Thucydides: Thoughts on the Athenian Empire
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...
17 Dec 202040min
The Garamantes: Farming the Sahara
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 archa...
13 Dec 202050min
Scotland's Enigmatic Ancient Structures
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 travel...
10 Dec 202031min
Old Testament Warriors
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, histori...
6 Dec 202049min
Spartacus: Life or Legend?
‘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 screenw...
3 Dec 202047min
Dura-Europos: The Syrian Pompeii
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 D...
29 Nov 202049min
Pompeii and the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius
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 ...
26 Nov 202051min
Linothorax: Kevlar of the Ancients
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 ...
22 Nov 202048min
