The Ancients

For over a thousand years, the Book of the Dead guided ancient Egyptians through the afterlife. Filled with powerful spells these remarkable texts were designed to help the dead overcome the dangers of the underworld and reach eternal life in the company of Osiris, God of the Dead. Today, Tristan Hughes is joined by Yekaterina Barbash to explore the fascinating history of the Book of the Dead. Why...

The story of Achilles, Odysseus and the siege of Troy has captivated audiences for millennia, but behind the legends lies a deeper mystery. Was this epic war a myth, a memory of a real Bronze Age conflict, or something in between? Today Tristan Hughes is joined by Eric Cline to explore the reality behind Homer’s greatest tale. From the legendary heroes of The Iliad to the ruins of Troy, discover w...

Thousands of years before the story of Noah and the Ark, people in ancient Mesopotamia were already telling tales of a devastating divine flood. Written into the Epic of Atrahasis, this ancient story describes a man chosen to survive catastrophe by building a great boat and preserving life from destruction. Today, Tristan Hughes is joined by Sophus Helle to explore this legend from ancient Babylon...

For more than a thousand years, Delphi was considered a cultural centre of the ancient world. Every year a throng of pilgrims climbed the slopes of Mount Parnassus to seek the words of Apollo through the famous Oracle of Delphi. Today Tristan Hughes is joined by Michael Scott to uncover Delphi's story, the sanctuary that shaped the ancient Mediterranean. How did the Pythia become the most famous o...

What if the secrets of Stonehenge lie not just in the stones, but in the people who hauled them there? Tristan Hughes sits down with best-selling novelist Ken Follett to uncover and imagine the lives of the Stone Age builders, the rival communities around Salisbury Plain, and the extraordinary teamwork needed to raise one of the most famous monuments in the world. They reveal fascinating details a...

The Library of Alexandria was one of the most important and most celebrated buildings of the ancient Mediterranean. It was a great hub of learning and literature and made Alexandria one of the ancient world’s foremost centres of knowledge and culture. But when was it built? And where did all the books come from? Tristan Hughes speaks to Dr. Islam Issa about the story behind one of histories greate...

In 60 AD Roman Britain was very nearly brought to the brink. Cities burned, authority crumbled, and for a brief moment one woman challenged the might of the Roman Empire. Her name was Boudica. Today, Tristan Hughes is joined by novelist and historian Elodie Harper to explore the life and legend of Boudica, the Iceni queen responsible for such rebellious devastation. They discuss the brutal events...

538 million years ago, life on Earth changed forever. In an evolutionary burst known as the Cambrian Explosion, complex animals rapidly appeared in the oceans, laying the foundations for almost every major animal group alive today. Tristan Hughes is joined by the mighty Henry Gee to explore biology’s 'Big Bang'. What triggered this extraordinary leap in evolutionary complexity? Why did creatures w...

The Pharisees are one of the most familiar names in the ancient world, but are they also one of the most misunderstood? Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Helen Bond to step back into first-century Judea, where the Pharisees were debating law, purity and resurrection under foreign rule. They look at how much power the Pharisees really had, their debates with Jesus in the Gospels, and how focussed they...

In July 1799, French soldiers unearthed a stone that would transform our understanding of the ancient world. Discovered in a fort at Rashid, the Rosetta Stone became the key to deciphering Egypt’s long-lost hieroglyphs. Within two decades, scholars began unlocking its secrets. But what does it actually say? Tristan speaks with Dr Ilona Regulski to explore the stone, the script, and the race to dec...

Fifty thousand years ago, Neanderthal artists in Ice Age Europe painted symbols and handprints deep inside caves, leaving behind some of the oldest known art on the continent. These discoveries are transforming how we understand our closest human relatives. Today, Tristan Hughes is joined by Genevieve von Petzinger to explore the fascinating story of Neanderthal art. What kinds of images did Neand...

In 73 BC, a gladiator escaped slavery and launched a rebellion that shook the Roman Republic to its core. His name was Spartacus, and his uprising became one of the greatest threats Rome had ever faced from within. Tristan Hughes is joined by Ben Kane to explore the dramatic story of Spartacus and his slave revolt that swept across Italy. Together, they cover the breakout at Capua to the battles a...

When the Romans left Britain in the early 5th century AD, Hadrian’s Wall did not simply collapse into ruin. Its forts and ramparts endured, becoming strongholds for the communities who continued to live along this ancient frontier. Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Rob Collins to explore the fascinating story of Hadrian’s Wall after the end of Roman rule. Who were the people who remained on th...

What if Iron Age Britain was never a land of barbarians at all, but a world of skilled farmers, powerful women, trade, ritual, and spectacle? Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Tom Moore to reveal a far richer pre-Roman Britain, from roundhouses and hillforts to chariots, feasts, and buried offerings. Archaeology uncovers a society shaped by movement, identity, violence, and belief, where the I...

What can a frozen island reveal about the people who thrived there for thousands of years? Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr. Asta Mønsted to explore prehistoric Greenland through astonishing archaeology and living mythology, from permafrost-preserved homes, tools, and clothing to whale hunts, shamanic stories, and the world of the Thule Inuit. Along the way, they uncover how families survived the Ar...

For most of human history, we were not alone. Human evolution was shaped by multiple human species living side by side, from Neanderthals in Europe to Denisovans in Asia, before all but one disappeared. Tristan Hughes is joined by Ella Al-Shamahi to explore the story of the early humans who once shared our world. How did these different species evolve? Did they compete or coexist? And what do the...

Rome vs Alexander. It's a counterfactual of suitably epic proportions, fit for movie theatres and sprawling strategy video games. What would've happen had the great Macedonian general not perished in Babylon and advanced on an emerging Roman Republic? Tristan Hughes is joined by Roman historian and friend of the show Steele Brand to ask - what would’ve happened had Alexander invaded Italy? They ex...

Armageddon is more than just a biblical prophecy hailing the end of days. It is a real place: Megiddo, an ancient city that for thousands of years stood at the crossroads of empires, trade routes and wars in the ancient Near East. In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by friend of the show Eric Cline to uncover the true story of the real Armageddon. Why did Megiddo become assoc...

How did ancient China plunge into 261 years of chaos, and how did that turmoil forge an empire? Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Andrew Seth Meyer to explore the Warring States period, from collapsing Zhou power and ruthless coups to mass armies, crossbows, and battlefield slaughter. They trace the rise of Confucian ideas, the seven great states, and the brutal climb of Qin toward China’s fir...

The first ever outbreak of 'plague' - Yersinia Pestis, the most feared disease in human history - was long thought to be the Plague of Justinian in 541 AD. But new studies of ancient DNA have revealed traces of Yesinia Pestis dating back more than 5,000 years.  In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Laura Spinney to explore the origins of prehistoric plague. How did...

Near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most vital commercial chokepoints, lies an ancient trade route that powered civilisation 4,000 years ago: the Persian Gulf - where goods and ideas flowed between the great cities of Mesopotamia, Arabia and beyond to the far flung cities of the Indus Valley and the Indian subcontinent. In this episode of The Ancients , Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Ste...

In 79 AD, life in Pompeii unfolded beneath the shadow of a tremoring Mount Vesuvius. Streets bustled, businesses thrived, and merchants built fortunes, unaware disaster was hours away. But what happened when that disaster struck? How did these ordinary Roman citizens seek to survive last days of Pompeii? In today's episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr. Jessica Venner to uncover...

What if the first technology was just a stone? Tristan Hughes and Dr. Emma Finestone, - Curator and the Robert J. and Linnet E. Fritz Endowed Chair of Humans Origins at Cleveland Museum of Natural History - travel back over 3 million years to Africa, where early hominins began shaping stone tools that transformed survival, diet, and behaviour. From the earliest finds to the widespread tool making...

A legend of the great Greek city of Athens, Themistocles rose from obscurity to save ancient Greece and helped shape one of the greatest naval powers in history. Yet his story ends in exile, condemned as a traitor and serving the very empire he once defeated: Persia. In this episode of The Ancients , Tristan Hughes is joined by Michael Scott to explore the extraordinary life of Themistocles. Toget...

What made the Hittites one of the great Bronze Age powers, and how did their empire survive on war, diplomacy and faith? Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Elena Devecchi to uncover ancient royal intrigue, lavish festivals, the 'Thousand God', and the world’s oldest known peace treaty. From Hattusha’s immense lion gates to secret archives and sacking Babylon, it’s a dramatic deep dive into an e...