A podcast for all ancient history fans! The Ancients is dedicated to discussing our distant past. Featuring interviews with historians and archaeologists, each episode covers a specific theme from antiquity. From Neolithic Britain to the Fall of Rome. Hosted by Tristan Hughes. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
532 episodes transcribedIt's perhaps the best known Jewish festival of the year, but what exactly are Hanukkah's origins, and why was it first celebrated?On today's episode o...
It is one of the most pivotal inventions in human history - the wheel.New research suggests that the wheel was first created by prehistoric miners in...
The prehistoric archaeology of South America is fascinating and constantly developing.Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr. Tom Dillehay to discuss how earl...
Before Rome came the Etruscans - they were the dominant culture in ancient Italy in the centuries before Rome's imperial expansion. But how did they f...
The Tower of Babel story is iconic. Featured in the Book of Genesis, it explains how different languages came to be across the world. But what are its...
A group of hunter-gatherers encounter diverse habitats full of creatures they’ve never seen before. A land of opportunity, but also danger.Join host T...
Denzel Washington stars as Emperor Macrinus in the epic new movie Gladiator II, but who exactly was this shadowy ruler of Rome?Join Tristan Hughes as...
The new Hollywood blockbuster Gladiator II features two of Rome's most villainous emperors - the brothers Caracalla and Geta.And in today's episode of...
Half man and half bull, the Minotaur is one of the most famous, and scariest, monsters of Greek mythology.The story goes that it was trapped in a grea...
Today, we often see the Amazon basin as an endless expanse of trees and rainforest. But 2,000 years ago, at the same time that great cities like Rome,...
From the arrival of the first humans reaching the Japanese archipelago some 50,000 years ago to the enduring Jomon culture, Japan has a fascinating pr...
When they were discovered in the Qumran Caves in the mid-20th century, the Dead Sea Scrolls revolutionised our understanding of biblical history. But...
It’s 279 BC. On a large plain in Southern Italy near the town of Asculum, a famous Greek warlord likened to Alexander the Great faces down the legions...
In this instalment of The Ancients we're going north of the Arctic circle to uncover the incredible story of the Thule Inuit. Expanding out from prese...
In the aftermath of Alexander the Great’s death his former generals carved out their own kingdoms in the chaos that was the Wars of the Successors. Ar...
What was the most popular sporting spectacle in ancient Rome? Gladiator bouts? Beast hunts? It was in fact chariot racing! For centuries the Romans we...
The Edomites are in the Old Testament, an ancient people who lived around Petra, Jordan before the Nabateans and before Petra was even created. King H...
Tristan Hughes and his guest Dr. Joyce Tyldesley OBE are heading to the Underworld for the final installation of The Ancients exploration of the Gods...
One of the most famous and recognisable Persian kings of antiquity, Darius the Great was an Achaemenid superstar, ruling the Achaemenid Persian Empire...
The story of Osiris and how he became King of the Dead is a gruesome tale and one of the most famous legends from Egyptian mythology.Tristan Hughes is...
