The Roman Empire was one of history’s greatest and most influencial civilisations. Alice Roberts, Curse of the Ancients s1e2: Rome's Rise & Fall
While Rome itself enjoyed the riches of empire, many of the civilisations that opposed her expansion were cursed with warfare and destruction. ibid.
The northern European tribes wouldn’t forget and would remain bitter enemies of Rome. ibid.
The Great Fire of Rome was a disaster for the city but also a disaster for Nero. ibid.
The Carthaginian Empire predated that of Rome. ibid.
The last days of the Roman Empire, and the power vacuum that followed its collpse. Alice Roberts, Curse of the Ancients s1e3: The Darkest Age
The Roman Empire’s collapse was gradual, five centuries of over-expansion. ibid.
The heart of the empire, Rome itself, besieged by Germanic tribes. ibid.
A new civilisation was on the rise in the East. ibid.
Why did these pagan societies so suddenly disappear? Alice Roberts, Curse of the Ancients s1e4: God’s Holy Warriors
The Saxons of mainland Europe held on to their beliefs. But how long could they last? ibid.
Charlemagne now declared war against the tribes of Saxony. But met with tough resistance. ibid.
‘15 ship burials of this kind and most of them are found in Norway.’ ibid. archaeologist
William’s Harrying of the North ended 600 years of Anglo-Saxon rule and ushered in a new era for England.
One of the most cursed periods in European history – the Middle Ages. Alice Roberts, Curse of the Ancients s1e5: Medieval Mystery
Something had killed so many people so quickly that the normal process of preparing the dead for burial had been overwhelmed. ibid.
Like Covid 19, the Black Death spread quickly through dense urban area, where its effects were even more devastating. It’s believed that between a half to two-thirds of England’s population died. ibid.
A terrifying curse of the ancients: Leprosy. ibid.
Climate Change: A threat we still grapple with today. ibid.
What ultimate weapons of destruction have ancient civilisation managed to create more than 2,000 years ago? Might the energy of the sun have been used against invading ships? Could a cannon powered by steam have crushed an enemy fleet? And might the ancient world have built a warship so huge it could match modern aircraft carriers? Ancient Impossible s1e1: Ultimate Weapons, H2 2014
The ancient world was not primitive. Their marvels were so advanced we still use them. ibid.
‘Archimedes was a brilliant inventor and mathematician. ibid.
Archimedes had a fearsome reputation in the ancient world as a mastermind of warfare. ibid. Bethany Hughes
What could be Archimedes’ most sinister weapon – a death ray. ibid.
Could Archimedes’ cannon have had the power needed for such destruction simply using steam? ibid.
Egypt: This floating superweapon appears to have carried more people than a modern aircraft carrier. ibid.
How did the Romans manage to defy gravity and make millions of litres of water flow uphill over mountains? How did the Ancient Egyptians carve massive granite obelisks thousands of years before the Washington monument was built? And why would the Roman army build their own mountain? Ancient Impossible s1e2: Moving Mountains
2,000 years ago it was Mission Impossible for the mighty Roman Army. They had to conquer this impregnable mountain fortress, surrounded by sheer cliffs, standing hundreds of feet above the Judean desert. ibid.
The Romans completed the wall around Masada in just a few days. But what they didn’t realise was how well stocked the rebels were. ibid.
If the Romans couldn’t starve the rebels out, they would take Masada by force. ibid.
Siege ramps have been part of warfare for thousands of years. ibid.
How do you get a thousand-ton obelisk on to a barge? … [A. Make it an axle] ibid.
Roman engineers kept the water moving through hills and valleys maintaining a steady gradient of less than one per cent. An astounding feat. ibid.
How did the Egyptians carve the world’s largest monument thousands of years before the Americans carved Mount Rushmore? How did the Romans build a dome bigger than the dome of the US Capitol building? And how were the massive stones of Stonehenge moved hundreds of miles across rugged terrain? Ancient Impossible s1e3: Monster Monuments
Over 3,000 years ago one of Egypt’s greatest pharaohs created this impossibly vast monument to himself at Abu Simbel at an imposing location on the Nile River. To this day it is still the largest temple ever carved out of solid rock. ibid.
3,000 years ago at Abu Simbel in Egypt there was no dynamite or power drills. ibid.
Yet the Egyptians built this massive temple with little more than copper chisels. ibid.
‘Today, the great Temple of Abu Simbel looks like it’s always been here. It is a great testament to the ancient builders who constructed it, and to the modern engineers who moved it.’ ibid. comment
Stonehenge in the southwest of England. Alongside the Pyramids, it’s one of the most iconic sites in the world. ibid.
Preseli, Wales: This is the place in Wales where the inner-circle blue stones at Stonehenge come from. ibid.
‘These stones from this quarry were transported well over a hundred miles.’ ibid. comment
A 2000-year-old concrete dome found in the centre of Rome – it’s called the Pantheon. ibid.
The Egyptians built more than a hundred pyramids across their kingdom. ibid.
How did the Chinese manage to build a devastating repeating weapon 2,000 years before machine guns? What secrets lie behind the ancient world’s high-tech body armour made thousands of years before bullet-proof vests? What simple invention was behind one of the world’s most ruthless weapons: land mines? Ancient Impossible s1e4: Warrior Tech
‘And they invented this – the Chinese repeating crossbow.’ ibid. comment
‘Ancient Greece had lightweight armour that predates Kevlar by over 2,000 years.’ ibid.
The Romans had fully armoured knights over 1,000 years before the age of chivalry. ibid.
Their answer to Saxon raids was the Cataphract. ibid.
The Saxon super-sword was the first perfected use of composite metal in the world. ibid.
The ancient world clearly had more than one great scientific thinker. These ancient geniuses came up with many amazing theories and inventions. Many believe their intellectual capacity may have matched that of great moden thinkers such as Albert Einstein. Colossal monuments, powerful ancient superweapons, and technology so precise it defies reinvention. Ancient Impossible s1e5: Ancient Einsteins
There were coin-operated vending machines in ancient times. ibid.
Archimedes: Maybe the greatest mind of ancient times. ibid.
What incredible power-tool might the ancient Egyptians have used to create this mysterious cylinder known as Core 7? What precision instruments did they have to create some of the greatest treasures of the ancient world? Who created the world’s first multi-tool? And an ancient Chinese machine that would start the world’s first industrial revolution. Ancient Impossible s1e6: Power Tools
The world’s first multitool was in fact invented by the Romans 1,800 years ago. ibid.
How did the Greeks create one of the deadliest warships of the ancient world? Might the first battleships have been built hundreds of years before the industrial age? And why did Rome’s more notorious emperor build his pleasure ships? Ancient Impossible s1e7: Greatest Ships
The ancient world created pleasure ships to amaze. But they also created floating superweapons in desperate ancient arms race … Steel amour was … commissioned by a Korean admiral. ibid.
The use of flame as a a weapon at sea goes back to the ancient Greeks. ibid.
The game-changing lightweight armour that helped Alexander the Great conquer Asia. ibid.