Channel 4 – Lost Worlds: The Story of Archaeology (2000) Part 5. At the Service of the State
English | Documentary | Size: 1.03 GB
BEFORE ARCHAEOLOGY, Western knowledge of ancient history hardly existed outside the pages of the Bible and the writings of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Only two hundred and fifty years ago, Europeans from Isaac Newton to the pope thought that the human race was about four thousand years old. Most believed it had begun when God placed Adam and Eve, fully formed, into the Garden of Eden. Archaeology changed all that. Besides revealing to us the treasures, tombs and cities of previously unimagined peoples, it has given us five million years of ancestors, transformed our ideas of who we are, and where we come from, and has outlined our relationship with all other life on this planet.
In Lost Worlds, John Romer traces the history of archaeology from its inception in eighteenth-century Pompeii to the present day. He describes the scientific advances made by key figures: C. J. Thomsen in early nineteenth-century Denmark had the fundamental notion of the Three Age System which gave order to the past; and the development of Carbon 14 dating in the 1950s and other allied tests finally provided us with hard dates for the mysterious ages before the invention of writing. Lost Worlds tells an extraordinary story of pioneers, scientists, adventurers and dreamers: it describes renowned personalities of archaeology such as Giovanni Belzoni, J. J. Worsaae, Auguste Mariette, Heinrich Schliemann, Pitt Rivers, Flinders Petrie and Howard Carter. Through the adventures and discoveries of the archaeologists themselves, Romer also deals with the handful of questions that has challenged archaeology since its beginnings: What are the origins of the human race? Are the stories of the Bible true? Did world civilisation have one beginning? He also looks at how governments over the centuries have used archaeology in attempts to prove their pedigrees and underline their own versions of the past.
This six-part series presents the definitive history of archaeology, a 250-year worldwide odyssey that began with the unearthing of the ruins of Pompeii buried beneath the ash of Mt. Vesuvius. In a short time, archaeologists started pursuing very different objectives: some were treasure-seekers hoping to plunder antiquities of the ancient world; others sought to prove theories about the origins of civilization or the historical accuracy of Homer or the Bible; still others focused on humans themselves, trying to determine the age of the species. The series also looks at how archaeology has been misused as an instrument of foreign policy and where the study is going in the future with new technologies and methods. John Romer’s personal viewpoint and clear exposition, combined with wonderful scenes and images of locations and artefacts, allow the world of archaeology to leap straight into our imagination.
Written & Presented by John Romer ; Producer: Nicholas Barton ; An ABTV Production for Channel 4 in association with Southern Star Sales and Agran Barton Television Ltd.
5. At the Service of the State
Archaeology as Political Tool
In 1940, Hitler’s archaeologists excavated sites in Poland to try to prove that Germans had lived there before the Poles-an anthropological justification for political aggression and military invasion. This program explores the use of archaeology as a tool for propaganda and diplomatic machination by focusing on the long-standing connections between Germany and Greece. The program also looks at how Mussolini, like Hitler, used Greek motifs and Roman regalia to package the image of his party and, by so doing, align the destiny of fascist Italy with ancient traditions.
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