The Tower of Babel story is iconic. Featured in the Book of Genesis, it explains how different languages came to be across the world. But what are its origins?Join Tristan Hughes and Prof. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones in this special episode of The Ancients - recorded live at the London Podcast Festival - as they delve into the biblical roots of the myth and uncover the real archeological remains that inspired the fable. They explore how ancient ziggurats influenced depictions of the tower, discuss the intersection between history and faith and discover how age-old texts and modern archaeology combine to unravel the mysteries behind the story of the Tower of Babel.Presented by Tristan Hughes. The producer is Joseph Knight, audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey at https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK.Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound.
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It's The Ancients on History Hit. I'm Tristan Hughes, your host. And in today's episode, we're exploring the captivating story of the Tower of Babel. Famous from the Bible, the Tower of Babel features in the Book of Genesis, with its story explaining how different languages came to be across the world.
But, as with so many famous myths from ancient times, there usually is a historical basis to them, at least some sort of historical influence. And that is the case with the Tower of Babel, because archaeology has revealed a real-life influence for this tower and its story, another great structure that dominated the skyline of ancient Babylon, a ziggurat.
The Tower of Babel is a great story where archaeology and the Bible have combined with thrilling effect. Now, to explain the story of the Tower of Babel and the real influences behind this story, well, I was delighted to welcome back Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones to the show, one of our favourite ancients guests of all the time, a fantastic speaker.
Now, this was a very special episode because it's the first one we have ever done in front of a live audience. That's right, we had a sell-out crowd at the London Podcast Festival a few months ago for this event, and hopefully we'll be doing more like it in the future, both across the UK and further abroad too. The US, Canada, Australia, let's see. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
For now, enjoy this special episode of The Ancients in front of a live audience as we explore the captivating story of the Tower of Babel. Lloyd, good to see you.
How are you doing?
Very good. Thank you very much. It's great to be here. We've probably all heard the name Tower of Babel. It's one that, of course, is linked closer to the Bible, but it's also one that has an archaeological tale to it too.
Yeah, I think so. I mean, it's all too easy to kind of skirt over the relationship between the text of the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, and the history and archaeology of ancient Iraq. But I think with the Tower of Babel, the two do begin to align themselves.
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