Exploring what bronze casts found in Benin in 1897 tell about the lost kingdoms of West Africa.

Searching for the roots of the kingdom of Great Zimbabwe in southern Africa.

Searching for answers to the legend of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church which dictated the imperial dynasty.

Nubia, which once dominated the eastern Sahara, has given the world some of the most spectacular monuments.

Dr. Alice Roberts follows an entire year of British archaeology.

History has identified the period following the fall of the Roman Empire with a descent into barbarism. Waldemar Januszczak disagrees. In this four-part series he argues that the Dark Ages were a time of great artistic achievement.

This documentary follows historian and writer Dr Sam Willis as he explores the Silk Road, the most famous trade route in history. Episodes track the global superhighway, which ran from Xian, China's ancient capital, through to Central Asia and Persia, reaching Istanbul and Venice. Significantly, the path created a network of merchants, traders, envoys, pilgrims and travellers, where they exchanged ideas, cultures and religions. Along the 5000-mile stretch, new materials, inventions and products crossed borders and shaped the development of those societies.

Whenever documentary filmmakers at Discovery Channel and the BBC unite for a project, stellar television seems to follow. "Planet Earth: Africa" stems from this collaboration, as did the breakthrough natural history series "Life" in 2009. David Attenborough narrated that one, and he's back to take viewers on a journey through the vast and diverse continent of Africa. Four years in the making, during which more than 2,000 hours of video were shot, the program consists of six hour-long episodes that feature an array of never-before-filmed species, animal behaviors and previously unknown places. Cameras uncover the extreme dangers of the Kalahari, the dense forests and snow-capped peaks of the Savannah, the dynamic Congo rainforest, the ever-changing climate of the Cape and the massive and parched Sahara.

Jeremy Paxman traces the rise and fall of the British Empire.

Dazzling, state-of-the-art high-definition imagery highlights this breathtaking documentary series featuring footage of some of the world's most awe-inspiring natural wonders -- from the oceans to the deserts to the polar ice caps. Actress Sigourney Weaver narrates this American version of the original BBC production.