Up Next
Back to Show
NOVA
This Pompeii Priest Had an Unexpected Rise to Power
In a recently discovered tomb in Pompeii, archeologists made a startling discovery: partially mummified remains. The custom in the Roman Empire was for the dead to be cremated, not buried. The unusual choice reveals a surprising history and one man’s unexpected rise to power. Discover who this mysterious person was, and why did he decided to forgo tradition when he died.
Support Provided By
53:10
Follow the quest to recover DNA millions of years old for the very first time.
53:15
Explore the engineering behind Paris’s iconic landmark, the tallest structure of its time.
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:17
New evidence reveals the real story of Easter Island and the builders of its stone heads.
53:31
Giant fossils uncovered in the Sahara Desert reveal new secrets of how whales evolved.
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:30
A family turns to science in their struggle to rediscover a history obscured by slavery.
53:20
The inside story of China’s meteoric rise to the forefront of global innovation.
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:15
How did Earth give rise to humans? See what made our species' existence possible.
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:45
How did life bounce back after a cataclysmic extinction wiped out some 90% of all species?