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Libya’s Ancient Coast: The Lost Greek and Roman Treasures of Cyrenaica
Join Dan Snow for a special expeditionary documentary, Ancient Adventures: Libya, as History Hit ventures far off the beaten track of history.
After years of civil war and instability, History Hit has gained unique access as the first documentary team in 15 years to film in the rarely seen extraordinary ancient sites within Cyrenaica, centred around one of the greatest cities of the ancient world, Cyrene – a vibrant and important part of the Greek and Roman world.
This is a fascinating journey into a spectacular region where documentaries rarely go. From the majestic monumental Greek cities to active archaeology being revealed right before our eyes on the coast, this film celebrates the beauty, significance, and untold history of one of the ancient Mediterranean’s most powerful regions. Prepare for a film like no other, promising unprecedented access and a view of ancient history you’ve never seen.
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The coastal city emerging from the waves
Most modern understanding of Libya is framed by the era of Colonel Gaddafi and the subsequent civil war. However, Dan’s journey travels back 2,000 years and beyond to Cyrenaica, a fertile strip of land in northeastern Libya that was once the breadbasket and powerhouse of the ancient Mediterranean. As Dan explains, “Very few news crews, let alone history documentary-makers get to come here.”
Dan’s journey begins at the bay of Al Haniyah on the Mediterranean coast, where a fascinating archaeology project is rediscovering a long-lost coastal city, revealing its secrets thanks to natural coastal erosion. Working with teams from the University of Ulster and the University of Benghazi, Dan witnesses fascinating, active archaeology in progress that is disclosing the people who lived here two millennia ago.
Dan Snow sees how objects embedded in the cliffs are being exposed due to coastal erosion.Image Credit: History Hit
“Ancient objects are literally falling out of the cliffs,” Dan notes, as the intense winter storms of North Africa claw away at the cliff face, exposing layers of history spanning over 1,000 years. The erosion is a race against time, but offers a unique, exposed cross-section of an ancient port. Dan and the lead archaeologist, Dr. Julia Nikolaus, even discover human bones that have fallen out of a burial, a visceral reminder that the waves of the Mediterranean are exposing all aspects of daily life and death at Al Haniyah.
Along with hundreds of pottery shards, monumental buildings – including the remains of a temple and a Roman villa – are emerging, along with remaining patches of mosaic floors. This seemingly obscure town, which left little impression in the history books, is transforming our understanding of trade, proving it was a crucial hub for exporting goods like wine and Cyrenaican oil – once described as the oil of the ancient world.
Dan Snow with lead archaeologist Dr Julia Nikolaus – they are pointing at a blocked-up doorway or window emerging from the cliffsImage Credit: History Hit
Dan even joins a team conducting an underwater survey that is uncovering columns and signs of an ancient harbour beneath the waves, proving that a “new chapter in the story of Cyrenaica is being recorded right here.”
We can imagine merchant ships anchored offshore; crews calling out as heavy amphorae were loaded; traders bargaining in the shade of warehouses; families strolling along the harbour-front. For centuries, this place supported busy routines of work, travel, and exchange.
The wonder of Cyrene: A claim to power
Heading inland, Dan travels up into the fertile mountains, site of the magnificent city of Cyrene, which was a wonder of the ancient Graeco-Roman world and a profound statement of Greek identity. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Dan’s excitement of exploring here is palpable. “I’ve dreamed of coming here all my life” says Dan. “We’ve been told that we’re (History Hit) are the first television crew to come and film here since the fall of Gaddafi. And as a result we have the whole place to ourselves – it feels almost like we’re discovering it for the first time”.
The Gymnasium at Cyrene, Libya, with the amphitheatre visible in the background.Image Credit: History Hit
Cyrene’s grand architecture – including the colossal Greek gymnasium, a centre of learning and physical fitness lined with Doric columns – was designed to proclaim that visitors were entering the Greek world. Its origins, revealed in ancient writings by Herodotus, were humble: struggling Greek colonists were shown the fertile land by indigenous Libyans. Dan also explores a splendid house complete with an outdoor Hall of the Muses, where rich guests would enjoy music and poetry beneath a warm North African sky.
The city’s immense wealth stemmed from one unique cash crop: Silphium. This legendary plant, which no longer exists, was literally worth its weight in gold due to its supposed healing properties. Dan visits the marketplace where this invaluable commodity was traded, a trade so vital it was thought to be protected by the goddess of agriculture, Demeter. Silphium was transported from Cyrene down to the coast, and then exported to the wealthy centres of the ancient Mediterranean, from Alexandria to Athens and Rome.
Cyrene also exported knowledge. It was the home of the philosopher Aristippus, who founded the hedonistic school of thought focused on pleasure, and his daughter Arete, believed to be the first female philosopher in history.
The Temple of Zeus in Cyrene, LibyaImage Credit: History Hit
In a unique fusion of storytelling and innovation, History Hit’s film collaborates with Ubisoft to recreate lost parts of the ancient city of Cyrene using stunning imagery from Assassin’s Creed Origins. This allows us to picture what it would have been like to walk these very streets and visit Cyrene’s magnificent theatre, temples and sacred places (including the Temple of Apollo and the spring of Apollo) over 2,000 years ago.
From Greek gymnasium to Roman arena
Dan charts Cyrene’s evolving identity after the Romans took over in 96 BC due to dynastic squabbles in Ptolemaic Egypt, when they transformed the city to better express their Roman-ness. The massive Greek theatre was converted into a Roman amphitheatre, trading the stage for the arena and gladiatorial shows. People from here continued to feature in accounts of the Roman world, men like Simon of Cyrene who the New Testament says helped to carry Jesus’ cross to his crucifixion.
Dan concludes his journey at the harbour city of Apollonia, which ultimately would overshadow Cyrene. Here, the final transition of the ancient world is visible: the ruins of a Christian basilica, built largely from the recycled plinths and inscriptions of dismantled Roman temples. This basilica reflects the shift to the Byzantine era, proving that the legacy of those ancient civilizations can be explored just as profoundly in Northern Africa as in Athens or Rome.
Components of the ancient temple in Apollonia were rearranged by the Byzantines to create a space for Christian worship.Image Credit: History Hit
A mainstay of the ancient world
As Dan concludes, the sites in Libya are on the same monumental scale as the Parthenon in Athens. They make a powerful claim: the Cyrenians were not some peripheral colonial outpost; they were one of the mainstays of the ancient world. As Dan reflects,
It’s easy to forget that the Mediterranean Sea was the centre of the Ancient world. You don’t need to go to Athens or Rome… you can explore them all in Northern Africa. It has been an eye-opening experience.”
History Hit’s Head of Programming, Bill Locke, reflects on the team’s experience in Libya:
“Filming in Libya was an extraordinary experience – seeing ancient Greek pottery emerging from the cliffs in a previously untouched site by the Mediterranean, and walking through the wonders of Cyrene, the first documentary crew to film there since the fall of Gaddafi.”
We’ll be speaking to Bill in more depth soon where we’ll delve deeper to learn more about the team’s fascinating and exclusive experiences filming in a spectacular region where documentaries rarely go.
Join Dan Snow for an unprecedented look at the treasures of North Africa in Ancient Adventures: Libya.
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