S01E01 Ultimate Weapons
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...
Ancient Impossible
S01E09: Roman Empire
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 spanning an entire nation, while another built a road that stretched from one end of Europe all the way to Central Asia. We explore ancient texts to uncover amazing Roman technologies including a horse-drawn arrow shooter–possibly the world's first tank? We reveal Emperor Nero's Golden Palace; a building that contained more technology than any other in the ancient world including a revolving ceiling and elevators, but how was this technology possible 2000 years ago?
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.
Episodes
S01E02 Moving Mountains
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...
S01E03 Monster Monuments
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...
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...
S01E05 Ancient Einsteins
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....
S01E06 Power Tools
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...
S01E07 Greatest Ships
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...
S01E08 Biggest Builds
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...
S01E09 Roman Empire
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...
S01E10 Extreme Engineering
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
Himself - Host
Bettany Hughes
Self
Mary-Ann Ochota
Self
