2011-07-30 • 0h 45m

For years, elders on Easter Island have claimed their ancestors fled from a land called Hiva which sank as a result of a great disaster. Like all legends of lost civilisations, their stories have captivated explorers throughout time who have searched in vain for the mysterious land in the Pacific, drawing the conclusion that the Easter Island natives were telling tall tales. Now, however, the sceptics might have to eat their words. New scientific evidence points to a remote island chain in Polynesia, suggesting it was the centre of an ancient and thriving civilisation. For 400 years, they have been known as the Marquesas Archipelago, but before they were simply called the Isles of Hiva. This documentary combines archaeological and geological evidence with tales passed down through generations, uncovering a dramatic history of cannibals, vast stone cities, human sacrifice, and the epic voyagers who colonised the Pacific centuries before Columbus made it to America.