Josh Gates, no stranger to traipsing through jungles or getting his boots dusty in the name of historical inquiry, returns with another episode of Expedition Files. This time, it isn’t about a single, drawn-out quest for a mythical artifact, which could be seen as a smart move. Instead, “Lost Civilizations,” serves up a trio of historical head-scratchers, and while the quantity-over-quality approach always has its pitfalls, it does keep things moving.
First up is the enduring mystery of the Roanoke Colony. You know the one: a group of settlers vanishes in the late 16th century, leaving behind only the word “Croatoan” carved into a post, and centuries of historical speculation. The Expedition Files team, predictably, has “new evidence.” Whether this evidence is more than just another tantalizing breadcrumb, or is actually the full-blown “aha!” moment, that is for the audience to decide. But if I were a betting man, I wouldn’t put money on a definitive solution.
Then we’re off to the biblical badlands, where the city of Sodom once stood before its, shall we say, fiery demise. The show features archaeologists who are, as we speak, sifting through the ashes (metaphorically speaking, of course) to figure out what exactly brought down the “original Sin City.” Was it divine retribution, as the Good Book suggests, or something more earthly?
Finally, there’s Stonehenge. Because no self-respecting show about ancient mysteries would be complete without a jaunt to that circle of stones on the Salisbury Plain. The “new theory” the show is keen to explore isn’t specified, but one can hope it’s more imaginative than the usual “it was aliens” fallback. Perhaps they’ll argue it was a prehistoric calendar, or a giant’s discarded board game. As long as they don’t try to convince us it was a landing pad for UFOs, I’m willing to listen.
Tune in to Expedition Files on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, at 9:00 PM on Discovery.
