Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives (1989)

Magic in the Rocks

Episode 1: "Magic in the Rocks", looks at the types of rocks where fossils can be found, from limestone, mudstone and sandstone to coal and amber. We travel from the Dorset coast to a quarry in Leicestershire then across the world to the Dominican Republic and Arizona and back to Glasgow and Edinburgh. We visit mines, petrified forests and swamps and laboratories where fossils are being extracted from their stony matrix, X rayed, cat scanned and manipulated in 3D computer cross-sections. David Attenborough travels in UK, Dominican Republic, West Germany & USA in search of fossils, & the palaeontological techniques to find and reveal them.

Source: Amazon.com

Break open a stone and you may discover a new species, one that existed thousands of years ago. From insects to dinosaurs, David Attenborough shares his enthusiasm for fossils and fulfils one of his most enduring ambitions: a global fossil hunt. This DVD contains four forty minute programmes which bring to life the world of fossils with the use of computer graphics, animations, model work and time lapse techniques. Titles include: 'Magic On The Rocks', 'Putting Flesh On Bone', 'Dinosaur' and 'The Rare Glimpses'.



Episodes:



1) "Magic in the Rocks". David Attenborough travels in UK, Dominican Republic, West Germany & USA in search of fossils, & the palaeontological techniques to find and reveal them.



2) "Putting Flesh on Bone". David Attenborough investigates some fossil mysteries - could pterodactyls fly? And why did trilobites have such good eyes?



3) "Dinosaur". David Attenborough uncovers dinosaur bones in the Sahara desert & visits the biggest & most spectacular dinosaur displays in the world. He also finds out how mother dinosaurs tended their eggs & young.



4) "The Rare Glimpses". Attenborough travels in Canadian Rockies. Solnhofen. E Berlin. Messel. Los Angeles.