Ancient history articles. Rome, Greece, Egypt, Britain, more. From newspapers, popular magazines, websites. Also podcasts, videos.
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Sparta
The popular image of Sparta propagates a version of Sparta, our version of Sparta, and this is often quite removed from the ancient sources and idealised. As such, this post includes some interesting facts (and theories) about ancient Sparta that you might not know. Ancient Greece articles.
James Lloyd, Ancient History etcetera, 2016
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Cultural & Theological Background of Mummification in Egypt
Mummification was not merely done to protect the deceased body from decay and decomposition; rather, most ancient Egyptians practiced it—both the rich and the poor—to ensure a successful passage into the next life. Mummification was much more elaborate and far more of a regular, integral part of common Egyptian life than popular culture typically presents. Ancient Egypt articles.
John S. Knox, Ancient History Encyclopedia 2016
The Ancient Place Where History Began
The idea of Mesopotamia has intoxicated the West for centuries. Alastair Sooke takes a look at a civilisation where much of modern culture took form.
Alastair Sooke, BBC Culture 2016
Does Chinese Civilization Come From Ancient Egypt?
A new study has energized a century-long debate at the heart of China’s national identity.
Ricardo Lewis, Foreign Policy 2016
Halloween Owes Its Tricks and Treats to the Ancient Celtic New Year’s Eve
During Samhain, the deceased came to Earth in search of food and comfort, while evil spirits, faeries and gods came in search of mischief. Ancient Europe articles.
Jackie Mansky, Smithsonian 2016
Carthage
According to legend, Carthage was founded by the Phoenician Queen Elissa (better known as Dido) sometime around 813 BCE although, actually, it rose following Alexander’s destruction of Tyre in 332 BCE. Originally a small port on the coast, established only as a stop for Phoenician traders to re-supply or repair their ships, Carthage grew to become the most powerful city in the Mediterranean before the rise of Rome. Ancient Carthage articles.
Joshua J. Mark, Ancient History Encyclopedia 2018
Prehistoric Egyptians mummified bodies 1,500 years before the pharaohs
Together with our previous research, this new information tells us that the prehistoric Egyptians, living at the time the man died, already had knowledge of the processes required to preserve the body, and practiced a developed religious belief system about the afterlife. Ancient Egypt articles.
Jana Jones, CNN 2018
Pharaoh Up-Close: An Interview with Dr. Garry J. Shaw
In this special feature interview, James Blake Wiener speaks with Dr. Garry J. Shaw, a British Egyptologist, who teaches at the Egypt Exploration Society in London, UK. Shaw’s latest work is ‘The Pharaoh: Life at Court and on Campaign’, which highlights the multifarious roles the Egyptian Pharaoh fulfilled within ancient Egyptian civilization.
James Wiener, Ancient History et cetera 2013
Ancient Egyptian Bread
Trying to make bread as it was done in ancient Egypt.
Miguel Esquirol Rios, Historical Cooking Project, 2014
Ancient History in depth: An Overview of Roman Britain
Did ordinary people suffer under a tyranny, when Rome seized power in Britain, or were there advantages to foreign rule? Dr Mike Ibeji explores the realities of British life at the time of the Romans. Ancient Britain.
Dr Mike Ibeji, BBC History, 2011
Ancient Pyongyang
Pyongyang was the capital of several successive ancient Korean kingdoms.
Mark Cartwright, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 2016
Arabic translators did far more than just preserve Greek philosophy
Peter Adamson is a professor of philosophy at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. He is the author of several books, including The Arabic Plotinus (2002) and Great Medieval Thinkers: al-Kindi (2007) and Philosophy in the Islamic World (2016), and hosts the History of Philosophy podcast.
Peter Adamson, Aeon
How Hannibal beat the Alps but couldn’t beat Rome
Robin Lane Fox reveals how the classical general, famed for his crossing of the Alps, was defeated because he couldn’t fulfil his promise of liberation from Rome. Ancient Carthage articles.
Robin Lane Fox, History Extra 2017
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Tutankhamun: who’s afraid of the pharaoh’s curse?
Joyce Tyldesley examines Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun – and gets to the bottom of those curse stories.
Joyce Tyldesley, History Extra 2019
Ten Stunning Yet Little Known Ancient Treasures Across Africa
From over a thousand stone circles concentrated in a small area to ruins of great cities, megalithic calendars that predate the pyramids by tens of thousands of years, and the remains of towns that have seen the rise and fall of countless civilizations, there is no shortage of awe-inspiring sites across the continent.
April Hollway, Ancient Origins 2015
This major discovery upends long-held theories about the Maya civilization
New technology allows scientists to visualize ancient Maya cities like never before. Ancient history articles.
Ben Guarino, Washington Post 2018
Rodents may have been on the menu in ancient Scotland
Rachael Lallensack, Science 2016
Aryan Invasion May Have Transformed India’s Bronze-Age Population
An influx of men from the steppe of Central Asia may have swept into India around 3,500 years ago and transformed the population.
Tia Ghose, Live Science, 2017
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How Ancient Egypt Shaped our Idea of Beauty
Pop culture is steeped in images of smoky-eyed pharaohs and their queens. Were the ancient Egyptians insufferably vain – or are we simply projecting our own values onto them?
Alastair Sooke, BBC Culture 2016
Beautiful Babylon: Jewel of the Ancient World
Ruled by Hammurabi, restored by Nebuchadrezzar, conquered by Cyrus – this city in the heart of Mesopotamia was both desired and despised, placing it at the center stage of the dawn of history. Ancient Mesopotamia articles.
Juan Luis Montero Fenollos, National Geographic, 2017
Before Flint: How Ancient Civilizations Maintained Their Drinking Water
Ancient civilizations utilized various creative strategies to supply their populations with usable and drinkable water.
Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 2016
Did Dutch hordes kill off the early Britons who started Stonehenge?
A gene study has shown that incomers could have ousted Stone Age Britons. Ancient Britain articles.
Robin McKie, The Observor, 2017
The Greeks really do have near-mythical origins, ancient DNA reveals
Ann Gibbons, Science 2017
Ancient Wonders: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Gemma Hollman, Just History Posts 2017
How the First Farmers Changed History
Carl Zimmer, NY Times 2016
Does Chinese Civilization Come From Ancient Egypt?
A new study has energized a century-long debate at the heart of China’s national identity. Ancient Egypt articles.
Ricardo Lewis, Foreign Policy, 2017
Europe’s Mighty Megaliths Mark the Winter Solstice
Dating back thousands of years, Europe’s massive stone monuments aligned ancient peoples with the heavens above. Ancient Europe articles.
Michael J. Gantley, National Geographic, 2017
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Even the ancient Greeks thought their best days were history
Joanna Haninck is associate professor of classics at Brown University in Rhode Island. Her latest book is The Classical Debt: Greek Antiquity in an Era of Austerity (2017). Ancient Greece articles.
Joanna Haninck, Aeon
Lost cities #1: Babylon – how war almost erased “mankind’s greatest heritage site”
In the first of a 10-part series, Justin Marozzi tells the story of this once-mighty city in Iraq is a microcosm of human history. Besieged by wars and weather, “restored” by Saddam Hussein, what has become of mystical Babylon? Ancient Mesopotamia articles.
Justin Marozzi, The Guardian, 2016
Royal People: Boudica, Queen of the Iceni
Boudica is one of the most famous women in English history. Ancient Britain articles.
Just History Posts, 2017
Six Strange Facts about Christmas
The more you peer into the history of the festival, the stranger it can seem. Over the centuries, Christmas has involved hymn-humming insects, pious cows, talking animals and bits of charred wood that protect us from witchcraft and lightning. Ancient history articles.
David Castleton, The Serpent’s Pen
Who Killed Alexander the Great?
James Romm examines some intriguing new theories about a long-standing historical mystery. Ancient Greece articles.
James Romm, History Today 2012
Who were the Celts?
Historians have been puzzling over this most enigmatic of ancient peoples for centuries, but are we any closer to establishing their origins? Barry Cunliffe investigates… Ancient Celts articles.
Barry Cunliffe, History Extra 2015
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Newly discovered mass graves could be filled with an ancient Greek tyrant’s followers
Thousands of years ago, an ancient Greek athlete named Cylon tried to overthrow the government. It did not end well. Now, archaeologists have stumbled upon mass graves near Athens containing the skeletal remains of 80 men who the researchers believe may have been followers of that wannabe tyrant, Cylon of Athens. Ancient Greece articles.
Elahe Izadi, Washington Post 2016
The khipu code: the knotty mystery of the Inkas’ 3D records
Instead of words or pictograms, the Inkas used khipus – knotted string devices – to communicate extraordinarily complex mathematical and narrative information. But, after more than a century of study, we remain unable to fully crack the code of the khipus. Ancient history articles.
Manuel Medrano, Aeon 2017
The Mystery behind Greece’s temples
Studies show that the ancient Greek temples could have astronomical intentions – but on what scale? Ancient history articles.
Stav Dimitropoulos, BBC Travel 2017
Salmonella May Have Caused Massive Aztec Epidemic, Study Finds
In 1545, people in the Mexican highlands starting dying in enormous numbers. People infected with the disease bled and vomited before they died. Many had red spots on their skin. It was one of the most devastating epidemics in human history. The 1545 outbreak, and a second wave in 1576, killed an estimated 7 million to 17 million people and contributed to the destruction of the Aztec Empire. Ancient history articles.
Rebecca Hersher, NPR 2018
The birth of Baghdad was a landmark for world civilisation
If Baghdad today is a byword for inner-city decay and violence on an unspeakable scale, its foundation 1,250 years ago was a glorious milestone in the history of urban design. More than that, it was a landmark for civilisation, the birth of a city that would quickly become the cultural lodestar of the world. Ancient history articles.
Justin Marozzi, The Guardian, 2016
Secret World of the Maya
The earliest explorers to uncover the ancient Maya civilisation in Central America could not believe that it owed its creation to the indigenous population, whom they saw as incapable savages. Nigel Richardson explains how this view changed.
Nigel Richardson, History Today 2013
Secrets of Puebla Tunnels
A 500-year-old series of tunnels long believed to be folkloric was uncovered beneath the streets of Puebla. Ancient history articles.
Atlas Obscura
Great Pyramid of Giza
The Great Pyramid of Giza is a defining symbol of Egypt and the last of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World. It is located on the Giza plateau near the modern city of Cairo and was built over a twenty-year period during the reign of the king Khufu (2589-2566 BCE, also known as Cheops) of the 4th Dynasty. Ancient history articles.
Joshua J. Mark, Ancient History Encyclopedia 2016
A Day in Pompeii – Full-length animation
Zero One Animation, YouTube 2013
A Drone’s Eye View of the Ancient Pyramids of Egypt, Sudan & Mexico
Drone flyovers of the Nubian pyramids of Meroe, Sudan; pyramids of Giza.
Open Culture 2016
A Persian Navy, an Ionian Revolt – Podcast
We begin our look at the events that directly contributed to the beginnings of the Greco-Persian War. After a brief summation of the events that brought the early Persian Empire into contact with the Ionian Greeks, we take a look at the evidence and theories about what the naval situation was like in the Aegean during the late 6th century BCE.
Brandon Huebner, The Maritime History Podcast, Episode 31, 2017
Alexander the Great – Podcast
With: Paul Cartledge, Emeritus Professor of Greek Culture University of Cambridge, Diana Spencer, Professor of Classics at the University of Birmingham, Rachel Mairs, Lecturer in Classics at the University of Reading. 43 mins.
In our Time, BBC Radio 4 2015
Ancient Rome
YouTube video simulation project between Khan Academy and Rome Reborn – with Dr. Bernard Frischer.
Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker
The Lost Manuscript of Archimedes – Podcast
Archimedes is famous for being Ancient Greece’s greatest engineer. Yet a random discovery – a prayers book found in an old church in Turkish Istanbul, casts this mysterious genius in an even more surprising light.
Curious Minds Podcast, 2017
Animations Present Ostia Antica, The Harbor City Of Ancient Rome
Ostia Antica was the preeminent harbor city of ancient Rome, with its geographical location being around 19 miles from the’eternal city’.
Dattatreya Mandal, Realm of History 2016
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Baths of Caracalla, Rome
Video animation on YouTube of one of the greatest Roman baths of the ancient world
Danila Loginov, 2012
Beer Archaeology: Yes, It’s a Thing
Travis Rupp is a classics instructor at The University of Colorado. He’s also a “beer archaeologist” who works on a special projects team at the Avery Brewing Company (in Boulder) where they “brew beers the way that ancient Egyptians, Peruvians and Vikings did.”
Open Culture 2017
Conservation of a Romano-British urn
This is the first episode in a weekly series that tracks the in-depth conservation work on a Romano-British cinerary urn.
British Museum 2016
Dead Sea Scrolls Revisited – Podcast
Roger Bolton reassesses one of the world’s great archaeological discoveries, beginning at the caves where a remarkable collection of Jewish texts hidden in the first century was discovered 60 years ago. 2 1-hour Episodes
Roger Bolton, BBC Radio 4
History in 3D; Ancient Rome 320 AD
The 3rd video trailer, illustrating our project dedicated to reconstruction of the whole center of ancient Rome city as it was in 320 AD.
Danila Loginov, YouTube animation
Short Animation Visualizes The Grand History Of Human Origins/h3>
The backstory of human origins and progression over a million years
Dattatreya Mandal, Realm of History 2016
The Bronze Age Collapse
John Bennet, Professor of Aegean Archaeology at the University of Sheffield, Linda Hulin, Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology at the University of Oxford, Simon Stoddart, University of Cambridge. 43 min.
In our Time, BBC Radio 4 2016
The History of Europe: 5,000 Years Animated in a Timelapse Map
The work of EmperorTigerstar–a Youtuber who specializes in documenting the unfolding of world historical events by stitching together hundreds of maps into timelapse films.