Writer and broadcaster Stephen Smith finds out what it took to survive and prosper in the most artistic, decadent and dangerous royal courts in history.
In the most luxurious area on the Spanish sunny coast, Swedish real estate brokers earn millions by selling stunning homes to the rich and famous. The series revolves around Homerun Brokers and the firm's young agents as they navigate their personal and professional lives. In Marbella, it's a quick ride to the top, but the downfall can come sooner than expected.
Archaeologist Julian Richards returns to some of his most important digs to discover how science, conservation and new finds have changed our understanding of entire eras of ancient history.
Pagans of Roman Britain
1/4 Julian Richards goes back to the excavation of two burials from Roman Britain.
Families of the Stone Age
2/4 Archaeologist Julian Richards returns to the excavation of two burials from the Stone Age.
Sacred Women of the Iron Age
3/4 Julian Richards returns to the excavation of two very different Iron Age women.
The First Anglo-Saxons
4/4 Julian Richards returns to the excavation of two early Anglo-Saxon cemeteries.
In the late 16th century Europe was in the grip of a ferocious witch hunt, where thousands were tortured and burnt at the stake. The church was fully behind this terrifying crusade against the imaginary enemies of Christianity. In France and Germany alone up to 40,000 people may have been killed as witches. But England and Scotland were almost untouched by witch persecutions until King James himself decided to launch his own, personal war on witchcraft.
In 1597 King James VI of Scotland published 'Daemonology', a handbook on how to recognise and destroy, witches. The book explored the threat that 'those Detestable slaves of the Devil', posed to James himself. It fuelled waves of witch hunting throughout Britain.
The legacy of James' 'Daemonology' continued throughout the 17th century, and led to the torture and execution of hundreds of women in a series of infamous witch trials. No-one knows exactly how many men and women died in these trials, such as the Pendle trial of 1612, or how many others were killed in cases that never came to court. The documentary reveals the purges in many areas of Britain drew directly on King James' book. Also for the first time, remarkable new archaeological evidence from Cornwall, suggests that witchcraft was actively practiced for centuries, even during the most intense periods of witch-hunting. Experimental archaeologist Jacqui Wood has excavated strange pits lined with swan's feathers, and filled with animal skins and human remains. She believes the pits were ritual offerings inspired by witchcraft beliefs.
In 2009, art detective Dr Bendor Grosvenor caused a national scandal by proving that the Scottish National Portrait Gallery's iconic portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie, the rebel Stuart who almost seized power in 1745, was not in fact him. Keen to make amends, and suspecting that a long-lost portrait of the prince by one of Scotland's greatest artists, Allan Ramsay, might still survive, Bendor decides to retrace Charles' journey in the hope of unravelling one of the greatest mysteries in British art.
Join visionary philanthropist Bill Gates as he delves into pressing global issues and uncovers cutting-edge technologies that will transform the world.
