Episode list

The Valley of the Queens, less famous than the Valley of the Kings, is nevertheless home to nearly a hundred tombs. Archaeologists are trying to unravel the mysteries of this necropolis, which housed not only royal wives but also princes and other members of their families. Some of the tombs were looted in ancient times, but others are still richly decorated. Scientists explain the techniques used to obtain the splendid colors that still adorn Nefertari's tomb today, even though it is 3000 years old. The queens of Egypt, these powerful women, were for some of them holders of religious and political power, following the example of their husbands Pharaohs.

In 2008, during excavations in Siberia, a team of Russian archaeologists discovered a strange little bone. Genetic analysis revealed that it was a human bone, but not that of a Homo sapiens or a Neanderthal, but that of a third species of human that lived during prehistoric times. Scientists call this species Denisova Man, after the cave where the bone was found. This discovery triggered an international investigation, mobilizing dozens of researchers, in order to lift a corner of the veil on the existence of this new "cousin".

200 years ago, a young French scientist, Jean-François Champollion, succeeded in doing the impossible: deciphering the code of the hieroglyphs, which had remained silent for over a thousand years. Thanks to this key, an entire civilization buried under the sands of Egypt was reborn... In the south of the country, near Luxor, a palace of hieroglyphs intrigues Egyptologists: the tomb of a priest called Padiamenope, the most monumental in Egypt, larger than those of the pharaohs. An exclusive access to the heart of the archaeological mission of the tomb of Padiamenope "TT 33", of the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology (IFAO), reveals their latest discoveries. Thanks to a unique 3D virtual tour system, this film allows us to plunge into the dark depths and the scorching heat of the tomb and to penetrate the secrets of the priests, scribes, painters, engravers and builders who constructed this extraordinary funerary monument.

The estimates of scientists around the world are alarming: by 2100, the rise in water levels will vary between 50 cm and 2 meters depending on the coastline. 90% of the world's coastal cities are affected. But the threat is multiple. Not only is the sea level rising, but the storms that accompany it are increasingly violent, the salt of the water is destroying the land and the force of the movements is eating away at the soil on which these cities rest. An army of scientists is on the move, like thousands of soldiers in battle order, to find solutions before it is too late.