There was only one ancient city in the Americas that ever truly rivaled the size, scale, and power of its Old World counterparts--Teotihuacan, the City of the Gods. And today, it's the largest ghost town in the world. Still home to the world's third largest pyramid, this mysterious city was once a metropolis many times larger and more populous than the biggest Mayan and Aztecan cities ever built. Now, Josh Bernstein heads to central Mexico to check it out. He'll soar above the ancient city, explore its obsidian mines, make prehistoric tools, and try to decode its impressive murals in a quest to understand who built the City of the Gods, how it became so powerful, and, most mysterious of all, why it was abandoned.

For nearly a century archaeologists place the height of the Maya civilization during the First Millennium AD.

On the remotest island on the face of the planet stand the massive, enigmatic stone statues of Easter Island. Who carved them? And why? Ever since Easter Island was first discovered, this tiny pinprick of land in the middle of the Pacific Ocean has baffled scientists. How did the ancients who peopled this place even find it? Host Josh Bernstein sets out to unveil the mysteries of the island and of the remarkable stone heads that its first inhabitants left behind. Delving into the world of ancient Pacific Islanders, he relearns the lost art of Polynesian navigation, recreates the techniques of Easter Island masons, and participates in dangerous ancient rituals--all to solve one of the greatest enigmas of our time: the mystery of Easter Island.

For 500 years, explorers have been rummaging the Amazon for traces of its fabled lost cities...now host Josh Bernstein searches for the most famous of them all. Following in the footsteps of explorer Colonel Percy Heath Fawcett, Josh treks through thick overgrown regions of the Amazon rainforest on the trail of the legendary "Lost City of Z." Along the way, he braves piranha-infested rivers, hacks through virgin jungle, and comes to terms with massive regions of deforestation. Finally, he joins up with the Kuikuro tribe. This warrior people will take him to investigate the archaeological remains of a huge forgotten city. Could it be the "Lost City of Z"? They'll teach him the ancient hunting, fishing, and horticultural techniques that allowed them to flourish long before European contact...and which may be the key to the rainforest's future.

In 1991, a pair of vacationing German hikers stumbled onto one of the most remarkable finds in the history of archaeology: the perfectly preserved body of a 5,000-year old man.

In 79 AD, the volcano Vesuvius exploded in one of history's deadliest eruptions, burying the city of Pompeii and other Roman towns along the Bay of Naples beneath layers of ash and pumice. Pompeii was rediscovered in the 18th century, but only recently have archaeologists and volcanologists come to understand exactly how the eruption unfolded, and why it took the people of Pompeii almost entirely by surprise. Intrigued, host Josh Bernstein visits the Bay of Naples, and learns the entire area is built on ancient volcanic rock, some of it still steaming. He climbs the world's most active volcano--Stromboli--an island near Sicily, where "fireworks" from the mountain are a nightly entertainment. Back at Pompeii, he searches for clues that might have enlightened the Romans to the growing threat in their midst. And he literally plays with fire as he follows the story right into the heart of Vesuvius.

The great Egyptian Pyramids of Giza have inspired awe and wonder and, quite likely, fierce speculation from the moment they were built. In fact, even the date of their construction has become a topic of debate. Explorer, survival expert, and host Josh Bernstein takes a hard look at the competing theories as to who really built the pyramids--and when. Archaeologists say it was the ancient Egyptians, others argue for an even older civilization. Josh examines the evidence, explores secret chambers in the heart of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, visits the first pyramid ever built, and tries his hand at ancient stone-quarrying techniques. It's a hard-won perspective, but, with the discovery of a mysterious flooded chamber deep beneath the Sphinx, Josh learns what appears to be the final truth.

Was Ramesses II Egypt's Greatest Pharaoh? He built soaring statues, grand temples, and monuments to himself throughout Egypt. He even declared himself a living god. What forces drove him to be the greatest pharaoh? Join host Josh Bernstein as he travels to Egypt to try his hand at stone masonry, decodes the propaganda of the pharaohs, and gets hi-tech to discover if Ramesses lI was as "great" as he thought he was.