General ancient history

Photo of Derinkuyu Underground City

Q&A Have people ever lived underground?

Lion Capital of the Pillars of Ashoka from Sarnath. (iStock / Getty Images Plus)

The many lives of India

The stretch of the Great Wall at Mutianyu, China

General ancient history

My favourite place: The Great Wall of China

Photo of pipe and tobacco

Q&A Did people smoke anything before tobacco was discovered?

Neil MacGregor.

General ancient history

Neil MacGregor

Sam Willis.

General ancient history

Sam Willis

Engraving of a brewery

General ancient history

Q&A Who made the first booze?

Photo of archaeologist revealing a skull

General ancient history

Q&A Who was the first archaeologist?

Photo of a salt cellar

Q&A Who do we say 'with a pinch of salt'?

UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 1987: Sweden, Gotland, Detail of stone relief representing the divine triad: Odin (chief god), Thor (god of thunder) and Freyr (god of fertility). (Photo By DEA / G. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini via Getty Images)

Q&A Were the pagan English gods the same as the Viking gods?

Illustration of the Zodiac Man

General ancient history

Q&A Why did physicians ‘bleed’ their patients?

A noisy history of the world

The call for the First Crusade was initially made by Pope Urban (pictured) in 1095. (Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

Britain and Islam: a matter of faith

Illustration by Jonty Clark.

General ancient history

Ye olde travel guide: Aksum AD 537

Ptolemy World map. Artist: Germanus, Donnus Nicolaus (ca. 1420-ca. 1490)

General ancient history

Ptolemy’s maps: the father of modern Geography