Long before Stonehenge, ancient builders in southeast Türkiye were creating some of the world’s first monumental stone structures. Their most famous site? Göbekli Tepe.

In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr. Lee Clare, coordinator of the Göbekli Tepe Research Project, to unravel the mysteries of this 10,000-year-old Neolithic site. Once called the world’s first temple, Göbekli Tepe is far more complex than that - shedding light on early human settlement, ritual, and the transition to farming. With breathtaking and ground breaking archaeology, this is the story of one of the most extraordinary sites of the Stone Age.

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.

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. 

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Few figures in Greek mythology embody vengeance like Elektra, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Betrayal, grief, and justice shaped her tragic fate.

In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Armand D’Angour to explore Elektra’s story and its powerful new London stage production starring Brie Larson. Along the way, they delve into Sophocles' and Euripides' strikingly different portrayals - one noble and resolute, the other bitter and broken - unpacking what these versions reveal about morality, fate, and female agency in the ancient world.

See Brie Larson star as Elektra in London's West End: https://www.thedukeofyorks.com/elektra

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.

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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

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

In 486 BC, King Xerxes ascended the Persian throne, inheriting its vast and glittering world empire. But his ambition didn’t stop there - he sought revenge on Greece.

In this episode of The Ancients, the culmination of our two-part series on the Persian Wars, Tristan Hughes is joined once again by Dr. Roel Konijnendijk and Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones to explore Xerxes' massive invasion. From the assembling of his colossal army to the legendary battles of Thermopylae and Salamis featured in the accounts of Herodotus, discover the earth-shattering conclusion to the largest invasion ancient Greece had ever faced.

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.

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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

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

As Ice Age Britain thawed, temperatures surged, sea levels rose, and humans and animals faced a fight for survival. But this shift was anything but simple.

In this final episode of our Ice Age miniseries, Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Danielle Schreve to uncover the turbulent end of the last Ice Age in Britain. Discover how mammals like Siberian lemmings and Saiga antelope roamed this icy landscape, how the Younger Dryas cold snap 13,000 years ago reshaped Britain's prehistoric environment, and how early humans adapted to survive it. With echoes for today’s climate challenges, this is a story of resilience on the fringes of the Ice Age world.

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.

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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here:

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

490 BC. On the plains of Marathon, Athens faced down a mighty army of the Persian Empire - the superpower of the time It was an underdog clash that would echo throughout history. But how did it all begin?

In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes kicks off an epic two-parter on the Persian Wars with experts Dr Roel Konijnendijk and Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones. From the rise of the Persian Empire to the Ionian Revolt and the showdown at Marathon, uncover how this legendary clash became a turning point Greece, Persia and the wider ancient world.

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.

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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

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

For hundreds of thousands of years Neanderthals have roamed the lands of what is today Europe and western Asia. But how did they survive, and what caused their decline?

Tristan Hughes delves into the fate of the last Neanderthals and continues our Ice Age mini-series with Professor Chris Stringer from the Natural History Museum. They explore how Neanderthals thrived across diverse climates and investigate the intriguing story of Neanderthals' eventual decline alongside the arrival of Homosapiens 60,000 years ago. Professor Stringer also shares the fascinating evidence of interbreeding that has left traces of Neanderthal DNA in modern humans and groundbreaking insights from recent archaeological and DNA research, that shed light on why Neanderthals went extinct.

Presented by Tristan Hughes. The audio editor and producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

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

Known as the barbarians of the north, the Scythians were expert horsemen that roamed the great steppe of Eurasia more than 2,000 years ago. But how much do we know about them?

In today's episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Owen Rees to explore this infamous nomadic culture who wore trousers, wielded bows and arrows and boasted Amazon-like warrior women who may even have fought in battle. Along the way Owen explains the fascinating story of the Scythian settlement of Bilsk - a great hulking Iron-Age mega-town fortified with miles and miles of winding walls on the edge of the Great Steppe in southern Ukraine.

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.

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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

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

Giant kangaroos. Killer wombats. Carnivorous lions. These beasts once roamed the barren landscape of Ice Age Australia - a vast supercontinent stretching from Papua New Guinea to Tasmania.

Continuing our Ice Age miniseries, host of The Ancients Tristan Hughes heads down under to uncover this lost world. Joined by palaeontologist Prof. Larisa DeSantis, he explores how these creatures survived both the challenges of a harsh climate and the arrival of humans 60,000 years ago, and discovers why Australia’s mammalian giants ultimately vanished.

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.

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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

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

From twisted flax to one-legged ibises, Egyptian hieroglyphs offer a window into the heart of ancient Egypt. But how did this script really work?

In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes speaks with Egyptologist Hugo Cook to decode the symbols that adorned temples, tombs, and papyrus scrolls found up and down the Nile. Together they uncover how hieroglyphs recorded everything from poetry to peace treaties, the meanings behind their intricate designs, and why the ancient Egyptians believed they held power beyond words.

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.

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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK

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

Towering over 11 feet tall and weighing 6 tonnes, the Woolly Mammoth ruled the Ice Age. But how did these mighty beasts thrive for over 100,000 years—and why did they disappear?

In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes kicks off a brand-new Ice Age miniseries with two leading experts. Professor Adrian Lister from the Natural History Museum explores the mammoth’s origins, evolution and adaptation to the harsh Ice Age climate. Then, Professor David Meltzer reveals the story of mammoths in North America, their encounters with early humans, and the astonishing discovery that some still roamed the Arctic just 4,000 years ago.

Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sound

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