Ancient
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Ancient Ways: The Ridgeway
1 season
Every generation leaves a mark on Britain, but if you know where to look, you can still find the ancient tracks that our ancestors used to crisscross this land. In this two-part special, anthropologist and keen hiker Mary-Ann Ochota tracks the pathways of our ancestors from the Uffington White Ho...
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Divine Fury: Demeter and Persephone
1 season
Acclaimed classicist Natalie Haynes is back on History Hit. This time she explores one of the most powerful and enduring myths of the ancient world: the story of Demeter and Persephone.
Our journey begins with the kidnapping of the young goddess Persephone by Hades, the dark Lord of the Underw...
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Paestum: A Tale of Three Cities
The story of ancient Italy is so much more than just Rome. Tristan Hughes visits the extraordinary site of Paestum in southern Italy, home to some of the greatest ancient Greek temples from anywhere in the world.
From majestic temples to pristine wall paintings more that 2,500 years old, he exp...
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Into the Valley of the Kings
Dan Snow ventures into Egypt's Valley of the Kings to explore its rediscovery.
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Ancient Adventures: Libya
Join Dan Snow on a special expedition that goes far off the beaten track of history as we venture to Libya in North Africa to explore extraordinary Greek and Roman sites, centred around one of the greatest cities of the ancient world, Cyrene.
After years of civil war and instability, History Hit...
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The Trojan Horse: On the Trail of a Myth
The history of the Trojan horse is probably one of the most famous stories ever told.
A gigantic wooden horse is loaded with Greek soldiers and presented to the Trojans as a gift. Unsuspecting, they swallow the bait and pull the horse into the city. Under cover of darkness the Greeks slip out of...
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Scotland's Roman Hoard: The Traprain Treasure
Follow Tristan Hughes as he is given exclusive access to the National Museum of Scotland for a look at one of Britain’s most spectacular archaeological discoveries: the Traprain Treasure, a dazzling collection of over 250 pieces of late Roman silver.
Guided by curator Dr Fraser Hunter, we learn ...
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Pompeii: Life in the City - Episode 1
Dan and Kate explore working lives in Pompeii, from the very rich to the very poor.
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Pompeii: Life in the City - Episode 4
Dan and Kate Lister discover that crime and violence were a daily threat in Pompeii.
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Enemies of Rome: In Search of the Picts
For centuries they were depicted as enemies and barbarians, only portrayed through the eyes of the Roman Empire. Now, through new archaeological discoveries and research, the story of the Picts is being rewritten.
Join Tristan Hughes as he travels across Scotland, meeting experts in stone-carvin...
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Lost City of Gaul: Unearthing Bibracte
In the heart of the French region of Burgundy, deep in a forest, lies a hidden city that had been dormant for 2,000 years. It’s called Bibracte, the most important oppidum in all of Gaul. That is where the Aedui, a Gallic tribe allied to the Romans, once built a fortified city on top of a mountai...
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Hannibal
1 season
The story of legendary Carthaginian general Hannibal. From his beginnings as an enemy of Rome in the Iberian Peninsula, to his daring crossing of the Alps and the decisive Battle of Zama against Roman general Scipio Africanus.
Alexander Siddig performs as Hannibal, supreme commander of the Carth...
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The Melsonby Hoard
Join Tristan Hughes on an exploration into the Iron Age, as he uncovers one of the most extraordinary archaeological discoveries in British history.
With exclusive access to the Melsonby Hoard, quite possibly the largest Iron Age hoard ever found in Britain, Tristan explores a treasure trove of ...
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Maya: Ancient Metropolis
1 season
Recent discoveries from archaeological excavations reveal much of the Maya civilization: lost citadels in the Guatemalan jungle found around Tikal, a sacred cenote at Chichen Itza, and underground network of tunnels discovered at Teotihuacan. How were these ancient people able to build such struc...
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The Cutting Edge: Testing the Stone Age
History Hit visits Kent State University, Ohio to film a fascinating ‘cutting-edge’ experiment that takes us to the beginnings of the Stone Age, over 2.6 million years ago.
Kent State is home to one of the world’s leading experimental archaeology laboratories, scientifically exploring the distan...
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Gladiators: History's Greatest Fighters
Gladiators, from Spartacus to Ridley Scott’s Maximus Decimus Meridius, we’ve been fascinated by them for hundreds of years. Dan Snow is on the hunt to find out why we’re still so obsessed with the men who controlled the Roman arena from the ground up!
Dan joins experts in Italy and England to in...
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Dicking About
Penises, they’re everywhere in ancient art and sculpture…But back in Ancient Greece they were artistically embodied a bit differently…why? Size spoke volumes.
Dr Kate Lister and her handy tape measure are on a quest to get the measure of Ancient Greek statues in the Cambridge Museum of Classics...
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Prehistoric Ireland
1 season
Tristan Hughes travels to Ireland to delve into the mysteries and myths of prehistoric Ireland.
In the first episode, History Hit’s Ancients expert Tristan Hughes travels to Ireland to delve into the mysteries of Newgrange and its surrounding tombs — exploring the secrets of Stone Age Ireland. A...
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The First Emperor of China
In March 1974, one of the most astonishing archaeological discoveries in history was made in the heart of China: the Terracotta Warriors. These incredible clay statues were built and buried over 2000 years ago - but who made them? And why?
Dan Snow comes face to face with the warriors and heads...
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Silk Road: Destination Xi'an
Dan Snow heads to China to one of the oldest and most historic cities in the country - Xi’an. It’s a city that is now home to 10 million people, a modern metropolis, but it’s a city that wears its heritage proudly. This was the capital city of China’s most dynamic and important dynasties, the Tan...
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Rise of Herod
King Herod is considered one of the biggest villains in history, best remembered for a fabled, biblical slaughter. But this infamous legacy has overshadowed the rest of Herod’s extraordinary story. Born in the early 1st century BC, Herod fought his way to prominence during a time of great turmoil...
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Dunhuang: A Silk Road Oasis
The Silk Road was a historic trading network that linked East to West. But this trade network exchanged far more than objects, through this route came a trade of knowledge, culture and religion. One of its most important stopping points was the Chinese city of Dunhuang. This centre held an import...
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Medusa with Natalie Haynes: Episode One
History Hit goes on a remarkable journey with classicist Natalie Haynes to the beautiful Greek island of Corfu to discover the truth behind the myth of Medusa: a woman who both beguiles and terrifies us.
In this first episode, Natalie explores the roots of the extraordinary myth and follows it ...