January 16th is the anniversary of one of the most important historical events - the birth of the Roman Empire. This day, in 27 BC marks the day that Octavian was appointed the title Augustus, and became the first Emperor of Rome. Augustus ordered the gates of Janus to be closed, marking an end t...

At its height, the Seleucid Empire stretched from Thrace (modern day Bulgaria) to the Indus River Valley. Emerging from the tumultuous ‘Successor Wars’ that followed Alexander the Great’s passing, for over a century it was a superpower of the eastern Mediterranean. This, however, ultimately led i...

Spinning held an important place in ancient society, and no, we're not talking about ancient exercise classes. A task for women and slaves, it was used to create clothes, ships sails, and ropes, and its products were integral to all parts of society. An unchanging art for centuries and seen acros...

It’s a macabre topic to discuss, but also one that has fascinated people for generations. So what has archaeology revealed about cannibalism among prehistoric societies? And if cannibalism does seem to have been practised among certain groups, then why? Appalachian State University’s Dr Marc Kiss...

They’ve both been described as the greatest military commanders in the ancient world, but who really takes the title? Alexander, the undefeated conqueror of the largest empire in the world, or Caesar, a leader who was critical in expanding and creating what later became the Roman Empire? For this...

For the first 4 centuries AD/CE, the ancient Greek novel was the most popular literary form in the Roman Empire and at the heart of these popular texts is discussion over race and identity. Could a Phoenician living within the Empire also identify as Roman? Could they be both X and Y? And can we ...

It’s fair to say that winter battles weren’t commonplace in the ancient Mediterranean world. There is, however, one striking exception. A clash that occurred in mid/late December 218 BC, in northern Italy very close to the Po River. This clash was the Battle of the River Trebia, fought between th...

We’re finishing off 2021 with what is perhaps Julius Caesar’s greatest legacy. It’s not a military victory or battle, but one of the many political reforms that truly has stood the test of time: the Julian calendar. Before, calendars were largely based on the lunar calendar, and believe it or not...

Thanks largely to his feature in the Gospel of Matthew, King Herod ‘the Great’ of Judaea is one of the infamous figures from the whole of history. So what do we know about this ancient near eastern ruler, who in his lifetime had contacts with a series of ‘goliath’ figures from the ancient Mediter...

Contrary to popular belief, parties in Ancient Rome were not all depraved wine-fuelled orgies. In fact, Roman get-togethers were relatively tame by the standards of today. They often consisted of noble families sharing elaborate food dishes and entertaining one another with theatrical hysterics. ...

What the Book of Genesis is to the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, songlines are to Indigenous Australians. Epic tales of desire, pursuit, shape-shifting spirits, strength and family ties, these are stories of the land, communicated only by a handful of elders. Today, Tristan is joi...

Frederick the Great, Marie Antoinette and Oscar Wilde. Each of them have talked about, or been talked about in terms of, Ancient Greek ideas of homosexual love. From men taking on young apprentices, to Sappho’s yearning poetry, the Ancient Greek traditions have long been called upon in conversati...

For over one million visitors each year, the main interest of the area around Stonehenge is the world famous prehistoric monument. But what can we learn from what lies beneath the ground? Dr Selina Brace is back on the Ancients to tell us about her studies, the Bronze Age people who once inhabite...

Today we’re going back to the beginning – no Romans, Celts, Egyptians or Macedonians in sight. We’re going much further back, covering billions of years of prehistory as we look at the emergence of life on Earth. From the rise of the earliest microscopic membranes to the arrival of the dinosaurs....

One mile south of Hadrian’s Wall, Vindolanda was a busy fort and military community on the edge of the Roman Empire. Now, the site is busy again, this time with archaeologists. In this episode we return to Northumberland to speak to Dr Andrew Birley and Marta Alberti who, alongside their team of ...

The sacred site of Menka, this island is unlike no other. Also known as the village of the Breadfruit Goddess or the Ruins of Menka, this isolated volcanic island is known to have had inhabitants for thousands of years, but how did they not only survive; but thrive? In today's episode, we're join...

Alexander the Great and Caracalla. One often considered the most successful military commanders of all time, the other, one of the worst emperors of Ancient Rome. So is it possible that the latter modelled himself and his army on the former. In this second episode with Dr Alex Imrie, we return to...

Minoan Crete has kept people captivated for millennia, appearing in countless modern cultural practices till this very day. But who are the Minoans? In this episode, Tristan travels down to Oxford to talk to Professor Nico Momigliano, a leading expert in the history and legacy of the Minoans. Joi...

From Gladiator to Rome Total War to I, Claudius today the Praetorians are one of the most distinctive military units of Imperial Rome. It was their job to protect the Roman Emperor and his household, a task for which they hold a somewhat ‘chequered’ record (especially when we focus in on the Prae...

For thousands of years indigenous Australians, the longest living culture on Earth, have been fascinated by the stars. In this episode Kamilaroi man and ANU astrophysics graduate Peter Swanton shines a light on the great depth of knowledge indigenous Australians associate with various constellati...

For decades the discovery of Ai Khanum, ‘the City of Lady Moon’, in Eastern Afghanistan has fascinated archaeologists and historians alike: from its ‘Greek’ theatre and gymnasium to the literary fragments preserved in the palatial complex to the everyday houses of the site. But there is also much...

In the second century Ad, the Antonine Wall was built as the northwestern border of the Roman Empire. It had long been known that the wall ran through Bearsden, a town a short journey from Glasgow. But in the 1970s archaeologists, among them David Breeze, were asked to run trial excavations in th...

And more! Was Ancient Rome truly as sexually liberated as we think? How did the Greek feel about nude statues? And how did these ideas vary across the Ancient Mediterranean? In this episode, Alastair Blanshard is back on The Ancients to compare our misconceptions of ancient sexual fantasies with ...

Following two assassinations and two executions, the title of Roman Emperor fell to Alexander Severus. He was one of the youngest to ever hold this title, and he was to be the final emperor of the Severan Dynasty. But who was making the decisions? In this episode we hear about the thirteen year r...