The Incas
Until their conquest by the Spanish in the 15th century, the Incas built up a 3,000-mile empire, with cities perched on mountain tops, irrigated terraces clinging to the sides, and a network of roads carved through some of the most difficult terrain in the world-all in less than a century.
Today archaeologists are digging behind the myths and legends that surround the Incas to discover how their enormous empire was actually run. Dr John Hyslop investigates the road system, probably the most extensive ancient road system in the world.
Dr Craig Morris studies the administrative centres and Dr Ann Ken dall excavates near the most spectacular of all Inca sites-Machu Pichu. But can their research do more than tell us about the Incas, can they also help to re-populate areas of Peru which once flourished, but where now only a few families live in extreme poverty? Narrator Ian Holm
Producer ANNA BENSON GYLES
Series editor BRUCE NORMAN