Alessandro Magno - il mistero della tomba

Whilst this is about the lost tomb of Alexander The Great, there is no break through or significant discovery regarding his tomb.

It is however a very interesting look at the excavation work being done around the old royal quarter of ancient Alexandria, and some interesting finds are made.

This documentary could be summarised in 5 minutes without cutting corners. In short, they found little and didn't use a structured approach to their research. They had a town map showing (since) buried roads that would have helped them zone in on their objective. They chose to ignore this.

However, the real failure in this documentary is that the documentary obsesses over the main archaeologist, Pepi Papakosta. Usually, a documentary (such as an Attenborough) would focus on good narration, learning about the topic at hand, and beautiful scenes. In this documentary, we are told repeatedly about Pepi and her persistence and her team and her dig and her finds and her ... and her ... and her. I kept on forgetting what the documentary was about because there was such a focus on Pepi. They also talked a lot about water pumps.

Now if you're a fan of Pepi Papakosta, this will be a fascinating documentary as Pepi knows her Greek architecture and pottery. We find out that Pepi has an interesting hat and interesting shoes. Beyond that, there's a bit about Alexander the Great, although, you'd probably be better off watching Oliver Stone's (loosely based on history) film about Alexander if you wanted to learn anything.

Why is there such a focus on the archaeologist? It's a serious question.

Normally, such mediocre documentaries come from the History Channel. National Geographic documentaries aren't what they used to be. Save your time and give this a miss.

Started out somewhat interesting but it really focuses more on Pepi Papakosta than the actual tomb, Alexandria and their findings (or lack thereof). It was interesting to revisit ancient Alexandria but the documentary as a whole not completely satisfying or something I would recommend. A rare Nat Geo miss in my opinion.

I would consider this documentary an engaging watch for any AP student, with comparisons of ancient Egyptian culture to that of others, fascinating finds that give more insight into the past nearly 2500 years of Egyptian growth, and how archaeologists must adapt to the industrialization and rapid expansion of civilization. The primary archaeologist and head of the dig sites is a delight to listen to and watch the reactions of; she makes all of the discoveries feel like a massive breakthrough, and every problem feel like it could be the end of the dig. I highly recommend for anyone in need of some deeper understanding of Egyptian history, or just as something to listen to if you have some downtime and want a good documentary.