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Not being a history,
engineering, or architecture buff, I didn't see what I
could take away or find of interest in the pilot episode
of "Engineering an Empire." Spinning off from the
special "Engineering an Empire" in Rome, the series will
now chronicle historical accounts of architectural
landmarks from all civilizations and discuss monuments,
buildings, fortresses, and dams.
The first episode, a two
hour special, involves the ancient Egyptians and their
revolutionary constructs that set the precedent for many
other future architects who continue to marvel at the
designs they set forth. You may not know this, but
Ancient Egyptians designed and created the first tallest
building, possess the oldest dam in existence, the first stone
mega-structures, and used stone bricks before Americans
ever thought of it.
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Within the series premiere marks some rather fascinating
facts about the rulers of Egyptian empires and their
innovative thinking in creating tombs and landmarks in
their own honor, one of which involves a female pharaoh
who dressed as a man to keep from being looked down
upon, and is suspected of being killed by the rightful
heir to the throne. Hosted by Peter Weller, who seems to
take a genuine interest in the chronicles, we venture
through the building process, and discover how the
structures were planned and built, and the possible
methods they used before machines and technology came
into play. Weller also manages to venture into some of
the tombs and shows how ahead of their time the empire
was in creating tombs with tunnels that acted as mazes
to ward off tomb robbers, and how, to support the weight
of the structure's walls, the rooms were basically
inverted pyramids.
This series will prove to
be a rewarding tool for teachers, and the curious
channel surfer. I took a lot away from this series
premiere and I'm not even interested in this topic.
Imagine what history buffs with an interest in
architecture will feel.
Now playing on the
History Channel. Check your Local Listings.
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Felix Vasquez Jr. |
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