In the last decade, the search for data about the planet's environmental history has raised questions about how climate change has influenced human civilisations in the past.

The first millennium BCE saw in and around the Mediterranean an unprecedented growth in demography, economy, technology, and politics, resulting in the first true superpower.

The Roman empire grew and prospered unprecedentedly by combining exemplary organisation, technological advances, and military skills with a fortunate climate in its 'Golden Age', virtually unifying the Mediterranean world under 'Pax Romana'.