From Northern Britain to the Near East, Roman tombstones have been uncovered on various far flung frontiers of the Roman Empire. Dedicated to those auxiliaries and legionaries that perished far from home, guarding a distant border of this ancient empire. These objects provide an extraordinary insight into the lives of these fallen soldiers and how they were honoured. But these memorials don’t just provide information about the tomb’s deceased occupant. They can tell us so much more. About variat...
Jan 28, 2021•39 min•Ep. 55
The legions of Rome were the nucleus of Rome’s military might for centuries. From campaigning in northern Scotland to the Persian Gulf, these devastating battalions extended and cemented Roman power. Yet of these legions there was one whose end is shrouded in mystery: the Ninth Legion. So what might have happened to this legion? Joining me to talk through the theories surrounding the Ninth's disappearance is Dr Simon Elliott. Simon has recently written a book all about the Ninth's disappearance,...
Jan 24, 2021•39 min•Ep. 54
For centuries, arguably the greatest external threat the Roman Empire faced came from the East. From the Sasanian Persian Empire. With its nucleus situated in Iran, at its height the Sasanian Empire was one of antiquity’s most formidable kingdoms, controlling lands that stretched from the Hindu Kush to the River Euphrates. Like the Romans, the Sasanians had to deal with various potential threats. From the north, from the lands of the steppe east and west of the Caspian Sea, nomadic peoples such ...
Jan 21, 2021•45 min•Ep. 53
It’s a paradox for the ages, breaking news about people who lived and died thousands of years ago. This discovery is no different, because Adam Brumm and his team in Sulawesi have released their discovery of the oldest known figurative art made by modern humans. And the oldest known cave art depicting the animal kingdom. The paintings on the Indonesian island are over 45,500 years old, and feature three pigs alongside the stencilled outlines of the hands of their prehistoric painter (perhaps). L...
Jan 17, 2021•44 min•Ep. 52
Her legend afforded her a place alongside Eve, Cleopatra and Venus, to name just a few of the famous women whose biographies were collected by Giovanni Boccaccio in 1361-2. Though not a household name as the others may be, Tomyris’ story contains all of the hallmarks of an epic. Tomyris was Queen of the Massagetae people, from present day Central Asia, in the 6th century BC. She is remembered in Herodotus’ first book for her vengeful challenge to the bloodthirsty Cyrus the Great. To talk about T...
Jan 14, 2021•40 min•Ep. 51
The deep blue sea is the subject of speculation to this day but, in this episode, we have access to the mysteries, myths and misgivings that were associated with the ocean in the 2nd century AD. The Halieutica was written in Hexameter by the Greek poet Oppian, and dedicated to the then Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his son Commodus. Emily Kneebone from the University of Nottingham has recently completed a monograph on this overlooked Epic, and she is here to tell us about the sea and its oft...
Jan 10, 2021•46 min•Ep. 50
It’s 218 BC, and Hannibal has made the mammoth journey across the Alps en route to Italy, accompanied by his army, their horses, and their elephants. But the real battle is yet to come, and in this fantastic second episode with Louis Rawlings, he takes us onto the battlefield with the Carthaginian army and into the fight against their Roman and Allied opposition. Louis and Tristan discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each side, and the tactics deployed under Hannibal’s remarkable leadership.
Jan 07, 2021•45 min•Ep. 49
The length of time between the rule of Cleopatra and the erection of the Pyramids is the same as that between now and the birth of Jesus Christ. With that in mind, it is perhaps no surprise that some periods of Ancient Egypt fall beneath the radar. The Late Period of Ancient Egypt, however, is not without drama. These final centuries are characterised by repeated invasions and leadership by foreign rulers. Chris Naunton is an Egyptologist, writer and broadcaster. He spoke to Tristan about the in...
Jan 03, 2021•56 min•Ep. 48
In the 8th and 7th centuries BC, Ancient Egypt was ruled by an extraordinary dynasty. This was the 25th Dynasty, also known as the Nubian Dynasty because of their Kushite roots. They maintained their Nubian identity, with one of the most striking examples of this being the site of El-Kurru. Situated in what is today Northern Sudan, this was one of the key cemeteries for the 25th Dynasty. Complete with unique-styled pyramids, beautifully-preserved wall paintings and tumuli, ar...
Dec 31, 2020•56 min•Ep. 47
Hatshepsut – whose name means “foremost of noblewomen” – was an exceptional figure in the history of Ancient Egypt. Only the second woman in history to assume the title of pharaoh, during her reign she oversaw the building of monumental temples, established trade connections with far away African powers and oversaw extended periods of peace. Hatshepsut's legacy in the history of Ancient Egypt is remarkable and the fact that her story has been largely-forgotten is one of the great tragedies of an...
Dec 27, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 46
The clichéd Christmas: white snow, hot fires, mulled wine and a feast. This might not be the case were the holiday not to fall on 25 December and, although many things have been missed in 2020, the usual questions of whether this is the right date arrived reliably on time. So, for this episode, Tristan spoke to Professor Matthew McCarty to find out whether Christmas Day was really placed in December to supplant non-Christian worship, in particular that of Mithras. Matthew is Assistant Professor ...
Dec 24, 2020•54 min•Ep. 45
In this episode from the History Hit archive, Dan talks to Kevin Butcher about the Roman festival of Saturnalia. Held between the 17 and 23 December, Saturnalia invloved plenty of drinking, gift-giving, and a sense of a world turned upside-down.
Dec 22, 2020•27 min•Ep. 44
In 218 BCE, Hannibal Barca's Carthaginian army, accompanied by horses and elephants, completed one of the most audacious military marches of ancient Mediterranean history. Setting off from southeast Spain, on their way they overcame a number of hostile Celtic tribes and traversed two major mountain ranges: the Pyrenees and then, most famously, the Alps. Battered and bruised Hannibal and his men eventually descended from the Alpine passes and arrived in Northern Italy at the end of 218 BC, where ...
Dec 20, 2020•29 min•Ep. 43
From 478 BCE until 404 BCE, a collection of Greek city-states were united under the leadership of Athens. Beyond inscriptions and a few minor sources, there is very little to tell us about life within this empire … that is, except the works of Thucydides, an Athenian historian and general who wrote a history of the Peloponnesian War. Professor Polly Low from Durham University spoke to Tristan about what we can learn from Thucydides work about this Athenian empire. How did Athens come to have thi...
Dec 17, 2020•41 min•Ep. 42
Greco-Roman historians including Herodotus, Tacitus and Pliny the Elder would have us believe that the Garamantes were simple uncivilized cattle herders, living in sporadic camp dwellings. Until archaeological excavations began in the 1960s, this categorisation remained in place. Luckily, archaeologists like David Mattingly have dedicated years of research to sifting the fact from the fiction in the story of these residents of present day Libya. In this episode, David provides us with the revise...
Dec 13, 2020•51 min•Ep. 41
Brochs. Early archaeologists believed that they must have been built by the Danish, that the indigenous population could never have managed it. More recent suggestions have been that architects travelled Scotland, spreading the plans for these Iron Age ‘round houses on steroids’. Iain Maclean came on The Ancients to shed a little light on the truth of the stone buildings found across Scotland, particularly on the coastline. Whilst mentions of Romans, Egyptians and Greeks are familiar to our ears...
Dec 10, 2020•32 min•Ep. 40
It’s probably the most famous book in the world, and it’s also essentially the only literary source which covers the genesis of warfare and the nation state. Simon Elliott is an archaeologist, historian and broadcaster. He came onto the podcast to talk to Tristan about 7,500 years of history - in under an hour. Using the Bible as a jumping off point, Simon takes us through the technological developments and innovation of warfare, bringing in other archaeological findings to support the singular ...
Dec 06, 2020•49 min•Ep. 39
‘I’m Spartacus!’ In the field of epic film making, the 1960 historical drama ‘Spartacus’, is legendary. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, adapted from the Howard Fast novel by Red Scare blacklisted screenwriter, Dalton Trumbo, and starring Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov and Jean Simmons; it is a classic. But how much of the plot has emerged from the true story of a Thracian gladiator and slave who escaped his Roman captors and led an unsuccessful but impressive rebellion against their ...
Dec 03, 2020•47 min•Ep. 30
When we think of Pompeii, we remember the city which became frozen in time after a natural catastrophe. Well, in 1920, exactly 100 years ago, another 'frozen city' was rediscovered. This time it was Dura-Europos, and rather than falling victim to a volcano, this city was destroyed after a bloody siege in 256 AD. Whilst there is no historical record of life in the Hellenistic, Parthian and Roman border city and garrison, its remains have proven to be a rich source for archaeologists since the 192...
Nov 29, 2020•50 min•Ep. 29
Pompeii is back in the news. An extraordinary new, touching discovery, found during the Great Pompeii Project of Professor Massimo Osanna and his team. Roughly 700 metres northwest of Pompeii, in the remains of a suburban Roman villa, archaeologists have unearthed the incredibly-preserved remains of two men, victims of the infamous eruption of Mount Vesuvius that occurred almost 2,000 years ago in 79 AD. So what do we know about the eruption? What do we know about this terrible event that has le...
Nov 26, 2020•51 min•Ep. 28
The House of the Faun in Pompeii is known for being one of the largest and most impressive private residences in the ancient city. Among its many works of art is a depiction of Alexander the Great in battle. In previous episodes we have discussed Alexander’s rule and empire, but this time, let’s focus on his armour, as shown in this mosaic on the floor of the House of Faun, the only contemporary portrayal of linothorax on a known figure. For, instead of wearing bronze or iron armour as one might...
Nov 22, 2020•48 min•Ep. 27
An ancient town, buried and preserved beneath volcanic ash, Pompeii is a gift to archaeologists and historians seeking to find out more about the lives of the civilians in a regular Roman town. Beyond the well recognised plaster casts of the bodies of people and animals alike, and the structures and artwork maintained in situ, however, is evidence of a very specific system. That is the system of the cultivation of grapes and the process of extracting every usable substance from them to make wine...
Nov 19, 2020•36 min•Ep. 26
Its been used for nationalist propaganda across the ages and its just been dramatised for Netflix, but what do we actually know about the Battle of Teutoburg Forest? For a start, where was it? Dr Joanne Ball, from the University of Liverpool is a battlefield archaeologist. In this episode she takes Tristan through this story of the betrayal and destruction of three of Emperor Augustus’ Roman legions - under the leadership of Varus - by a Germanic alliance led by Arminius, a Germanic auxiliary of...
Nov 15, 2020•48 min•Ep. 25
The Romans, an ancient conquering civilisation with an empire that spread from Europe across the Balkans to the Middle East and North Africa. For this episode, we are returning to our study of one of the most influential men in Roman History, Marcus Agrippa. Lindsay Powell came back to talk Tristan through the later life of the right hand man of Octavian / Augustus. After bringing about the end of the last civil war of the Roman Republic, and his great victory at the Battle of Actium in 31BC, ca...
Nov 12, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 24
Alexander, an Ancient Greek king and a victorious conqueror. No, not that one, not Alexander the Great. This time, we’re talking about his uncle, Alexander I of Molossia. In 334BC, when Alexander the Great advanced east to conquer the Persian Empire, Alexander of Molossia was travelling west across the Ionian sea to the south of Italy. In addition to their matching names and simultaneous expansionist expeditions, both Alexanders were brought up in the court of Philip II of Macedon. But whilst on...
Nov 08, 2020•39 min•Ep. 23
Alexander the Great. One of the most recognisable names in history. In his short lifetime he conquered the mighty Persian Empire and marched his army as far as the Indus River Valley. But it is important to remember that Alexander’s achievements were only possible because of his father Philip. It was Philip who transformed the Kingdom of Macedon from a backward domain into the dominant power in the Central Mediterranean. It was Philip who reformed the army and created the force that would serve ...
Nov 05, 2020•57 min•Ep. 22
If you're looking for a raunchy Roman poet, look no further than Catullus. Born into one of the most exciting periods in Roman history, in the early 1st century BC as the Roman Republic started to sing its swansong, Catullus was an aristocrat who moved in powerful circles. He was known to Cicero; he dined with Julius Caesar even after he’d mocked the great leader in verse. Catullus was well-connected, but it was his abiding love for a woman he called Lesbia (probably Clodia Metelli, a power...
Nov 01, 2020•49 min•Ep. 21
At its height the Kingdom of Aksum was considered one of the four great powers of the Ancient World. Situated primarily in what is now northern Ethiopia, Aksum’s legacy is astonishing and far reaching and so it is extraordinary to think that so few people have heard about this kingdom today. To explain why this is the case, and so much more, I was delighted to be joined by Dr Jacke Phillips, an archaeologist and leading expert on the Kingdom of Aksum. In this podcast Jacke explained to me what w...
Oct 29, 2020•52 min•Ep. 20
It is one of the most extraordinary ancient archaeological sites in Southeast Asia, albeit one that is relatively unheard of outside of Vietnam. Cổ Loa. A defensive stronghold that during its golden age became the beating heart of ancient Vietnam. To this day the city holds a deep national importance for the Vietnamese. It is a site surrounded by legendary tales, with new archaeological discoveries continuing to reveal more about this ancient city’s fascinating past. To talk through the history,...
Oct 25, 2020•52 min•Ep. 19
In October 42 BC the Roman Republic committed suicide. Near the town of Philippi in northern Greece the forces of Brutus and Cassius, the famous assassins of Julius Caesar and the last surviving cheerleaders of the Roman Republic, faced off against the armies of Marc Antony and young Octavian. Two separate battles were fought, the results of which decided the future direction of Rome. I was delighted to get the brilliant Steele Brand (@steele_brand) back on the podcast to talk me through these a...
Oct 22, 2020•50 min•Ep. 18
