“The Sun is important in all cultures – particularly in ancient cultures - because the Sun is the thing that allows them to survive, without the Sun, there is no survival.” – Dr Efrosyni Boutsikas, Archaeologist at the University of Kent
In this new Pioneer Production documentary, we follow how ancient civilizations had incredible knowledge of the sun, and built iconic monuments to align with the sun on the same day, the Equinox.
We start with the rising of the sun over the Temple of Ankgor Wat in Cambodia, where hundreds gather to watch the breathtaking moment the sun appears over the central tower. We then follow the sun across the world to Mnajdra in Malta, thought to be one of the oldest megalithic temples in the world, and to the Pueblos in New Mexico. We finish at Chichen Itza in Mexico where we watch the sun set over the Temple of Kukulkan.
The hour long documentary also looks at The Sree Padmanabhaswarmy Temple in India, The Great Sphinx and Pyramid of Khafre in Egypt and Loughcrew in Ireland.
Hear from experts in the field about each of these ancient monuments. Dr Efrosyni Boutsikas from the University of Kent, Dr Fabio Silva from University of Bournemouth as well as archaeoastronomists Dr Sarah Klassen, Tore Lomsladen and Anna Sofder.
Revealing our species’ obsession with the sun, across thousands of years and every continent, this documentary will show that this is architectural magic on a cosmic scale.
Pioneer Productions is one of the UK's most successful specialist factual producers with a reputation for producing innovative, high quality, popular programmes for both UK and US broadcasters. The company prides itself on an industry-leading expertise in science and history, and a passion for telling factual stories in new and engaging ways.
Pioneer is prolific across a broad range of programme genres including history, science, drama-docs, engineering and adventure. The company has produced over 700 hours of programming, sold in over 60 countries worldwide. Clients include Discovery Channel, PBS, National Geographic Channel, History, ABC, TLC, Discovery Canada, and in the UK, Channel 4, Channel 5, the BBC, and ITV.
Pioneer Productions remains at the forefront of factual innovation and has won numerous awards for its output, capturing some of the most extreme weather on our planet in series such as Raging Planet, developing the use of special effects sequences to see inside human and animal bodies in In The Womb, creating pure CGI films such as Journey to the Edge of the Universe, and incorporating life-like CGI into drama-docs such as Cradle To Grave, The Unsinkable Titanic and Hindenburg. As well as continuing to push the boundaries with what’s possible in CGI, Pioneer is also developing unrivalled expertise in live and ‘as-live’ specialist factual with the Great American Eclipse (Science Channel), and the use of innovative technology in Channel 5 wildlife series Nocturnal Britain.
Other recent productions include long-running high-end science show How The Universe Works (Science Channel), as well as Secrets of the Royal Gardens (More4)