Bettany Hughes' Treasures of the World Episode Rating Graph

In this episode, Bettany Hughes travels to Bulgaria. In Varna on the Black Sea she sees a 6,000-year-old gold treasure and presents the life of people in one of Europe's earliest civilizations. In the Valley of the Thracian Kings, she marvels at exceptionally lively paintings in a 2,300-year-old tomb. She also witnesses a fire ritual in the village of Kosti and sees how the Pomaks paint their brides.

Bettany Hughes visits the ancient Roman ports of Oricum and Apollonia before traveling to the mountains bordering North Macedonia. She joins a team of archaeologists who uncover treasures beneath the waters of Lake Ohrid. Her journey continues to the Ottoman city of Berat, where she explores a diverse history of honor and religious tolerance. Finally she goes into the medieval world of Albania's castles.

Bettany embarks on a Mediterranean voyage, beginning at its mouth with a recently discovered mask of Medusa, identified from fragments in Gorham's Cave on Gibraltar. Charting a course east, Bettany journeys to the strategic Island of Malta, where a Punic tomb has just been discovered. She reveals contents that prove these Phoenicians originated from North Africa. In the countryside, Bettany discovers how farmers grow three citrus crops a year with a special tour of an ancient Arabic underground irrigation system called `The Invention of Summer'.

Bettany visits the Red Sea, with its outstanding corals and marine life, the desert camps of Bedouin tribes, and Petra, the stunning city of temples and tombs carved into the rose-tinted rock.

In Georgia, Bettany explores the mythical quest of Jason and the Argonauts, and learns the story of Tamar: the queen who became a king.

In Turkey, Bettany visits the underground cave cities of Cappadocia and the 10,000-year-old temple and settlement at Göbeklitepe. In the east of the country, she visits Urfa, one of the most significant pilgrimage cities of the Middle East, believed by some to be the birthplace of the Biblical figure Abraham, and hikes up to Mount Nemrut, the highest open-air museum in the world.

In this episode, Bettany Hughes travels the legendary Silk Road in Azerbaijan. Your adventure begins in Khinalig, the highest and most beautiful mountain village in the Greater Caucasus, where an archaeologist has discovered evidence of Roman presence. In the capital she explores the legacy of the greatest Persian poet. Your journey ends in Nakhchivan. Archaeologists have found Bronze Age warrior graves on a hill there.

Bettany explores three biblical sites in Jordan: Bethany Beyond the Jordan, the Dead Sea, and Machaerus, where John the Baptist was imprisoned and killed

The historian presents a guide to ancient artefacts from around the world. The first episode focuses on Greece, including a visit to the archaeological dig at the site of Alexander the Great's birthplace in Aegae. Her journey also takes her to Athens, Nafplio, Sparta and Olympia, and to a dig at Epidaurus, where an underground snake pit used for healing has been discovered and an ancient theatre turns out to still be acoustically perfect.

Bettany Hughes travels to Estonia. On board a ferry, Bettany travels to Saaremaa - Estonia's "Viking Island" - and discovers a sacred burial site with traces of human sacrifice. Back in Tallinn, she explores the history of a huge medieval shipwreck and visits the Niguliste Church Museum. To the west, Bettany explores the island of Kihnu, considered the last matriarchy in Europe.

In Gobustan, Bettany uncovers 40,000-year-old rock art. Then she heads to Shaki, an important stop for merchants travelling on the ancient Silk Road.

The historian travels to Malta in search of ancient artefacts, and leads the first TV crew to be allowed to film in the Hypogeum, a recently discovered underground temple that provided a burial place for up to 7000 individuals. Before a major restoration project starts, Bettany is invited to film in the Queen and Prince Philip's romantic hideaway, the Villa Guardamangia, and explores in a series of underground tunnels from the Second World War.