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Civilisations Festival: Delve deeper into the landmark series

9 March 2018

The much-anticipated cultural series Civilisations has landed on BBC Two and iPlayer. But there's much more to get your teeth into courtesy of the Civilisations Festival. Innovative new digital products are bringing some of the world's finest artefacts into the palm of your hand and there are hundreds of live events happening across the UK.

Civilisations: Series trailer

Extended version of the TV trailer for the epic new series.

The Inside Story

The new BBC Two series Civilisations is undoubtedly the TV arts event of the year, with presenters Mary Beard, David Olusoga and Simon Schama each bringing their unique and differing perspectives.

Mary and Simon appeared in front of a live audience at the National Gallery where Kirsty Wark quizzed them on the making of the series. Given that it took three years to make, involved trips to 31 different countries, and features over 500 spectacular artworks, there was plenty to discuss!

Their conversation is available to watch on BBC iPlayer or via the Red Button on your TV.

Civilisations: The Inside Story

Fascinating events around the UK

The Civilisations Festival runs 2-11 March and is a ground-breaking collaboration between the BBC, museums, galleries, libraries and archives across the UK. More than 250 organisations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have signed up as partners.

Museum Crush is your one stop shop for finding all the events happening between 2 and 11 March as well as the related exhibitions running beyond this period.

Civilisations on your doorstep

Civilisations in your hand

Augmented Reality (AR for short) superimposes virtual objects in the world around us. In other words, on your smartphone or tablet screen, things which are really there are mixed with things which aren't.

The BBC's Research and Development team has applied this technology to a range of world-famous artefacts, bringing you closer to history than ever before.

The app is available free to Apple users via the App store and Android users through the Play Store. At launch it will contain around 30 items, including world famous pieces like the Rosetta Stone and Rodin’s The Kiss.

For David Johnston, the Senior Product Manager for VR/AR, this technology is a great way "to bring realistic looking objects from our museum partners across the country into the homes and personal spaces of our audience."

One of the most eye-catching examples included is an ancient Egyptian coffin, which is held at the Torquay Museum in Devon.

Via the app, this amazing artefact and its fascinating history are brought directly to you.

You can even go beyond the surface – there's an X-ray feature which allows you to see inside the mummified body inside.

Civilisations innovation

Civilisations - BBC R&D

BBC R&D's work as part of the Civilisations festival

Stories behind the artefacts

The Low Ham mosiac features a story told through a series of five panels like a comic

The BBC's archive specialists Rewind have partnered with museums around the country to produce fascinating, visually rich features.

Uncover how the death of a sheep led to the discovery of the earliest large-scale example of narrative art in Britain courtesy of Somerset Heritage Centre.

Wessex Museums has drawn on artefacts from four different museums to tell the story of the region from prehistoric times in the shadow of Stonehenge through to present day.

The National Gallery has utilised BBC archive, including the seminal 1969 Kenneth Clark series Civilisation, to tell the stories of six Renaissance masterworks like The Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci and Bacchus and Ariadne by Titian.

With three naturally occurring hot springs and the belief that they could heal the sick, water has long been an important part of Bath's culture. The Roman Baths Museum have been looking into the rise and fall and rise...

The University of Liverpool describe their connection to the decapitated bronze head of a great Roman emperor who was perfectly preserved under desert sands for centuries because of an insult by an invading army.

There will be more collaborations coming throughout the spring, keep an eye on Civilisations season page for all the latest content.

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