La ruta moche

To outsiders, Turkmenistan is one of the world's least known countries. For the first time in ten years, a film crew has been free to visit spectacular excavation sites and follow international researchers into areas that have long been off-limits. Once considered the poorest part of the Soviet Union, oil and natural gas have brought new wealth to Turkmenistan today. A little known fact in the West is that 4,000 years ago, the country was home to one of the ancient world's centers of power. Although it flourished around the same time as the advanced civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt, the Margiana empire was later largely forgotten. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the country has been slowly opening up to international researchers, and its astounding cultural heritage is coming to light.

When a Spanish Jesuit goes into the South American wilderness to build a mission in the hope of converting the Indians of the region, a slave hunter is converted and joins his mission. When Spain sells the colony to Portugal, they are forced to defend all they have built against the Portuguese aggressors.

In the name of the struggle against terrorism, a special operation - code named CONDOR - was conducted in the 1970s and '80s in South America. Its target were left-wing political dissidents, the organized labor and intellectuals. Condor soon became a network of military dictatorships supported by the U.S. State Department, the CIA, and Interpol.

It's the most extraordinary feat of engineering in history, and one of the most iconic man-made structures on the planet - the Great Wall of China, stretching thousands of miles across barren deserts and treacherous mountains before finally plunging into the sea. But why did the Chinese go to such staggering lengths to build it, and what are the secrets that have enabled it to survive for over 2,000 years? Now, ground breaking science is re-writing its complex history and de-coding its mysteries to reveal that there is much more to the Great Wall than just bricks and mortar. Cutting edge chemistry reveals that the secret to the Great Wall's remarkable strength is a simple ingredient found in every kitchen, and a new survey also determines that its length is truly amazing, as we finally solve the enigma at the heart of the world's greatest mega-structure.

Up to one million gladiators are thought to have died in arenas across the Roman Empire. And, although fascination with gladiators has been high, the details of their lives and deaths remain fragmentary. Now, with the discovery of an ancient Roman burial site containing 80 skeletons thought to be gladiator warriors, National Geographic recreates the world of the Roman arena and how six gladiators lived, fought and died.

Built in 1755 at the height of the French and Indian War, Braddock's Road was one of the nation's most infamous military roads. Traces of this historic route, in western Maryland, still remain, buried beneath soil and brush, and a team of archaeologists is on the hunt.

In the heart of a metropolitan city of 15 million people and among the construction of a new billion-dollar transportation network, an archaeological sensation has been discovered: the ancient harbour of Theodosious, lost from the history books for over 1000 years.

A few decades after the destruction of the Inca Empire, a Spanish expedition led by the infamous Aguirre leaves the mountains of Peru and goes down the Amazon River in search of the lost city of El Dorado. When great difficulties arise, Aguirre’s men start to wonder whether their quest will lead them to prosperity or certain death.

Bettany Hughes goes in search of this lost civilisation, revealing the story of a city founded out of the desert by Alexander the Great in 331 BC to become the world's first global centre of culture. The documentary also looks at the role of astronomer and philosopher Hypatia, and incorporates stunning footage from the feature film 'Agora'.

The mysterious island of Crete has always loomed large in imagination, as the home of the Minotaur - that monstrous creature, half-man half-bull - imprisoned in Daedalus' labyrinth. Before Crete collapsed in fire and violence, it gave birth to Europe's first civilization nearly 5,000 years ago, and boasted an advanced, prosperous Mediterranean civilization with hinged doors, flush toilets, and magnificent palaces. How did the Minoans live, and what brought this great society to such a sudden, obscure end? Modern archeology offers new insights into the everyday life in Minoan culture, and tantalizing clues about its tragic destiny.

A film on the "SAPPHIRE", the oldest identified wreck in Canadian waters. Parks Canada's underwater archaeology team is responsible for the excavation of the three-hundred-year-old frigate.