General ancient history

Roman toilet

Tales of the toilet: a historical A–Z

Illustration by Davide Bonazzi

The big question: should museums return their treasures?

Halloween postcard

10 things you didn’t know about the history (and mystery) of Halloween

Cardinal John Henry Newman

How to become a saint

Cariad Lloyd, Suzannah Lipscomb and Greg Jenner

General ancient history

“A history podcast for people who don’t like history”: Greg Jenner on his new podcast You’re Dead To Me

The Spartan king Leonidas at the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. The conflict has become the archetype for the courageous last stand, pitting around 200,000 Persians against 7,000 Spartans.

Your guide to the battle of Thermopylae

The Temple Scroll, from the Dead Sea Scrolls

General ancient history

Digging for the Bible: 10 key discoveries from the Holy Land

Daisy Dunn.

The destruction of Pompeii

Tom Holland by Helen Atkinson

Tom Holland on Christianity’s enduring legacy

The Byzantines and a flamethrower

General ancient history

Q&A What was Greek fire?

Now a protected species in many countries, the hedgehog was once also a health food. A German cookbook dating from the mid-15th century recommends the meat of a hedgehog as useful for leprosy and urinary retention. (Photo by Yuri SmityukTASS via Getty Images)

General ancient history

Hedgehogs, cannabis bread and horse placenta: 13 weird and wonderful health foods in history

One of the earliest and most famous examples of extremism comes from ancient Rome. Starting in 264 BC and continuing for more than a century, Rome engaged in a series of wars with neighbouring Carthage. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A brief history of extremism – from ancient Rome to al Qaeda

The ancient Greek physician Dioscorides

General ancient history

Happy plants and laughing weeds: how people of the ancient world used – and abused – drugs

A C Grayling. (Photo by David Levenson/Getty Images)

General ancient history

AC Grayling on the history of philosophy

Charlton Hetson races a chariot in Ben-Hur

Wacky races: 10 weird and wonderful contests through history