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The Ancients — History
The Ancients

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.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

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.

Copyright: © Hit Networks

Latest Episodes:

Easter Island Oct 29, 2026

Show notes

How do you make a giant stone statue walk? On one of the most isolated islands on Earth, the people of Rapa Nui carved AND moved the extraordinary Moai, colossal faces hewn from soft volcanic rock that still inspire wonder today.

Today, Tristan Hughes is joined by Prof. Terry Hunt to uncover the story of Easter Island. How did its first settlers build a thriving society in such a remote and resource-limited environment? And what ingenious techniques allowed them to disperse these monumental statues across the island?

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The First New Zealanders

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The First Hawaiians

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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.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

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.

Bronze Age Syria: Cradle of Cities Oct 25, 2026

Show notes

Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Hittites usually dominate the story of the Bronze Age. But Syria was home to some of the region's most powerful cities and kingdoms and helped forge the ancient Mediterranean world.

Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Amanda Podany to uncover this lost cradle of cities, from the wealthy trading hub of Ebla to the royal intrigues of Mari and the rise of the mysterious Mitanni. How did these cities and kingdoms build their wealth and forge alliances with distant rulers and what can their remarkable archives reveal about the trials and tribulations of everyday life in the Bronze Age Near East?

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The Bronze Age Brotherhood of Kings

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Hammurabi: Rise of the Babylonians

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The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch HERE

Presented by Tristan Hughes. Editor is Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Joseph Knight and McKenna Fernandez. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Want even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, PLUS ad-free, early access podcasts AND exclusive subscriber-only Ancients episodes. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Origins of Constantinople Oct 22, 2026

Show notes

Why did Emperor Constantine abandon Rome to build a spectacular new capital from scratch? In the year 312 a bloody civil war and a miraculous heavenly vision changed the Roman world forever.

Tristan Hughes and Professor Judith Herrin uncover the epic origins of Constantinople. Discover how Constantine ruthlessly eliminated his imperial rivals, harnessed the strategic power of the Bosphorus, and erected a glittering metropolis that outshone the failing West.

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Ravenna and the Fall of Rome

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Decline & Fall of the Ancient World

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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.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Want even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, PLUS ad-free, early access podcasts AND exclusive subscriber-only Ancients episodes. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Ninth Legion: Did They Disappear? Oct 18, 2026

Show notes

It's one of history’s most compelling cold cases. What happened to the Ninth Legion, a crack unit of 5,000 Roman soldiers who vanished from the historical record without a trace?

Tristan Hughes is joined by Roman historian Dr Simon Elliott to investigate the fate of the legion that helped conquer Britain. Was the Ninth wiped out in a bloody defeat on Rome’s northern frontier, or did it meet its end thousands of miles away in the East? Sifting through the surviving Roman records, can Tristan and Simon finally uncover what really happened to Rome’s most famous missing legion?

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The Roman Secret Service

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Julius Caesar’s Invasions of Britain

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Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Robin McConnell. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch HERE

Want even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for early access ad-free, plus exclusive subscriber-only episodes.

PLUS with a History Hit subscription you can watch 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.

Viking Origins: The Nordic Iron Age Oct 15, 2026

Show notes

Two thousand years ago, centuries before the Vikings, there was another Scandinavia. An Iron Age world.

Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Marianne Hem Eriksen to uncover the deep roots of the seafaring North, journeying through a forgotten world of elite halls, Roman encounters, and ancient burial rites.

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Iron Age Britain

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Iron Age Ireland

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Presented by Tristan Hughes. Produced and edited by Aidan Lonergan. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Want even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, PLUS ad-free, early access podcasts AND exclusive subscriber-only Ancients episodes. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caratacus: King of the Britons Oct 11, 2026

Show notes

Before Boudicca, another British leader brought the Roman war machine to a grinding halt. Meet Caratacus; the cunning King of the Britons who spent seven years outmaneuvering the empire.

Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr. Miles Russell to uncover the forgotten story of this charismatic guerrilla fighter. From leading fierce resistance in Wales to his betrayal, capture, and a life-saving speech in Rome, Caratacus was Britain’s ultimate escape artist.

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Who Was The Real King Arthur?

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The Roman Invasion of Britain

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Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Natasha Hughes. The studio manager is Hanif Hussain, the producer is Robin McConnell, the video producer is McKenna Fernandez. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch HERE

Want even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for early access ad-free, plus exclusive subscriber-only episodes.

PLUS with a History Hit subscription you can watch 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.

Ancient Antarctica Oct 08, 2026

Show notes

The frozen continent of Antarctica was once a land of forests, rivers and thriving ecosystems. And millions of years before humans ever existed it was home to a whole host of ancient creatures, from the first sharks to the earliest marsupials.

Tristan Hughes is joined by paleontologist Professor John Long to uncover what the trilobite and dinosaur fossils buried beneath the ice reveal about this lost world and what they can reveal about Antarctica’s role in the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana.

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Megalodon

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The First Sharks

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Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Want even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, PLUS ad-free, early access podcasts AND exclusive subscriber-only Ancients episodes. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prehistoric Penguins Oct 04, 2026

Show notes

When the asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs, one remarkable avian survivor traded the skies for the sea. Tristan Hughes and paleontologist Dr Steve Brusatte explore how prehistoric penguins emerged on ancient Zealandia, lost their flight and grew into colossal apex predators. But how did these giant ocean rulers eventually shrank to conquer the frozen continent of Antarctica?

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Terror Birds

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Dinosaurs: The Last Days

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Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Joseph Knight and McKenna Fernandez. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch HERE

Want even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for early access ad-free, plus exclusive subscriber-only episodes.

PLUS with a History Hit subscription you can watch 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.

Life and Death in Ancient Babylon Oct 01, 2026

Show notes

Babylon was one of the greatest cities of the ancient world. But what was life really like for the people who lived there? Behind its magnificent temples and royal palaces lay a city of crowded streets, disease, danger and everyday struggles.

Tristan Hughes is joined by friend of the show and Babylonian extraordinaire Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones to uncover the realities of life in Hammurabi's Babylon. Drawing on the remarkable texts left behind by its people, they explore everything from marriage and childbirth to taverns, rubbish-filled streets and the strange demons believed to haunt the home. What did it mean to walk the streets of Mesopotamia's most famous ancient city?

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The Fall of Babylon

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The Tower of Babel

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Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Tim Arstall. Producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, PLUS early ad-free podcasts and exclusive subscriber-only episodes every fortnight. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Gospels: Are They Historical? Sep 27, 2026

Show notes

How much can we really know about the historical Jesus? The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John have shaped Christianity for nearly 2,000 years, but they were written decades after the events they describe. So how should we treat them as historical sources?

Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Helen Bond to examine where the Gospels came from, who wrote them and how closely they reflect the world of first-century Judea. Were they based on eyewitness testimony and earlier traditions? And what do their stories reveal about the life of Jesus of Nazareth?

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The Pharisees

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Rise of Christianity

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Presented by Tristan Hughes. Editor is Matthew Wilson. The producers are Joseph Knight and McKenna Fernandez. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch HERE

Want even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for early access ad-free, plus exclusive subscriber-only episodes.

PLUS with a History Hit subscription you can watch 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.

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