Ancient Impossible

S01E04: Warrior Tech

Today, modern soldiers are equipped with all the latest battlefield technology. But what cutting edge weapons and defenses were the ancient warriors armed with? Could ancient warriors have had an early version of the machine gun, centuries before we ever imagined they could? Could the ancient Saxons have been armed with "super swords" made with steel as strong as any metal made today? And is it possible that the ancient Greeks invented an early version of a bullet proof vest during the time of Alexander the Great? We reveal how the fully equipped soldiers of today compare to the seemingly impossible warrior tech of the ancient world.

Overview

Ancient Impossible, the new H2 series, 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.

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Episodes

Ultimate Weapons

S01E01 Ultimate Weapons

June 29, 2015 43 min
We think of weapons of mass destruction as a modern concept, but the ancients also created fearsome weapons of their own, some even more destructive than we can create today. Centuries before the widespread discovery...
Moving Mountains

S01E02 Moving Mountains

July 6, 2015 43 min
How did the Ancients move impossibly huge objects? Why did the Roman forces at the siege of Masada decide to shift an entire mountain by hand? We reveal the ancient technology that allowed the Egyptians...
Monster Monuments

S01E03 Monster Monuments

July 13, 2014 43 min
A massive monument carved out of solid rock, a monster-sized super-dome that defies the laws of gravity. These awe inspiring feats of engineering defy explanation, yet they are not modern–they were actually built thousands of...
Warrior Tech

S01E04 Warrior Tech

July 20, 2014 8.0 43 min
Today, modern soldiers are equipped with all the latest battlefield technology. But what cutting edge weapons and defenses were the ancient warriors armed with? Could ancient warriors have had an early version of the machine...
Ancient Einsteins

S01E05 Ancient Einsteins

July 27, 2014 43 min
Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, these are some of the most ingenious minds in history. But many of their accomplishments would never have been possible without some of the geniuses of the ancient world....
Power Tools

S01E06 Power Tools

August 3, 2014 43 min
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...
Greatest Ships

S01E07 Greatest Ships

August 10, 2014 43 min
Some of the greatest ships in history were actually designed, built and sailed thousands of years ago. Join us as we examine the greatest warship of the ancient world, the Greek Trireme. What made Triremes...
Biggest Builds

S01E08 Biggest Builds

August 17, 2014 43 min
A mega factory is a modern invention–wrong–the ancients were the first to build these thousands of years ago. What was the incredible 16 wheel Roman automated factory in the south of France which could feed...
Roman Empire

S01E09 Roman Empire

August 24, 2014 43 min
The Roman Empire is known as one of the mightiest to ever rule the Earth. But the extent of their ingenuity, ambition and scale seems impossible to comprehend. One ambitious emperor built a colossal wall...
Extreme Engineering

S01E10 Extreme Engineering

September 7, 2014 43 min
When faced with impossible situations, the ancients didn't simply give up, they pursued the impossible. How did they get troops across a nearly 4,000 foot river? How do you get oil from the ground without...

Cast

Steve Wolf
Steve Wolf
Himself - Host
Bettany Hughes
Bettany Hughes
Self
Mary-Ann Ochota
Mary-Ann Ochota
Self

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