Stonehenge with Ken Follett
Jun 24, 2026
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…
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. New episodes every Sunday and Thursday.From History Hit, the world's best history channel and creators of award-winning podcasts Dan Snow's History Hit, Gone Medieval, and Betwixt the Sheets.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
PodSkip has analyzed 16 episodes of The Ancients, averaging 3.6 ads per episode (3% of runtime).
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The Library of Alexandria
Jun 20, 2026
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…
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Boudica and the Iceni
Jun 17, 2026
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…
The Cambrian Explosion: When Life Began?
Jun 13, 2026
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…
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The Pharisees
Jun 10, 2026
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…
The Rosetta Stone
Jun 06, 2026
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…
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Neanderthal Art
Jun 03, 2026
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…
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Spartacus
May 30, 2026
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…
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The Fall of Hadrian's Wall
May 27, 2026
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…
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Iron Age Britain
May 23, 2026
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…
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Prehistoric Greenland
May 20, 2026
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…
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The Other Humans: Why We Survived?
May 16, 2026
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…
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What If Alexander Fought Rome?
May 13, 2026
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…
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The Real Armageddon
May 09, 2026
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…
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Ancient China: The Warring States
May 06, 2026
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…
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The Prehistoric Plague
May 02, 2026
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…
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The Persian Gulf
Apr 29, 2026
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…
The Last Days of Pompeii
Apr 25, 2026
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…
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The First Tools
Apr 22, 2026
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…
Athens vs Persia: The Legend of Themistocles
Apr 18, 2026
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…
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The Hittites
Apr 15, 2026
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…
Homo Sapiens vs Neanderthals
Apr 11, 2026
Tristan Hughes is joined by Ella Al-Shamahi, paleoanthropologist and presenter of the hit BBC series Human, to explore what interactions between early Homo sapiens and Neanderthals may have been…
The Romans and China
Apr 08, 2026
How did Roman silver travel from Egypt to China across monsoon seas, pirate waters, and bustling ports? Tristan Hughes is joined by legendary archaeologist Sir Barry Cunliffe for a dramatic journey…
Judas Iscariot
Apr 04, 2026
**Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence, including suicide**What really happened to Judas Iscariot? From shifting accounts in the Gospels to the 30 pieces of silver, Tristan…
Britain's First Dog
Apr 01, 2026
Fifteen thousand years ago, as the Ice Age loosened its grip on Northern Europe, humans returned to the previously inhospitable British Isles. But they did not come alone. Among their number was a…
The Roman Centurion
Mar 28, 2026
What did it take to become a Roman centurion? To command, to punish and to lead from the very front of Rome’s armies?In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Ben Kane to…
The Delian League: Ancient NATO?
Mar 25, 2026
What happens when a defensive alliance slowly turns into an empire? Tristan Hughes and Professor Polly Low explore the Delian League, the so‑called “ancient NATO”, from its Persian War origins to…
Leonidas: King of Sparta, Hero of Thermopylae
Mar 21, 2026
In 480 BC, at the narrow pass of Thermopylae, a vastly outnumbered Greek force prepares to face the advancing army of the Persian king Xerxes. At its head stands Leonidas, king of Sparta, ready to…
What if the Ides of March Failed?
Mar 18, 2026
What if Julius Caesar had survived the Ides of March? This episode explores his last known plans — vast eastern campaigns, sweeping reforms, and his visions for Rome’s future. Could he have rivalled…