Primary Sources
Original-language texts and philological inquiry anchor the investigation in the voices of the past.
Join the Crew
Help keep the expedition independent.
Your support funds research, travel, filming, editing, original music and the production of future episodes and documentaries. If our work resonates with you, thank you for becoming part of this journey.
Stones & Serpents is an independent media project dedicated to exploring history, ancient knowledge, philology and the ideas that have shaped civilization.
The documentary
A real-time expedition across the Mediterranean.
Tracing the living remnants of the ancient oracular world.
Guided by philologist Ammon Hillman, the crew navigates from Phoenician fortresses to the megalithic temples of Malta, from Samothrace’s Kabeirian Mysteries to the shadow of Eleusis — uncovering rites, symbols and technologies that once altered human consciousness.
Blending primary-text precision, cinematic reenactment and the crew’s own visions and dreams, the film is both a historical inquiry and a living ritual: an open channel between the ancient voice and the present moment.
MaltaSamothraceEleusisPergamonAnatoliaThe Mediterranean
From the fieldMediterranean Expedition
Current Expedition
The Anatolian ExpeditionFrom 15 November 2026
The road continues across Türkiye.The first Mediterranean expedition and the Western Anatolia scouting stage are complete. The full crew now returns to film the remaining route - up to 20 days on the road, from Istanbul to the ancient landscapes of Anatolia.
Partners & Brands
Become part of the expedition.
We are inviting selected partners whose products and services can support real production needs in the field. Partnership becomes part of the expedition itself through relevant use, field reports, social content, selected behind-the-scenes assets and agreed project credits.
MobilityOutdoorHydrationEnergyNavigationConnectivityProduction TechFood & NutritionLogistics
Contact us
Our principle
History
Is Inquiry.
We approach history not as a collection of fixed answers, but as an ongoing inquiry.
Through long-form conversations, documentary filmmaking and on-location research, we seek to approach the past with questions rather than certainties — hearing and reading the ancestors’ own voices through their original texts.
Research
The ancient voice,
heard at the source.
Our method joins textual evidence, archaeological landscapes and embodied experience. Each journey begins with a question and remains open to what the evidence reveals.
Field Research
On-location filmmaking restores geography, architecture and the physical conditions of ancient ritual.
Living Inquiry
Conversations, movement, music and reenactment test how ancient ideas resonate in the present.
The crew
Independent by design.
United by inquiry.
Production & Direction
Lucas de la Vega
Director
Chilean director, cinematographer and co-founder of The Shoot Lab. In Stones & Serpents, he leads the overall direction and defines the project’s narrative and visual language.
Nicolas Orion
Co-Director · Audiovisual Production
Award-winning Chilean documentary filmmaker, audiovisual producer and musician with more than twenty years of experience. He leads the project’s audiovisual development and production.
Bruno de la Vega
Executive & General Producer
Documentary producer and project developer working across historical research, field production and performative exploration. He coordinates the international expeditions, local partnerships and production development.
Research & Philological Advisory
Dr. Ammon Hillman
Philological Advisor · Classical Studies
American classicist and author. He holds a B.A. in Classics from the University of Arizona and an M.S. in Bacteriology, an M.A. in Classics and a Ph.D. in Classics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research examines Greco-Roman medicine, pharmacology, ritual traditions and their representation in ancient texts.
Evina Vryoni
Philological Advisor · Greek Language & Culture
Athens-born linguist and educator with family roots in Asia Minor. She studied Greek Philology at the University of Athens and holds a Master’s degree in Language Education from the University of Edinburgh. Her work combines Greek linguistics, language education and the cultural interpretation of ancient sources.
Films & Field Reports
Watch the inquiry unfold.
Documentary fragments, field reports and long-form conversations from the ongoing Stones & Serpents expedition.
Contact us
Begin a conversation.
For research, production, partnerships or press inquiries, write to the Stones & Serpents crew.