Ancient Engineering

From living in caves to grand mansions, shelter has always been high on the list of our priorities. But form and function varies wildly throughout civilizations. We explore how houses have developed through the ages – from simple tents made from animal hides, to the first cities.

Throughout history, our ancestors have always strived to go higher, bigger, deeper, further - and this is reflected in the buildings and structures around our globe. But what secrets can these ancient structures reveal?

This episode explores some of history's most ingenious, yet lesser-known engineering solutions. Beginning with a recently uncovered 6300 year old Croatian wooden well that has been termed 'the world's oldest engineering marvel' through to the the Persian yakhchal.

The ancient ancestors realized that building structures and machines to harness water to provide transport, power, drainage and irrigation was vital to the success of their civilizations.

Migration, travel and trade are all key components of human life. Our ancient ancestors had to come up with ingenious solutions and structures to travel freely – over the hills, valleys and rivers of our world, which can sometimes pose difficult obstacles to cross.