3x 47, Channel 4 / BossaNova Originals (2024)
Narrated by Dame Prue Leith, this series follows British archaeologist Pauline Carroll as she travels to Cambodia, home of the ancient Khmer Empire and its great capital, Angkor. She journeys across the country meeting experts and exploring world-famous temple sites, Angkor Wat, The Bayon, and Ta Prohm. She also discovers lost cities emerging from the jungle where the empire began nearly 1300 years ago. Pauline is given access to ongoing archaeological work, helping us to better understand life in one of the world’s greatest ancient civilisations, and finally discovers how, after centuries of enormous success, the empire finally declined.
She also follows the story of one of history’s greatest kings, Jayavarman VII, who created the world’s first free national health service.
Episode One
British Archaeologist Pauline Carroll travels to Cambodia to explore the capital of the ancient Khmer Empire, Angkor, home to the world’s largest temple, Angkor Wat. She discovers the huge carved stone galleries of the Bayon temple, which record daily life in their intricate imagery. Finally, she travels to the remote Cambodian jungle where Angkor’s predecessor, the former capital of Mahendraparvarta has been discovered, to learn about the roots of this once great Empire, in its very first capital.
Episode Two
In the capital of the ancient Khmer Empire, Angkor, known for the world’s largest temple, Angkor Wat, British archaeologist Pauline Carroll discovers the empire’s greatest king, Jayavarman VII. Following his military victories, unprecedented building projects and how he shifted the state religion from Hinduism to Buddhism, Pauline also learns that he established the world’s first free national health service. She visits Jayavarman VII’s second city, a lesser known and mysterious site that is still being uncovered, called Banteay Chhmar, which reveals the extent of his ambition.
Episode Three
After learning about King Jayavarman VII’s second city of Banteay Chhmaar, British archaeologist Pauline Carroll visits a nearby site called Banteay Toap – potentially a lost city from the same time, until recently unknown to archaeology. She returns to the ancient Khmer Empire’s birthplace in the hills of Phnom Kulen to see where remote populations of hermits once lived, and returns to Angkor once more to understand how this once great civilisation finally fell.
Credits
Narrated by
DAME PRUE LEITH
With
PAULINE CARROLL
Produced and Directed by
AARON YOUNG & FREYA EDEN-ELLIS
Executive Producer
MARTIN DAVIDSON
Executive Producer for BossaNova Media
PAUL HEANEY
Historical Consultant
DR PETER SHARROCK
Director of Photography
GEORGE LAYCOCK
Sound Recordist & Aerials
STUART WAREING
Local Producer
KHIN PO-THAI
Camera Assistants
MAKARA BOTH
SENG RADEN
Production Assistant
DEAB SOROTH
Drivers
CHUM SOKVONG
DEAB CHOMREURN
CHHOUT CHOMREURN
Production Researcher
ELLA MARSH
Composer
NEIL CARTWRIGHT
Maps and Graphics
ZOE BARNISH
3D Graphics
VR VENTURE
Film Editors
RICHARD ATHERTON
MILES GREEN
Post-Production
JOSHUA FLETCHER
Post Services
THE HALL
Special Thanks
APSARA NATIONAL AUTHORITY
ADF KULEN
Distributed Worldwide by
BOSSANOVA MEDIA