One of the great mysteries of history is how the ancient Maya built such an incredible society in a tropical rainforest over two thousand years – and then vanished. How? Why? New discoveries and new science can now tell the story.

Hidden deep in sacred caves lies evidence of when the rains stopped coming – and for how long. Advanced bone analysis from hundreds of graves tells us what the Maya ate, where they came from, and what changed in their lives. Lidar strips away the jungle and CGI shows their world in a way never seen before, revealing the incredible geo-engineering and complexity that allowed cities to grow to immense size - perhaps too big.

The most amazing new find - the KomKom vase - is the only written account of its kind, detailing events at the cusp of collapse. It speaks of a story of war, family power struggles between divine god-kings, failing power in the face of climate change, and murder. Experts lead us deep into the sacred caves to the site of escalating offerings, human sacrifice and in final desperation, child sacrifice. In the thick jungle, key sites reveal enigmatic piles of goods and bodies buried in palace rubble, as chaos and desperation grew, until – the end of their world. The Fall of the Maya Kings is a one hour documentary that traces the story of the ancient Maya collapse, from inside the chaos - as told by the ancient Maya themselves.