About the Series
Starting to count
Mathematicians could claim theirs really is the oldest profession, suggests Dr Barrow-Green in her survey ancient maths.
Warriors in trousers
Trousers: that’s our ancestors’ legacy. But it wasn't just being ahead of fashion: The Britons weren't the Dark Ages savages of popular imagination.
The earliest cities
There is much that the modern town-dweller would recognise in the worlds revealed by excavations of the earliest cities, explains David Barber in the city of the past.
Step back in time to discover how the world was shaped by the ancient Chinese, the Mesopotamians, the Arabs and even the Ancient Britons. Adam Hart-Davis presents an epic history of ancient inventions and is joined by his team of roving reporters on the move around the globe as they delve into the beginnings of civilization.
Who invented beer, bread and the wheel? How did the Egyptians align the pyramids so accurately? Did you know the ancient Greeks measured the circumference of the earth, invented robots and the first computer?
This epic new series begins in the Middle East with a set of amazing inventions from The Islamic World and the series finishes with the Britons. Along the way we will meet the Chinese, the Aztecs, Maya & Incas, the Romans, the Indians, the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians, the Greeks.
Nine programmes examining the military, technological, social, architectural and medical advances of each era and its peoples, What the Ancients Did for Us traces some of the defining moments in history and the key inventions that shaped our world today.
Content last updated: 11/01/2005
