DocumentaryMystery2000–PBS

The Best Episodes of Secrets of the Dead

Every episode of Secrets of the Dead ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Secrets of the Dead!

Best episode
S13E6 Dick Cavett's Watergate
8.257 votes
Worst episode
S18E6 Gangster's Gold
4.738 votes
Top season
Season 7
8.0avg
Binge time
1d 10h
125 episodes
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons24

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Secrets of the Dead Season 13 Episode 6 - Dick Cavett's Watergate
    8.2/10(57 votes)

    S13:E6

    Dick Cavett's Watergate offers a unique opportunity to mark the 40th anniversary of a defining moment in American history. From 1972 to 1974 the Watergate scandal unfolded on The Dick Cavett Show, as Cavett interviewed nearly every major Watergate figure, even non-political guests expressed their opinions. Dick Cavett's Watergate documents the scandal in the words of the people who lived it.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Secrets of the Dead Season 7 Episode 2 - Escape from Auschwitz
    8.2/10(54 votes)

    S7:E2

    The story of Rudolph Vrba and Alfred Wetzler, two young Slovak Jews who escaped the Auschwitz death camp. They immediately wrote a detailed account of their experiences resulting in thousands of lives being saved.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Secrets of the Dead Season 4 Episode 1 - Blood Red Roses
    8.5/10(22 votes)

    S4:E1

    The Battle of Towton in North Yorkshire, fought during the Wars of the Roses, was reputedly the bloodiest battle ever seen on English soil. In 1996 a mass grave of soldiers was discovered there by chance. This was the catalyst for a multi-disciplinary research project, still unique in Britain ten years after the initial discovery, which included a study of the skeletal remains, the battlefield landscape, the historical evidence and contemporary arms and armour. The discoveries were dramatic and moving; the individuals had clearly suffered traumatic deaths and subsequent research highlighted the often multiple wounds each individual had received before and, in some cases, after they had died. As well as the exciting forensic work the project also revealed much about medieval weaponry and fighting. Blood Red Roses contains all the information about this fascinating discovery, as well as discussing its wider historical, heritage and archaeological implications. (UK/PBS)

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Secrets of the Dead Season 18 Episode 4 - Viking Warrior Queen
    8.2/10(47 votes)

    S18:E4

    Join a team of archaeologists as they examine one of the most significant Viking graves ever found and test the DNA of the remains of the female warrior buried inside, rewriting our understanding of Viking society.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Secrets of the Dead Season 22 Episode 5 - Plunderer: The Life and Times of a Nazi Art Thief (Part One)
    8.2/10(43 votes)

    S22:E5

    Historian Jonathan Petropoulos investigates the life of former Nazi art dealer Bruno Lohse, who became Hermann Göring’s personal collector in Paris, tasked with finding the most desirable works of art the Nazis stole from Jews. Post-war, Lohse spent a brief time in prison, but then returned to Munich and resumed his career as a dealer, often trading in art looted during World War II.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Secrets of the Dead Season 3 Episode 6 - Bombing Nazi Dams
    8.4/10(24 votes)

    S3:E6

    In the spring of 1943, Allied forces to begin preparations for a top secret Allied raid. Each aircraft carried a top-secret weapon -- a newly-invented bouncing bomb -- designed to shatter Germany's major dams.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. Secrets of the Dead Season 1 Episode 1 - Catastrophe (1)
    8.4/10(23 votes)

    S1:E1

    Did a cataclysmic event plunge humankind into the period known as the early Dark Ages? Scientists now believe the early Dark Ages may have been triggered by a natural event that occurred around 535 A.D. Science writer David Keys is convinced that the cause was a phenomenon of cataclysmic proportions. At the center of a complex chain of events seems to be "a loud bang" -- a volcanic explosion equal to "two thousand million Hiroshima size bombs." The subsequent environmental calamity, Keys believes, affected human civilization from Mongolia to Constantinople, precipitating plague, famine, death, great migration, the fall of the great Mexican city of Teotihuacan, the Anglo-Saxon victory over the Celts and perhaps even the rise of Islam. (UK / PBS) Released to video (VHS) as a single episode. Run time 1:50.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Secrets of the Dead Season 5 Episode 1 - The Hunt for Nazi Scientists
    8.2/10(38 votes)

    S5:E1

    Days after D-Day, Allied forces joined together for a different kind of mission. Through rare footage, eyewitness testimonies, and real-life accounts, the story is told of the race to capture the German physicists and other scientists and any secrets they may hold of advanced 'vengeance' weapons. Finding the scientists could mean gaining significant advantage in the looming Cold War. Liev Schreiber narrates the story of the scientists' dramatic capture and the influences they have on wars today.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Secrets of the Dead Season 20 Episode 2 - Last Days of Pompeii
    8.1/10(45 votes)

    S20:E2

    An ornate ceremonial chariot was recently discovered in the ruins of Pompeii, offering insights into the lives of wealthy, high-ranking landowners who lived outside the city. Buried by the Vesuvius eruption 2,000 years ago, this is not a humble transport cart. “It's the Lamborghini of this ancient world,” says Eric Poehler, an expert on ancient infrastructure in Pompeii.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Secrets of the Dead Season 12 Episode 5 - Ultimate Tut
    8.0/10(81 votes)

    S12:E5

    New scientific research provides insights into how King Tutankhamen was buried, why his tomb remained intact and how he died.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Secrets of the Dead Season 16 Episode 2 - Graveyard of the Giant Beasts
    8.1/10(43 votes)

    S16:E2

    A mining operation in Cerrejon, Northern Colombia reveals a large cache of fossils dating to ten millions years after the KT extinction of the dinosaurs.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Secrets of the Dead Season 22 Episode 6 - Plunderer: The Life and Times of a Nazi Art Thief (Part Two)
    8.1/10(38 votes)

    S22:E6

    Historian Jonathan Petropoulos investigates the life of former Nazi art dealer Bruno Lohse, who became Hermann Göring’s personal collector in Paris, tasked with finding the most desirable works of art the Nazis stole from Jews. Post-war, Lohse spent a brief time in prison, but then returned to Munich and resumed his career as a dealer, often trading in art looted during World War II.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Secrets of the Dead Season 21 Episode 1 - Eiffel's Race to the Top
    8.0/10(53 votes)

    S21:E1

    Find out about the race to build Paris’ most famous landmark when two men vied to be the first to build a monument 1,000 feet tall. See how one man’s vision transformed the Paris skyline, making the Eiffel Tower a global icon. Dramatic recreations, official renderings and personal correspondence tell the story.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Secrets of the Dead Season 21 Episode 2 - Death in Britannia
    8.0/10(52 votes)

    S21:E2

    Uncover what happens when archaeologists study a skeleton found with an iron nail through its heel bone, suggesting the person was the victim of crucifixion in Roman-occupied Britain. Only one other skeleton with evidence of crucifixion has ever been found in the world. Who was he? What was life in Roman Britain like? And why did he receive such a gruesome punishment?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Secrets of the Dead Season 6 Episode 3 - Herculaneum Uncovered
    8.1/10(33 votes)

    S6:E3

    On August 24th, A.D. 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the city of Herculaneum. This program documents the archaeological re-discovery of that ancient, well preserved city on the Bay of Naples.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Secrets of the Dead Season 21 Episode 6 - The Herculaneum Scrolls
    8.0/10(48 votes)

    S21:E6

    Making headlines around the world, Brent Seales and his team of computer scientists set out on a mission to read the 2,000-year-old carbonized scrolls found in the remains of a villa in Herculaneum. Mt. Vesuvius’s eruption in 79 AD transformed the papyri, fusing together the layers of the scrolls and making them impossible to read. Can particle physics and AI finally reveal what the scrolls say?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Secrets of the Dead Season 18 Episode 3 - Building Notre Dame
    8.0/10(47 votes)

    S18:E3

    Follow an investigation into the centuries-long construction of Notre Dame de Paris, uncovering the vast architectural, technical and human challenges experienced throughout the turbulent history of one of the world’s most celebrated buildings.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Secrets of the Dead Season 12 Episode 2 - Bugging Hitler's Soldiers
    7.9/10(89 votes)

    S12:E2

    German POWs reveal inner thoughts about the Third Reich, including military secrets that helped the Allies win World War II.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Secrets of the Dead Season 22 Episode 1 - The Civil War's Lost Massacre
    8.0/10(43 votes)

    S22:E1

    Originally a supply depot for Union forces in Kentucky, Camp Nelson became the site where 10,000 Black soldiers trained in the Civil War. But in the war’s last months, these soldiers were attacked by bitter Southerners. Their remains have never been found, and a team is dedicated to finding them to memorialize their service and heroism.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Secrets of the Dead Season 15 Episode 2 - Jamestown's Dark Winter
    7.9/10(79 votes)

    S15:E2

    Forensic anthropologists excavate an early American colony of Jamestown, Virginia.

    Director:Richard J. Wells
    Writer:Ken Chowder

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  21. Secrets of the Dead Season 17 Episode 7 - World War Speed
    7.9/10(64 votes)

    S17:E7

    Follow historian James Holland on his quest to understand how the use of amphetamines affected the course of World War II and unleashed the first pharmacological arms race.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Secrets of the Dead Season 12 Episode 6 - Bones of the Buddha
    7.9/10(61 votes)

    S12:E6

    Bones of the Buddha is a 2013 television documentary produced by Icon Films and commissioned by WNET/THIRTEEN and ARTE France for the National Geographic Channels. It concerns a controversial Buddhist reliquary from the Piprahwa Stupa in Uttar Pradesh, India. It was released in May, 2013, and was broadcast in July 2013 in the US on PBS as part of the Secrets of the Dead series.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Secrets of the Dead Season 18 Episode 2 - Bombing Auschwitz
    7.9/10(51 votes)

    S18:E2

    On December 3, 1944, The Washington Post published an editorial on the atrocities in Auschwitz with the headline “Genocide,” marking the first time the word appeared in a national newspaper.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Secrets of the Dead Season 22 Episode 9 - Cracking the Queen's Code
    8.0/10(30 votes)

    S22:E9

    In early 2023, three amateur codebreakers announced they had successfully decoded the secret correspondence of one of the most tragic characters in European history: Mary, Queen of Scots. 57 encrypted letters detail the exiled queen’s efforts to free herself from imprisonment and gain advantage over her rival, Queen Elizabeth. Now, after four centuries, Mary’s urgent pleas can be revealed.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Secrets of the Dead Season 1 Episode 2 - Catastrophe (2)
    8.1/10(21 votes)

    S1:E2

    Did a cataclysmic event plunge humankind into the period known as the early Dark Ages? Scientists now believe the early Dark Ages may have been triggered by a natural event that occurred around 535 A.D. Science writer David Keys is convinced that the cause was a phenomenon of cataclysmic proportions. At the center of a complex chain of events seems to be "a loud bang" -- a volcanic explosion equal to "two thousand million Hiroshima size bombs." The subsequent environmental calamity, Keys believes, affected human civilization from Mongolia to Constantinople, precipitating plague, famine, death, great migration, the fall of the great Mexican city of Teotihuacan, the Anglo-Saxon victory over the Celts and perhaps even the rise of Islam. (UK / PBS) Released to video (VHS) as a single episode. Run time 1:50.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Dick Cavett's Watergate" is the best rated episode of Secrets of the Dead. It scored 8.2/10 from 57 votes. Written and directed by Unknown, it aired on August 8, 2014.

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