Login Required

This content is restricted to University of Auckland staff and students. Log in with your username to view.

Log in

More about logging in

How did the Ancients move impossibly huge objects? Why did the Roman forces at the siege of Masada decide to shift an entire mountain by hand? We reveal the ancient technology that allowed the Egyptians to move a 1,000 ton obelisk, and show how the Romans moved even heavier objects at the temples at Baalbek. As well as moving stone and earth, the ancients needed to move mountains of water, using technology we still find impressive today. Who were the most successful Mega Movers of the ancient world and how were they able to make the impossible...possible?

Ancient Impossible picks up where HISTORY's long running Ancient Discoveries left off. In this next generation of storytelling, Ancient Impossible reveals how many of today's technological achievements were actually developed centuries ago. Colossal monuments, impossible feats of engineering and technologies so precise they defy reinvention—the ancient world was far more advanced than we ever imagined. We'll travel through history to reveal a radically different picture of the past, with innovations so far ahead of their time, they're still in use today. New science uncovers a lost world more like our own than we ever suspected, and reveals how modern technology has its blueprint in the ancient world.

Primary Title
  • Ancient Impossible
Episode Title
  • Moving Mountains
Date Broadcast
  • Monday 9 February 2015
Start Time
  • 13 : 30
Finish Time
  • 14 : 30
Duration
  • 60:00
Series
  • 1
Episode
  • 2
Channel
  • History
Broadcaster
  • Sky Network Television
Programme Description
  • Ancient Impossible picks up where HISTORY's long running Ancient Discoveries left off. In this next generation of storytelling, Ancient Impossible reveals how many of today's technological achievements were actually developed centuries ago. Colossal monuments, impossible feats of engineering and technologies so precise they defy reinvention—the ancient world was far more advanced than we ever imagined. We'll travel through history to reveal a radically different picture of the past, with innovations so far ahead of their time, they're still in use today. New science uncovers a lost world more like our own than we ever suspected, and reveals how modern technology has its blueprint in the ancient world.
Episode Description
  • How did the Ancients move impossibly huge objects? Why did the Roman forces at the siege of Masada decide to shift an entire mountain by hand? We reveal the ancient technology that allowed the Egyptians to move a 1,000 ton obelisk, and show how the Romans moved even heavier objects at the temples at Baalbek. As well as moving stone and earth, the ancients needed to move mountains of water, using technology we still find impressive today. Who were the most successful Mega Movers of the ancient world and how were they able to make the impossible...possible?
Classification
  • PGR
Owning Collection
  • Chapman Archive
Broadcast Platform
  • Television
Languages
  • English
Captions
Live Broadcast
  • No
Rights Statement
  • Made for the University of Auckland's educational use as permitted by the Screenrights Licensing Agreement.
Subjects
  • Documentary television programs--United States
  • Civilization, Ancient
  • Science, Ancient
Genres
  • Documentary
  • Educational
  • History
Hosts
  • Steve Wolf (Host)
Contributors
  • Bill Graves (Narrator)
  • Stuart Clarke (Producer)
  • Wild Dream Films (Production Unit)
Subjects
  • Documentary television programs--United States
  • Civilization, Ancient
  • Science, Ancient