Providence. R.I.--Dr. Joan R. Branham, associate professor of art history and chair of the Department of Art and Art History at Providence College, will appear as a scholarly consultant on a PBS NOVA documentary, The Bible's Buried Secrets, that will premiere on Tuesday, November 18, at 8:00 p.m.

The documentary is described by PBS as "an archaeological detective story that traces the origins of the Hebrew Bible," or the Old Testament, as it is also known. Through the eyes of numerous scholars and archaeologists, the two-hour special takes viewers on a scientific journey to the beginnings of modern religion.

The documentary addresses some of the most compelling questions in biblical studies including: Where did the ancient Israelites come from? Who wrote the Bible, when, and why? How did the worship of one God--the foundation of modern Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--emerge?

A scholar in ancient religious art and architecture, Branham is one of several international scholars who appear on film. She discusses sacred space in Jerusalem, including the Temple of Solomon, and meanings around ancient sacrifice and blood.

A member of the PC faculty since 1995, Branham has concentrated her research interest in theories of sacred space and gendered space in the early Middle Ages, Byzantine art and architecture, and Jewish and Christian art in Late Antiquity (4th to 7th centuries). She is the vice president of the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, one of the world's leading international scholarly institutions of biblical archaeology.

During the last decade, she has appeared as a scholarly commentator in more than a half-dozen documentaries on either PBS, The Discovery Channel, Newsweek.com, or The History Channel.

Some of these media projects, including The Bible's Buried Secrets, have been in collaboration with her husband, Gary Glassman, a documentary film maker. Concerning the planning stages of the NOVA show, Branham commented, "Gary and I talked about proposing a scholarly film on biblical architecture for years. When we finally presented it to Paula Apsell, the executive producer at NOVA for 33 years, she said that it was the one show she had always wanted to make. It was a match!"

Glassman is the writer, producer, and director of The Bible's Buried Secrets. Glassman and his crew filmed on location throughout the Middle East, as well as at the sites of several excavations of ancient cities in the Near East. Viewers can glimpse a preview of the show.

Viewers are advised to check their local listings for PBS channels and for additional broadcasts of the film.

While the documentary's national premiere is not until November 18, Branham took part in scholarly panels during preview screenings at Harvard University and at PBS affiliate WGBH in Boston earlier this month. She also will participate in a panel devoted to the film at the upcoming Society of Biblical Literature meetings in Boston.

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