Dan Snow's History Hit
Lost tombs buried beneath desert sands, enchanting hieroglyphs, mysterious mummies, great rulers and kingdoms- Egypt has it all. Since antiquity, tourists have ventured to Egypt to see for themselves the great remnants of its ancient civilisation. Archaeologists have since found graffiti from Ancient Greek scholars and 18th century French explorers in the tombs of the Valley of the Kings.
But what is it about Ancient Egypt that captures us in childhood and adulthood, more so than any other period in history? Well, Dan joins Dr Campbell Price, curator of Egypt and Sudan at the Manchester Museum, to get to the bottom of it. They tell the stories of their own obsession with Egypt, which pharaohs they think are overrated and the impact mass documentary-making is having on archaeological discoveries in places like Saqqara and Luxor.
Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.
Discover the past on History Hit with original documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.
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- Update frequency
- every 2 days
- Average duration
- 33 minutes
- Episodes
- 1438
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
Hellfire Club: Scandal & Satanism in Georgian England
Sex, Satanism and Scandal surrounded the Hellfire Club that operated out of a network of caves in the country estate of 18th century aristocrat Francis Dashwood. The most powerful men in the country …
The Battle of Hastings
On 14 October 1066, the armies of William, the Duke of Normandy, and the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson clashed near Hastings in one of the most famous battles in history and one that would decide…
The Warsaw Uprising
80 years ago, the Polish resistance rose up against their German occupiers and tried to seize back control of their capital city. For two months a terrible battle raged that saw much of the city leve…
The Boy Who Hid in the Woods: How I Survived the Holocaust
Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence.
Maxwell Smart was just a boy when the Nazis came for him and his family. Within a few weeks, he would find himself alone, living in the woods …
A History of Cheating at the Olympics
Dan is joined by the QI Elves James Harkin and Anna Ptaszynski to talk about cheating in sports as the 2024 Olympics get underway. Why do we do it and how far back does it go? From the man who jumped…
Harris vs Trump: How We Got Here
With the news that Kamala Harris is the assumed Democratic nominee for the November election, the presidential race looks very different than it did just over a week ago. Dan is joined by Ben Rhodes,…
The Voyage That Changed the Way We Eat
3/4 In February 1882 the SS Dunedin departed New Zealand on a voyage that would revolutionise the way we eat and kickstart the world's food supply chain. Aboard were thousands of mutton, lamb and pig…
Bidens Out: A History of What Could Happen Next
How unprecedented is Joe Biden's sudden withdrawal from the presidential race? He's given his endorsement to Kamala Harris to take his place, but not all Democrats have, including former president Ba…
Operation Valkyrie: The Attempted Assassination of Hitler
On the 80th anniversary of the 20th of July Plot, Dan explores the dramatic events when members of Germany's military and political elite attempted to kill the führer and launch Operation Valkyrie to…
The Royal Marines
Members of this elite unit - formed in 1664 under Charles II - were present at the American Revolution, the Battle of Trafalgar, the Crimean War, both World Wars and even joined Shackleton on his exp…
US Presidents Who Were Almost Assassinated
Lincoln, FDR, Reagan, Clinton, Bush and now Trump. All have been targets of assassination attempts while in or running for office. Dan is joined by Professor of American History at Cambridge Universi…
The Greatest Tea Race of the Victorian Age
2/4. With towering masts and billowing sails, the Cutty Sark and the Thermopylae raced neck and neck through relentless waves to be the first to arrive in London with their tea shipment from Shanghai…
The Cutty Sark
1/4. Join Dan for the first episode in a mini-series telling four stories of ships that have shaped Britain and its maritime history, from the trade that kickstarted the global food chain to the tech…
Britain's Secret Atomic Tests in Australia
During the 1950s, in the remote expanses of Australia's outback, the British government conducted a series of clandestine nuclear tests. These were the early years of the Cold War, and Britain was de…
Was Scott's Antarctic Expedition Sabotaged?
In the winter of 1911, Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his party set out into the frozen heart of Antarctica. Battling blizzards and treacherous terrain, they were determined to be the first people t…
Communism in America
The history of the United States' relationship with communism is one littered with fear and persecution. So where did the American Communist Party come from? How powerful has it been in the last cent…
Emperor Heraclius: Rome vs Persia
Emperor Heraclius took the Byzantine Empire from its lowest ebb to its greatest heights. After years of turmoil at the hands of invading Persian armies, Heraclius led lightning counter-offensives tha…
A Short History of Pirates
Swashbuckling, murder and robbery on the high seas! We're bringing back the fan-favourite episode on Dr Rebecca Simon's 'Pirate Queens: The Lives of Anne Bonny & Mary Read' from our archive.
She takes…
The Inside Story of the Brexit Referendum
On the eve of the 2024 General Election, we're joined by Tim Shipman, chief political commentator at The Sunday Times, to hear about how things really work in Westminster.
Tim draws on his first-hand…
How did Brexit Happen? A History
On the eve of the 2024 General Election, we're tackling one of the UK's most divisive topics; Brexit.
The 2016 referendum on EU membership split voters in two, creating two entrenched camps - Brexitee…