Recent History Hit Originals
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Shipwreck! Northumberland and the Great Storm
History Hit's Dan Snow has been given exclusive access to the incredibly well-preserved remains of the 18th-century warship Northumberland.
Complete with cannons, muskets and coils of rope, it's a discovery that's rewriting our understanding of the evolution of the Royal Navy.
The special fil...
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Fortress War - Liberation80: Jersey
Eighty years ago, on May 9th, 1945, British forces arrived to liberate the Channel Island of Jersey, the only part of the British Isles under Nazi occupation. Now, on the 80th anniversary of that day, Dan Snow travels to the island to explore the five long, challenging years of German rule. He di...
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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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How Do I Look? The History of Body Modification with Eleanor Janega
When you wake up every morning and get dressed, you probably don’t stop to think that you’re taking part in a millennia-old cultural tradition. How you choose to look is all part of the long history of humans altering their appearance to make a statement - from self-expression and individuality t...
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The Ashmolean Up Close: Nero's Golden House
The first film in an exciting new partnership between History Hit and one of the world’s oldest and finest public museums, the University of Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum.
Over the course of six films, to be released through 2025, History Hit is going behind the scenes to discover some of the Ashmol...
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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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American Revolution: This is War! Bunker Hill and the Birth of the US Army
A History Hit special marking the 250th anniversary of the Siege of Boston (1775-1776), the first chapter in the eight year war for American Independence. It saw the war’s first pitched battle, Bunker Hill - a bloody day and a hollow British victory, won at great cost.
Dan Snow joins American e...
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The Room Where It Happened: Versailles 1919
Join Dan Snow and a hand picked team of experts for a thought-provoking panel discussion that delves into one of the most consequential diplomatic agreements of the 20th century: the Treaty of Versailles.
Representing Woodrow Wilson and America is Historian Alexandra Churchill, taking the perspe...
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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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Magna Carta
1 season
Magna Carta - one of the most important documents from the medieval period. It’s still held up as a totem of democracy even in today’s turbulent world. But why did Magna Carta get written and sealed in the first place?
In the first of two episodes, Prof. Michael Livingston heads to France to exp...
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Edward II: Worst King of England?
Dr Helen Carr explores the extraordinary and chaotic reign of Edward II, a king with a reputation as a disastrous ruler. But how much of that is true?
Edward's accession as king of England in 1307 led almost immediately to conflict as he favoured close friends, and maybe lovers, like Piers Gaves...
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American Revolution: The First Battle
250 years ago, on April 19th 1775, the first muskets were fired in the American War of Independence - the famous "shot heard round the world".
In this special History Hit film, Dan Snow explores the key sites where it happened on this day - Battle Green, Lexington; The Old North Bridge, Concord...
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Young Elizabeth - In Her Own Words
1 season
Nicola Tallis and History Hit present a 2-part series about the extraordinary young woman who would become Elizabeth I - one of the most remarkable people to sit on the throne of England, but whose life before her coronation was just as incredible.
Historian Nicola Tallis, author of Young Eliza...
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Sex & Scandal: Royal Favourites
1 season
What does it take to become a royal favourite?
In Episode one we climb under the sheets and into the arms of the first Stuart King of England, James I and VI of Scotland. We’ll find out what made George Villiers stand out from the crowd and remain at the pinnacle of 17th century society and the...
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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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Medieval Apocalypse
For medieval people, the apocalypse was not some distant prophecy—it was an imminent reality shaping their lives.
In Medieval Apocalypse, historian Dr. Eleanor Janega embarks on a journey through England and France to uncover how our ancestors understood the end of days. From the terrifying vis...
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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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Germany's Wars: One Man's Life
From the trenches of WW1 to rise of Hitler and the Nazis, never before seen diaries & photos reveal the life of German Soldier & Teacher Wilhelm Kurtz.
Hidden away since his death in 1982, they are part of an extraordinary archive of documents and personal photographs from the frontline of histo...
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Medieval Cold Case: Stirling Castle Skeletons
30 years ago, nine skeletons were discovered buried within the grounds of Stirling Castle, Scotland. Their identities remain a mystery, but injuries found on them suggest that they all suffered brutally violent deaths.
Dr Jo Buckberry, a battle trauma expert at the University of Bradford, believ...
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Richard the Lionheart's Castle: Château Gaillard
Prof Michael Livingstone investigates Richard the Lionheart's medieval super fortress.
At the end of the 12th century, tensions between England and France were growing. The two kings, the ambitious Philippe II of France and the warrior Richard the Lionheart of England, had once been great allies...
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Versailles: Palace of Science
Versailles, the magnificent royal palace near Paris, home to a grandiose monarchy that was swept away in the Revolution. But there was another side to Versailles - this was also a Palace of Science.
In this special film, Dr. Maddy Pelling visits the Science Museum in London to explore a remarkab...
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Dogs: Our Shared History
1 season
In this new History Hit series Mike Loades embarks on a hands-on exploration into the amazing history of dogs - from giant Newfoundlands to skilled sheep dogs, delightful chamber dogs to resilient carriage dogs. It’s a fascinating story of how humans and dogs have lived and worked together for th...
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The Auschwitz House
On the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz Dan Snow and History Hit were given unique access to the house formerly home to the commandant of the concentration camp, Rudolf Höss.
Barely touched since the end of the second world war (and recently featured in the Oscar winning film The...
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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...