The Power of the Past
A look at how attention turned from civilisation and kings to the search for the common man against a background of science and competing political ideologies.
Archaeologist Richard Miles presents a series charting the history of the breakthroughs and watersheds in our long quest to understand our ancient past. He shows how 20th-century attention turned from civilisation and kings to the search for the common man against a background of science and competing political ideologies.
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The Wizard of Sussex and Piltdown Man
Duration: 03:33
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Die drei ???
015 - Duell Der Topmodels (Teil 3)
BBC Four Archaeology Season
Archaeology: A Secret History is part of BBC Four’s season of programmes exploring our fascination with uncovering the past. Find out more about the other programmes in the season below…
The Flying Archaeologist - Ben Robinson conducts aerial surveys of ancient sites to reveal new evidence of lost civilisations.
Stories from the Dark Earth: Meet the Ancestors Revisited - Julian Richards discovers how science, conservation and new finds have changed our understanding of history.
Nelson’s Caribbean Hell-hole: An Eighteenth Century Navy Graveyard Uncovered - Human bones found in Antigua trigger an investigation into a dark chapter of Britain's imperial past.
The Archaeology at the BBC Collection - Robin Lane Fox explores the BBC's first ventures into archaeology programming.
The Somme: Secret Tunnel Wars - Peter Barton investigates the military mining that played a big part in the tactics of both sides during WWI.
Find out more
There are lots of features, articles and quizzes covering archaeology - and the treasures that have been uncovered - in BBC History’s Archaeology section.
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Richard Miles |
| Series Producer | Cameron Balbirnie |
| Executive Producer | Eamon Hardy |
| Producer | Nicola Seare |
| Director | Nicola Seare |
Broadcasts
- Tue 14 May 2013 21:00
- Wed 15 May 2013 02:35
- Thu 16 May 2013 22:30
- Tue 27 Aug 2013 20:00
- Wed 28 Aug 2013 01:30
- Mon 21 Sep 2015 22:00
- Fri 25 Sep 2015 00:00
- Thu 2 Mar 2017 00:25
- Sun 5 Aug 2018 21:00
- Mon 6 Aug 2018 03:00
- Wed 6 May 2020 22:00
- Sat 21 Aug 2021 19:00
- Sun 22 Aug 2021 02:45
- Mon 20 Mar 2023 20:00
- Tue 21 Mar 2023 00:00
- Mon 1 Jul 2024 21:00
- Tue 2 Jul 2024 02:00
- Mon 10 Feb 2025 23:50
- Wed 12 Feb 2025 01:10
- Wed 29 Oct 2025 20:00
- Thu 30 Oct 2025 01:45
"The flickering torchlight of the guide reveals glimpses of a long lost world..."
Dr. Richard Miles explores Herculaneum - read his article.