Humans have had to live alongside rats for millennia, and archaeology can study these little vermin to uncover how ancient cities lived, traded, and changed over time.

This is the nineteenth episode of Urban Opinion, a podcast where we dive into the fascinating world of past cities.

This podcast is funded by the Carlsberg Foundation. It is based on columns written by Rubina Raja and Søren Sindbæk, originally published in Current World Archaeology magazine. Find out more at the-past.com.

The research is based on work conducted at the DNRF-funded Center for Urban Network Evolutions, based at Aarhus University. Thanks to Matthew Symonds of CWA. Idea development by Rubina Raja, Sine Saxkjær, and Julia Steding. Logo design by Sine Saxkjær. Produced by Videnslyd and hosted by Eleanor Quasebarth Neil.