Quest for the Phoenicians

Synopsis

In their heyday, the Phoenicians dominated Mediterranean waters with commercial skill and seafaring force. Yet very little is known about this ancient people; their cities, temples and culture were destroyed by the Romans and the Greeks 2,000 years ago.

In this programme three renowned scientists search for clues about the Phoenicians in the sea, in the earth and in the blood of their modern-day descendents.Robert Ballard deploys modern technology to investigate ancient shipwrecks along Skerki Bank off the island of Sicily; Paco Giles excavates a cave at the bottom of the rock of Gibraltar, a site where Phoenician sailors stopped to pray before venturing into the open ocean; in Istanbul, Spencer Wells collects DNA from a 2,500-year-old Phoenician mummy’s tooth and compares it with DNA samples collected from men and women from Lebanon to Tunisia.

Language

English

Country

United States

Year of release

2006

Year of production

2004

Notes

Broadcast on National Geographic on 17/6/05

Subjects

Archaeology; History

Keywords

ancient civilisations; archaeological investigation; shipwrecks; Phoenicians

Distribution Formats

Type

DVD

Format

Region 2 PAL

Price

£9.99

Duration/Size

53 minutes

Year

2006

Production Company

Name

National Geographic Society

Notes

Programmes distributed in the UK by Quadarant Video

Distributor

 

Available from retail outlets

Name

Simply Media

Contact

Laura Smith

Email

info@simplymedia.tv

Web

http://www.simplymedia.tv/ External site opens in new window

Phone

0203 542 3722

Address

Highlight House
57 Margaret Street
London W1W 8SJ

Notes

Formerly known as DD Home Entertainment or DDHE