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All Seasons

Season 1

  • S01E01 Slings and Spears

    • July 27, 1998

    Discover how the stick and the stone were probably prehistoric man's earliest weapon and soon became the spear and the slingshot. This programme reveals how simple weapons were deadly in trained hands.

  • S01E02 Castles and Sieges

    • July 28, 1998

    From the Iron Age to the modern day, sieges have played an enormous part in military life. This programme focuses on the changing structure of castles from the oldest English castle, 4,000-year-old Maiden Castle, to present day fortifications.

  • S01E03 The Sword

    • July 29, 1998

    This episode investigates how, since the forging of iron, the sword has remained a mythical, symbolic, spiritual and commanding weapon, despite having been replaced by automatic arms.

  • S01E04 Mail and Plate Armor

    • July 30, 1998

    Taking a look at armour throughout the ages, from around the world. From the complex production of chain mail to the leather armour worn by Asian civilisations, discover how light, flexible and yet hardy protection was made.

  • S01E05 The First Firearms

    • July 31, 1998

    Field-testing weapons used throughout the ages. This episode: how early, crude firearms fared against efficient bowed weapons.

Season 2

  • S02E01 Self-Defense

    • February 7, 2000

    How man has defended himself through the ages, from the use of a simple stick as protection against animals and human attackers to the development of complex martial arts.

  • S02E02 Hunting

    • February 8, 2000

    A look at how hunting techniques and tools developed as the practice moved from being a practical way to catch food to a demonstration of wealth and standing amongst the aristocracy.

  • S02E03 Bows

    • February 9, 2000

    Nearly every civilisation made a bow in order to hunt and kill. See how archery has developed from the days of Robin Hood to the modern day deadly crossbows.

  • S02E04 Artillery

    • February 10, 2000

    In the 14th century war was a knife-fight; artillery brought us the dubious attributes of mass carnage and, ultimately, the weapons of mass destruction of the modern day.

  • S02E05 Knights

    • July 14, 2000

    A look at the fact and fiction surrounding the knights of old. What was their code of honour and how did they really behave on and off the battlefield?