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. ...
- 53 minutes 53 secondsThe Skulls of Jericho
In the depths of ancient Jericho, beneath layers of earth dating back 10,000 years, archaeologists uncovered something extraordinary: human skulls cast in plaster, their faces carefully reconstructed and their eyes set with shells. Who were these haunting figures meant to represent?
In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by archaeologist Raven Todd DaSilva to explore the mysterious plastered skulls of Jericho. Dating to the Neolithic period, these striking objects reveal complex beliefs about memory, identity and the dead in some of the world’s earliest farming communities. How were they made? What did they mean? And why did this unusual practice spread across the Levant? Join us to dive into one of prehistory’s most compelling archaeological discoveries.
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Jericho:
Origins of the Inuit:
Watch this episode on our YouTube channel: @TheAncientsPodcast
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
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. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
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15 February 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 4 minutesThe Invasion of Persia | Alexander the Great
In spring 334 BC, a young Macedonian king sets out to conquer the Persian Empire.
Tristan Hughes and Dr Adrian Goldsworthy explore Alexander the Great’s early campaigns, from the daring crossing into Asia to incredible victories. They discuss Alexander's strategic genius, respect toward Persian royalty, and how these triumphs forged his path to legend.
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The Persians
King Midas
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
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. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
You can take part in our listener survey here:
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12 February 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 21 secondsHow to Write Cuneiform with Dr. Irving Finkel
More than 5,000 years ago, a revolutionary script emerged in the fertile lands of Mesopotamia that would transform how people counted, governed, worshipped and told stories. This was cuneiform, the world’s earliest known writing system.
In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Irving Finkel to uncover how cuneiform actually worked and how you would write it yourself. From humble beginnings as simple pictograms tracking beer and grain, to the wedge-shaped signs that recorded myths, laws and epic tales long before the Bible, this episode explores how cuneiform spread across Sumer, Babylon, Assyria and Persia — and why these clay tablets remain one of archaeology’s richest windows into the ancient world.
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Noah's Ark and the Flood
The World's Oldest Letters
Watch this episode on our NEW YouTube channel: @TheAncientsPodcast
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
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. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
You can take part in our listener survey here:
https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on
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8 February 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 24 minutesAlexander the Great | Rise to Power
NEW SERIES! Journey through the early life of Alexander the Great, from his education under Aristotle to his first military experiences and rise to Macedonian kingship.
In this first episode, charting Alexander's incredible early life, Tristan Hughes and Dr Adrian Goldsworthy explore Alexander's formative years, the Battles that built the world's most formidable military leader and the immediate challenges following his father's assassination.
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The Rise of Hannibal with Adrian Goldsworthy
Darius the Great, Persian King of Kings
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan and the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
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. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
You can take part in our listener survey here:
https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on
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5 February 2026, 3:00 am - 59 minutes 5 secondsAdam and Eve
Adam and Eve: parents of humanity, or characters in a Near Eastern myth about wisdom, mortality, and the limits of being human?
Tristan Hughes and Dr Dylan Johnson strip away the Sunday school varnish to re-examine the story of Adam and Eve, starting with the question: was there really an apple? They discuss the origins and multiple layers of the story, try and pinpoint where Eden might have been located, and trace the tale of lost immortality that echoes through the legends of Gilgamesh, Sumerian rivers, and the earliest biblical texts
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Moses & The Exodus
The Ark of The Covenant
Watch this episode on our NEW YouTube channel: @TheAncientsPodcast
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
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. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
You can take part in our listener survey here:
https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on
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1 February 2026, 3:00 am - 56 minutes 9 secondsThe First Popes
What do we know about the earliest Popes, and how did they shape the early Christian Church amidst persecution?
Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Rosamond McKitterick to journey back to Imperial Rome to uncover the fascinating tales of the earliest Popes, focusing on St. Peter and his possible connection to Mark's gospel, Sylvester I during Constantine's reign, and Pope Leo I who confronted Atilla the Hun.
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Jesus of Nazareth
The Apocryphal Gospels
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan and the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
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. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
You can take part in our listener survey here:
https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on
Audio for Uploader:
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29 January 2026, 3:00 am - 55 minutes 39 secondsXerxes the Great
He is one of the most famous rulers of the ancient world, remembered for leading a vast Persian invasion of Greece. Yet Xerxes the Great was far more than just a battlefield king.
In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by friend of the show Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones to explore the life and reign of the Persias most revered king who ruled the largest empire the world had yet seen. From his royal upbringing and court politics to religion, monumental building projects and imperial power, this episode goes beyond Greek battle narratives to uncover who Xerxes really was — and how the Achaemenid empire functioned at the height of his power.
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Darius the Great: Persian King of Kings
The Persian Wars: Xerxes, Thermopylae and Salamis
Watch this episode on our NEW YouTube channel: @TheAncientsPodcast
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
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. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
You can take part in our listener survey here:
https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on
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25 January 2026, 3:00 am - 58 minutes 34 secondsThe Origins of Rome's Empire
396 BC. The city of Veii lies in ruins, destroyed by Rome in a brutal act of early imperial expansion. Yet just six years later, Rome itself would face devastation at the hands of invading Gauls, a shock that would shape the city’s identity for generations.
In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Jeremy Armstrong to explore the origins of Rome’s empire. From the conquest of rival cities and the trauma of invasion to the development of Roman warfare, politics, and identity, this episode reveals how these early crises set the stage for Rome’s rise to dominance along the Tiber and beyond.
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The Kings of Rome
The Origins of Rome:
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor and producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
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. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
22 January 2026, 3:00 am - 50 minutes 58 secondsThe First Arabians
What can ancient DNA tell us about the first homo sapiens to arrive in Arabia over 50,000 years ago? Tristan Hughes is joined by Prof. Pierre Zalloua to delve into the groundbreaking advances in ancient DNA research that illuminate the complex journeys of these early human populations.
They discuss the challenges of extracting ancient DNA in harsh desert environments, the role of climate in human migration, and the archeological evidence of early human presence which show continuous population movements over millennia.
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The Rise of Humans
The Kingdom of Kush
Watch this episode on our YouTube channel: @TheAncientsPodcast
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
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. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
You can take part in our listener survey here:
https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on
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18 January 2026, 3:00 am - 1 hour 10 minutesHow to Survive on Hadrian’s Wall
Step into the daily lives of those stationed along Hadrian's Wall, from Roman soldiers to civilians. Tristan Hughes and Dr. Francis Macintosh are your guides to explore the routines, duties, and unique cultural identities that developed in this northern frontier of the Roman Empire. They discover how the wall itself was maintained, the role of local and foreign deities, and the significant impact Roman occupation had on the local population.
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The Roman Legionary
The Roman Invasion of Britain
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Max Carrey, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
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. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
15 January 2026, 3:00 am - 52 minutes 36 secondsMedea: Maligned Sorceress or Heartless Murderer?
She helped Jason win the Golden Fleece, betrayed her own family, and became one of the most feared figures in Greek myth. Medea’s name has echoed through the ancient world for over two millennia, a byword for passion and revenge but was she really a villain?
In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by acclaimed classicist and bestselling author Natalie Haynes to unravel the full story of Medea. From her origins in distant Colchis on the edge of the Greek imagination to her unforgettable portrayal in Euripides’ tragedy, they explore how the ancient Greeks understood Medea, why her vengeance shocked audiences, and whether she was ever truly the villain of her own story?
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Jason and the Argonauts
Medusa
Watch this episode on our NEW YouTube channel: @TheAncientsPodcast
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.
Sign up to History Hit to watch Natalie Haynes new two-part documentary Divine Fury - Demeter and Persephone. Natalie unravels the story of Persephone’s abduction and Demeter’s fierce response. Filmed across Athens, Eleusis and beyond, the film traces how the myth was transformed into the Eleusinian mysteries, one of the most profound and secretive experiences of the ancient world.
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11 January 2026, 3:00 am - More Episodes? Get the App