The Ancients

History Hit

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.

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Top 10 The Ancients Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Ancients episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Ancients for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Ancients episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Moses & The Exodus

The Ancients

06/12/24 • 44 min

The story of Moses and the Exodus is one of the oldest and most well known in history. It is full of instantly recognisable episodes like the parting of the Red Sea, the ten plagues of Egypt, and the burning bush but it is also foundational to many modern-day faiths. So today we’re asking what does the historical and archaeological record reveal about this epic biblical narrative?

In this episode of The Ancients - the second in our Old Testament mini-series - Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr. Dylan Johnson to delve deep into the history of the ancient Israelites, to explore whether Moses was a real historical figure and to discover what historical parallels may have inspired the Exodus origin story.

This episode was edited by Aidan Lonergan and produced by Joseph Knight

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

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4 Listeners

The First Dogs

The Ancients

02/01/24 • 40 min

For millennia dogs have been undoubtedly man’s best friend. But when did humans first start keeping dogs as pets? The fascinating story of how ancient hunter gatherers first domesticated our now beloved canines is the subject of today’s episode and takes us right back into the depths of the Ice Age.

Tristan is joined in this episode by archeologist Dr Angela Perri to chat about how the wild wolf packs that roamed the icy wastes of the ancient world gradually became the four pawed friends we know and love today.

This episode was edited by Aidan Lonergan and produced by Annie Coloe and Joseph Knight

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3 Listeners

Tower of Babel

The Ancients

11/24/24 • 47 min

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 origins?

Join Tristan Hughes and Prof. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones in this special episode of The Ancients - recorded live at the London Podcast Festival - as they delve into the biblical roots of the myth and uncover the real archeological remains that inspired the fable. They explore how ancient ziggurats influenced depictions of the tower, discuss the intersection between history and faith and discover how age-old texts and modern archaeology combine to unravel the mysteries behind the story of the Tower of Babel.

Presented by Tristan Hughes. The producer is Joseph Knight, audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

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.

You can take part in our listener survey at https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK.

Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound.

2 Listeners

Emperor Macrinus: Usurper of Rome

The Ancients

11/17/24 • 56 min

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 he sits down with Dr Alex Imrie and Matilda Brown to explore the real story behind this lesser-known usurper of Rome, a North African-born knight who toppled the fratricidal tyrant Caracalla and took the throne for himself. Discover the dramatic and brutal events that shaped Macrinus' reign, including his conflict with the powerful women of the Severan dynasty and the fateful battles that sealed his fate.

Presented by Tristan Hughes. The producer is Joseph Knight, audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

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.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sound.

2 Listeners

1 Comment

Pyrrhus: Warlord of Ancient Greece

The Ancients

10/27/24 • 67 min

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 of the Roman Republic. His name was Pyrrhus of Epirus. And the victory that he won at Asculum would come to define his legacy.

In this instalment of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr. Louis Rawlings to dive into the cauldron of political intrigue and backstabbing that followed the death of Alexander the Great and talk through the story of Pyrrhus, his battles against Romans, Carthaginians, Sicilians, Greeks and how he managed to win the first ever 'Pyrrhic Victory'.

Presented by Tristan Hughes. The producer is Joseph Knight, audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS’. https://historyhit.com/subscription

You can take part in our listener survey here.

2 Listeners

Jewish Burial at the Time of Jesus

The Ancients

04/04/21 • 64 min

According to the Gospels, Jesus died and was removed from the cross on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath (Friday afternoon), before his body was placed in the family tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. For 'three days and three nights', Jesus’s body was entombed. But do the accounts of his burial correlate with the archaeology? Do they accurately reflect the manner in which the Jews of ancient Jerusalem buried their dead?

To talk through this extraordinary topic, from what we know about ancient Jewish burial customs to the Talpiot Tomb controversy, I was delighted to be re-joined by Professor Jodi Magness. Jodi has appeared on the Ancients once before, the star of our highly-popular two part podcast on Masada.

You can view Jodi's library of books here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Jodi-Magness/s?rh=n%3A266239%2Cp_27%3AJodi+Magness

2 Listeners

The Oldest Known Shark Attack

The Ancients

07/20/21 • 27 min

It’s a crossover with Jaws and Open Water that we never expected, but a 3,000 year old corpse has thrown a surprising topic into the mix: shark bites. The body, found in the prehistoric Tsukumo hunter-gatherer burial site in Japan, unexpectedly presented evidence of traumatic injuries compatible with a shark bite, making it the earliest known victim of a shark attack. Following this discovery, Tristan spoke to Alyssa White from the University of Oxford. Alyssa was part of the team who studied body No. 24. She explains how they came across No. 24, the evidence which led them towards the cause of death, and the archaeological science and forensic techniques used to recreate the misfortune of this early shark victim.

2 Listeners

Julius Caesar’s Invasions of Britain

The Ancients

07/11/21 • 42 min

On the day of the Euro 2020 final, we’re talking England versus Italy...Ancients style (well, sort of). Historian and archaeologist Dr Simon Elliott returns to the podcast to talk us through Julius Caesar’s two invasions of Britain in 55 and 54 BC. Hear what the Romans knew about Britain before the expedition, why Caesar wanted to invade, and what the “greatest PR man of the ancient world” learnt from the first, less successful, campaign. Simon’s book, Roman Conquests: Britain is out at the end of July 2021.

2 Listeners

Plague of Athens

The Ancients

06/24/20 • 35 min

Plague in the ancient world was nothing unusual. Bouts of illness were common occurrences, but we do have accounts of some exceptional outbreaks: epidemics that brought powerful empires and city-states to their knees. One of the most infamous occurred in 430 BC: the Plague of Athens. Recently I was fortunate enough to interview Alastair Blanshard, a Professor of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Queensland, about this devastating episode in Athenian history.

2 Listeners

Ice Age America

The Ancients

11/21/24 • 49 min

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 Tristan Hughes and expert Dr David Meltzer as they delve into the Ice Age in North America, over 10,000 years ago, a land of saber toothed tigers, direwolves, woolly mammoths, mastodons. They discuss how ancient DNA is revolutionising our understanding of human displacement and extinction events and how these explorers adapted to their new world.

Presented by Tristan Hughes. The producer is Joseph Knight, audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

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.

You can take part in our listener survey at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sound.

2 Listeners

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