Plot Synopsis

SECRETS OF THE DEAD explores iconic historical moments while debunking long-held myths and shining new light on past events. Advances in investigative techniques, forensic science and historical scholarship offer new evidence on forgotten mysteries.

PBS aired the Season 13 premiere on Wednesday, November 11, 2013 at 10pm ET/PT (check local listings), with an episode, "JFK: One PM Central Standard Time," that reviewed the story of the reporting from Dallas and the CBS Newsroom in NYC on the day President Kennedy died.

SECRETS OF THE DEAD returned for its 14th season on Wednesday, January 28, 2015 at 10pm (check local listings). In the season opener, "Ben Franklin's Bones," when skeletal remains of at least 10 people, including several infants, turned up in the basement of Benjamin Franklin's British residence, people wondered if the Founding Father might have had a much darker side, as the bones had been meticulously cut and drilled. Franklin was aware of the bodies in his basement, but they weren't the victims of violent acts. Rather, they were used for the purposes of an illegal anatomy school that helped shaped modern medicine.

Season 19 of SECRETS OF THE DEAD premiered on Wednesday, October 20, 2021 at 10pm on PBS (check local listings). The new season uncovers the truth behind the first circumnavigation of the earth, the untold stories of prehistoric women, the origins of the stones of Stonehenge, the mystery of the fatal Hindenburg airship crash, an historic expedition led by a samurai and Franciscan monk and more.

SECRETS OF THE DEAD returned for its 20th season on Sunday, October 9, 2022 at 8pm on PBS (check local listings). The new season opens with royal expedition Archaeology at Althorp, which reveals one of the most significant British archaeological finds of the century at the ancestral home of the Spencer family, which includes Diana, Princess of Wales. Then, the series heads to Pompeii, where the discovery of an intact wooden chariot, the only one ever found, provides new insight into the social classes of the ancient city. Next, SECRETS OF THE DEAD explores three deadly epidemics and climate change that could have caused the collapse of the Roman Empire -- drawing frightening parallels to today. The penultimate episode features a review of how ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics were first translated 200 years ago and takes a look at the archaeological work being done in Egypt right now to understand one of the most important scribes.

Season 21 of SECRETS OF THE DEAD premiered on Wednesday, October 11, 2023 at 10pm on PBS (check local listings). The season debut, "The Sunken Basilica," uncovers the sunken remains of a 4th-century basilica in western Turkey. Submerged beneath the waters of Lake Iznik for hundreds of years, the church could reveal crucial insights into the early days of Christianity.
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The 22nd season of SECRETS OF THE DEAD debuted on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 10pm on PBS (check local listings). The season opener, "Returning to Babylon," follows a team of archaeologists searching for priceless artifacts from the Assyrian Empire previously targeted for destruction during the Isis occupation of Mosul, including clues to a possible location of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.