In the land of 10,000 mountains, Bettany explores Alpine legends, ancient clocks in Bern, William Tell, Lake Lucerne and cheese making in Gstaad.

From Samarkand and the heart of the silk road, Bettany journeys through Uzbekistan, uncovering new finds and encountering ancient sun worship and Zoroastrian funeral rites

Around coastal Croatia, Bettany explores the wonders of Korčula, Dubrovnik and Split, from Diocletian's palace and legends of Richard the Lionheart to sampling the local oysters

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'.

In Estonia, Bettany meets a prehistoric teen, explores a 16th-century shipwreck, visits a mystical sauna and tries a viper-infused spirit and Christmas in January.

Bettany explores underwater ruins and prehistoric paintings in Bulgaria, and visits remnants of the Roman and Ottoman eras and a festival celebrating Thracian heritage and the damask rose.

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 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.

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.

From Albania to Turkey and Greece, Bettany encounters the earliest evidence of human government, the birthplace of Alexander the Great, and the pirate queen who took on the Roman Empire.

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.

Bettany uncovers a society which grew rich by selling copper, and visits the crowning glory of Bronze Age Oman: mysterious 5000-year-old beehive-shaped tombs