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Raiders of the Lost Past

WITH JANINA RAMIREZ

Broadcaster

BBC Two, BBC Four, BBC iPlayer

Episode Count

s1 | 3 x 60', s2 | 3 x 60', s3 | 1 x 60'

Specialist Factual

CREDITS

Produced & Directed by: Ben Harding, David Starkey, Kenny Scott, Luke McMahon, Russell England, Steve O’Hagan
Producers: Chris Nikkel, Denis Minihan
Executive Producers Ed Stobart, Emma Parkins
Production Managers: Judy Wilson, Sue Fowler
Business Affairs: Will Skidmore
Directors of Photography: Jim Peterson, Louis Caulfield, Piers Leigh, Sam Jackson, Tom Hayward
Editors: Andy Tohill, Craig Slattery, Declan McCann, Gerard Brady, Nick Watson, Tom Thistlethwaite

DESCRIPTION

The series sells to 60 territories internationally under the title Lost Worlds & Hidden Treasures.

Series 1 (BBC Four)

In the summer of 1939, on the cusp of World War II, explorers discovered three astonishing ancient treasures that would transform our understanding of the origins of civilisation.

Series 2 (BBC Two)

In series 2, Dr Janina Ramirez travels to Crete, Turkey and Norway in the footsteps of three men who made some of the most exciting discoveries of all time. The treasures they found – the real palace behind the myth of the Minotaur, a Viking ship lost for a thousand years, and the world’s first city – rewrote our human story.

But these finds are not what they seem – Dr Janina Ramirez uncovers the forces of nationalism, colonialism and ego that drove the explorers as they competed to stamp their mark on our shared past.  

Series 3 (BBC Two)

On the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s treasure-packed tomb, Dr Janina Ramirez turns detective and heads to Egypt to uncover the real story of how a Briton called Howard Carter unearthed a pharaoh’s tomb when everyone else believed there were no more great Egyptian finds to be made. 

She discovers that some of Tutankhamun’s treasures are missing and reveals the name of the person responsible. She delves into the origins of the supposed pharaoh’s curse, finds the surprising truth about the young king’s brutal injuries and digs out fresh evidence that Tutankhamun wasn’t the delicate, powerless boy king of legend but was instead a powerful statesman.

REVIEWS