Digging up History

Digging up History

Documentaries about archaeology.

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Digging up History
  • South Asia Through The Ages: The Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery

    British Museum curator Richard Blurton provides History Hit viewers a tour of some of the remarkable artefacts that make up the South Asian exhibition, on display at the Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery.

  • 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...

  • Ancient Britain: With Ray Mears

    1 season

    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...

  • Secrets of the Churchill War Rooms

    Winston Churchill, wartime Prime Minister of Great Britain and its empire during the Second World War, is one of the most recognisable figures of world history. The man dominated Whitehall and Westminster, but many of his most vital decisions during the war years were taken away from the public e...

  • American Revolution - Commemorating the Fallen of the Battle of Camden, 1780

    History Hit has been up close to a remarkable story from the American War of Independence, exploring the history and attending the commemorations for the dead of the bloody battle of Camden, 1780.

    Travelling to South Carolina for this special film, Dan Snow investigates some exceptional histo...

  • The Rollright Stones: Mind, Myre and Magic

    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...

  • Digging up the 'Dark Ages'

    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...

  • The Military Maps of George III

    Though perhaps better-remembered today for his late-reign madness and the slight issue of losing the Thirteen Colonies, King George III was also one of the world's greatest collectors of military maps. Preserved in excellent condition within Windsor Castle, these highly-detailed maps cover a rang...

  • The Story of Egyptology

    Egyptologist Dr Chris Naunton explores the story of how Ancient Egypt was rediscovered, and how its incredible sites and treasures were gradually decoded. Starting with the earliest travelers who ventured inside the pyramids, Chris traces how this curiosity exploded into Egyptomania in the 18th ...

  • The Pursuit of Endurance: On the Shoulders of Shackleton

    In the heart of the Antarctic, nine adventurers are about to live an extraordinary story. They come from very different backgrounds, but one thing brings them together: a passion for adventure and testing the limits.

    Their goal: to follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest legends of the go...

  • The Sharp End: Testing Front Line Weapons

    1 season

  • The Mystery of the Headless Man

    This story has everything: war, politics, betrayal, scandal, murder and at its heart a cracking forensic science mystery. This is the story of Simon Fraser, the 11th Lord Lovat of the Highland, also known as the Fox. In the late 1660s, Simon Fraser was born in a house on the banks of a burn in th...

  • Mysteries of Prehistoric Scotland

    1 season

  • Ghost Ships: Forgotten Wrecks of the River Dart

    All around the UK, in rivers and streams, and in the mud on the side of riverbeds are the remains of our maritime past, which helps us understand who were are today.

    In 2013, a survey around the UK identified 199 different assemblages of hulks, remains of craft. These included paddle ships, ferr...

  • Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh

    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...

  • Ray Mears, The Bow: The History of Archery

    1 season

    The oldest known evidence of the use of the bow comes from South Africa, where microliths, believed to be arrowheads dating from around 70,000 years ago, have been found.

    Evidence of humans' use of the bow can be found all over the world, from cave art in Algeria that shows a man shooting a slig...

  • The Maps That Made America

    Susan Schulten presents a selection of maps from the fascinating collection of maps that feature in her book 'A History of America in 100 Maps'.

  • Lindisfarne: Faith and Vikings

    In 793 AD, the holy island of Lindisfarne was subject to one of the most infamous Viking raids on Britain. ‘Heathen' men plundered the sacred monastery in an event that shook Christian Europe.

    Dan Snow travels across the tidal causeway to Lindisfarne to discover the rich culture of this holy pla...

  • The Welsh Romeo and Juliet: The Maid of Cefn Ydfa

    Chris Lloyd looks into the story of Ann Maddocks and Wil Hopcyn, known as the Welsh Romeo and Juliet. The 18th century story of love and heartache still echoes across the south Welsh Valleys to this day. Chris visits Llangynwyd, the village at the heart of this story, to discover what it still me...

  • The National Trust: Reimagining Our Past

    Here at History Hit, we love exploring the historic sites managed by the National Trust. In this special film we participate in a major National Trust event, the first Octavia Hill lecture, delivered by renowned art historian and museum director, Neil McGregor. Neil delves into two magnificent ho...

  • Church Crawls in Solitude: With Diarmaid MacCulloch

    1 season

    Enjoy church crawling around a selection of beautiful parish churches with Oxford Professor, Diarmaid MacCulloch, courtesy of the Church Conservation Trust.

    The Churches Conservation Trust is the national charity responsible for caring for and protecting England's historic churches on behalf of ...

  • The Hag of Beara

    The Hag of Beara, also known as the Hag of Winter, was a mythical figure that predated Christianity in Ireland. She was regarded by people as the mother protector / creator of the landscape. Like many pagan gods and traditions, she did not escape the intolerant wave of Christianity that swept acr...

  • Karnak: Decoding Egypt's Greatest Temple

    History Hit’s ancient history expert, Tristan Hughes, digs deep into one of Ancient Egypt's greatest treasures, a site that ranks among the world’s most impressive religious sanctuaries in both its size, splendour and importance.

    But there is another, fascinating side to exploring Karnak beyond ...

  • Swordfish: World War II's Surprising Aircraft and the Raid that Changed History

    Dan Snow flies on a mission to explore one of the most daring and dangerous aerial attacks of World War 2

    On 11th November 1940, 21 antiquated Swordfish aircraft took off from the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. They were embarking on one of the most extraordinary raids of the Second World Wa...