-story columns are the tallest ever erected, and its stones-some weighing nearly a thousand tons-are the largest ever used. In this program, architect...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Its Phoenician founders called it Kart Hadasht, The New Town, but history knows it as Carthage-the heart of the Punic Empire and base of the Mediterranean's renowned merchant mariners. Blending archaeology and virtual reality, this program depicts the city as it was during its heyday as a major economic, political, and cultural center. Its ingenious military port, bustling streets, and...
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
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: Filmed on location in central and southern Mexico, this program touches on the Mayan, Toltec, and Aztec cultures-and a civilization that preceded them all at a city dubbed Teotihuacan by Nahuatl-speakers centuries after its fall. Expert commentary and 3-D computer images shed light on the complex societies that emerged, grew strong, and disappeared in the highlands and lowlands of Mesoamerica.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
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: 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