History .

America’s top gumshoes are back for a 10th season. Wesley Cowan, independent appraiser and auctioneer; Gwendolyn Wright, historian and professor of architecture, Columbia University; Elyse Luray, independent appraiser and expert in art history; Dr. Eduardo Pagan, professor of history and American studies at Arizona State University; and Tukufu Zuberi, professor of sociology and the director of the Center for Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania leave no stone unturned as they travel around the country to explore the stories behind local folklore, prominent figures and family legends.

In the 10th season premiere episode of History Detectives, Elyse Luray and Wes Cowan investigate whether they have found rock’s Holy Grail, the long-lost electric Fender Stratocaster Bob Dylan plugged in at the ’65 Newport Folk Festival, changing rock ‘n’ roll forever. Tukufu Zuberi tracks down some autographs allegedly signed for two brothers in Miami Beach during the Beatles’ legendary 1964 “British Invasion” tour of the United States. Finally, Gwendolyn Wright investigates a $5 thrift store find and unearths a little-known artistic side of musical iconoclast Frank Zappa.

Watch Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at 8pm.

Watch Season 10 Preview on PBS. See more from History Detectives.

Visit the village of Kibworth, Leicestershire, with historian Michael Wood as he tells the 2,000-year-old story of this one settlement throughout English history. Kibworth, located in the heart of England, lived through the Black Death, the English Civil War, the Industrial Revolution and World War II. Intertwining the local and national narratives, Wood presents a moving and informative picture of one local community through time.

Romans to Normans – 7pm
Join historian Michael Wood to recover — with the help of the local people and the use of archaeology, landscape, language and DNA — the lost history of the first thousand years of Kibworth, featuring a Roman villa, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, and evidence of life after the Norman Conquest. Learn how the oppressive Norman occupation affected the villagers, from the gallows to the alehouse, and see the medieval open fields in action in the only place where they survive.

Peasants Revolt & The Black Death – 8pm
Charts events in the village leading to the people’s involvement in the Civil War of Simon de Montfort and follow the story of Kibworth as it reaches the catastrophic 14th century. The village goes through the worst famine in European history, and then, as revealed in the astonishing village archive in Merton College Oxford, two-thirds of the people die in the Black Death. Helped by today’s residents — field walking and reading the historical texts — and by the local schoolchildren digging archaeological test pits, Michael Wood follows stories of individual lives through these times, out of which the English idea of community and the English character begin to emerge.

Watch Tuesday, July 3, 2012.

Watch Michael Wood’s Story of England – Preview on PBS. See more from pbs.

“The Moral Crusade”: By 1861, Britain is the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth. However, the death of Prince Albert weakens Victoria, and many of his political ideals fade from importance. David Livingstone’s explorations of the African interior captivate the British public. Disraeli and Gladstone battle for control of the British government and debate the course of the empire. The purchase of the Suez Canal solidifies British presence in the Middle East, igniting a stampede for the colonization of Africa.

“The Scramble for Africa”: The Suez Canal is threatened by a holy war in the Sudan, and General Charles Gordon, killed by the rebels, becomes an “imperial martyr.” Cecil Rhodes prospects diamond deposits in southern Africa and asserts British control in the region. However, as Victoria celebrates her Diamond Jubilee, the empire is on the verge of its darkest hours. The Boer War leads to devastating losses and a reassessment of British purpose. Finally, in 1901, the death of Queen Victoria marks the end of an extraordinary era.

Watch “The Moral Crusade” and “The Scramble for Africa” Tuesday, June 26, 2012 at 7pm.