BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 18: Minoan Bull Leaper 10 Feb 2010
A small, bronze sculpture of a man leaping over a bull from the island of Crete is the starting point for an exploration of the Minoans, their rich bronze making tradition and the role of the bull in myth and legend. Neil MacGregor,...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 19: Mold Gold Cape 11 Feb 2010
A gold cape made almost 4,000 years ago and discovered in 1833, by a group of workmen looking for stones in a field near the village of Mold in North Wales. This sheet of pure gold, found wrapped around a skeleton, inspires Neil...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 20: Statue of Ramesses Ii 12 Feb 2010
Colossal statue of Ramesses II, one of ancient Egypt's most famous and successful pharaohs. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, considers the achievements of Ramesses II, a ruler who built monuments all over Egypt, inspired a...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 21: Lachish Reliefs 15 Feb 2010
Stone carvings from the palace of King Sennacherib of Assyria, showing his army attacking the town of Lachish, near Jerusalem. The Assyrian war machine was to create the largest empire that the world had ever seen and used the terror...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 22: Sphinx of Taharqo 16 Feb 2010
A sphinx with the black African face of pharoah Taharqo of Kush, in Sudan. These days few people even know that the mighty land of the Pharaohs was once ruled over by its southern neighbour. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 23: Chinese Zhou Ritual Vessel 17 Feb 2010
A Chinese bronze vessel used both for feasting and as an object to be buried alongside the dead for use in the afterlife. What can this beautiful bronze bowl tell us about life in China at this time? Neil MacGregor, Director of the...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 24: Paracas Textile 18 Feb 2010
Pieces of cloth found wrapped around a mummified body on the coast of Peru. The early Peruvians went to astonishing lengths to make and decorate their textiles whose colours remain striking to this day. Neil MacGregor, Director of the...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 25: Gold Coin of Croesus 19 Feb 2010
One of the world's earliest coins, minted in ancient Turkey about 2,500 years ago. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at how a powerful new state found a dramatic way to help run its increasingly complex economy and...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 26: Oxus Chariot Model 22 Feb 2010
This hand-sized model of a gold chariot pulled by four horses helps explain the rule of Cyrus, the 'king of kings', and his ambitions for his vast territory. Cyrus, the first Persian emperor, created the largest empire the world had ever...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 27: Parthenon Sculpture: Centaur and Lapith 23 Feb 2010
Sculpture of a half-man, half-horse rearing over a dead human from the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. Carved out of marble around 440BC, these beautiful figures continue to generate huge controversy around the world for the fact that they...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 28: Basse Yutz Flagons 24 Feb 2010
The Basse Yutz Flagons - two bronze drinking flagons made by the Celts in Northern Europe 2,500 years ago and considered to be the most important and earliest examples of Celtic art. Writer Jonathan Meades and Barry Cunliffe help...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 29: Olmec Stone Mask 25 Feb 2010
A stone face made by Olmecs, the first Central American culture to build cities and develop writing. As the Parthenon was being created in Greece and the Persians were expanding the world's biggest empire, Neil MacGregor, Director of the...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 30: Chinese Bronze Bell 26 Feb 2010
A Chinese bell which plays different notes when hit in different places. Confucius believed in a society that worked in harmony. How do his teachings go down in China today? Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 31: Coin With Head of Alexander 17 May 2010
Coin showing Alexander the Great, issued by one of his successors. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, tells the story of Alexander the Great through a small silver coin that was made years after his death. One of history's...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 32: Pillar of Ashoka 18 May 2010
A fragment from a pillar edict of Indian ruler Ashoka. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at how Ashoka turned his back on violence and plunder to promote the ethical codes inspired by Buddhism. Ashoka communicated to...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 33: Rosetta Stone 19 May 2010
Ancient Egyptian stela with text in Greek, hieroglyphs and demotic. The Rosetta Stone is one of the British Museum's best known objects and a valuable key to the decipherment of hieroglyphs. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 34: Chinese Han Lacquer Cup 20 May 2010
A lacquer cup made on the orders of the Chinese Han dynasty emperor. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, tells the story of the cup, most probably given by the emperor to one of his military commanders in North Korea, and how...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 35: Head of Augustus 21 May 2010
Head of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at one of the world's most famous rulers, whose powerful, God-like status is brilliantly enshrined in a 2000-year-old bronze head with...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 36: Warren Cup 24 May 2010
A silver cup that offers a rare glimpse into the world of sexual love in ancient Rome. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at the Warren cup, which features such explicit images of homosexual acts that it was once...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 37: North American Otter Pipe 25 May 2010
Stone pipe shaped as an otter and used in ritual tobacco-smoking. The pipe is one of hundreds shaped as animals that were found in huge mounds in present-day Ohio. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, pieces together the...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 38: Ceremonial Ballgame Belt 26 May 2010
A ceremonial stone belt from central America. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at the ceremonial version of the leather and fibre padding used in an ancient ball game - the world's oldest-known organised sport....
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 39: Admonitions Scroll 27 May 2010
Chinese scroll with advice for palace ladies on correct behavior. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores this eleven foot painting based on a poem, which attempted to define the proper behavior for women during the...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 40: Hoxne Pepper Pot 28 May 2010
A silver pepper pot from a Roman treasure hoard found buried in England. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at how the elite of Roman Britain sustained their appetite for luxury goods and good living in the years...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 41: Seated Buddha of Gandhara 31 May 2010
One of the earliest images of the seated Buddha. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at how Buddhism set about creating the classic image to represent the real life Buddha, who lived and roamed around North India in the...