Curse of the Ancients with Alice Roberts

From 6100BCE to the end of the Bronze Age, floods, volcanic eruptions, and conflict had a devastating effect on the ancient world. As historian Alice Roberts reveals in this exciting history documentary, this was a time of great architecture, literature, and the arts. But most of the great civilizations creating this culture suddenly collapsed, plunging the world into a devastating dark age.

The Roman Empire was one of history’s greatest civilizations. But what was the secret of its success? And what led to its collapse? In this enthralling history documentary, Alice Roberts explores this empire, investigating newly discovered battlegrounds in Britain and Spain to find out how Rome defeated her enemies. But was Rome’s downfall ultimately caused by enemies within?

The disastrous final days of the Roman Empire led to a cataclysmic power vacuum, with the effects felt even beyond the Empire's borders. As historian Alice Roberts notes in this engrossing documentary, the period that followed was one of history’s darkest times, with war and plague ravaging the planet. But even in this cursed era, culture and trade continued to flourish.

After Rome's collapse, Saxons and Vikings rampaged through Europe, but then these pagan societies seemed to disappear. Where did they go? And why? In this thrilling history documentary, Professor Alice Roberts reveals how archaeologists have unveiled one of history's most mysterious periods. These catastrophes, calamities and disasters have all helped to shape modern Europe.

The period known as the Middle Ages is considered one of the most cursed periods in European history. In the final episode of this enthralling documentary series, Alice Roberts reveals how wars, pandemics and natural disasters toppled the world of our ancestors. Black Death wiped out up to half of Europe’s population and climate change caused cataclysmic floods. How did Western society survive?