Chronicle (1966)

The Thracians gave the ancient Greeks their belief in life after death, the legend of Orpheus, and the god Dionysus. In return the Greeks called them barbarians. Today, as a result of 30 years' work by Bulgarian archaeologists, we can judge for ourselves what one of the greatest barbarian civilisations of the ancient world was really like. Magnus Magnusson traces the history of Thrace from Neolithic to Roman times and tells the story of the horse-riding tribal aristocracy whose rich burials and treasure troves have been found all over Bulgaria and were brought to the British Museum for a special display in 1976. Re-aired 3 May 1977

Some 60 years after the Roman Emperor Titus destroyed the Temple at Jerusalem in AD 70, the Jews revolted again. Their leader was a man called Bar Kokhba, which means 'Son of a Star.' Eventually he was defeated and killed in the siege at Bethar. Though he was a great hero, he remained a purely legendary figure to the Jews, until 1960. In that year an archaeological expedition under GENERAL YADIN explored a desert cave in a sheer cliff face, and there discovered scrolls hidden by two of Bar Kokhba's commanders. They were actually written by Bar Kokhba himself: appeals for help and food and instructions about the revolt. Over the centuries they give a vivid picture of the 'King Messiah' and of his revolt. This programme tells the story of the search for, and finding of, these unique historical documents.

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of American Independence, Chronicle went to Williamsburg in Virginia to see one of the most remarkable contributions of archaeology to America's past. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has not only succeeded in rebuilding an 18th-century English colonial town but, thanks to archaeological research, they have made the everyday life of the town come alive with meticulous accuracy.

The wheel was invented about 5,000 years ago and one of its first uses was in warfare. Last summer two archaeologists with teachers and pupils at St John's Comprehensive School, Epping, built and tested a full-size reproduction of a solid-wheeled Sumerian battle waggon, to try to answer the many questions about its effectiveness as a war-machine - questions which no amount of theorising could solve.

As a holiday, 'A Fortnight in the Iron Age' may not be everyone's idea of fun. But that is exactly what the Danish family Bjornholt decided to do. Father, mother and three children volunteered to live the arduous, uncomfortable and eventually smelly life of an Iron Age family at the Danish Museum of Lejre. Magnus Magnusson records their trials and tribulations as the family contend with the 'luxuries' of two small cows, some chickens, a pile of raw grain and nothing but contemporary pots and implements to help them survive. No one was more surprised than the family at their unconscious reactions to life in the Iron Age.

The Olympic ideals of amateurism, participation and international unity - foundation stones of the modern games - are nothing more than a series of myths. The ancient Greeks had no such aims in their games - and no sacred torch or marathon race either. Where did the modern games get such ideas? What were the games of the ancient Greeks really like? How could they have continued for 1,000 years without a single interruption? Tonight, M. I. Finley, Professor of Ancient History at Cambridge University, tells the story of the first Olympic Games from their beginnings near a tiny altar on a flat plain in Western Greece more than 700 years before Christ.

How does a festival begin and why? What are the ideas behind the creation of a whole series of national exhibitions, lectures and concerts? How do these ideals survive when faced with the reality of co-ordinating dozens of institutions and acquiring hundreds of priceless objects from over 250 museums in 30 different countries? Is it possible to convey a new interpretation of a totally different civilisation? These are the questions posed by the World of Islam Festival, which opened in various centres in this country in April. The answers are given by the Festival Director, Paul Keeler, and the individual creators of the exhibitions.

On 23 October 1952, a television quiz called 'Animal, Vegetable, Mineral?' made its first modest appearance. It was an instant success. Archaeology suddenly became entertainment. The long line of television programmes dealing with archaeology, of which this was the first, were all the creation of one man - Paul Johnstone. Until his death earlier this year he was Executive Producer of Chronicle and head of BBC Television's Archaeology and History Unit. Tonight Chronicle looks back at nearly 25 years of archaeology on television, culminating in an account of the excavation of the Graveney Boat , Paul Johnstone's last venture in an area in which he was recognised throughout the academic world as an expert - the archaeology of ships.