Videos

Lamassu (winged human-headed bulls possibly lamassu or shedu) from the citadel of Sargon II, Dur Sharrukin (now Khorsabad, Iraq), Neo-Assyrian, c. 720-705 B.C.E., gypseous alabaster, 4.20 x 4.36 x 0.97 m, excavated by P.-E. Botta 1843-44...

http://www.ted.com How do you read a two-thousand-year-old manuscript that has been erased, cut up, written on and painted over? With a powerful particle accelerator, of course! Ancient books curator William Noel tells the fascinating story...

http://www.ted.com A clay cylinder covered in Akkadian cuneiform script, damaged and broken, the Cyrus Cylinder is a powerful symbol of religious tolerance and multi-culturalism. In this enthralling talk Neil MacGregor, Director of the British...

http://www.ted.com Ancient monuments give us clues to astonishing past civilizations — but they're under threat from pollution, war, neglect. Ben Kacyra, who invented a groundbreaking 3D scanning system, is using his invention to scan and...

http://www.ted.com Rajesh Rao is fascinated by "the mother of all crossword puzzles": How to decipher the 4000 year old Indus script. At TED 2011 he tells how he is enlisting modern computational techniques to read the Indus language, the...

http://www.ted.com With wisdom and wit, Anupam Mishra talks about the amazing feats of engineering built centuries ago by the people of India's Golden Desert to harvest water. These structures are still used today — and are often superior...

It's a classic underdog tale: David, a young shepherd armed only with a sling, beats Goliath, the mighty warrior. The story has transcended its biblical origins to become a common shorthand for unlikely victory. But, asks Malcolm Gladwell...

June 26, 2006 Walter Farber, Professor of Assyriology, University of Chicago From the "Epidemics Then & Now: Infectious Diseases Around the World," the 2006 University of Chicago Summer Institute for Educators. Co-sponsored by the Center...

Noah Official Trailer (2014) Release Date: March 28, 2014 Genre: Drama Director: Darren Aronofsky Writer: Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel, John Logan, Martin Csokas Starring: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Saoirse Ronan, Douglas...

Following "Rome", comes the new historical drama "Agora" (meaning 'market'). Alexandria, 391: Hypatia teaches astronomy, mathematics, and philosophy. Her student Orestes is in love with her as is Davus, her personal slave. As the city's...