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Experts on History

Experts on History

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Join your host Dr Fiona Richards as she interviews our Experts on History!

We'll meet historians, archaeologists and curators who are experts in their field and hear about the lives of people who have made history their jobs, learn fascinating facts about the past, and go on a journey through world history. Fiona also includes questions for our experts that were sent in by WHE readers. 

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  • The Ancient Lyre and Kithara | Michael Levy

    The Ancient Lyre and Kithara | Michael Levy
    Feb 6 2026
    Michael Levy, a prolific composer of the ancient lyre and kithara, shares his inspiration and deep knowledge of these remarkable instruments. A few tortoiseshell lyres have survived—most famously the Elgin Lyre in the British Museum—and several ancient Egyptian lyres remain as well. Michael plays a replica of the Leiden Lyre, crafted by Luthieros, based on the original preserved in Leiden and dating to around 1500 BCE. Among ancient Greek lyres, only the tortoiseshell chelys lyres have survived; unfortunately, no examples of the wooden kithara remain due to the material’s fragility. Michael explains how his playing techniques come from studying ancient images of lyre players. On Greek pottery and paintings, musicians are shown using the left hand to block specific strings while striking others with a chunky plectrum. Unlike a harp, where strings are muted to stop unwanted sustain, lyre players block only the strings they don’t want to sound, keeping the needed ones open to create chords. He also describes the tonal and social differences between the instruments. The kithara has a deeper tone and, in antiquity, was played only by professionals. The chelys lyre, by contrast, was used in domestic settings—such as symposia, the famous Greek drinking parties. Plato even recommends in the Republic that young boys learn musical theory on the lyre because of its clear, pure notes. — MICHAEL'S LINKS — Michael Website https://www.ancientlyre.com Find Michael on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v?si=emacIH9CRieFNGXRUyJ9 Find Michael on Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ1X6F7lGMEadnNETSzTv8A Luthieros, whose wonderfully recreated ancient Greek lyres & kithara has made Michael's ongoing musical mission possible for so long. They are reintroducing the recreated ancient Greek lyres & kithara back into the hands of modern musicians to 'continue where the ancients left off. https://www.luthieros.com The specialist musician who performs the replica of the aulos Barnaby Brown https://barnabybrown.info/ — SUPPORT US VIA OUR PATREON — https://www.patreon.com/join/whencyclopedia — BUY OUR MERCH — https://www.worldhistory.store​/​ — CHAPTERS — 0:00​ Introduction 0:45 Why the lyre? Why did you start playing the lyre? 5:55 Do the different lyres and kitharas need different playing techniques? 10:20 Everything that you know about the lyre, is that all from surviving images? 12:17 How do you go about learning the lyre? 13:43 Performance of The Cave of Hermes 16:19 Ancient Tuning Methods 31:57 Is it meant to be played alone or with other instruments? 34:06 Performance of Hymn to the Stars 37:35 Tell us about the track, Hymn to the Stars! 41:43 Do you have a favourite song that you have composed? 43:47 Outro — WANT TO KNOW MORE? — Lyre https://www.worldhistory.org/Lyre/ Ancient Greek Music https://www.worldhistory.org/Greek_Music/ Aulos https://www.worldhistory.org/Aulos/ Kithara https://www.worldhistory.org/Kithara/ Hermes https://www.worldhistory.org/Hermes/ Pythagoras https://www.worldhistory.org/Pythagoras/ — ATTRIBUTIONS — The music used in this recording is the intellectual copyright of Michael Levy, a prolific composer for the recreated lyres of antiquity, and used with the creator's permission. Michael Levy's music is available to stream at all the major digital music platforms. Find out more on: https://www.ancientlyre.com https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v?si=emacIH9CRieFNGXRUyJ9 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ1X6F7lGMEadnNETSzTv8A World History Encyclopedia www.worldhistory.org
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    44 min
  • The Roman Invasion of Britain | Richard Hingley

    The Roman Invasion of Britain | Richard Hingley
    Jan 23 2026
    In our interview with Richard Hingley, we chat all about his new book Conquering The Ocean: The Roman Invasion of Britain. What's the book about? It's about the Roman conquest of Britain, but that takes some explaining because I suppose in the mind of the public, sometimes the Roman conquest is quite a short term thing, you know, perhaps it occurs over a few years, in reality, it goes on for a long period of time. And really, the first significant episode is when Julius Caesar comes to Britain. Now Julius Caesar, who's campaigning in Gaul, which is largely modern-day France, and he decides to go over the ocean to Britain in 55 and 54 BCE. He travels twice with armed forces, but he doesn't actually conquer anything. He ends up leaving again with some agreements with leading peoples in Britain, and they have to pay Rome tribute, but he doesn't actually conquer anything. — FROM THE BACK OF THE BOOK — Why did Julius Caesar come to Britain? His own account suggests that he invaded to quell a resistance of Gallic sympathizers in the region of modern-day Kent -- but there must have been personal and divine aspirations behind the expeditions in 55 and 54 BCE. To the ancients, the Ocean was a body of water that circumscribed the known world, separating places like Britain from terra cognita, and no one, not even Alexander the Great, had crossed it. While Caesar came and saw, he did not conquer. In the words of the historian Tacitus, "he revealed, rather than bequeathed, Britain to Rome." For the next five hundred years, Caesar's revelation was Rome's remotest imperial bequest. Conquering the Ocean provides a new narrative of the Roman conquest of Britain, from the two campaigns of Caesar up until the construction of Hadrian's Wall across the Tyne-Solway isthmus during the 120s CE. Much of the ancient literary record portrays this period as a long march of Roman progress but recent archaeological discoveries reveal that there existed a strong resistance in Britain, Boudica's short lived revolt being the most celebrated of them, and that Roman success was by no means inevitable. Richard Hingley here draws upon an impressive array of new information from archaeological research and recent scholarship on the classical sources to provide a balanced picture of the military activities and strategies that led to the conquest and subjugation of Britain. Conquering the Ocean is the fullest picture to date of a chapter in Roman military history that continues to captivate the public. — BUY CONQUERING THE OCEAN: THE ROMAN INVASION OF BRITAIN — https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0190937416 — SUPPORT US VIA OUR PATREON— https://www.patreon.com/join/whencyclopedia — BUY OUR MERCH — https://www.worldhistory.store​/​ — CHAPTERS — 0:00​ Introduction 0:39 What is the book all about? 8:47 Why did you decide to write this book? 17:17 What did you find the most interesting when researching the book? 24:28 What do you think people should really know about the conquering of Britain? — WANT TO KNOW MORE? — Roman Britain https://www.worldhistory.org/Roman_Britain/ Claudius https://www.worldhistory.org/claudius/ Julius Caesar https://www.worldhistory.org/Julius_Caesar/ Hadrian's Wall https://www.worldhistory.org/Hadrians_Wall/ Legions of Britain https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1753/legions-of-britain/ — ATTRIBUTIONS — The music used in this recording is the intellectual copyright of Michael Levy, a prolific composer for the recreated lyres of antiquity, and used with the creator's permission. Michael Levy's music is available to stream at all the major digital music platforms. Find out more on: https://www.ancientlyre.com https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v?si=emacIH9CRieFNGXRUyJ9 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ1X6F7lGMEadnNETSzTv8A World History Encyclopedia www.worldhistory.org
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    31 min
  • The First Black Archaeologist: A Life of John Wesley Gilbert | John Lee

    The First Black Archaeologist: A Life of John Wesley Gilbert | John Lee
    Jan 9 2026
    The First Black Archaeologist: A Life of John Wesley Gilbert by John Lee is a story of a boy who grows up in poverty, facing racism and violence, a boy who seemed like he would have no opportunities. But thanks to dedicated teachers – both black and white –, his unceasing drive to learn, and the opportunities that unexpectedly presented themselves, he was able to rise from those humble beginnings and achieve in a lot of different areas. My book takes this story from his boyhood in Augusta, Georgia, through his early education in Georgia. It takes him to his years at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he was only the third African American graduate. Then it takes him to Athens, Greece, where he was one of the very first students of the new American School of Classical Studies at Athens. It was the first research institution that the United States had ever planted overseas. He became one of the first 50 Americans of any race, ethnicity, or background to do professional archaeological work in Greece. — FROM THE BACK OF THE BOOK — The First Black Archaeologist reveals the untold story of a pioneering African American classical scholar, teacher, community leader, and missionary. Born into slavery in rural Georgia, John Wesley Gilbert (1863-1923) gained national prominence in the early 1900s, but his accomplishments are little known today. Using evidence from archives across the U.S. and Europe, from contemporary publications, and from newly discovered documents, this book chronicles, for the first time, Gilbert's remarkable journey. As we follow Gilbert from the segregated public schools of Augusta, Georgia, to the lecture halls of Brown University, to his hiring as the first black faculty member of Augusta's Paine Institute, and through his travels in Greece, western Europe, and the Belgian Congo, we learn about the development of African American intellectual and religious culture, and about the enormous achievements of an entire generation of black students and educators. — BUY THE FIRST BLACK ARHCAEOLOGUST: A LIFE OF JOHN WESLEY GILBERT — https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-first-black-archaeologist-9780197578995?utm_campaign=oupac-campaign:1350568266611279117&utm_source=third%20party&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=web+banner+link&utm_term=world+history+encyclopedia — LEARN MORE! — John Wesley Gilbert https://www.worldhistory.org/John_Wesley_Gilbert/ John's UCSB web page https://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/john-w-i-lee/ Paine University https://www.paine.edu/web/mycampus/home American School of Classical Studies at Athens https://www.ascsa.edu.gr — SUPPORT US VIA OUR PATREON— https://www.patreon.com/join/whencyclopedia — BUY OUR MERCH — https://www.worldhistory.store​/​ — CHAPTERS — 0:00​ Introduction 0:39 What is the book about and who is John Wesley Gilbert? 5:28 Why did John write the book? 12:13 What was the most interesting thing you learned during your research? 16:12 What is something that everyone should know about Professor Gilbert and your book? 22:20 Did you have any involvement with the community in Augusta, Georgia while researching and working on this book? 27:51 Outro — ATTRIBUTIONS — The music used in this recording is the intellectual copyright of Michael Levy, a prolific composer for the recreated lyres of antiquity, and used with the creator's permission. Michael Levy's music is available to stream at all the major digital music platforms. Find out more on: https://www.ancientlyre.com https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v?si=emacIH9CRieFNGXRUyJ9 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ1X6F7lGMEadnNETSzTv8A World History Encyclopedia www.worldhistory.org
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    29 min
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