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Cutting edge technology reveals historical secrets of St Paul's in new TV series

04 March 2014

The exact location at which a World War Two bomb exploded in St Paul's Cathedral has been revealed thanks to a ground-breaking new television documentary.
Time Scanners - St Paul's Cathedral
Tuesday 4 March, 9pm, National Geographic Channel

Time Scanners, made by Atlantic Productions for the National Geographic channel, uses state-of-the-art laser scanning equipment to reveal a number of secrets about Wren's great masterpiece, from how the master architect battled sinking foundations to how the vast dome's weight is supported.

But the most startling revelation forces us to look again at the modern history of St Paul's. During one of the many nights of German bombing during the Blitz on the capital, a huge explosive device pierced the roof of one of the Cathedral's transepts and crashed through the floor into the crypt.

For 70 years it was thought that the bomb had exploded once in the basement level, but thanks to the scanning technology creating tens-of-thousands of pieces of data, and shrapnel marks which still scar the Cathedral walls, the exact position of the detonation has been revealed as in the main body of the Cathedral.

The programme, to be broadcast for the first time in the UK today, 4 March, is the result of huge amounts of research and dozens of hours of scanning and filming within St Paul's. This episode is one of six which looks into the secrets of some of the world's most iconic buildings, including the old city of Jerusalem, Petra, Machu Picchu, Colosseum and Egyptian pyramids.

Watch a trailer for the programme


Programme information
First broadcast - 9pm, Tuesday 4 March 2014
Initial repeats - 12am and 2pm, Wednesday 5 March 2014

Sky - channel 526
Virgin Media - channel 230
TalkTalk - channel 112
BT TV - channel 888
YouView from BT - channel 423

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