At this time of year, I like to watch documentaries. They’re a reminder of a more colourful world, out there beyond the gloomy British weather. I saw three interesting ones on the BBC at the weekend. Two inspired me with a glimpse into prehistory. One taught me about ancient Rome, but was also a bit exasperating.

Let’s start with the best.

The Mystery of the Desert Kites is about the world’s oldest megalithic structures. Scattered across the Arabian desert, they are vast symmetrical shapes. Made from low stone walls, they’re cleverly designed to be difficult to see on the ground. That’s why people in planes were the first to spot them.

There are more than 6,000 in existence, with some extending over several kilometres. They’re also far older than the pyramids or Stonehenge.

This documentary explores their age and original purpose. I found it quite awe-inspiring to think about people who lived such a long time ago. These humans performed two remarkable feats. They made the structures symmetrical, despite not being able to see them clearly from the ground. They also carved accurate maps of the shapes into stone.

The Mystery of the Desert Kites is a lesson in how intelligent humans can be, even without access to modern technology.

I also enjoyed The Lost Neanderthals, a similarly scholarly and intelligent documentary. It’s about a cave in southern France that was inhabited by Neanderthals for many thousands of years.

In 2015, investigators found the remains of a Neanderthal man they called Thorin. Tests on Thorin’s bones led to a discovery that suggests Neanderthals lived in cultural communities, just as we do today. If you’ve ever fancied writing a novel about the Neanderthals, it’s worth watching this documentary.

Most of human history has been forgotten. There’s so much we don’t know about the far distant past. On the other hand, we know a lot about the Romans because they left huge quantities of written material behind.

The last documentary I saw this weekend was about the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century CE. Civilisations: Rise and Fall episode 1.1 is very informative but takes a sensationalist, attention-grabbing approach.

There are lots of clips of historians talking and dramatised clips with actors. There’s also a sense of urgency, with heavy hints that Western civilisation is heading the way of Rome.

Whereas the first two documentaries went in deep on single subjects, Civilisations: Rise and Fall condenses decades of Roman history into less than an hour.

I thought that the attempts to draw parallels with issues in our time were risky. That’s because rather than go into detailed specifics about the 21st century, they left the parallels open to interpretation. I read them as ‘treat people well.’ Another viewer with different political beliefs could have read them as ‘people are a threat.’

The first two documentaries allow history to be history. The third uses history as a tool to make a point. I’m not against using history to say something about today, but I think it needs to be carried out very carefully.