Ancient Civilizations

4: The Ming | The Story of China

Michael Wood explores the history of the world's newest superpower. The tale of the Ming dynasty begins with the amazing story of Hongwu, a ...

5: The Last Empire | The Story of China

Michael Wood looks at China's Qing empire, which lasted from 1644 to 1912. Under the Qing, China doubled in size and became arguably ...

3: The Golden Age | The Story of China

Michael Wood explores the history of the world's newest superpower. Here, he focuses on the Song dynasty era (960-1279), including its...

2: Silk Roads and China Ships | The Story of China

Michael Wood explores the history of the world's newest superpower. Michael tells the tale of China's first international ...

1: Ancestors | The Story of China

Michael Wood explores the history of the world's newest superpower. Michael joins the Qin family reunion, as 300 relatives gather to worshi...

Episode 2 | The Silk Road

Sam Willis travels west to Central Asia, a place of major innovations, big historical characters and a people - the Sogdians - whose role was pivot...

Episode 3 | The Silk Road

Sam Willis continues his journey west in Iran. He begins in Persepolis, heart of the first Persian Empire, before heading to Istanbul and then comi...

Episode 1 | The Silk Road

Sam Willis traces the story of the famous trade route. He explores Venice's Renaissance architecture and art before travelling to the beginning of ...

The Shang Empire | Learning Zone

The Shang developed writing amongst other inventions. This Bronze Age society developed a powerful army using bronze weapons.

Qin Shi Huang's China - Cheerleader Parody (Song) | Horrible Histories

Creator of the first Chinese Empire, Qin Shi Huang, shares his story in this song inspired by OMI's Ch...

1: Beginnings | Michael Wood: The Story of India

Michael Wood journeys through the subcontinent, tracing the diversity of its peoples, cultures and landscapes. He charts the...

S1E2 | Hidden Wales with Will Millard

Will Millard visits mid-Wales and the west of the country and uncovers a lead mine that is thousands of years old.

S1E1: The Cult | The Battle for Britain's Soul

With disease and famine a constant threat, superstitious Iron-Age Britons sought to appease their pagan gods through ritual sa...

2: Norfolk Broads | The Flying Archaeologist

Ben Robinson flies over the Broads where photos have revealed 945 previously unknown ancient sites, many of which have historian...

1: Stonehenge | The Flying Archaeologist

Archaeologist Ben Robinson flies over Wiltshire to uncover new discoveries in the Stone Age landscape. Sites found from the air have...

S2E7: Piltdown Man | Days That Shook the World

Using dramatized reconstructions, this program recalls the 'Piltdown Man' hoax in 1953.

S2E7: Dinosaurs & Duplicity: Discovery of the First Dinosaur | Days That Shook the World

Using dramatized reconstructions, this program recalls the first discovery of a dino...

1: Survival | Andrew Marr's History of the World

Andrew Marr traces 70,000 years of history, beginning with the earliest humans. From Africa, they spread around the world, a...

1: Mysterious Ancestors | In Search of Scotland

Exploring Scotland's dramatic history, Dr Fiona Watson begins with our mysterious Neolithic ancestors.

2: Birth of a Nation | In Search of Scotland

By the first century, Scotland was in an age of competing tribes speaking different languages. Fiona Watson examines how the Pic...

Woolly Mammoth: Secrets from the Ice

Professor Alice Roberts on the natural history of the woolly mammoth, revealing adaptations that helped the species evolve from their or...

S9E3: Norman Castle | Digging for Britain

The best archaeology from the north of Britain, including Scotland's oldest railway, one of the best-preserved Norman castles and a...

Flint | The Great British Countryside

Julia Bradbury investigates flint and the ancient craft of arrowhead making that it was used for.

Bronze Age Britain | Learning Zone

Life in Bronze Age Britain through the eyes of one family as they learn how copper and tin is mined, and make bronze using a furnace.

Iron Age Britain | Learning Zone

Life in Iron Age Britain through the eyes of one family, as the impact of the new, and cheaper, stronger, metal on their life is explored in...

New Stone Age | Learning Zone

Life in Neolithic Britain through the eyes of one family as they attempt to hunt and farm enough food to live on.

Iron Age: tribes | Learning Zone

Raksha explores Maiden Castle; the biggest Iron Age Hill Fort in Britain.

Iron Age: daily life | Learning Zone

Raksha visits re-enactors who build roundhouses and try to live as they think Iron Age people did.

Iron Age: iron | Learning Zone

People tried to keep the process of making iron secret to preserve their power. It was often regarded as magic.

Bronze Age Stonehenge gold | Learning Zone

There are also lots of barrow burials around Stonehenge and one of them, Bush Barrow Man, is used to find out about Bronze Age times.

2: How Do We Look? | Civilisations

Mary Beard explores images of the human body in ancient art, from Mexico and Greece to Egypt and China.

2: Augustus: First of the Emperors | I, Caesar

In 44 BC, a teenage relative of Julius Caesar stepped in and triumphed over Mark Antony and Cleopatra in a brutal civil war, b...

S1E7: Deciphering the Rosetta Stone | Days That Shook the World

In 1822, Jean-Francois Champollion cracked the ancient Egyptian code behind hieroglyphs.

S1E7: Tutankhamun's Tomb | Days That Shook the World

On November 4, 1922, Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun.

Ancient Egypt | Learning Zone

A visit to Ancient Egypt, and life 5000 years ago begins by exploring houses and homes, and contrasting them with our homes today.

Mummification in Ancient Egypt | Learning Zone

Dr Joann Fletcher outlines the removal of the brain and organs, as well as explaining why the heart was left inside the body.

The afterlife in Ancient Egypt | Learning Zone

Dr Joann Fletcher explains the importance of the afterlife for Ancient Egyptians. She looks at some of the items that would be...

Tombs in Ancient Egypt | Learning Zone

Dr Joann Fletcher takes a look at an unfinished tomb and examines some of the tools that would have been used to build it.

Marriage and family in Ancient Egypt | Learning Zone

Joann Fletcher describes the ceremony 'Bringing the Bundle', which was a kind of marriage proposal. Joann then finds abo...

Daily life in Ancient Egypt | Learning Zone

Dr Joann Fletcher visits the village of Pa-Demi to discover more about the daily lives and tombs of Kha and Merit.

4: Hatshepsut | Queens that Changed the World

Hatshepsut, the female King, developed trade, oversaw pioneering architecture and brought wealth and artistry to Ancient Egypt.

Ra-Ra-Cleopatra (Song) | Horrible Histories

Cleopatra sings a special rendition of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance!

Crafty Cleopatra (Song) | Horrible Histories

Egyptian Queen Cleopatra tries to sing away her troubles in this song.

Tutankhamun: The Mystery of the Burnt Mummy

Egyptologist Dr Chris Naunton investigates evidence that the Boy King's mummy was burnt, and uncovers clues that may solve the en...

Coffin | Tutankhamun in Colour

After discovering coffins within coffins, a small teenage body is discovered.

Sarcophagus | Tutankhamun in Colour

Behind another sealed wall, Howard Carter discovers numerous shrines within shrines and Tutankhamun's sarcophagus.

Discovery of tomb | Tutankhamun in Colour

Colourised images of when Tutankhamun's tomb was rediscovered share the magic of that historic moment.

4: To The Ends of the Earth | In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great

Michael Wood traces Alexander the Great's route through Pakistan, the plains of Punjab, down the Indus ...

3: Across the Hindu Kush | In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great

Michael Wood treks over the Khawak pass, crosses the Oxus river and follows the golden road to Samarkand w...

2: Lord of Asia | In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great

Michael Wood follows in the footsteps of Alexander the Great through the Zagros mountains to Persepolis - the great...

1: Son of God | In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great

Michael Wood walks in the footsteps of Alexander the Great as he travels from Macedonia in Northern Greece, crosses t...

3: The Long Shadow | Treasures of Ancient Greece

Filming in Italy, Germany, France and Britain, Alastair Sooke explores the extraordinary afterlife of Greek masterpieces tha...

2: The Classical Revolution | Treasures of Ancient Greece

Alastair Sooke unpicks the reasons behind the dazzling revolution that gave birth to classical Greek art, asking ho...

1: The Age of Heroes | Treasures of Ancient Greece

Series in which Alastair Sooke explores Greek art. He begins his journey in Crete at the palace of Knossos and travels to ...

6: The Fall of Troy | In Search of the Trojan War

Michael Wood searches for the reality of the Trojan War. Homer says the Greek Heroes returned from Troy to an era of death ...

5: Empire of the Hittites | In Search of the Trojan War

Michael Wood in his search for the reality of the Trojan War looks at how the war would have been viewed by Agamemnon...

4: The Women of Troy | In Search of the Trojan War

Michael Wood in his search for the reality of the Trojan War looks at the reality behind Helen and Mycenae's wealth and of...

2: The Legend Under Siege | In Search of the Trojan War

Michael Wood traces the developments in archaeological techniques that unraveled the truth from the legend of the Tro...

3: The Singer of Tales | In Search of the Trojan War

Michael Wood continues his search to discover whether Homer's story of Trojan War is a myth by studying modern bardic tr...

1: The Age of the Heroes | In Search of the Trojan War

Series on the veracity of the Trojan War. Michael Wood traces Heinrich Schliemann's search for the site of Troy.

2: How Do We Look? | Civilisations

Mary Beard explores images of the human body in ancient art, from Mexico and Greece to Egypt and China.

2: Age of Empire | Andrew Marr's History of the World

In this episode, Andrew Marr tells the story of the first empires which laid the foundations for the modern world.

Episode 3 | The Spartans

In the final episode of Bettany Hughes spartan trilogy the war between Sparta and Athens reaches a brutal and bloody climax.

Episode 2 | The Spartans

Classical historian Bettany Hughes continues her examination of the Spartan way of life.

The Spartans

The Spartans chronicles the rise and fall of one of the most extreme civilizations the world has ever witnessed. A civilization that was

Naples | Italy's Invisible Cities

Using the latest 3D technology, Alexander Armstrong and Dr Michael Scott uncover the hidden history in Naples from its earliest Greek and R...

3: Romans | Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show on Earth

Dr Michael Scott explores how the Romans absorbed Greek theatre and how their empire provides a crucial connection bet...

6: First Contact | Civilisations

David Olusoga shows how art was always on the frontline when distant cultures met.

5: The Atlantic Age | Africa's Great Civilisations

This episode looks at the tremendous changes that took place across the continent between the 15th and 18th centuries.

Nanban Screens | Civilisations

David Olusoga shows how art was always on the frontline when distant cultures met.

Benin Bronzes | Civilisations

David Olusoga visits the Benin Bronzes at the British Museum.

Benin | Learning Zone

Benin is famous for its bronzes. This film explores how they are made, using the 'lost wax' process, and why.

03: Ides of March | Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator

02: Veni Vidi Vici | Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator

01: High Priest | Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator

Caesar enters into dangerous alliances and bends the rules of the republic in his bid to become consul, the highest...

Scotland: Rome's Final Frontier

Archaeologist Dr Fraser Hunter looks back on three centuries of contact and conflict with Scotland's Roman invaders, a story of a superpower ...

8: The Pagan | Colosseum

By the 4th century AD, the Roman Empire is in decline, and the Colosseum, once a proud symbol of the Empire's glory, lies empty. One man turns to th...

7: Commodus | Colosseum

All Roman rulers put great value on spectacles and games, but only one, the son of Marcus Aurelius, steps out of the imperial box and onto the sands ...

5: The Martyr | Colosseum

The public execution of criminals is a staple in the Colosseum, but during Trajan's games, one of these victims is no common prisoner. Bishop Ignat...

6: The Scientist | Colosseum

One of the most famous scientists of the ancient world, Galen of Pergamon, makes a name for himself as a doctor for gladiators in the arena.

4: The Gladiatrix | Colosseum

When the Emperor Trajan stages his great games of AD107, the crowd is treated to a rare spectacle - female gladiators. A Roman named Mevia illu...

2: The Builder | Colosseum

Although master builder Haterius constructs the Colosseum where Nero’s Golden House once stood, his work is far from over. Rome's new emperor, Dom...

3: The Beastmaster | Colosseum

Over a million animals are slaughtered on the sands of the arena by trained beastmasters, none more famous than Carpophorus. But when met with...

1: The Gladiators | Colosseum

In AD80, the Colosseum is open for business. Roman emperor Titus plans 100 days of games to commemorate, including an epic battle to the death ...

S2E5: Slave Girl from Jerusalem: Part 2 | Roman Mysteries

Nubia, Lupus, Flavia and Jonathan have to find the evidence that will clear a slave wrongly accused of terrible cri...

S2E5: Slave Girl from Jerusalem: Part 1 | Roman Mysteries

Nubia, Lupus, Flavia and Jonathan have to find the evidence that will clear a slave wrongly accused of terrible cri...

S2E4: The Fugitive From Corinth: Part 1 | Roman Mysteries

The children take a carruca into the hills outside Ostia, in pursuit of the man Flavia thinks has murdered her fath...

S2E4: The Fugitive From Corinth: Part 2 | Roman Mysteries

The children take a carruca into the hills outside Ostia, in pursuit of the man Flavia thinks has murdered her fath...

S2E3: The Colussus of Rhodes: Part 2 | Roman Mysteries

Lupus narrowly escapes kidnap by slave traders, but his friend Porcius and other Ostian children are snatched.

S2E2: The Trials of Flavia Gemina: Part 1 | Roman Mysteries

An ship washes up in Ostia, Flavia's father brings home a mysterious woman, and everything is turned upside down ...

S2E2: The Trials of Flavia Gemina: Part 2 | Roman Mysteries

Flavia has a challenge on her hands when her father brings home a mysterious woman that he is thinking of marrying.

S2E1: The Gladiators From Capua: Part 2 | Roman Mysteries

Nubia thinks she may have glimpsed her missing brother, the children go to the arena and discover a mystery that en...