- 42 minutes 30 secondsThe Library of Alexandria
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 ancient world’s foremost centres of knowledge and culture. But when was it built? And where did all the books come from?
Tristan Hughes speaks to Dr. Islam Issa about the story behind one of histories greatest libraries. Together they explore why Alexandria’s reigning dynasty - the Ptolemies - were so obsessed with acquiring knowledge and uncover whether it really did burn down in a great fire.
MORE
The Lighthouse of Alexandria
Ptolemy I: The First Greek Pharaoh
We're going on *TOUR* to Australia and New Zealand! - grab your tickets here.
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, PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
21 June 2026, 2:00 am - 56 minutes 32 secondsBoudica and the Iceni
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, Tristan Hughes is joined by novelist and historian Elodie Harper to explore the life and legend of Boudica, the Iceni queen responsible for such rebellious devastation. They discuss the brutal events that sparked her uprising, the role played by her daughters and their wider Iceni world, and how Roman power was shaken by her campaign, revealing a story of resistance, vengeance, and the limits of empire.
MORE
Boudica's Battle of Britain
Colchester: From Bronze Age to Boudica
We're going on *TOUR* to Australia and New Zealand! - grab your tickets here.
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 PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
18 June 2026, 2:00 am - 1 hour 40 secondsThe Cambrian Explosion: When Life Began?
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 major animal group alive today.
Tristan Hughes is joined by the mighty Henry Gee to explore biology’s 'Big Bang'. What triggered this extraordinary leap in evolutionary complexity? Why did creatures with eyes, shells and limbs emerge so suddenly in the fossil record? And what can the Cambrian Explosion reveal about the origins of animal life and the history of our planet?
MORE
Rise of Humans
The Age of Dinosaurs
We're going on *TOUR* to Australia and New Zealand! - grab your tickets here.
The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch here: @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, PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
14 June 2026, 2:00 am - 47 minutes 10 secondsThe Pharisees
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, where the Pharisees were debating law, purity and resurrection under foreign rule. They look at how much power the Pharisees really had, their debates with Jesus in the Gospels, and how focussed they were on the idea of a 'messiah'.
We're going on *TOUR* to Australia and New Zealand! - grab your tickets here.
MORE
John the Baptist
Pontius Pilate
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited and produced by 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, PLUS early access ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
11 June 2026, 2:00 am - 44 minutes 35 secondsThe Rosetta Stone
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 long-lost hieroglyphs. Within two decades, scholars began unlocking its secrets. But what does it actually say? Tristan speaks with Dr Ilona Regulski to explore the stone, the script, and the race to decode it.
MORE
How Ancient Egypt Stayed Egyptian
The Lost Tomb of Alexander the Great
We're going on *TOUR* to Australia and New Zealand! - grab your tickets here.
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, plus early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
7 June 2026, 2:00 am - 1 hour 8 minutesNeanderthal Art
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 transforming how we understand our closest human relatives.
Today, Tristan Hughes is joined by Genevieve von Petzinger to explore the fascinating story of Neanderthal art. What kinds of images did Neanderthals create? What did these markings mean? And how might their artistic traditions have influenced the first groups of Homo sapiens who later arrived in Europe?
MORE
Homo Sapiens v Neanderthals
Lascaux Cave: Ice Age Art
We're going on *TOUR* to Australia and New Zealand! - grab your tickets here.
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 plus early access ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
4 June 2026, 2:00 am - 1 hour 16 minutesSpartacus
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 faced from within.
Tristan Hughes is joined by Ben Kane to explore the dramatic story of Spartacus and his slave revolt that swept across Italy. Together, they cover the breakout at Capua to the battles against Roman armies and discover how Spartacus transformed a small band of fugitives into a force capable of humiliating Rome. Was he fighting for freedom, revenge, or something more?
MORE
The Roman Centurion
How to Survive in Ancient Rome
The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch here: @TheAncientsPodcast
We're going on *TOUR* to Australia and New Zealand! - grab your tickets here.
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 and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
31 May 2026, 2:00 am - 1 hour 15 minutesThe Fall of Hadrian's Wall
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 live along this ancient frontier.
Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Rob Collins to explore the fascinating story of Hadrian’s Wall after the end of Roman rule. Who were the people who remained on the frontier? How did life change in post-Roman Britain? And what happened to the soldiers, families and settlements that had called the Wall home for generations?
MORE
The Fall of Roman Britain
Hadrian's Wall
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, plus early access ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
28 May 2026, 2:00 am - 59 minutes 37 secondsIron Age Britain
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 a far richer pre-Roman Britain, from roundhouses and hillforts to chariots, feasts, and buried offerings. Archaeology uncovers a society shaped by movement, identity, violence, and belief, where the Iron Age still echoes into Roman Britain and beyond.
MORE
Druids
Before Rome: The Truth About Late Iron Age Britain
The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch here: @TheAncientsPodcast
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Tim Arstall. 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 and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
24 May 2026, 2:00 am - 1 hour 8 minutesPrehistoric Greenland
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 archaeology and living mythology, from permafrost-preserved homes, tools, and clothing to whale hunts, shamanic stories, and the world of the Thule Inuit. Along the way, they uncover how families survived the Arctic, honoured spirits, and built a rich culture in one of Earth’s harshest places.
MORE
Ice Age America
Origins of the Inuit
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Hannah Feodorov. 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, plus early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
21 May 2026, 2:00 am - 42 minutes 16 secondsThe Other Humans: Why We Survived?
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 disappeared.
Tristan Hughes is joined by Ella Al-Shamahi to explore the story of the early humans who once shared our world. How did these different species evolve? Did they compete or coexist? And what do the latest discoveries reveal about the tangled story of human evolution and the survival of Homo sapiens?
MORE
Homo Sapiens v Neanderthals
Human Evolution: Dragon Man
The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch here: @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 and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
17 May 2026, 2:00 am - More Episodes? Get the App