What caused the decline of two of the greatest civilizations in Man’s history until their final collapse? Drastic and sudden climate change, religious and political crises: the causes are many and at times uncomfortably familiar, as revealed in the first two episodes of “Twiglight of Civilizations” investigating the downfall of ancient Egypt during the Old Kingdom or the Age of Pyramids, and the decline of Angkor’s Kingdom in Cambodia.

New answers are being meticulously sought out by archeologist on the very sites where these civilizations once thrived. Recent excavations have unveiled never-before discovered clues to the mysterious downfall of these ancient world superpowers. What is revealed is a lesson for today’s world; for the problems that precipitated these civilizations’ collapse are strikingly similar to the problems we face today.

© Arte France – Iliade Productions – Les films de l’Odyssée

Broadcasters: TVE in Spain and ARTE in France