It’s the end of the 12th century BC, and a once remarkable Near eastern world lay in ruin. Drought, warfare, famine, earthquakes, plague - all had combined to brutally devastate ancient civilisations stretching from Mesopotamia to Egypt to mainland Greece.

It was a catastrophe unlike anything else - a Bronze Age collapse. But that’s only half the story. What happened next? Would these people adapt to this new age of chaos?

Dr Eric Cline joins Tristan Hughes to discuss the dawn of the Iron Age. They’re talking Egyptians, Hittites, Mycenaeans, Cypriots, Phoenicians and many more.

Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Joseph Knight. The producer is Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

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Birth of the Iron Age

The Ancients

Birth of the Iron Age