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Powerful automated stone-cutting devices, incredible power drills capable of cutting through even the hardest granite, fire engines that can respond to and extinguish a fire anywhere in a city; even precise surgery tools so fine they are used on the human eye. These tools are not from the modern world, but are in fact thousands of years old. Most would be lost to time and not again for centuries. How was the ancient world able to create such incredible power tools? Why were they lost, and could there be even more advanced ancient power tools waiting to be discovered?

Ancient Impossible picks up where HISTORY's long running Ancient Discoveries left off. In this next generation of storytelling, Ancient Impossible reveals how many of today's technological achievements were actually developed centuries ago. Colossal monuments, impossible feats of engineering and technologies so precise they defy reinvention—the ancient world was far more advanced than we ever imagined. We'll travel through history to reveal a radically different picture of the past, with innovations so far ahead of their time, they're still in use today. New science uncovers a lost world more like our own than we ever suspected, and reveals how modern technology has its blueprint in the ancient world.

Primary Title
  • Ancient Impossible
Episode Title
  • Power Tools
Date Broadcast
  • Monday 16 March 2015
Start Time
  • 13 : 30
Finish Time
  • 14 : 30
Duration
  • 60:00
Series
  • 1
Episode
  • 6
Channel
  • History
Broadcaster
  • Sky Network Television
Programme Description
  • Ancient Impossible picks up where HISTORY's long running Ancient Discoveries left off. In this next generation of storytelling, Ancient Impossible reveals how many of today's technological achievements were actually developed centuries ago. Colossal monuments, impossible feats of engineering and technologies so precise they defy reinvention—the ancient world was far more advanced than we ever imagined. We'll travel through history to reveal a radically different picture of the past, with innovations so far ahead of their time, they're still in use today. New science uncovers a lost world more like our own than we ever suspected, and reveals how modern technology has its blueprint in the ancient world.
Episode Description
  • Powerful automated stone-cutting devices, incredible power drills capable of cutting through even the hardest granite, fire engines that can respond to and extinguish a fire anywhere in a city; even precise surgery tools so fine they are used on the human eye. These tools are not from the modern world, but are in fact thousands of years old. Most would be lost to time and not again for centuries. How was the ancient world able to create such incredible power tools? Why were they lost, and could there be even more advanced ancient power tools waiting to be discovered?
Classification
  • PGR
Owning Collection
  • Chapman Archive
Broadcast Platform
  • Television
Languages
  • English
Captions
Live Broadcast
  • No
Rights Statement
  • Made for the University of Auckland's educational use as permitted by the Screenrights Licensing Agreement.
Subjects
  • Documentary television programs--United States
  • Civilization, Ancient
  • Science, Ancient
Genres
  • Documentary
  • Educational
  • History
Hosts
  • Steve Wolf (Host)
Contributors
  • Bill Graves (Narrator)
  • Stuart Clarke (Producer)
  • Wild Dream Films (Production Unit)
Subjects
  • Documentary television programs--United States
  • Civilization, Ancient
  • Science, Ancient