Discussions from Ancient Warfare Magazine. Why did early civilisations fight? Who were their Generals? What was life like for the earliest soldiers? Ancient Warfare Magazine will try and answer these questions. Warfare minus two thousand years.
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Through interviews with leading figures in the world of fine and decorative arts, Curious Objects—a podcast from The Magazine Antiques—explores the hidden histories, the little-known facts, the intricacies, and the idiosyncrasies that breathe life and energy into historical works of craft and art.
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Mark Ellen and David Hepworth have been talking about and writing about music together and individually for a collective eighty years in magazines like Smash Hits, Mojo and The Word and on radio and TV programmes like "Rock On", "Whistle Test" and VH-1. Over thirteen years ago, when working on the late magazine The Word, they began producing podcasts. Some listeners have been kind enough to say these have been very special to them. When the magazine folded in 2012 they kept the spirit of tho ...
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The podcast of Scottish Field magazine with the best of all things Scottish - heritage, interiors, antiques, gardens, wildlife, motoring, whisky, food and country news, as well as interviews with famous Scots.
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Why all great pop stars are cartoons, Bowie doing mime and people whose voices we’ve never heard
46:29
46:29
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46:29Passing the Dutchie 'pon the left-hand side, we sift through this week’s events, rants and theories which absorbingly include … … that Drake v Kendrick Lamar beef in full! … was Bowie only as good as his collaborators? … Kingmaker, Toploader, Feeder, Slayer, Longdancer, Widowmaker …. has there ever been a good band with a name ending ‘-er’? …… seei…
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In the latest episode of the Ancient Warfare Magazine podcast, Marc De Santis speaks with Murray Dahm about his new book, Roman Soldier vs Dacian Warrior: Dacian Wars AD 85–106. The wars between Rome and Dacia were some of the most intense and strategically important conflicts of the early 2nd century AD. Fought during the reign of Emperor Domitian…
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Bob Marley in London, Chappell Roan’s outburst & records that sound best in the dark
45:21
45:21
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45:21Direct from the Government Yard in Trenchtown where, over cornmeal porridge by a log wood fire, the events of the week are gently appraised, among them … … how Bob Marley, the Walker Brothers, the Byrds, Hendrix, Ramones, Blondie and Nirvana “got the dust of England on their boots”. … Chappell Roan’s demands for “a living wage” in a business built …
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AWA343 - Which type of armor did the legions under Caesar and Augustus use?
11:26
11:26
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11:26This question came via a comment on an earlier podcast. 'Which type of armour did the legions under Caesar and Augustus use? I understand the lorica segmentata was adopted later, but was it used during Octavian's era? Additionally, I've found references to three types of scuta (shields): the curved oval used by late Republican soldiers, a slightly …
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The rise of David Bowie and the Spiders From Mars through the eyes of Woody Woodmansey
36:41
36:41
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36:41The teenage Woody Woodmansey was offered the job of under-foreman in the Vertex spectacle factory in Hull but then got a call from Bowie inviting him to move to London and play drums on his new album - “plus food and somewhere to stay”. It took him all weekend to decide. And involved some cultural readjustment when he did. 56 years later he’s a fou…
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So Long, Marianne Faithfull plus the Shipping Forecast as read by Nick Cave
53:40
53:40
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53:40In a courageous stand against AI technology, a pair of old lags communing via two cocoa tins and a piece of string attempt to put the rock and roll world to rights. Which this week involves … … what David saw in the HMV record store in Oxford Street “that shook me to the ground”. ... music that only works played loud. … Marianne Faithfull - there’s…
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AWA342 - How vulnerable were armies during the Bronze and Iron Ages to lightning strikes?
11:39
11:39
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11:39Shabbi poses this intriguing question,'how vulnerable were armies during the Bronze and Iron Ages to lightning strikes, whether on the battlefield or while marching, given their use of metal weapons, armour, and formations in open areas? Could such vulnerability have influenced ancient religions, particularly the widespread belief in storm and ligh…
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Did Britain invent the rock band? - plus our new laws about music & Garth Hudson RIP
37:25
37:25
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37:25When we get off of this mountain, you know where we want to go? Straight down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. While surveying the week’s events as we paddle, which involves … … the genius of Garth Hudson and the magnificent way he looked - “part lumberjack, part Old Testament prophet, part Brahms.” … how Glyn Johns invented the sound o…
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Howard Jones has ‘the best job in the world’
20:49
20:49
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20:49We put Howard Jones on the cover of Smash Hits in 1983 billed as ‘the Most Promising New Act’ and, 15 albums and 42 years later, he’s about to set out on another tour, a double-bill with ABC. He looks back here at the first shows he ever saw and played which involves … … rehearsing his Live Aid slot backstage to an audience of one: David Bowie. … p…
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AWA341 - What really happened at the battle of Lugdunum, 197 AD?
14:54
14:54
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14:54These questions came via postcard from Michael in Boston. 'What really happened at the battle of Lugdunum (197 CE)? I've read that this battle might have been the largest in Roman history - do you agree? I've also read that this battle lasted multiple days. How does that work? Did both sides retire at night and resume fighting in the morning, or wa…
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Andy Fairweather Low’s teenage psychedelic stardom
28:03
28:03
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28:03Another great hero on the podcast! We first heard Andy Fairweather Low with Amen Corner on jukeboxes in the late ‘60s and he’s touring the UK from February. Ten albums and countless collaborations later, he looks back here at teenage life on the psychedelic circuit and the first shows he saw and played, stopping off at … … the Stones in Cardiff in …
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A 3-part rant about LPs sold as ‘antiques’, TikTok & the shameful AI Michael Parkinson
50:10
50:10
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50:10David feels a rant coming on. Mark lights the blue touchpaper, pulls on a tin hat and retires to a safe distance as they consider … … the US closure of TikTok: has a single governmental act ever had such impact on the music business? … film posters, Dinky Toys, “obscure vinyls”: the new record stores that are effectively antique shops. .. why Virtu…
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The unstoppable Francis Rossi – open the fridge door and he’ll do 30 minutes
33:21
33:21
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33:21Something happens when he walks out under the lights. He can never predict what but he’s programmed to perform. As he has for over 60 years and will again when he sets out on a 63-date tour in April peppered with stories of an extravagant life and billed as ‘an evening of Francis Rossi songs from the Status Quo songbook and more’. He looks back her…
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Two great questions here for Murray on the topic of usurpers. 'It seems Legio VII Gemina raised by Galba in AD 68 in Hispania is quite unique. In terms of being a creation by a usurper. Are there any other similar units raised usurpers and retained by victors? Also, what province Ancient Warfare crew consider the best in terms of starting usurpatio…
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In this episode Ben Miller welcomes Keith Gerchak and Marisa Guterman, makers of the upcoming film Lost and Found in Cleveland. Featuring beloved stars like Martin Sheen and Jon Lovitz, along with *checks notes* “Constipated Appraiser” (Denise Dal Vera), the film follows a cast of characters intertwined with and connected to the world of antiques. …
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Graham Nash beat the Beatles in a talent contest
13:14
13:14
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13:14We both first heard Graham Nash just over 60 years ago when the Hollies’ Just One Look was on the BBC’s swinging Light Programme and we’ve followed him ever since, not least his transformational shift in the late-‘60s from suburban Salford to the wood cabins of Laurel Canyon. He’s touring the UK in October, An Evening of Songs and Stories with Pete…
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The Dylan biopic, Sam & Dave and why 2025 is the most important year in our lives.
45:48
45:48
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45:48Though you might hear laughing, spinning, swinging madly across the sun, it is in fact just two old lags reviewing the current events, which this week include … … the made-up scene in A Complete Unknown which Dylan apparently insisted was included. … the Day of the Locust: do the LA fires spell the end of the Hollywood Dream? … why does no-one writ…
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'For those trying to win wars in the ancient world, large armies were a necessity. However, the personal prestige earned from a victory in single combat was still unmatched.' In this episode, the AW team discuss issue XVII.6 Duels to the Death: Single Combat in Antiquity. Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast…
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Johnnie Walker, pop’s golden year and what’s wrecking rock documentaries.
36:50
36:50
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36:50It’s perishing cold in our frostbitten London HQ but we warmed our toes around a blazing conversational fire and roasted the following chestnuts … … “the job of pop records is to be better than the year before”. … the real reason new music tends to sound the same. … Johnnie Walker – “his voice was his instrument”. … The Kinks, The Shangri-Las, the …
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AWA338 - Lambdas and ancient Greek shield devices
12:57
12:57
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12:57For the first episode of 2025, we have this from @mrookeward, who asks Murray to explore some of the tropes (or not tropes) for 'uniforms'. E.g. the Spartan lambda shield, or ancient Egyptian headwear. Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast
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How Dylan and Leonard Cohen punctured the Summer Of Love plus the birth of blockbuster album
44:51
44:51
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44:51Among the walnut shells, wrapping paper, dried tangerine peel and broken toys beneath the Christmas Tree Of News we found a few unopened presents, among them … … Marine Homicide Unit solving murders in Scottish waters or former rock star dumping toxic waste? A crime drama Stackwaddy special. … Roy Bittan, Duke Ellington: how musical “professors” da…
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Murray answers four questions in just one episode sent in by David: 1. Were the legions largely (or even completely) replaced by the foederati by the seventh century CE? 2. What do we know about the ethnic makeup of the armies that fought for pagan Rome in the wars of the first centuries BCE and CE (largely legionaries from southern Europe?) compar…
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Why we have enough Christmas hits plus the greatest songs about money
40:22
40:22
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40:22Deck the halls with beers and Stoli! The nutcracker of scrutiny was applied to this week’s noisettes of news and the following discussed over a glass of port … ... are a lot of new song catalogues just blogs set to music? … can any actor be convincing playing someone really famous? … Robbie Williams’ Better Man: it’s the way forward! Who can his CG…
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Bill Bailey celebrates “the things that make us human”.
30:07
30:07
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30:07The tremendous Bill Bailey is staging “a magical, musical mystery tour of the mind, along with other pressing matters” for 42 nights in London from December 28, a celebration of what makes us human in an age threatened by AI. There'll be “a laser harp”. There’ll be electronic drum balls played by audience members. There'll be extracts from Kraftwer…
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AWA336 - Did ancient armies catapult corpses into enemy cities?
10:07
10:07
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10:07'We’ve all heard of ancient armies catapulting corpses and manure over walls in sieges, but is the modern intuition that this was to promote illness in those cities correct? Are there any primary sources that describe flinging corpses in order to make the defenders sick, or was it more likely just out of convivence for the attackers?' Thanks Thomas…
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How Al Stewart struck gold, the folk boom and a flat-share with Paul Simon
40:16
40:16
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40:16The 17 year-old Al Stewart played electric guitar in a dance band in Bournemouth in 1963. When he borrowed an acoustic and sang Masters Of War in the break, he heard the sweet sound of applause. The next night he played three Dylan songs and sensed which way the wind was blowing. He talks here about moving to London, playing at Bunjies and becoming…
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‘Mystique is dead’: what Gary Kemp learnt in 40 years of making and selling records
49:45
49:45
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49:45Gary Kemp has been posting reels of his recent visits to old haunts in Soho where he and his early bands used to rehearse, this in the run-up to releasing a third solo album, ‘This Destination’, in January. We talk to him here about how records were made and promoted in the ‘80s and how radically that’s changed today. Which includes … … “all media …
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The afterlife of Hallelujah and the day David sold his old singles
51:39
51:39
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51:39We ran our patent heat-sensing Scrutiniser®️ over the week’s news and here’s what set the bells off … … are buskers now more expensive live entertainment than Taylor Swift? … a Dickensian oik in Chapel Market and other riddles of modern etiquette. … ‘Holiness and horniness’: how Hallelujah rebooted Leonard Cohen and became a one-song industry. … th…
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With the release of Ridley Scott's Gladiator II, the Ancient Warfare team have headed off to their local cinemas (well, almost all of the team) for a screening. Will this be as influential on future historians as the original Gladiator movie? Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast
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The greatest sax solo, YMCA, musical one-night stands and Tom Hanks’ wise advice
41:03
41:03
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41:03Paddling the three-man conversational kayak across the rock and roll rapids this week involved … … Olive Mess, Candied Yams, Gorilla Biscuits …? Challenging indie act or seasonal vegan recipe? … the amount YMCA earned through Donald Trump and why the man who wrote it is complaining. … Tom Hanks’ valuable words of wisdom. … Neil Tennant’s favourite …
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How ‘60s pop was sold and the first news stories launching the hits
45:21
45:21
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45:21Joni Mitchell called it “stoking the star-maker machinery behind the popular song”. Every record sent out for review used to come with a press release knocked together by an over-excited PR before terms like “psychedelia” or “prog” had been invented. They were scanned once for the odd fact or quote and usually chucked in the bin. Richard Morton Jac…
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AWA334 - Were the reasons for war in ancient times any different to the modern era?
8:26
8:26
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8:26Murray gives his thoughts on this question sent in by Paul, 'were the reasons for war in ancient times any different to the modern era?' Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast
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THROWBACK: Thirty-Five Saxon Suits of Armor, with Chassica Kirchhoff
47:12
47:12
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47:12It's kinetic sculpture, it's haute couture, it’s . . . armor! This month, Ben speaks with Chassica Kirchhoff, an assistant curator at the Detroit Institute of Arts, about a suite of metal suits from the 1500s that were worn and jousted in by the dukes of Saxony. Emblematic of the feisty Protestant state’s chivalric past and supreme examples of Saxo…
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The Beatles ’64 movie - one of us loves it, the other doesn’t. Plus Rod’s tweets & Trump’s guitars
49:24
49:24
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49:24Reversing into tomorrow! This week’s news events given a vigorous once-over include … … what will a Trump guitar be worth in 30 years’ time? … the average age of a Glastonbury goer and how it sells its TV coverage. … “the Beatles in America was like Cortez arriving in South America, the clash of two civilizations. How did this film manage to balls …
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How R.E.M. changed the game and why there’ll never be another band like them
36:26
36:26
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36:26R.E.M. considered themselves missionaries against the prevailing pop culture – no solos, no old-school stagecraft, no printed lyrics, no lip-syncing, no hard-sell videos, no obvious leader – and mapped out a whole new route to international success. Peter Ames Carlin, whose books include biographies of Springsteen, Brian Wilson and Paul Simon, talk…
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Fairport, Nick Drake, Traffic and why Island Records was a sumptuous visual delight
33:02
33:02
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33:02Neil Storey worked in the Island press office in the ‘70s and ‘80s and has set out on mammoth undertaking, to compile a series of gorgeous, album-sleeve-sized books telling the story of virtually every record the label released in its pioneering history and talking to all involved - musicians, producers, designers, photographers, label staff – and …
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AWA333 - Was there ever king versus king single combat?
10:45
10:45
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10:45Jason sent this in for Murry to muse over, 'a lot of old action war movies set in ancient times have two champions or the two kings from both sides meeting in combat as their armies watch on before the battle starts. Has there ever been any historical battles where two men have fought like this, or is it purely fiction? If it is fiction, are there …
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Danny Baker - the panjandrum of unstoppable anecdote with a taste of his upcoming tour
50:55
50:55
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50:55Danny Baker, the act you’ve known for all these years, is kicking his legs up again in 2025 on a thundering new theatre tour, ‘Aye Aye! Ahoy Hoy!’ “Dead men tell no tales,” he points out, “so we might might as well get ‘em all told now.” This will be another barnstorming one-man circus - as, naturally, is this barrelling conversation with the two o…
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