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Ancient Discoveries

  • TV Series
  • 2003–20092003–2009
  • TV-PGTV-PG
  • 1h
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
261
YOUR RATING
Ancient Discoveries (2003)
DocumentaryHistory
The remarkable story of Ancient inventions.The remarkable story of Ancient inventions.The remarkable story of Ancient inventions.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
261
YOUR RATING
  • Stars
    • Phil Crowley
    • Richard Windley
    • Christopher Kelly
  • Stars
    • Phil Crowley
    • Richard Windley
    • Christopher Kelly
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1User review
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
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    Ancient Discoveries (2003)
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    Phil Crowley
    • Narrator
    Richard Windley
    • Self - Model Maker…
    Christopher Kelly
    • Self - University of Cambridge
    Sean Barrett
    • Narrator
    Bettany Hughes
    Bettany Hughes
    • Self - Classical Historian…
    Ian Mullins
    • Archimedes
    James Walker
    • Galen
    Glenn Leitch
    • Self - Architect
    Barry Rocard
    • Galen
    Dimitri Tchamouroff
    • Ctesibius
    Spyros Siropoulos
    • Self - Associate Professor of Classics, University of The Aegean
    Peter Mantle
    • Doctor
    Barry Moreno
    • Self - Historian, Statue of Liberty
    Anthony Cord
    • Patient
    T.P. Tassios
    • Self - Professor, National Technical University of Athens
    John Thompson
    • Gladiator
    Tony Taylor
    • Self - Civil Engineer
    Ian Western
    • Gladiator
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    User reviews1

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    A review of the Robots episode
    This episode is only about 40 minutes long, and looks at ancient automatons and the longstanding human obsession with creating robotic beings, with commentary from Prof. Noel Sharkey. It begins with Leonardo Da Vinci's mechanical knight, which has been recreated based on his schematics. The suit of armour contained an intricate assemblage of gears and pulleys that would move its arms and legs. Historians think it may have been made to hug people with both arms when being demonstrated, which would have been quite surprising for crowds of onlookers.

    If you can stomach the crude CGI examples from Greek mythology, there's some cool replicas of ancient automata a bit later. Heron of Alexandria and Philon of Byzantium are credited with inventing mechanisms still used today, like cams and pneumatics, and various automata that can be recreated from surviving diagrams. Model makers demonstrate several replicas, and they're all pretty nifty. Some of the more impressive examples include a fountain with singing metallic birds that contained water warblers, and a coin-operated water and soap dispenser.

    Though it is filled with hyperbolic speculation about what our ancestors actually built, it's definitely entertaining to see the replicas of ancient automata from around the world, including a few from China and Baghdad. It concludes with a sophisticated replica of Leonardo's walking lion, which justifies the episode on its own. Unfortunately clockwork automata from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries are not covered outside of the famous Japanese tea server.
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    • robotbling
    • Dec 4, 2011

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    • Release date
      • December 21, 2003 (United States)
      • United Kingdom
      • Australia
      • United States
      • Official site
      • English
    • Also known as
      • China
    • Production companies
      • A+E Networks
      • History Channel
      • Sianel 4 Cymru (S4C)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

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    • 1 hour
      • Color
      • Stereo

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