Dan Snow

Dan Snow

13 Seasons

Documentaries presented by Dan Snow.

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Dan Snow
  • Digging up the 'Dark Ages'

    Episode 1

    Join Dan Snow as he explores this stunning set of discoveries in our brand new documentary ‘Digging Up the Dark Ages’ on History Hit TV.

    While working on the HS2 high speed railway project in the UK, archaeologists made discoveries of national significance, uncovering a large Anglo-Saxon burial...

  • Could You Survive on British World War Two Rations?

    Episode 2

    In January 1940, the British government introduced food rationing. The scheme was designed to ensure fair shares for all at a time of national shortage. The Ministry of Food was responsible for overseeing rationing. Every man, woman and child was given a ration book with coupons. These were requi...

  • Fortress Britain: Red Sands Forts

    Episode 3

    During the Second World War, the City of London was a major target for both naval and aerial bombardment. In 1943, numerous towers were built in the Thames Estuary as anti-aircraft defences to protect the capital. Known as the Red Sands Forts, these Star Wars Walker-like constructions were initia...

  • 1916
    30:30
    Episode 4

    1916

    Episode 4

    Last year audiences around the world were astounded by Sam Mendes' incredible World War One epic, 1917. This autumn, Dan Snow was invited to take a look at a recreated World War One trench network in the UK, built by military historian Taff Gillingham. In homage to 1917, we decided to film this w...

  • Saint Helena

    Episode 5

    They needed a prison for the most dangerous man in the World. Napoleon had seized supreme power in France. He’d marched his armies from Portugal to Moscow. But now he was a prisoner. His captors needed a prison from which escape was unthinkable. Their answer lay in the South Atlantic. A scrap of ...

  • Mayflower 400: Beyond the Journey

    Episode 6

    On 16 September 1620, 400 years ago, a merchant ship called the Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England, on a voyage to America. Its passengers sought a new life, for some this meant religious freedom and for some a fresh start in a new land. They would go on to be known as Pilgrims, and influe...

  • Austerlitz: Napoleon's Greatest Victory

    Episode 7

    The night was freezing cold. The hard ground shrouded in mist. By dawn the soldiers were on the move. It was 2 December 1805 and just outside what is now Brno, 3 mighty armies were about to fight one of the greatest battles in history. By the time the sun set, the French Emperor Napoleon Bonapart...

  • The Real Robinson Crusoe

    Episode 8

    Professional yachtsman Conrad Humphreys and Dan Snow tell the story of Alexander Selkirk, an 18th century sailor whose story, some argue, served as a historical basis for Daniel Defoe's famous novel Robinson Crusoe.

  • What Did the Tudors Eat at a Royal Banquet?

    Episode 9

    From banquets to pottage, what Tudors ate and drank varied greatly subject to their wealth and social status. Poor and wealthy alike lived off the land, using ingredients based on their availability and seasonality.

    For those Tudors who could afford it, there was nothing like a good banquet to s...

  • Henry VIII: Statesman or Tyrant?

    Episode 10

    On Midsummer's Day in 1509 a 17 year old was crowned king of England. He would go on to transform his realm over almost four decades on the throne. He would revolutionise its religion, reforge its politics and its relations with neighbouring countries, and establish a royal navy. But, by the time...

  • Dan Snow and Dan Jones Talk Crusades

    Episode 11

    Dan is joined by fellow history presenter Dan Jones to talk about the Knights Templar and the crusades.

    If you love Dan Jones, then join him at our book club. He is the History Hit Book Club's author for October/November 2022. The book club is a community of people who are passionate about histo...

  • The Crusades with Dan Jones

    Episode 12

    The two Dans are back. And this time, they're talking all things crusades. Dan Jones provides his namesake host a thrilling background to the series of holy wars that have come to define Medieval Europe.

    If you love Dan Jones, then join him at our book club. He is the History Hit Book Club's aut...

  • The Knights Templar: With Dan Jones

    Episode 13

    They might be more famous today for their cameos in The Da Vinci Code and Assassin’s Creed, but in real life they were an army of valiant, daring Crusaders famous for their self-discipline, who fought in the Middle Ages' most bloody battles. They were allowed no sex, no personal possessions, and ...

  • Mudlarking

    Episode 14

    Dan joins author and mudlark expert Lara Maiklem for a spot of mudlarking.

  • Eleanor of Aquitaine: England's Royal Matriarch

    Episode 15

    Eleanor of Aquitaine is at least as responsible for the vast empire of the Plantagenets as her more celebrated husband, Henry II. Sara Cockerill has written a wonderful biography of Eleanor, placing her back at the centre of English medieval history where she belongs. Sara and Dan discuss her lon...

  • Coronavirus: Lessons From History

    Episode 16

    In the past few months more than a billion people have faced restrictions unlike any seen before. Shops are closed; the death toll is rising; people across the globe have been forced to rise to an extraordinary challenge. But it is important to remember that humans have experienced pandemics befo...

  • Pandemics: Science and History

    Episode 17

    I was thrilled to be joined by the legendary Peter Frankopan, Professor of Global History at Oxford University and bestselling author of 'The Silk Roads: A New History of the World'. In this podcast we discussed the current crisis in a wider historical context, and Peter gave some fascinating ins...

  • Ink: A History of Tattooing

    Episode 18

    Matt Lodder is the world's leading expert on the history of tattoos. He has found evidence of people using ink or charcoal on their bodies stretching back thousands of years. He explodes myths at every turn. Tattoos were common long before Captain Cook allegedly imported them back from the Pacifi...

  • World War Two Explained: The Key Battles and Dates

    Episode 19

    Dan Snow explains the most destructive war in history. From its origins through the dark days of 1940 through to the defeat of Germany and the dropping of the atomic bomb. World War Two changed the world.

  • Henry's Forts: Castles on the Coast

    Episode 20

    On the 26 February 2021, around 38 metres of wall collapsed at Hurst Castle, one of a series of vital coastal forts built by Henry VIII in the 16th century to protect England from threat of invasion by the European powers. Recently, Dan went out on his kayak to assess the damage at the castle whi...

  • 1066: The Year of Conquest

    Episode 21

    1066 - one of the most famous years in English history. In a succession crisis like no other three warlords separated by hundreds of miles and savage seas vied for control of the English throne in a series of bloody battles. From Harald Hardrada's crowning victory at Fulford to the renowned Battl...

  • In Search of the Great Viking Army

    Episode 22

    In 865 AD, England was invaded by the Great Heathen Army. The Great Viking Army, as it was also known, was made up of a coalition of Scandinavian warriors mainly from Denmark and, legend has it, four of the five sons of Ragnar Lothbrok, including Halfdan Ragnarsson, Ivar the Boneless, Bjorn Irone...

  • A Tour of Arundel Castle

    Episode 23

    Arundel Castle is one West Sussex’s greatest attractions with a history spanning nearly a thousand years. It has its roots in Norman times, originally built at the end of the 11th century by the then Earl of Arundel, Roger de Montgomery. The keep Montgomery created was initially made out of wood,...

  • Tutankhamun: A Century of Discovery

    Episode 24

    On November 4th 1922 a breathless archaeologist, who had spent his life working in Egypt, wrote a hurried diary entry: “First steps of Tomb Found”. This was the very moment that Howard Carter found the entrance to the tomb of Tutankhamun.

    In this very special film, shot in Egypt and England, Dan...