Providence Pictures Recreates Ancient Wonders For NOVA

Providence Pictures Recreates Ancient Wonders For NOVA

Three films produced by Providence Pictures will appear on three consecutive weeks in February on PBS’s NOVA series. The films include an historic event -- the building and installation of a twenty foot tall lift and trap door system in the Colosseum in Rome, and the release of a wolf into the arena.  Rosella Rea, the director of the Colosseum says "This is the first time an animal has been lifted and released into the Colosseum in fifteen hundred years!"

Producer/director Gary Glassman said, "We dreamed up ambitious projects in some of the world's most fascinating places and were fortunate to find people who shared our vision -- from scientists and scholars, public officials, workers, and NOVA on PBS, one of the few places on TV committed to intelligent programs."

The first film in the series, “The Colosseum - Roman Death Trap” airs on PBS on February 11 at 9:00PM. See a preview of the episode HERE.

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For Providence Pictures' film on Petra in Jordan, the rock-carved city made famous by Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, Glassman and his team worked with a geoscientist and carvers to sculpt a full-scale tomb into a cliff-face to discover how the ancient Nabataeans built Petra. “Petra - Lost City of Stone” airs February 18 at 9:00PM. See a preview of the episode HERE.

In Istanbul, Providence Pictures worked with earthquake engineers to build an 8-ton brick and mortar model of the 1500-year-old Hagia Sophia, placed it on a seismic shake table, and pushed it to collapse. The experiment was designed to investigate how Hagia Sophia has been able to withstand centuries of city busting earthquakes while buildings around it collapsed. “Hagia Sophia - Istanbul's Ancient Mystery” airs February 25 at 9:00PM. See a preview of the episode HERE.