I like this series. It does not only show what the artifacts are but it also shows how they were made with whys and wherefores. On the other hand, it is rather repetitive sometimes I end up with shouting "okay man I've had enough that's the third time you've said the same thing." It is informative. It has great visual quality indeed. But has it really got to be so loud? It is disturbing, bothering when it comes to its music and so on. Up to now it has showed almost everything I saw in the series of "Ancient Discoveries" being broadcast on History. At least it is not showing aliens of which we all have been quite sick and tired. I'm looking forward to the next episodes. We'll see what it's gonna turn to be.
5 Reviews
Great, very educational, wonderful graphics.
pilarvick16 July 2014
If you like ancient history and archeology, this show is for you. I loved the interesting information. All the presenters, with degrees to backed the information they were presenting, the great detail, how they explain and review all the hypothesis is amazing. I appreciate the explanations in plain English for people like me, that we are no mechanical knowledgeable, but in spite of that is easy for me to understand how some contraptions worked. Like with the Pantheon in Rome, was very enlighten the explanations how the concrete was made was surprising. This show is clearly for highly educated, cultured and scholarly audience. Thank you very much for such a stimulating show.
Should Have a (Mental) Health Warning
kmichaelpm8 July 2014
Warning: Spoilers
I do not believe the English language has the words to describe the brain numbing boredom of this program. We have gotten used to documentaries repeating statements/facts....but this offering has taken it to a whole new level. Not satisfied with making the viewer feel like an idiot by repeating everything a couple of times...they decided that people are so dense or forgetful that they repeat EVERYTHING over and over and over and overrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr... In other words they take about 15 minutes of useful viewing and stretch it out to a soul destroying 60 minutes. Additionally, they show experiments performed by people who should never be allowed near anything more dangerous than a rubber spoon. They show a guy proving whether a steam cannon will work, and the idiot is standing right next to the pressure vessel which is sitting in a blazing fire...and there is absolutely no protection should something go wrong...and that is just one example. They then test the steam cannon on a derelict boat where they declare they are pushing the limits of safety by taking the pressure higher....guess what...yep, he is standing right next to it without even gloves or coveralls. He then fires the cannon manually, and succeeds in moving it all over the place, making it very obvious that the shot would miss the boat...however the scene changes and not only does he hit the boat but the boat explodes...amazing...considering he supposedly fired a five pound metal ball which even though it was magnezium would not explode. Now if you run the sequence in slow motion you can clearly see that the projectile which penetrates the wooden boat hull is in fact a cylinder and not the original ball...I am all for theatrics, but this is blatant bulls**t in a documentary which is supposed to have some scientific/historical value.....WARNING...do not allow your kids to watch this dangerous rubbish. As for the adults....if you watch this documentary, you will probably require resuscitation afterwards...and you will forever regret the missing 60 minutes of your life.
A Good Beginner Docuseries For Children
PeachesThePuca27 December 2022
This is a good docuseries to show children if they show interest in ancient history.
It has: -Unnecessary Explosions -Cool Rock Music -Overly Excitable Random Non-Experts -Measurements in Football Fields -Guns Shooting Things!
-United States Military -Explanation of basic concepts -Bombastic comparisons -Contradictory Statements -Catchphrases!
-Rome and Egypt with a cameo for other civilizations every so often -Out of place modern cultural and technological references -Experiments that don't test what Ancient tech was actually used for -Episodes are 70% content, 30% same content, but repeated again -Some conclusions are not made by Historians or Experts, but by a guy with a really cool 3D projecting glove.
For people who enjoy documentaries, this is incredibly underwhelming and is more of a tv show with personalities than informative. Often retreading old grounds, each episode has at least one new thing you will learn, so it is not a complete wash. (One episode was actually fantastic!) However, actual historians and experts are not shown enough and the uncharismatic '3D Analyst' with the glove is the most frustrating recurring segment I have ever watched in my entire life. Very heavily Egypt and Rome centric, even when other civilizations and their cultures fit the theme of the various episodes. The first episode is absolutely dreadful, but the subsequent ones become more bearable as the season goes on.
This is a docuseries best suited to grab and hold the attention of children or played in the background while you multitask.
It has: -Unnecessary Explosions -Cool Rock Music -Overly Excitable Random Non-Experts -Measurements in Football Fields -Guns Shooting Things!
-United States Military -Explanation of basic concepts -Bombastic comparisons -Contradictory Statements -Catchphrases!
-Rome and Egypt with a cameo for other civilizations every so often -Out of place modern cultural and technological references -Experiments that don't test what Ancient tech was actually used for -Episodes are 70% content, 30% same content, but repeated again -Some conclusions are not made by Historians or Experts, but by a guy with a really cool 3D projecting glove.
For people who enjoy documentaries, this is incredibly underwhelming and is more of a tv show with personalities than informative. Often retreading old grounds, each episode has at least one new thing you will learn, so it is not a complete wash. (One episode was actually fantastic!) However, actual historians and experts are not shown enough and the uncharismatic '3D Analyst' with the glove is the most frustrating recurring segment I have ever watched in my entire life. Very heavily Egypt and Rome centric, even when other civilizations and their cultures fit the theme of the various episodes. The first episode is absolutely dreadful, but the subsequent ones become more bearable as the season goes on.
This is a docuseries best suited to grab and hold the attention of children or played in the background while you multitask.
Insults one's intelligence.
technomancer-9262422 October 2022
Just watched "most" of episode one.
Firstly, this follows the dated "reality programming" format of constantly repeating segments while using sensationalized speech.
Second, it takes theorized applications of ancient technologies and tries to place it into a modern context.
For example: "could this steam canon pierce a Roman Trireme's hull?"
I don't know how much, if at all, a Roman Trireme hull is armored. But I'd guess it'd be at least a few inches thick as it needed to be sound enough to withstand traditional projectile weapons and ramming.
But to test this steam canon on a 14' wooden motorboat with something along the lines of 10mm-20mm of plywood. And plywood that has long since outlived its usefulness withstand a 75mm magnesium ball fired from 15 or so meters away. I can agree that it's plausible that it might at least damage the hull and possibly penetrate it. But to cause an explosion with a fireball?
Really?
I stopped watching at that moment and removed it from my playlist. It's rubbish nonsense.
Firstly, this follows the dated "reality programming" format of constantly repeating segments while using sensationalized speech.
Second, it takes theorized applications of ancient technologies and tries to place it into a modern context.
For example: "could this steam canon pierce a Roman Trireme's hull?"
I don't know how much, if at all, a Roman Trireme hull is armored. But I'd guess it'd be at least a few inches thick as it needed to be sound enough to withstand traditional projectile weapons and ramming.
But to test this steam canon on a 14' wooden motorboat with something along the lines of 10mm-20mm of plywood. And plywood that has long since outlived its usefulness withstand a 75mm magnesium ball fired from 15 or so meters away. I can agree that it's plausible that it might at least damage the hull and possibly penetrate it. But to cause an explosion with a fireball?
Really?
I stopped watching at that moment and removed it from my playlist. It's rubbish nonsense.
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