The Power of the Past
A look at how attention turned from civilisation and kings to the search for the common man against a background of science and competing political ideologies.
Archaeologist Richard Miles presents a series charting the history of the breakthroughs and watersheds in our long quest to understand our ancient past. He shows how 20th-century attention turned from civilisation and kings to the search for the common man against a background of science and competing political ideologies.
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Next
You are at the last episode
Clip
![]()
The Wizard of Sussex and Piltdown Man
Duration: 03:33
Music Played
![]()
Die drei ???
015 - Duell Der Topmodels (Teil 3)
BBC Four Archaeology Season

Archaeology: A Secret History is part of BBC Four’s season of programmes exploring our fascination with uncovering the past. Find out more about the other programmes in the season below…
The Flying Archaeologist - Ben Robinson conducts aerial surveys of ancient sites to reveal new evidence of lost civilisations.
Stories from the Dark Earth: Meet the Ancestors Revisited - Julian Richards discovers how science, conservation and new finds have changed our understanding of history.
Nelson’s Caribbean Hell-hole: An Eighteenth Century Navy Graveyard Uncovered - Human bones found in Antigua trigger an investigation into a dark chapter of Britain's imperial past.
The Archaeology at the BBC Collection - Robin Lane Fox explores the BBC's first ventures into archaeology programming.
The Somme: Secret Tunnel Wars - Peter Barton investigates the military mining that played a big part in the tactics of both sides during WWI.
Find out more

There are lots of features, articles and quizzes covering archaeology - and the treasures that have been uncovered - in BBC History’s Archaeology section.
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Richard Miles |
| Series Producer | Cameron Balbirnie |
| Executive Producer | Eamon Hardy |
| Producer | Nicola Seare |
| Director | Nicola Seare |
Broadcasts
- Tue 14 May 201321:00
- Wed 15 May 201302:35
- Thu 16 May 201322:30
- Tue 27 Aug 201320:00
- Wed 28 Aug 201301:30
- Mon 21 Sep 201522:00
- Fri 25 Sep 201500:00
- Thu 2 Mar 201700:25
- Sun 5 Aug 201821:00
- Mon 6 Aug 201803:00
- Wed 6 May 202022:00
- Sat 21 Aug 202119:00
- Sun 22 Aug 202102:45
- Mon 20 Mar 202320:00
- Tue 21 Mar 202300:00
- Mon 1 Jul 202421:00
- Tue 2 Jul 202402:00
- Mon 10 Feb 202523:50
- Wed 12 Feb 202501:10
- Wed 29 Oct 202520:00
- Thu 30 Oct 202501:45



