Absolute History

Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home: In a genuine horror story, Suzannah Lipscomb reveals the lethal products, gadgets and conveniences that lurked in every room of the Victorian home and shows how they were unmasked.

Some of the least pleasant employment opportunities open to people in the Middle Ages. Tony Robinson discovers how fullers spent their working lives stomping on newly woven cloth in vats of stale urine, while leech collectors risked infection by wading into marshes and letting the bloodsuckers cling to their legs.

Historian, Joann Fletcher explores the hitherto downplayed role that women took in the running of state and, indeed, in shaping every aspect of life in Ancient Egypt. Perhaps unassumed by most, the ancient Egyptians were unique in their attitude to sexual equality with women holding the title of ‘Pharaoh’ no fewer than 18 times, while there were also female doctors, tutors, prime ministers and priestesses. Focusing on women of royalty such as Pharaoh Hatshepsut and Queen Nefertari, as well as women of high profession such as Lady Peseshat, the earliest female doctor known to the world, Fletcher reveals an ancient civilization unparalleled in its sexual equality.

Dr Suzannah Lipscomb takes us back to Tudor times, when the newly emergent middle classes had money for luxuries and early consumer goods, many of which contained hidden dangers.

Among the thankless tasks tackled by Tony this week are the work of the midshipman, lighthouse keeper, stoker and trimmer, the men of Britain's first navy who survived on minimal rations, and the men who wore sacks on their heads on the luxury liners. Finally he experiences the dangerous occupation of the Victorian lifeboat man.

Dr Suzannah Lipscomb looks at the hidden dangers of the British post-war home. In the 1950s, people embraced modern design for the first time after years of austerity and self-denial. The modern home featured moulded plywood furniture, fibreglass, plastics and polyester - materials and technologies that were developed during World War II.

Tony Robinson continues his look at The Worst Jobs in History with a rundown on the worst royal jobs. As Tony takes on the work traditionally done at court we learn of the miserable lot of food tasters, whipping boys, falconers, and laundry women who beat Elizabethan laundry with paddles similar to cricket bats.

The dawn of the 20th century and the reign of a new king ushered in an era of fresh inventions and innovations that transformed the way we lived. Electricity, refrigeration and a whole host of different materials promised to make life at home brighter, easier and more convenient. But a lack of understanding of the potential hazards meant that they frequently led to terrible accidents, horrendous injuries and even death.

This week we take a close look at the worst rural jobs and remember those who risked their necks to maintain the heart of rural life, shifted excrement to produce enduring images of the countryside and saved souls in the villages by eating bread. Tony experiences life as a shepherd boy, nettle harvester, reddle man, thresher, chaff-box boy, sedge cutter, sin eater, pole man, lead-white maker and featherier. Then he tackles the most arduous job of all, that of the steeplejack when he climbs the highest spire in Oxfordshire.

This is an extraordinary story of the most disturbing witch trial in British history and the key role played in it by one nine-year-old girl. Jennet Device, a beggar-girl from Pendle in Lancashire, was the star witness in 1612 in the trial of her own mother, her brother, her sister and many of her neighbours; thanks to her chilling testimony, they were all hanged.

Julius Caesar is one of the monumental figures of history. He forged the role of Emperor and was worshipped as a brilliant general and reformer, but he was killed by the people who knew him best.

The Roman empire was a time of power and brutality, fueled by violent games and bloodbaths. However, it was also abundant in refinement and extreme sensuality. Food and cooking was an key indicator of success, with quality and abundance of dishes the primary measure. As the first and largest european civilisation, Rome was at the epicentre of culinary innovation, with an acute emphasis on vegetables, meat and spices.

Tony Robinson’s Romans series continues as he examines the life of Caligula.

Lets Cook History is an entertaining and informative five-part series exploring the origins of European cooking and eating habits. Each episode reconstructs a famous meal on from a different period in history, depicting the evolution of tastes, customs and world trades that have shaped the contemporary cuisine.

Tony Robinson sets out to sift the fact from the fiction on whether Robin Hood, the legendary dispossessed nobleman hiding out in Sherwood Forest did actually exist.

The Coronation in 1953 appeared to be a glittering triumph for the House of Windsor. But behind the scenes there was a three-cornered story of jealousy and rivalry at the highest level.

For 2,000 years almost all evidence of Cleopatra had disappeared - until now. Neil Oliver investigates the story of a ruthless queen who would kill her own siblings for power.

In 1934, Pamela Travers created the ‘practically perfect’ woman in Mary Poppins who bought order into the chaos of people’s homes. Decades later, the magical English nanny is still adored by children and parents alike.

In contrast with the common representation of the middle ages as a gloomy era haunted with famine, this episode provides a more positive view on medieval cuisine. Throughout Europe, medieval kitchens were often filled with innovative, healthy and savory dishes. Enjoy the elaborate information on the preparation of bread, meat, wine and herbs consumed in castles, monasteries and the growing cities.

We all know about the late Queen Mum – one of Britain’s most instantly recognisable figures. But few have even heard of the Queen’s mother-in-law, Princess Alice. And yet, the life story of Prince Philip’s mother almost defies belief.

Tony Robinson explores the major uprising across large parts of England in 1381; it's origins, motives and aftermath.

Tony Robinson's Romans series continues as he examines the life of Nero.

Part two of The Peasants' Revolt. Tony Robinson explores the major uprising across large parts of England in 1381; it's origins, motives and aftermath.

Wallis Simpson found herself at the centre of a national scandal when she was seen to ensnare Edward VIII and lure him from the throne of England. But in this explosive film, biographer Anne Sebba sifts through a newly discovered cache of documents - shown in this film for the first time - that contains 15 secret letters written by Wallis Simpson herself around the time ofthe abdication. These extraordinary personal missives have the power to rewrite both history and our perception of Wallis. They reveal she was deeply in love with another man, and chart her fear, desperation and loneliness as she found herself becoming trapped into marrying the man who should have been king.

Joann sees how people here changed, in just a few centuries, from primitive farmers to pyramid builders and finds the early evidence for Egypt's amazing gods and obsession with death and the afterlife.

CS Lewis's biographer A.N. Wilson goes in search of the man behind Narnia - best-selling children's author and famous Christian writer, but an under-appreciated Oxford academic and an aspiring poet who never achieved the same success in writing verse as he did prose.

Archaeologists have made an astonishing claim that could change our understanding of the life of Tutankhamun forever. Many of the burial goods found in Tutankhamun's tomb may not have been his at all. Working with Tutankhamun expert Nicholas Reeves, the Egypt Detectives try to determine the daunting problem faced by his successors and how it was solved.

The French Revolution in 1789 had a major impact on French society, as it meant the end of an era of absolute monarchy. Old ideas of hierarchy and power were replaced by new ones, including the emergence of the bourgeoisie. Of course, these social changed left its trails in the culinary world. As is shown in this episode, Paris was the birthplace of the first restaurants where the Nouveaux Riches wined and dined.

For centuries archaeologists have searced for the lost city of Troy without success. Project Trois, a huge archaeological expedition and dig in North-West Turkey, is searching for the city of Troy.

During the fourteenth century the Renaissance started in Italy, and slowly spread throughout Europe. As shown in this episode, the refreshing Renaissance era indicates an intellectual, philosophical, artistic and religious revolution and is mainly influenced by humanism. The objective of this movement to improve humanity also had its effect on the kitchen and dinner table. Strict table manners and consumption of imported vegetables are examples of the many culinary changes discussed in the episode.

Akhenaten is ancient Egypt's most mysterious and puzzling pharaoh - for no apparent reason he destroyed the established religion of Egypt and moved 50,000 people to a lonely bay on the edge of the Nile, where he built a magnificent city from scratch. Why Akhenaten unleashed this astounding revolution has never been fully explained. Now the Egypt Detectives set about uncovering the real portrait of the rebel pharaoh.

The Great Plague of 1665 killed 100,000 Londoners – one in three of the people living in the city. While kept diaries have provided terrifying testaments to the horrors of that summer, other stories have been hidden in the archives of London churches for centuries. Rare documents unearthed in some of the cities oldest places of worship now tell the story of what it was like for an ordinary person, more often than not living in poverty, as the plague swept through London. This factual drama follows the lives of those living in Cock and Key Alley, one of the dank and dismal yards squeezed between Fleet Street and the Thames – and brings to life 17th Century London at one of its most frightening moments.

Two thousand years ago one of history's most notorious individuals was born. Professor Mary Beard embarks on an investigative journey to explore the life and times of Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus - better known to us as Caligula.

Intrigue and mystery have always surrounded the pyramids. Mysteries abound about how and why they were built, but questions still remain unanswered about where they were constructed. With Miriam investigating the geology of the Nile Valley and Dominic the Egyptian religion and myth, the Egypt Detectives try and piece together some logic behind the geography of the royal tombs.

Samurai Bow explores the violence, beauty and reverie which surround the Samurai's earliest weapon. With stunning dramatic reconstruction, we reveal the ancient way of the Samurai and explore how the bow could avert wars when put in the hands of a true master.

‘My Mother Diana’ is the story of Charles and Diana's marriage from a new and revealing point of view. It’s the story of how their marriage shaped William. It explores the effect of his mother’s relationships, the tell-all book she collaborated on with Andrew Morton, the effects of her Panorama interview and William's reaction to his father’s relationship with Camilla. On the surface William appears to be a product of the old order, groomed by the House of Windsor. But William is the son of Diana – who transcended celebrity and transformed the monarchy. This film seeks to understand William by exploring his relationship with his mother and examines where William was as key moments of her later life played out; because what she went through made him who he is today Why did William propose using his mother’s engagement ring? And what does it tell us about this future King and the legacy of his mother Diana? Fourteen years after her death Diana’s influence appears undiminished.

Pompeii: one of the most famous volcanic eruptions in history. We know how its victims died, but this film sets out to answer another question - how did they live? Gleaning evidence from an extraordinary find, Cambridge professor and Pompeii expert Mary Beard provides new insight into the lives of the people who lived in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius before its cataclysmic eruption.

Francis Pryor examines the history of Britain near the end of the Roman occupation. The first instalment focuses on Britain under Roman rule, revealing a much greater degree of collaboration with the natives than was previously recognised.

A moving and intimate portrayal of Nelson Mandela filmed on the campaign trail in the days leading up to South Africa's first democratic election.

In China, there exists an astonishing place. A burial ground to rival Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, where pyramid tombs of stupendous size are full of astonishing riches. In 221 BC, China's first Emperor united warring kingdoms into a nation that still exists today. To memorialize this achievement, he bankrupted the national treasury and oppressed thousands of workers to build one of the world’s biggest mortuary complexes.

Tony Robinson reveals the real story behind the last great Anglo Saxon king. Far from being just the loser at the Battle of Hastings, Harold was a charismatic leader.

Emily Davison stepped into the path of the King's horse at the 1913 Derby and was fatally injured. Clare Balding uncovers her story and finds out how a middle-class governess became a radical activist.

Go back in time with Suzannah Lipscomb to the Victorian times, the Edwardian era and the 50s and see what hidden killers most affected women.

Using skeleton analysis and dramatic reconstruction, experts hunt for Richard III’s lost chapel in Towton, North Yorkshire. What secrets will they reveal?

What was the childhood of the two Princes really like?

Jan Leeming show us what Roman cooking was really like.

Experts unearth the mass graves of those who died at the battle of Visby in 1361, revealing the bravery of the Gutes in their defense against the Danish king's army.

Jan Leeming show us what medieval cooking was really like.

Dr Suzannah Lipscomb show us the dangerous ways the Victorian’s fought off dirt.

With continuing releases of major films and TV series on Sherlock Holmes, the fictional character has never been more popular. But what about his creator, the author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, whose own life was at times as dark and as mysterious as the man he created?

Jan Leeming show us what medieval cooking was really like.

Archaeologist Tim Sutherland unearths historical clues as he digs up burial sites from the Battle of Agincourt, which took place in 1415 in northern France.

The ancient Egyptians were obsessed with divinity, death and the afterlife and reincarnation. Christy Kenneally visits Saqqara, south of Cairo, where the Egyptians learned the technique of mummification and built the first pyramid, an early prototype for the grand monuments of the Giza pyramid complex. He journeys on to explore the ruins at Abydos, Karnak and Luxor, arriving finally at the island of Philae, the site of the last hieroglyphics and a little-known shrine to Egypt's lost Gods.

The Sahara is the biggest desert on earth ... it takes its name from the Arab word for "emptiness". In the dead heart of that emptiness there's a place called the Tenere. The Tenere takes its name from the Tuareg word for "nothing". A nothing the size of France in the middle of an emptiness the size of the United States. It's no wonder the locals call this place "The Land Of Fear”. David Adams retraces the trade routes of the people who call this stove-hot corner of the planet home.

Tim Sutherland and the team make a return trip to Sweden, where they hunt for clues to a battle that took place on the island of Gotland.

Former Royal Chef Graham Newbould who was once a chef on the Royal Yacht Britannia for the Queen reveals what goes on in the kitchens of the famous House of Windsor.

Jan Leeming show us what Tudor cooking was really like.

Suzannah Lipscomb shows us how sugar, bread and milk and chicken led to diseases and even death throughout history.

Experts try to piece together a gruesome jigsaw when the skeleton of a medieval woman is found.

Iran is one of the earth’s final frontiers. It’s a country little visited by western travellers in recent years, yet it has been at the centre of world affairs for millennia. I wanted to take a peek “behind the veil” of modern-day Iran. What I discovered was a complex, incredibly hospitable people living in a much-misunderstood country at the heart of a troubled region. My journey takes me from the bustle of Tehran, via the Valley of the Assassins to ancient cities unchanged since Marco Polo first entered them eight centuries ago. But this isn’t just a journey through an ancient landscape. It’s a journey in search of one of the world’s least known religious sects ... the ancient Fire Worshippers Of Yazd.

Jan Leeming show us what 17th Century cooking was really like.

Through thorough investigation, experts are shedding light on the illnesses and diseases that blighted medieval life, and reveal that leprosy may not have have been as horrible as the history books have claimed.

Would the promise of being rich ever drive you to rob something? What about a painting, or an ancient artefact? Join us as we delve into some of the most prolific museum robberies in history.

Jan Leeming shows us what Georgian cooking was really like and how to prepare for a Georgian feast!

For 56 years Prince Charles was the King in waiting – a wait that has surely been hard on him. Against the background of his wedding to Camilla, the film examines his controversial ideas on architecture (nothing too modern, please), medicine (coffee enemas and a diet of liquidized fruit), and religion (flirting with Islam, Sikhism, and regularly visiting the Greek Orthodox monasteries on Mount Athos). Looking at the heir to the throne's difficult relationships with women, family, and the public, we find out what makes Charles tick.

Jan Leeming shows us what was eaten on May Day through the ages.

A television special focusing on four areas where women's progress has been most dramatic: Politics, Sexuality, Work and Family. By using Babe (the 1940s gal reporter, created by Cathy Jones of This Hour Has 22 Minutes) as our tour guide and narrator through the 20th Century, this information is packaged in an entertaining as well as informative manner.

This episode explores a gallery of amour from centuries ago.

Jan Leeming show us what the Victorians' ate.

Exploring what really happened at Herculaneum following the eruption of Vesuvius. Pompeii, the lost Roman city buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD, has long been a source of fascination to archaeologists. But its sister city Herculaneum, buried in the same eruption but to a much greater depth than Pompeii, reveals far more detail of how the Romans lived. For many years the city appeared to have been abandoned and it was assumed the inhabitants had managed to escape in the hours before Herculaneum was engulfed by the volcano. Then in the 1980s a macabre discovery was made. Burrowing through the volcanic mud, archaeologists found hundreds of bodies huddled pitifully together.

This is the incredible true story of Nancy Wake, the daring allied spy who became the Gestapo’s most wanted woman in WWII. Codenamed ‘The White Mouse’ for her elusiveness, this international femme fatale was a key inspiration behind Sebastian Faulkes’ celebrated fictional spy Charlotte Gray.

Explore the history of the legendary aircraft.

Biographer A.N. Wilson uncovers the intriguing personal life of Queen Victoria through her journals and letters in this psychological portrait of Britain's longest reigning monarch. With Queen Victoria's writings read by Anna Chancellor.

The relics and artefacts of dinosaurs that walked the Earth are explored.

Biographer A.N. Wilson uncovers the intriguing personal life of Queen Victoria through her journals and letters in this psychological portrait of Britain's longest reigning monarch. With Queen Victoria's writings read by Anna Chancellor.

A body inside a coffin which it is too large for, missing genitals, and an obvious overbite are the clues which set the Mummy Investigation Team on the trail in this mystery. They know who the coffin was made for – a female Egyptian temple dancer – what they need to know is who rests there now and why this mummy is in such strange condition. Extraordinarily, what they discover is a tragic tale played out at the highest echelons of Egyptian society, set at the court of one of Egypt’s greatest Pharaohs.

Documentary detailing the highs and lows of Queen Elizabeth II's reign as head of the British monarchy.

On 9th September 2015, Queen Elizabeth II became the longest-serving British monarch. One of the most enduring images of her coronation in 1953 is that of Her Majesty surrounded by her dukes. Their influence once extended beyond the merely ceremonial, they were a crucial part of the architecture that supported the monarchy. Only 24 noble dukes now remain and this documentary - with unique access to the dukes of Norfolk, Argyll, Montrose and Marlborough – explores both the fascinating history and function of their great dukedoms in modern day Britain.

Tony Robinson demonstrates the top 5 worst royal jobs in history.

Explore a secret Cold War bunker that has been converted into a museum.

Dr. Joann Fletcher and her team investigate a female mummy inside a sealed Egyptian coffin.

Dr Suzannah Lipscomb shows us the top 3 scientific hidden killers from the Victorian, Edwardian and post-war eras.

Once the biggest and most influential city on the planet, founded by Alexander the Great and home to Cleopatra, Archimedes and the largest library in the world. How did this shining beacon for civilisation and knowledge meet its classical demise? Featuring stunning visualisations from the major movie Agora, acclaimed historian Bettany Hughes looks at Alexandria past and present, unearthing archaeological gems and following in the footsteps of Hypatia, the city’s last great female philosopher and guardian of great Library of Alexandria - whose murder would bring down the curtain not just on an era but on the ancient world as a whole.

The life of legendary painter Tom Thompson is explored through the relics of his life.

The Mummy Research Team at the University of York is called out to look at the body of a South American mummy that has a number of visible wounds. Was the man a victim of crime?

Stephen Fry takes a look inside the story of Johann Gutenberg, inventor of the world's first printing press in the 15th century, and an exploration of how and why the machine was invented.

Brendan Bracken was Winston Churchill's closest advisor for over 30 years. Was Brendan Bracken Churchill's illegitimate son? In the 1920s even Winston's wife had to ask. This documentary tells the truth about this remarkable man.

Age-old Mayan ceramics are explored in this episode.

The Mummy Research Team at the University of York examine a Peruvian mummy that had lain hidden in a London storage facility and attempt to discover why it was preserved in an unusual cross-legged posture.

According to the Bible, The Ark of the Covenant was a box which housed the two tablets of stone inscribed with the Ten Commandments. It was constructed by a man called Belazeel on Mount Sinai in Ancient Egypt to the instructions given to Moses by God. An object of immense power - capable of laying waste armies, of killing those who dared touch it in a flash of sparks, and guaranteed victory to those who carried it before them into battle. Over the centuries it has remained an object of great mystery, inspiring books, feature films and infinite questions. But can modern science shed new light on what the Ark really was? This compelling and controversial film aims to shed new light on the Ark of the Covenant and perhaps finally unravel the truth behind one of the greatest biblical mysteries of all.

Let's face it, there's always been plenty of extra work to be done at Christmas time. Be it late night shelf-stacking at your local mall, cramming this year's must-have items into valuable shop space in an effort to fuel the 'pile 'em high, sell 'em dear' festive shopping frenzy, or doing the night shift down the sorting office to help out the postie, it's a tradition for students, down-at-pocket teenagers and lonely housewives. But the seasonal labour market hasn't always been just about earning pin money and having a lark. Back in the olden days, folks had to work their fingers to the bone in some of the worst Christmas jobs in history…

Tony Robinson goes on the trail of William Wallace, the Scottish warrior whose story was told in the film Braveheart.

The Lost Tomb of Jesus is a documentary which makes a case that the 2,000-year-old "Tomb of the Ten Ossuaries" belonged to the family of Jesus of Nazareth.

Prof Kate Williams studies the legacy of the Stuarts through the eyes of an aristocratic Welsh clan. After Elizabeth I's death in 1603, James VI of Scotland claimed the throne.

The remarkable transformation of a young English woman. Combining remarkable footage and expert interviews, this authoritative special presents the true story of Kate Middleton, the seemingly ordinary young woman now destined to be Queen of England. From comparatively modest circumstances, the Middleton family could not be more different from the royal family.

Simon Reeve begins in Istanbul, Turkey, a busy medieval staging post for pilgrims to the Holy Land. Before falling to the Ottoman Empire, it was the centre of Roman Christianity under Emperor Constantine. His mother Helena, arguably the first pilgrim to the Holy Land, brought back relics from Jerusalem to fill the city's churches, which made it a major destination for pilgrimage in its own right for centuries to come. Simon visits the magnificent Hagia Sophia and a traditional Turkish bath, discovering that pilgrims brought public bathing back with them to Europe, showing how pilgrimage spread practical ideas as well as religious ones.

A bodiless mummy head is examined and clues about the person are gathered from the head alone.

Professor Kate Williams studies the reign of Charles I, who succeeded James I in 1625. Hear how religious upheaval and authoritarian rule led to civil war and a beheading.

Using unique BBC footage, this documentary tells the story of two royal women, each of whom rebelled against convention in her own way, until they both became royal outcasts.

We delve into the whirlwind romance of Charles and Camilla; a story that divided the loyalties of The Royal Family and the British public for years.

This is a story of conspiracy and betrayal, of a lust for power and a lost allegiance; the story of the man who killed King Richard III. In this documentary we set out to prove that the Welshman Sir Rhys ap Thomas, master of Carew Castle in Pembrokeshire, killed King Richard III, changing the course of British history. Sir Rhys ap Thomas had sworn allegiance to King Richard III. He had accumulated lands and status in Wales that were dependent, in part, on his loyalty to Richard. But at the Battle of Bosworth he betrayed him, fighting on the side of Henry Tudor.