The ancient world is full of wonder and mystery. From the discovery of Britain's oldest complete human skeleton to the disappearance of the Roman Ninth Legion, we have documentaries, interviews and podcasts covering all of periods and key events in antiquity. Learn more about this fascinating period in history with world leading experts such as Mary Beard and follow us as we take you on tours around some world famous sites as well as the more unknown hidden gems of the ancient and classical era.
Situated roughly one mile south of Hadrian’s Wall is one of the great jewels of Roman and early medieval archaeology: Vindolanda. Over the past 50 years, annual excavations at this site have revealed incredible amounts of new information. Information that has not only shone more light on the site...
In 1974, 29 years after the end of the Second World War, Japanese soldier Hiroo Onoda finally surrendered after almost three decades of fighting a guerilla campaign on a remote island in the Philippines. But why did he keep fighting? Are humans just inherently warlike?
In our latest documentary...
Colchester Museums have been working with archaeologists and specialists to ‘decode’ the hidden stories of 40 of Colchester’s earliest inhabitants.
Through new scientific research techniques, they have reconstructed the identity and lives of these people: where they came from in the empire, wha...
Rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans, the Minoan Civilization, whose earliest beginnings were from c. 3500 BC on the island of Crete, became one of the most developed, complex urban civilizations in antiquity. Yet we still kn...
Britain is an island where history is well and truly part of the landscape and an island where human feet have walked for a million years. We are constantly making groundbreaking archaeological discoveries that are helping us to better understand the way in which our distant ancestors lived.
Joi...
He was one of the greatest enemies the Romans ever faced. An excellent general and a larger-than-life figure, who led an army across the alps and dealt a series of crushing defeats upon the Romans on Italian soil. His achievements have become a thing of legend and his name has become immortalised...
In 60/61 AD turmoil seized southern Britain. A massive anti-Roman revolt reared its ugly head in East Anglia, as tens of thousands of Britons attempted to evict the recently-arrived Romans from the island by the spear. At its head was one of the most famous figures in the whole of British history...
To date, there are over 500 different aboriginal 'nations' in Australia, all with distinctive cultures, beliefs, languages and unique histories. Since the arrival of Captain James Cook and the subsequent colonisation of the continent, many of these indigenous populations were, and continue to be ...
It remains one of the most successful and significant thefts in history. In late 321 BC, a carefully-constructed plot was put into operation that would spark years of bloody conflict between rival warlords. The target of the operation was Alexander the Great’s elaborate funeral carriage (designed...
It is one of the great mysteries of ancient Mediterranean history. In the 2nd century AD, Rome’s 9th Legion – Legio IX Hispana – vanished from the historical record. Immortalised through Rosemary Sutcliff’s famous novel The Eagle of the Ninth, the question of what happened to this ‘Lost Legion’ h...
Join Tristan Hughes in this short documentary as he explores the fascinating history of Ardoch Roman Fort in Scotland. Featuring historians Rebecca Jones and Andrew Tibbs.
15 March - 'The Ides of March'. It is arguably the most well known date in ancient history. On that day in 44 BC the Roman statesman Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of senatorial conspirators in the heart of Rome. But why was this political giant of ancient Rome assassinated? How did th...
If the words British history conjure up images of Elizabeth I, Shakespeare, Boudica, Mary Seacole, The Beatles and the Blitz, you’re squinting at a small spec of the history of humanity of these Isles. Even if you go back to the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD, or even further to the Iron Age ...
Tristan Hughes goes on a journey along Hadrian's Wall, visiting some of its greatest sites. Meeting experts to learn more about the Wall's history and the ground-breaking new archaeological discoveries, that continue to tell us more about what life must have been like on this far-flung frontier a...
The deepening political divide in the U.S. and an apparent realignment of the world order through President Trump’s foreign policy have prompted many comparisons to the fall of the Roman Empire. But can we really look back at ancient civilisations and draw parallels with those that exist today? A...
Dan Snow visits one of the most recognisable historical sites on Earth. Stonehenge. Timed with the recent solving of the sarsen stones origin mystery, this documentary takes an in-depth look at what we know, and what we don't know, about this iconic Neolithic monument.
When one thinks of the Ancient World you would be forgiven for instantly thinking of either the cultural glories of ancient Greece or the military might of the Roman Empire. Yet the Mediterranean and the Near East was just one part of a much larger, interconnected ancient world. In India and Chin...
Hatshepsut – whose name means “foremost of noblewomen” – was an exceptional figure in the history of Ancient Egypt. Only the second woman in history to assume the title of pharaoh, during her reign she oversaw the building of monumental temples, established trade connections with far away African...
Stunning remains of monumental architecture can be seen across the British Isles: from excavated Roman villas like Fishbourne in southern England, to Hadrian's Wall and its many milecastles stretching across Cumbria and Northumberland, to the well-preserved legionary fort layout at Ardoch in cent...
Historian Tom Holland shares his fascination at how the events of ancient history can resonate in the modern world. The author of Islam: The Untold Story talks to Dan Snow about the birth of this rich and sophisticated civilisation, tracing its history through the centuries, and its interaction a...
Tutankhamun, 'The Boy King' of Ancient Egypt, is one of history's most famous names. Though his short reign proved fairly-insignificant, his legacy lives on thanks to Howard Carter's discovery of his magnificent tomb in 1922. Now, as the centenary of Carter's discovery creeps ever nearer, many of...
The Rollright Stones are some of Britain’s most remarkable and mysterious ancient monuments. They consist of three separate sites - a looming funerary monument built to contain dismembered corpses, a venerated stone circle, and a single monolith with an innominate purpose. Alice Loxton traces six...
The Roman Empire was one of the greatest in history. At its height it stretched from northern Britain to the Persian Gulf, its might epitomised by the effectiveness of its core military unit: the Roman legion. The aqueduct, sanitation, irrigation, medicine, education, wine, public baths – all thi...
