PERSBERICHT | CURSE OF THE ANCIENTS WITH DR ALICE ROBERTS - NEW AND EXCLUSIVE TO THE HISTORY CHANNEL IN MARCH

THE HISTORY CHANNEL EXPLORES THE RISE AND FALL OF ANCIENT CIVILISATIONS

STARTS TUESDAY 29 MARCH 2022 AT 21.25 (5x1hr)

INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HISTORYBenelux

Instagram: @HISTORYBenelux

#CurseoftheAncients

The HISTORY Channel journeys back in time to explore the catastrophic events that decimated ancient civilisations, prompted massive human migration and ultimately shaped the modern world. From wars and earthquakes to floods and famines, these devasting incidents are covered in the brand new series: Curse of the Ancients with Alice Roberts.

Professor Alice Roberts (Digging for Britain, Britain’s Most Historic Towns) reveals how scientists are unearthing the evidence of cataclysmic past events and their disastrous consequences. While ancient societies couldn’t truly understand the causes of their plight and thought themselves cursed, the series determines the true reasons behind these occurrences by using modern science.

Curse of the Ancients spans the period from 6200 BCE when the global Neolithic migrations were sparked by rising sea levels, to 1486 CE and the advent of the age of exploration that gave rise to the nations and societies we recognise today. In each episode Alice takes viewers on a journey of discovery to epic sites and landmarks which punctuated the rise and fall of the greatest civilisations in human history, including a lost Roman palace in Serbia, the mysterious abandoned city of Shivta in Israel, and the Spanish Iron Age hill fort of Mount Bernorio.

Along the way Alice will reveal the latest archaeological evidence of civilisation-ending calamities, including the devastating tsunami that changed the fate of 10,000 Ancient Britons, the volcanic eruption that sparked the beginning of the end for an entire Mediterranean civilisation, the results of the world’s most deadly pandemic, and the scene of Europe’s earliest battlefield.

Echoes of ancient history continue to resonate through current times, with the pandemic, wars, religion, and climate change impacting humanity and threatening mankind. Is human civilisation to suffer the same fate as that of our ancestors, or have we learned anything from the past?

An academic, broadcaster and writer, Alice has made programmes and written books about evolution, archaeology, and history throughout her career. Alice recently presented the popular BBC series Digging for Britain and previously Britain’s Most Historic Towns.

Professor Alice Roberts said: “This series shows how cutting-edge science can help us to uncover the truth about historical events. Historical research is now a truly multidisciplinary exercise. We find out what happened as our ancestors faced plague, famine and conflict, and how these calamitous events shaped the course of history, echoing down the centuries to today.”

The new series will premiere in Belgium and the Netherlands on The HISTORY Channel on Tuesday 29 March at 21.25.

The HISTORY Channel is available via Ziggo| KPN | Caiway | Delta | Canal Digitaal | T-Mobile | Online.nl | Tele2 | Telenet | Telfort | Trinded | Kabel Noord | Cai Harderwijk | Proximus | Stipte | TV Vlaanderen.

Programme Information (order correct at time of writing):

Ancient Global Warming Tuesday 29 March, 21.25

Professor Alice Roberts charts the rise of civilisation from 6100BCE to the end of the Bronze Age. A time of great work in architecture, literature, and the arts, until most of these great civilisations suddenly collapsed, never to rise again, plunging the world into a dark age. Alice reveals how scientists are uncovering what happened to these civilisations - the devastating flood that separated Britain from Continental Europe; the cataclysmic volcanic eruption that wiped out Minoan civilisation; and the discovery of Europe’s earliest battlefield – throwing new light on disasters that shaped the world today.

Rome’s Rise and Fall Tuesday 5 April, 21.25

Professor Alice Roberts looks at the rise of one of history’s greatest civilisations, the Roman Empire, asking, what was the secret to its success? Experts explore the empire, investigating newly discovered battlegrounds in Britain and Spain to find out how Rome defeated her enemies, making her one of the world’s first superpowers. Alice also discovers how Rome herself suffered military disaster in the forests of Germany, but how her eventual downfall was the enemy within – the decadence and misrule of the emperors that were Rome’s real curse.

The Darkest Age Tuesday 12 April, 21.25

The disastrous final days of the Roman Empire are examined in this episode, including the cataclysmic power vacuum following its collapse and the effects felt even beyond the Empire’s borders. Once known as the Dark Ages, this period saw kingdoms rise and fall, cities wiped out by invasion, and plague ravage Europe and the Middle East. Despite these disasters, archaeologists are revealing a world where trade continued, cultures flourished, and new world religions emerged and spread. Alice reveals how humankind continued to prosper even during the darkest of times.

God’s Holy Warriors Tuesday 19 April, 21.25

Professor Alice Roberts reveals how archaeologists are shedding light on one of history’s most mysterious periods. For three hundred years after the collapse of Rome, Saxons and Vikings rampaged through Europe, but then these pagan societies seemed to disappear. From new discoveries of Viking settlements and burials in Scandinavia, to the last stand of paganism against Christendom in Poland, Alice reveals the catastrophes, calamities and disasters which helped shape modern Europe.

Medieval Mystery Tuesday 26 April, 21.25

In the final episode of Curse of the Ancients, Professor Alice Roberts looks at one of the most cursed periods in European history - the Middle Ages. Archaeologists reveal how wars, such as the Mongol invasion of Hungary, the Black Death that wiped out up to half of Europe’s population, and climate change causing cataclysmic floods – turned our ancestors’ world upside down. Death was a part of everyday life. With such calamities, Western society was on the verge of collapse. So how did it survive, and how did these catastrophes lay the foundation for the modern world?

ENDS

For more information please contact:

Marianna Ivancsics at A+E Networks EMEA / Marianna.Ivancsics@aenetworks.co.uk