Ancient Mysteries: Season 3
Season 3 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Ancient Mysteries Season 2.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 3 Progress Shield
The Hidden City of Petra
Sep 8, 1995
It remained hidden behind walls of sheer rock for more than 2,000 years. In 1812, Johann Burckhardt ventured into the Jordanian desert and discovered hundreds of structures stretch
Palenque: The Maya
Sep 15, 1995
Palenque was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century.
Camelot
Sep 22, 1995
The court of King Arthur, Camelot was at the center of a world of magic and honor. But what lies behind this captivating legend?
Vikings in North America
Oct 6, 1995
The exploits of Eric the Red. The legend of Leif Ericson. The struggle for power the bond of a family and the courage to sail beyond a dark and dangerous ocean. Guided by their hop
Machu Picchu: City in the Sky
Oct 8, 1995
The structure of Machu Picchu, originally built by the Incas, is one of the most archaeologically stunning mysteries of the past. However, even today we are still unsure what its p
Quest for the Fountain of Youth
Oct 13, 1995
It is one of the most puzzling tales to come out of the European Age of Discovery. And yet, the alleged search for the Fountain of Youth by Spanish explorer Ponce de León was almos
The Timber Castles of England
Oct 20, 1995
The history of the timber castles that once populated medieval England, but are only mounds of earth today.
Secret Mounds of Prehistoric America
Oct 29, 1995
Explore some of the most intriguing archaeological sites on earth - the puzzling pre-historic mounds built by the ancient residents of North America.
The Search for Shangri-La
Nov 3, 1995
A tale told through the centuries of a lost, hidden civilization that lives in an euphoric state of peace and harmony enclosed by impassable mountains.
Who Built Stonehenge?
Nov 10, 1995
An investigation of the origins of Stonehenge, the prehistoric megaliths on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, believed to have been erected during the Neolithic period (ci
Atlantis: The Lost Civilization
Nov 17, 1995
It was a myth first told by Plato in the late 4th century B.C. - a dramatic tale of a powerful civilization living on an island that one day mysteriously disappeared underneath the
The Search for Alexander the Great
Nov 19, 1995
Efforts to locate the remains of Alexander the Great. Included: the discovery of treasures in northern Greece that appear to have belonged to his father, Phillip II of Macedonia.
The Riddle of the Maya
Nov 24, 1995
The Maya temple city of Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico, abandoned by the Mayans around 835 A.D., is explored. Included: the Temple of Inscriptions, a sarcophagus, and the great Palace
The Lost Canyon of the Pueblos
Nov 26, 1995
Examination of the sophisticated system of housing built by the Pueblo Indians in New Mexico's Chaco Canyon over 1,000 years ago.
Naked Warriors of Europe
Dec 3, 1995
An examination of the Celts, whose culture reached its zenith in Europe between the 5th and 1st centuries B.C. Included: their artwork, religious practices and fighting tactics.
Life and Death in Britian's Ancient Theaters
Dec 10, 1995
A look at British theater in the Elizabethan age.
The Quest for the Holy Lance
Dec 24, 1995
A Roman soldier takes his spear and pierces the side of Christ as he hangs on a crucifix. Thus, the legend of the Holy Lance is born. Relics associated with the life of Christ have
Blood and Honor at the First Olympics
Jan 11, 1996
A look at the first Olympic competitions in Greece, circa 776 B.C.
The Sunken City
Jan 14, 1996
The ancient city of Ostia, Italy, used at one time as the port of Rome, from its founding by Ancus Marcius (641-616 B.C.) to its eventual decline and abandonment over a 1600-year p
The Miraculous Canals of Venice
Jan 21, 1996
"The Miraculous Canals of Venice" looks into why - and how - Venetians built their city on 120 islands in the Adriatic. The city was first settled in the 5th century by people flee
Blood and Treasure in Peru
Feb 1, 1996
“Blood and Treasure in Peru” chronicles the discovery - by grave robbers - of the royal tombs of Sipan, a treasure trove of artifacts produced about A..D. 400, and the find's effec
Pompeii: Buried Alive
Feb 2, 1996
Two-thousand years ago, Rome was an all-powerful empire and Pompeii was one of its prosperous provincial towns - until Mount Vesuvius exploded in the largest eruption ever recorded
Hadrian's Wall
Feb 4, 1996
Speculation on why the Roman emperor Hadrian constructed a wall along the empire's British frontier in the 2nd century. The wall (and accompanying fortifications) was built between
Secrets of the Pueblo
Feb 22, 1996
An examination of the 19 Pueblo towns located in New Mexico's Chaco Canyon, believed to be some of the earliest dwellings in North America. Included: a history of the Pueblo tribe.
The Puzzling Pyramids of Mexico
Feb 29, 1996
An examination of the pyramids in the Mexican city of Teotihuacan. Also: the Temple of the Feathered Spirit and the Avenue of the Dead.
The Rosetta Stone
Mar 21, 1996
For thousands of years, the rich history of ancient Egypt was sealed off from the world, a mystery obscured by the pictorial language of hieroglyphics. But in 1799, the breakthroug
China's Wall of Doom
Mar 21, 1996
The mysterious gravesite of an ancient Chinese emperor, who had an "army" of 7000 terra cotta statues built around the tomb to guard it against intruders.
Astrology: Secrets in the Stars
Mar 28, 1996
Are the secrets truly written in the heavens, or is the ancient practice of astrology further evidence of mankind's need to seek fate and meaning beyond the "real" world?
The Queen Pharaoh
Apr 11, 1996
A profile of Egypt's Queen Hatshepsut attempts to explain why the male rulers who followed her tried to erase her name from history, despite her leadership on the battlefield and i
Secrets of Sex: The Kama Sutra
Apr 18, 1996
An examination of the Kamasutra, the Hindu text that details "the delights of the human sexual experience," focuses on its religious origins and whether it is sacred or profane. In
The Forbidden City: The Dynasty and Destiny
Apr 25, 1996
For 500 years, China's Forbidden City was a sacred site of power, passion, and perversity. Conceived in a dream and doomed by a curse, the magnificent 15th-century architectural ma
Incredible Monuments of Rome
May 5, 1996
They stand today as testaments to the glory and grandeur of ancient Rome. But what brutal and murderous price was paid to build and maintain these imperial monuments? The celebrat
Lost Spirits of Cambodia
May 9, 1996
A visit to the ruins of the imperial city of Angkor in Cambodia, built over 75 square miles between the 9th and 12th centuries. Angkor's landmark was Angkor Wat, a temple to the Hi
Lost Legions of Rome
May 12, 1996
“Lost Legions of Rome” explores the efficacy and the legacy of Rome's military machine, which was sometimes more powerful than the emperors it was supposed to serve. Examined: the
Voodoo!
May 16, 1996
A survey of voodoo, an amalgam of African religions and Christianity, which is still practiced in the Caribbean, South America and the U.S. The program searches for voodoo's roots
The Lost Cities of Rome
May 19, 1996
Beneath the former capital of the Roman Empire hides a maze of secret passages and chambers. It is the underground cemetery used by the Christian and Jewish communities in ancient
Rites of Death
Jun 6, 1996
A look at burial customs throughout history. Cultures examined include India, Tibet and ancient Egypt.
Lost Castles of England
Jun 9, 1996
Along with chivalry, romance, and royalty, the image of the great stone castle with lofty towers, a drawbridge, and a deep moat has always been associated with medieval England. Y
Secrets of Delphi
Jun 20, 1996
One of the holiest sites of ancient Greece, Delphi was the pre-eminent shrine of Apollo. Cradled by Mount Parnassos and a valley of olive groves, it was also sacred to Dionysus, wh
The Secret Life of King Ramses II
Jul 11, 1996
Explore the life of the last great pharaoh of Egypt, and uncover mysteries behind the life of the legendary ruler. King of Egypt (1304–1237 BC), whose long and prosperous reign ma
The Powerful Gods of Mt. Olympus
Jul 11, 1996
Twelve great gods, overlooking classical Greece from atop Mount Olympus. Their anger was capable of boiling the oceans, electrifying the skies or splitting the earth. They seduced
Curse of the Goddess Pele
Jun 5, 1997
Hawaii emerged steaming from the sea millennia ago, the product of thousands of years of continual volcanic eruptions that finally broke the sea's surface and gave birth to a tropi
Sacred Places
Jun 19, 1997
When the pyramids were being built and Stonehenge was new, the world was a magical and mysterious place. Throughout the world, man built incredible monuments and mysterious buildin
UFOs: The First Encounters
Jan 2, 1997
Although experts today have been able to decipher artifacts and ruins from once flourishing ancient civilizations, questions remain as to why so many monuments of antiquity seem to