ANCIENT DISCOVERIES digs for the roots of today's war machinery. Throughout history, military requirements — killing more effectively than the enemy — have driven the leading edge of technological innovation. Almost all technology on the planet today owes its origins to inventions driven by the imperatives of war. This episode surveys the ANCIENT DEATH MACHINES that have left a legacy on today's battlefield. From apocalyptic skyscraper siege machines to ancient landmines and flamethrowers which had the potential to extinguish hundreds of lives in minutes, ANCIENT DISCOVERIES puts the lethal tech of yesterday to the test.

Long before Wall Street and Broadway, before even the Dutch, New York was a special place. It's unique topography and resources made it an ideal settlement and so its history stretches far back before the arrival of Europeans. ANCIENT DISCOVERIES journeys back in time to experience the Big Apple when it was still the "Island of Many Hills." While New York's towering skyline and world-leading technology have made it the ultimate modern city, breathtaking new discoveries reveal that the blueprints for this megalopolis were in fact laid thousands of years ago. Now, through the wonders of CGI and dramatic reenactment, you can see first-hand how people have been "making it there" for thousands of years. Witness brutal blood sports staged in ancient Madison Square Gardens. And mark the passage of time — as if in Times Square on New Year's Eve — with a gigantic Neolithic calendar. ANCIENT NEW YORK shows you how the foundations of this great city are thousands of years old and makes you reconsider everything you know about it.