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Ancient Civilisations — History
Ancient Civilisations

The ancient world was full of wonders.

Engineering marvels like the Great Wall of China and Stonehenge. Remarkable peoples like the Aztecs, the Romans and the Mongols. Infamous leaders such as Cleopatra, Julius Caesar and Herod the Great. Inventors, explorers, builders, pioneers and philosophers who shaped the world we live in today.

Welcome to Ancient Civilisations – the podcast that takes you back in time to discover the ancient world, one story at a time.

A Noiser production, narrated by Paul McGann and John Hopkins.

As featured on Short History Of… and Real Dictators.

⁠Noiser+⁠ members get ad-free listening, exclusive content, and early access to new episodes across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to ⁠noiser.com/subscriptions⁠.

No part of this podcast may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. In accordance with Article 4(3) of the DSM Directive 2019/790, Noiser Ltd expressly reserves this work from the text and data mining exception.

Latest Episodes:

The Rosetta Stone Mar 07, 2025

Show notes

In 1799, French soldiers in Egypt unearthed what would become one of the world’s most famous artefacts. After a desperate race to decipher its symbols, the Rosetta Stone provided the key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphs, casting new light on the culture and history of this lost civilisation. But why was the Rosetta Stone made in the first place? How did it end up in the hands of the French occupiers, thousands of years after it was created? And when the battle to decode was over, what secrets did it reveal?

A Noiser production, written by Kate Harrison. With thanks to Richard Bruce Parkinson, Professor of Egyptology at the University of Oxford.

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The Aztecs Feb 28, 2025

Show notes

Since the arrival of the Aztecs in central Mexico from the early 1300s, history has been fascinated by them. They’re widely reputed to be a savage people who left behind obsidian knives, skull racks, and disturbing remnants of human sacrifice. But in reality, the Aztecs were far more multifaceted than that. So what else has history gotten wrong about the Aztecs? Why were they so feared and reviled? How did they become so powerful? And what is the full truth about their downfall?

A Noiser production, written by Nicola Rayner. With thanks to Camilla Townsend, author of Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs.

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The Golden Age of Athens Feb 21, 2025

Show notes

While the Roman Republic was still in its infancy, the Greek city-state of Athens rose from the ruins of war with the Persians to become the most beautiful and powerful in the region. During this Golden Age, many Athenian citizens enjoyed unprecedented freedoms in the world’s first democracy. Architects and engineers designed buildings of unparalleled sophistication, while writers, philosophers and scientists created works that still resonate today. And after shining so brightly, Athens’ rapid decline is a lesson in how great civilisations rise and fall.

A Noiser production, written by Kate Harrison. With thanks to Thomas Martin, Professor of Classics at the College of the Holy Cross, and the author of Ancient Greece from Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times.

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Tutankhamun Feb 14, 2025

Show notes

In November 1922, in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, a young water boy called Hussein Abdul Rasoul makes a remarkable discovery. A set of stone steps lies concealed beneath the desert sand - a staircase leading to a long-lost tomb. The mummified pharaoh within will capture the imagination of generations to come, becoming the very embodiment of Ancient Egypt. What do we know of this boy king and his premature end? And why the extraordinary opulence of his burial chamber?

A Noiser production, written by Luke Kuhns. With thanks to Dr. Chris Naughton, Egyptologist and author of King Tutankhamun Tells All!

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The Roman Republic Feb 07, 2025

Show notes

March 15th, 44BC. Despite ill omens, Julius Caesar approaches the Theatre of Pompey. But the men inside have sworn an oath. To save the Republic from the hands of this self-styled ‘perpetual dictator', Caesar must die. But where did the Republic start? How did it transform Rome from a small town into a superpower? And what made its government, so determinedly against autocracy, pass the tipping point into a dictatorship?

A Noiser production, written by Kate Simants. With thanks to Dr. David Gwynn, Professor of Roman History at Royal Holloway University.

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The Maya Jan 31, 2025

Show notes

In 1511, a Spanish lifeboat makes land on the Yucatán coast in modern-day Mexico. Thirteen days ago, the crew's caravel was wrecked on a reef. But their adventure is far from over. Now, they are about to become some of the first Europeans to make contact with the Maya. Custodians of an ancient civilisation, at one time tens of millions of Maya people inhabited a swathe of the Americas. But who were they and what did they do? Where did they go once their society collapsed? And how are their modern-day descendants beginning to bring the past back to life?

A Noiser production, written by Dan Smith. With thanks to David Stuart, Professor of Mesoamerican Art and Writing at the University of Texas at Austin.

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