Palaces in Paradise: Centres of the Persian World
15 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Persepolis is arguably the most famous ancient site associated with the Achaemenid Persian Empire, b...
Pompeii’s Indian Statuette
12 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Among Pompeii’s great wealth of surviving artefacts is one with a rich globe trotting history that...
10 Key Roman Emperors
10 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Love them or loathe them, the Roman emperors were some of the most influential figures in history. I...
Sisters at War: The Rise and Fall of Elagabalus
08 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Often found high on the list of Rome’s worst emperors, the short reign of the teenager Elegabalus ...
The Lost Baths of Cleopatra
05 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Cleopatra. Hers is one of the most famous names that endures from antiquity. The victor of a civil w...
The Gladiatrix
03 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mention the word gladiator and you would be forgiven for instantly thinking of the 2000 namesake epi...
Alexander the Great’s Corpse & the Greatest Heist in History
01 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Alexander the Great is one of the most famous generals and empire builders in history, but the story...
The Sacred Band of Thebes
29 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Theban Sacred Band was one of the greatest military corps of Ancient Greece, thriving from the c...
The Begram Hoard: Treasures of the Silk Road
27 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the mid-20th century French archaeologists came across a remarkable collection of ancient items f...
Decoding the Roman Dead
25 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Often known as ‘Britain’s first town’, Colchester is a city rich in ancient history and on 24 ...
Life in Sparta
22 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A legendary city-state in Ancient Greece, we associate Sparta with fierce warriors in battle. But wh...
The Oldest Known Shark Attack
20 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a crossover with Jaws and Open Water that we never expected, but a 3,000 year old corpse has ...
The Romans in Brittany
17 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It was one of the most powerful empires in history, leaving marks and remnants across the globe, but...
Scythed Chariots
15 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What could be more terrifying than an army racing towards you? An army on chariots? What if those ch...
Carthage vs Greeks? The First Sicilian War
13 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
480 BC is a year widely-celebrated in Greek history. When Leonidas' Spartan core and their Hellenic ...
Julius Caesar’s Invasions of Britain
11 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On the day of the Euro 2020 final, we’re talking England versus Italy…Ancients style (well, sort...
Begram: Crossroads of the Ancient World
08 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Bagram, also known as Begram, has been in the news a lot recently. Over the past couple of days, the...
Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Strait of Messina
06 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dividing Sicily from Italy, the Strait of Messina is a small stretch of water with an incredible his...
Persepolis: Jewel of Persia
04 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It is one of the most remarkable ancient sites in the World. Situated east of the Zagros Mountains i...
Divorced, Murdered, Survived: Nero's Wives
30 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the long tradition of categorising famous wives as the good or the bad, Nero’s partners are no ...
The Truth About Spartan Society
29 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sparta. Situated in the southern Peloponnese, this ancient Hellenic city-state has become ingrained ...
Vindolanda: Jewel of Roman Britain
27 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Situated roughly two miles south of Hadrian's Wall in the heart of the Northumberland countryside, V...
Artemis of Ephesus: The Great Mother Goddess
23 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
An incredibly popular goddess, characterised in statues of her by a vest of bee hives, or are they b...
Dirty Love: The Ancient Greek Novel
22 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The novel, and in particular the romance genre, is at the heart of a billion dollar industry, but wh...
Ancient Brittany with Sir Barry Cunliffe
20 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Stretching out from the north west of France, Brittany has long been as identifiable with the Atlant...
Scotland's Earliest Animal Carvings: An Incredible New Discovery
17 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Prehistoric animal carvings, thought to be up to 5,000 years old, have been discovered in Scotland f...
Berenike and the Red Sea Spice Route
13 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Situated on the western coast of the Red Sea in antiquity were a series of thriving seaports, bringi...
Nero: Taking to the Stage
10 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In popular culture, Nero is thought of as the Emperor who played the fiddle as Rome burned to the gr...
Iron Age British and Roman Racing Chariots
06 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How truthful are modern depictions of ancient chariots? In this second episode, Mike Loades explores...
Polynesian Mythology
03 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From creation stories to voyager journeys, mythology and oral history are often key to our identitie...
The Golden Age of Chariots
30 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Taxis to the front line or ancient tanks? Through archaeological remains and ancient depictions, we ...
Alexander the Great's First Persian Victory
26 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If there had been a different outcome to the Battle of Granicus, we might never have heard about Ale...
Ancient Polynesia: Pioneers of the Pacific
22 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Despite sporadic food sources and the dangers of the deep sea, the remote islands of the Pacific Oce...
The Truth About King Arthur
19 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The legend of King Arthur has been reworked many times, but is there any historical truth behind the...
Olympia: The Golden Age
16 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For hundreds of years in antiquity, the sanctuary at Olympia was one of the most important religious...
Ancient Afghanistan: The Land of a Thousand Cities
13 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Situated north of the Hindu Kush and south of the Oxus (Amu Darya) River, the history of the ancient...
The Rise of Olympia
11 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Forget the Games, ancient Olympia’s importance stretched much further than simply being the birthp...
How the Romans Treated Eye Infections
09 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Traditionally believed to be ‘windows to the soul’, the health of eyes in the Roman Empire could...
How Corinth Became Christian
06 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Occupied since around 3000 BC, the Ancient city of Corinth is not unique in its transition from a Pa...
The Truth About The Huns
02 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Huns! The name of this ancient people triggers a multiplicity of responses and evokes a number o...
The Olympic Games
02 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The most famous sporting event in the world is upon us, so it's only right that we consider what do ...
Cicero’s Fight for the Roman Republic
25 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Caesar Octavian, Mark Antony, Decimus Brutus and Cicero: the Battle of Mutina, April 43 BC, was a cl...
Roman Prisoners of War
22 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We know all about the battles of the Roman Empire: the opposing sides, their weapons and incentives....
Introducing 'Leonardo: The Official Podcast'
20 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Here on The Ancients, we think that you will love Leonardo, the official podcast accompanying the mu...
The Legacy of Thermopylae
18 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since its occurence in 480 BC, the Battle of Thermopylae has been the stuff of legend. Echoes o...
Edges of Empire: Chesters Roman Fort
15 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Described as one of the most complete cavalry forts that survives in Britain, Chesters Roman Fort is...
Lessons from the Antonine Plague
11 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A plague which affects people from across society, mass exodus from city centres and numerous opinio...
Persia's Untapped Source: The Persepolis Fortification Texts
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Persepolis Fortification Tablets / Texts are the who’s who of the Ancient Achaemenid Empire, a...
Jewish Burial at the Time of Jesus
04 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
According to the Gospels, Jesus died and was removed from the cross on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath...
The Xiongnu: History's First Nomadic Empire?
01 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Between the 3rd century BC and the 1st century AD, the Xiongnu inhabited the area surrounding Mongol...
Music in Ancient Greece
28 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Without recordings, and with notation and instruments long forgotten, how can we possibly know what ...
The Rise of Cicero
25 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Cicero is often considered to be one of the greatest orators of Ancient Rome. But how did he reach p...
Boudica: Through Roman Eyes
21 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Iceni warrior who led a revolt against the Roman Empire around 60 AD often stands alone in our m...
Petra: The Rose City
18 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A city of caves, temples and tombs, Petra gains its nickname from the pink sandstone from which it w...
The Ides of March
14 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 44 BC, the Ides of March took on a new significance. Previously observed as the first full moon o...
Women and Power in Ancient Egypt
11 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kara Cooney has been studying 6 of the remarkable female pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. In this episode ...
Boudica: Britain's Warrior Queen
07 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Boudica has become a hero of British folklore. Her leadership of the Iceni in an uprising against th...
The Origins of Warfare
04 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Popular discussions of human history are punctuated with conflict, but when did warfare begin? To di...
Cheddar Man: Science and the Skeleton
28 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Cheddar Man is the oldest almost complete skeleton of a Homo sapien ever found in Britain and, for t...
Petra: Rise of the Nabataeans
25 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The assumption had once been that they were nomads until the Romans came. But more recent archaeolog...
Lugdunum: The Biggest Battle in Roman History?
21 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 197 AD, the armies of Septimius Severus and Clodius Albinus met at Lugdunum, on the site of prese...
Palmyra: Pearl of the Desert
18 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Palmyra features in headlines today as a casualty of IS destruction, but during its heyday it was a ...
Myths of Masada
14 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 73 AD, 967 Jewish rebels against the Romans committed mass suicide atop the Masada Fortress. Or d...
Rome: 'The Eternal City'
11 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Rome. The Eternal City. One of the most recognisable names that many associate with the Ancient Medi...
Besieging Masada
07 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dramatically placed on a plateau with drops of 400m to the east and 90m to the west, Masada translat...
Beasts of Battle: Indian War Elephants
04 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The four components of the Ancient Indian battlefield: infantry, cavalry, chariots … and elephants...
Edges of Empire: Rome's Northernmost Town
31 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Roughly two miles south of Hadrian’s Wall lie the remains of Roman Corbridge, the northernmost tow...
Roman Military Tombstones: Uncovering the Unknown Warriors
28 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From Northern Britain to the Near East, Roman tombstones have been uncovered on various far flung fr...
The Mystery of the Ninth Legion
24 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The legions of Rome were the nucleus of Rome’s military might for centuries. From campaigning in n...
Edges of Empire: The Sasanian Frontiers
21 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For centuries, arguably the greatest external threat the Roman Empire faced came from the East. From...
Indonesian Cave Art: A Dramatic New Discovery
17 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a paradox for the ages, breaking news about people who lived and died thousands of years ago....
Tomyris: A Warrior Queen's Revenge
14 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Her legend afforded her a place alongside Eve, Cleopatra and Venus, to name just a few of the famous...
Oppian’s Halieutica: Creatures of the Ancient Deep
10 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The deep blue sea is the subject of speculation to this day but, in this episode, we have access to ...
Hannibal: Battle by the Trebia
07 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It’s 218 BC, and Hannibal has made the mammoth journey across the Alps en route to Italy, accompan...
How Ancient Egypt Stayed Egyptian
03 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The length of time between the rule of Cleopatra and the erection of the Pyramids is the same as tha...
El Kurru: Egypt's Nubian Pharaohs
31 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the 8th and 7th centuries BC, Ancient Egypt was ruled by an extraordinary dynasty. This...
Hatshepsut: Egypt's Hidden Pharaoh
27 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hatshepsut – whose name means “foremost of noblewomen” – was an exceptional figure in the hi...
The Mystery of Mithras: A Pagan Christmas?
24 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The clichéd Christmas: white snow, hot fires, mulled wine and a feast. This might not be the case w...
Saturnalia: Bonus Episode!
22 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode from the History Hit archive, Dan talks to Kevin Butcher about the Roman festival of...
Hannibal: Crossing the Alps
20 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 218 BCE, Hannibal Barca's Carthaginian army, accompanied by horses and elephants, completed one o...
Thucydides: Thoughts on the Athenian Empire
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
From 478 BCE until 404 BCE, a collection of Greek city-states were united under the leadership of At...
The Garamantes: Farming the Sahara
13 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Greco-Roman historians including Herodotus, Tacitus and Pliny the Elder would have us believe that t...
Scotland's Enigmatic Ancient Structures
10 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Brochs. Early archaeologists believed that they must have been built by the Danish, that the indigen...
Old Testament Warriors
06 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s probably the most famous book in the world, and it’s also essentially the only literary sou...
Spartacus: Life or Legend?
03 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
‘I’m Spartacus!’ In the field of epic film making, the 1960 historical drama ‘Spartacus’, ...
Dura-Europos: The Syrian Pompeii
29 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When we think of Pompeii, we remember the city which became frozen in time after a natural catastrop...
Pompeii and the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Pompeii is back in the news. An extraordinary new, touching discovery, found during the Great Pompei...
Linothorax: Kevlar of the Ancients
22 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The House of the Faun in Pompeii is known for being one of the largest and most impressive private r...
Volcanic Vineyards of Pompeii
19 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
An ancient town, buried and preserved beneath volcanic ash, Pompeii is a gift to archaeologists and ...
Terror in the Teutoburg Forest
15 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Its been used for nationalist propaganda across the ages and its just been dramatised for Netflix, b...
Agrippa and Augustus: The Golden Age
12 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Romans, an ancient conquering civilisation with an empire that spread from Europe across the Bal...
The Other Alexander
08 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Alexander, an Ancient Greek king and a victorious conqueror. No, not that one, not Alexander the Gre...
Philip and Alexander: Kings and Conquerors
05 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Alexander the Great. One of the most recognisable names in history. In his short lifetime he conquer...
Catullus: Rome's Most Erotic Poet
01 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you're looking for a raunchy Roman poet, look no further than Catullus. Born into one of the most...
Ancient Ethiopia: The Kingdom of Aksum
29 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
At its height the Kingdom of Aksum was considered one of the four great powers of the Ancient World....
The Origins of Ancient Vietnam
25 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It is one of the most extraordinary ancient archaeological sites in Southeast Asia, albeit one that ...
The Battle of Philippi: Death of the Roman Republic
22 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In October 42 BC the Roman Republic committed suicide. Near the town of Philippi in northern Greece ...
Sophocles' Lost Plays
18 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Big Three. In antiquity it could mean a whole host of different things, the triumvirate of Caesa...
69 AD: Rise of Vespasian
15 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
69 AD was a tumultuous year in Roman history. 4 Romans assumed the title of emperor; only one remain...
Crassus and the Battle of Carrhae: The Defeat of Rome
11 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Gareth Sampson, author of Defeat of Rome in the East: Crassus, the Parthians, and the Disastrou...