

The World's first great civilization, Egypt's Old Kingdom lasted for 1,000 years before coming to an abrupt end. Here Professor Fekri Hassan uses archaeological and geological finds to back up his theory that a climatic catastrophe, rather than political conflict, was to blame.

Three and a half thousand years ago, the Minoan civilisation, situated on the Mediterranean island of Crete, was wiped out. The culprit was one of the biggest volcanoes since the Ice Age on the nearby island of Thira.