Murder in the Roman World

In the first half of the 1700s, Britain was overwhelmed by gin. But it might not have been as fun as it sounds.Today, we're hearing about what the so-called gin-craze was, the impact that it had on regular people, and the government's attempts to control it.Kate is joined by Prof ...  Show more

Demonic blood-sucking creatures have existed for thousands of years before Dracula showed up all sexy, suave and problematic.Who were these figures who inspired what we know today as vampires? Why are a lot of these supernatural creatures female figures? And why did left-handed r ...  Show more

We’ve covered bloody battles, we’ve covered stunning cities, we’ve covered civilisations far away from the ancient Mediterranean. But in some 120 episodes of The Ancients we hadn’t covered one of the most popular topics in the world: sex. That is, until now. In today’s episode, s ...  Show more

This episode contains a reference to animal cruelty

Would you be able to survive in ancient Rome?

Today, Tristan Hughes is joined by Ben Kane to discusses the realities of daily life in the Roman Empire. Together, they discuss everything from stree ...

This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence and cruelty against animals.

The Romans were - and still are - infamous for the brutal gladiatorial contests they held in their ancient amphitheatres. But often what made their games so spectacular were ...