Nova

Archaeologists and engineers are teaming up to recreate a 25-foot lifting machine and trap door system capable of releasing a wolf into the Colosseum's arena for the first time in 1,500 years. Do they have what it takes to replicate the innovation and ingenuity of the Romans?

1500 years ago, how did the Romans engineer bloody spectacles and reenact sea battles?

Colosseum: Roman Death Trap

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One of the ancient world's most iconic buildings, the Colosseum is a monument to Roman imperial power and cruelty. Its graceful lines and harmonious proportions concealed a highly efficient design and advanced construction methods that made hundreds of arches out of 100,000 tons of stone. In its elliptical arena, tens of thousands of gladiators, slaves, prisoners, and wild animals met their deaths. Ancient texts report lions and elephants emerging from beneath the floor, as if by magic, to ravage gladiators and people condemned to death. Then, just as quickly, the Colosseum could be flooded with so much water that ships could engage in sea battles to the delight of the crowd. Now, archaeologists and engineers are teaming up to recreate a 25-foot lifting machine and trap door system capable of releasing a wolf into the Colosseum's arena for the first time in 1,500 years. Do they have what it takes to replicate the innovation and ingenuity of the Romans? (Premiered February 11, 2015)

Designer/Engineer

German Archaeological Institute of Rome

Structural Engineer

Crane Operator

Carpenter

University of Reggio Calabria

Medical University of Vienna

Roma Sotterranea

Director of the Colosseum

Architect/Designer

New York University

1500 years ago, how did the Romans engineer bloody spectacles and reenact sea battles?

Ancient Worlds

In a daring experiment, an archaeologist and sculptors team up to carve an iconic temple-tomb to find out how the ancient people of Petra built their city of stone. Meanwhile, scientists using remote sensors and hydraulic flumes uncover the vast city and its sophisticated water system. The race is on to discover how these nomads created an oasis of culture in one of the harshest climates on Earth.

How did early engineers carve tombs into rock cliffs and funnel water to this desert city?

Petra: Lost City of Stone

More than 2,000 years ago, the thriving city of Petra rose up in the bone-dry desert of what is now Jordan. An oasis of culture and abundance, the city was built by wealthy merchants whose camel caravans transported incense and spices from the Arabian Gulf. They carved spectacular temple-tombs into its soaring cliffs, raised a monumental Great Temple at its heart, and devised an ingenious system that channeled water to vineyards, bathhouses, fountains, and pools. But following a catastrophic earthquake and a slump in its desert trade routes, Petra's unique culture faded and was lost to most of the world for nearly a thousand years. Now, in a daring experiment, an archaeologist and sculptors team up to carve an iconic temple-tomb to find out how the ancient people of Petra built their city of stone. Meanwhile, scientists using remote sensors and hydraulic flumes uncover the vast city and its sophisticated water system. The race is on to discover how these nomads created this oasis of culture in one of the harshest climates on Earth. (Premiered February 18, 2015)

Brown University

American Ctr. of Oriental Research

Penn State Behrend

Archaeologist/Restorer

UMass Amherst

Hunt Studios

George Washington University

Oxford University

Hydraulic Engineer

University of Arkansas

How did early engineers carve tombs into rock cliffs and funnel water to this desert city?

Follow engineers as they build a massive 8-ton model of the building's core structure, place it on a motorized shake table, and hit it with a series of simulated quakes, pushing it collapse—a fate that the team is determined to avoid with the real building.

How has this unique structure, built on a seismic fault, survived centuries of quakes?

Hagia Sophia: Istanbul's Ancient Mystery

Whether serving as Christian church, Islamic mosque, or secular museum, Hagia Sophia and its soaring dome have inspired reverence and awe. For 800 years, it was the largest enclosed building in the world—the Statue of Liberty can fit beneath its dome with room to spare. How has it survived its location on one of the world's most active seismic faults, which has inflicted a dozen devastating earthquakes since it was built in 537? As Istanbul braces for the next big quake, a team of architects and engineers is urgently investigating Hagia Sophia's seismic secrets. Follow engineers as they build a massive 8-ton model of the building's core structure, place it on a motorized shake table, and hit it with a series of simulated quakes, pushing it collapse—a fate that the team is determined to avoid with the real building. (Premiered February 25, 2015)

State Archives of Ticino, Switzerland

Providence College

Princeton University

Boğaziçi University

Mosaic Art School of Ravenna

Poligon Yapı

University of Pennsylvania

Ministry of Culture, Turkey

Kobe Shukugawa Gakuin University

How has this unique structure, built on a seismic fault, survived centuries of quakes?

Hagia Sophia: Istanbul's Mystery

(These programs not available for streaming.) In "Building Wonders", NOVA presents three groundbreaking shows that investigate engineering mysteries of the ancient world with the help of dramatic hands-on experiments. In "Colosseum: Roman Death Trap," NOVA explores how the ancient Romans built their vast stadium so they could reenact naval battles and stage spectacles involving hundreds of gladiators and wild animals. In the middle of Jordan's parched desert, a NOVA team investigates the "Petra: Lost City of Stone," once a thriving metropolis of temples, markets, and spectacular tombs carved into cliffs. How did Petra's architects supply running water to this bone-dry canyon for bathhouses, fountains and pools? In "Hagia Sophia: Istanbul's Ancient Mystery," modern architects use medieval tools to figure out why Turkey's massive 1,500 year-old cathedral dome has survived countless quakes in one of the world's most violent seismic zones.

See how three magnificent ancient structures were engineered in this three-part series.

See how three magnificent ancient structures were engineered in this three-part series.

Building Wonders Episodes

Colosseum: Roman Death Trap

Petra: Lost City of Stone

Hagia Sophia: Istanbul's Mystery