Prehistory and the Ancient

In the fifth century, Solon – an Athenian archon (or statesman) – introduced a number of measures in response to rising instability which would revolutionise political structure forever by shifting authority into the hands of citizens and out of those of the elite in the existing oligarchic structures. These democratic structures were strengthened into the second century, before the rule of Roman autocracy after the fall of Corinth in 146 BC. This democracy, however, remained

In a field outside Maxey in Cambridgeshire, there is almost nothing to see. The land is flat, the sky enormous, the earthworks long ploughed away. Yet beneath the soil lies a causewayed enclosure built around 3800 BCE, its ditches filled not with rubbish but with ritual: smashed pottery, animal bone, human remains, deposits laid down, covered, and reopened over generations. Etton was not a settlement. It was a place where people bound themselves to the land and kept returning

In 60/61 CE, Boudica, queen of the Iceni, led a revolt that unleashed devastation upon the early Roman settlements in Camulodunum, Londinium and Verulamium. With no voice of her own in the historical record,our knowledge of the revolt and the woman herself comes from Roman writers and what was left behind in Colchester, London and St. Albans. Textual evidence for Boudica’s revolt comes from Publius Cornelius Tacitus and Lucius Cassius Dio, Roman historians writing about Bo

The 1960 film 'Spartacus' is regarded as a cinematic masterpiece of its day, with an A-list cast including Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier. However, its historical accuracy is questionable. Spartacus never had a romance with the daughter of a Roman official, nor did Crassus ever know Spartacus when he was a gladiator. So, who was the real Spartacus, and how did he cement his place as a symbol of resistance and freedom? To the surprise of many, Spartacus' origins were as a

The Legacy of Tenochtitlan can be found in the spaces it has been preserved in, layering its existence in the architecture and landscapes of the city. Lacing memories in spaces that act as stepping stones for understanding Tenochtitlan then and Mexico City now. Spaces are a part of the historiography of the region; they shed light on both the pre-colonial Tenochtitlan and post-colonial Mexico City. Spaces in this history can be thought of as prophecies, not just for realising

The Roman Late Republic is a period of classical antiquity that has massively influenced modern-day academia and scholarly discourse. Whilst most people recall Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Mark Antony, Cato the Younger’s life cannot be ignored. Taking influence from his great-grandfather, Cato the Elder, he became the moral standpoint by which everyone else compared themselves. Overview It is 46 BC, and Caesar has just won the Battle of Thapsus, securing victory in

The largest of the three megalithic monuments, the King’s Men stone circle, is late Neolithic, circa 2,500BCE. Image: William Raven I had been reading the words of Edward Thomas’ ‘In Pursuit of Spring’ and inspired by his journey, “on or with bicycle” down to the South-West from London, I, too, detoured on one of my trips down to visit my girlfriend, Lily, in Bristol. Thomas’s journey through “the Quantock Hills, to Nether Stowey, Kilve and West Bagborough” offers a “glimp

Even for those familiar with the reign of Henry VII, the name Ralph Wilford is often forgotten; and this is despite him being one of three pretenders who conspired to seize the crown in the late fifteenth century. The obscurity of his venture is hardly surprising since it was very much in the shadow of the other two. Where Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck’s rebellions endured for years, Wilford’s only survived two weeks before it was swiftly dealt with. You would be forgi

In our so-called ‘enlightened’ age, mysticism, prophecy, and divine revelation are often dismissed as relics of a pre-modern world – fascinating curiosities, perhaps, but ultimately the product of ‘misguided’ beliefs. But here's the catch: just because many of us no longer believe in the ‘divine’ doesn’t mean the people of the past didn’t genuinely believe they were hearing gods. This question becomes especially intriguing when we look at prehistory, a time before written re

Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart’s podcast The Rest is Politics has recently become a staple of my incredibly dreary journey to and from campus. A fruitful period of Campbell’s stories is his time as Downing Street Communications Director. Listening to these stories Stewart often jokes asking Campbell about the infamous nickname “the spin doctor” that he acquired. This nickname references Campbell’s time as a ruthless propagandist for Tony Blair and the Labour Party. Campbe

When researching the genomes of the population that inhabited Britain 4,500 years ago, scientists came across a piece of a prehistoric puzzle with seemingly no real solution. Around the mid-2000s BC, Neolithic communities across Europe seemed to disappear without a trace. These communities had become the first peoples to cultivate European soil, domesticating animals like cows and sheep and growing crops like barley and emmer. Scientific research into population genomes indic

Miki Smigielski Ridley Scott’s epic film Gladiator hit cinemas in 2000, familiarising audiences with a dramatic portrayal of the ancient Roman gladiatorial games. This depiction brought the grand amphitheatre, the Colosseum, back to life using special effects, though certain elements, such as the inclusion of tigers in the arena, add a fantastical touch, raising questions about the historical accuracy of the portrayal. While the film dramatises some aspects, it largely dese