Timewatch - Season 25 / Year 2006

Episodes

Year 2006Episode 160 min

The Bog Bodies

Two crimes committed many years in the past are examined by a team of scientists. The victims are Bog Bodies - Celts perfectly preserved by the peat bog in which they had been buried. Timewatch was grantedexclusive access to film the entire investigation, and this compelling film follows the archaeologists as they establish who these men were, when they lived - and how they died.

Jan 20, 2006

Year 2006Episode 260 min

The Secret History of Genghis Khan

Documentary looking at the Secret History of the Mongols, said to have been written by Genghis Khan's adopted son, which reveals a very different man to the brutal butcher of Western legend. Not just awomaniser, but a devoted husband. Not just a warrior, but a politician. Not just a conqueror, but a legislator. A man who wanted the lessons he had learnt - good and bad - to be passed onto his successors. Within its pages lies the inside story of how an illiterate nomad inspired his successors to conquer the largest land empire the world has ever seen.

Mar 10, 2006

Year 2006Episode 760 min

The Crusader's Lost Fort

1179: The Crusaders build a new and supposedly impregnable fortress at a crossing on the Jordan called Jacob's Ford. Within a year of its completion, the castle, which was protected by 1500 Knights Templar, was taken in a siege lasting just five days. Dr Thomas Asbridge is trying to solve the mystery of why the stronghold fell so quickly. 1/6.

Apr 14, 2006

Year 2006Episode 860 min

Mystery of the Headless Romans

When 30 decapitated Romans were found buried in York in February 2005, archaeologists were baffled by their presence. Had these bodies been beheaded because of Roman superstitions about ghosts or were they victims of a brutal act of revenge or war? Timewatch follows the investigation that has since taken place and shows how experts came to the conclusion that these men were caught in a bloody power feud to succeed Emperor Septimius Severus, who died in the city in AD 211. 2/6.

Apr 21, 2006

Year 2006Episode 960 min

Battle for Warsaw

For two months in 1944, the men, women and children of Warsaw faced incredible odds in a bid to liberate the Polish city from Nazi occupation. They did so alone, even though Soviet forces arrived on the scene at the height of the conflict. Told through the personal accounts of those who took part, Timewatch investigates why the Red Army failed to join the uprising as it tells the little-known story behind one of history's greatest betrayals. 3/6.

Apr 28, 2006

Year 2006Episode 1060 min

The Iron Coffin

The first ever exchange of fire between iron-clad ships took place on 9 March 1862 and changed the course of the American Civil War. But what was it like to serve inside these primitive battleships, one of which was dubbed "the iron coffin" by its fearful 19th-century crew? 4/6.

May 5, 2006

Year 2006Episode 1160 min

San Francisco's Great Quake

One of America's worst natural disasters struck in the early hours of 18 April 1906. This film marks the centenary of the San Francisco earthquake by revealing the true scale of the catastrophe through the words and images of those who survived. 5/6.

May 12, 2006

Year 2006Episode 1260 min

The Princess Spy

Documentary about Noor Inayat Khan, who in 1943 became the first woman wireless operator to be sent into war-torn France. It was the most dangerous job in SOE, Churchill's secret army, and she was not expected to survive long.

The daughter of an Indian mystic and a writer of children's stories in pre-war Paris, she was a curious choice for a secret agent, but became London's vital link with Nazi-occupied Paris. Betrayed, captured and tortured, Noor revealed nothing before she was executed. She was awarded the George Cross for her bravery.

May 19, 2006