Classics

Jim Crow in BBC ‘Ancient Invisible Cities' series

Professor Jim Crow contributes to the final episode of the new BBC history series, ‘Ancient Invisible Cities’, focussing on the water supply of Byzantine Constantinople. (Published 17 September, 2018)

HCA BBC Ancient Invisible Cities Jim Crow

A new BBC series has been exploring and recreating hidden aspects of the three of the ancient world’s major cities, and in the latest – ‘the last and best in the series’- The Guardian – episode of ‘Ancient Invisible Cities’ Professor Jim Crow, Professor of Classical Archaeology, talks about his research into the water supply of Byzantine Constantinople.

Last October Professor Crow was interviewed in Istanbul on the Aqueduct of Valens (Bozdoğan Kemeri in Turkish) about the city’s ancient water supply, comparing it with ancient Rome and its importance, and about the results of the recent Leverhulme Research project surrounding it.

Professor Crow said, ‘Constantinople had one of the longest aqueduct systems in the ancient world. Most of the Byzantine city lies buried under Ottoman and later structures but the hydraulic supplies and over two hundred cisterns serve as reminder of the scale and endurance of the Byzantine past.’

‘Ancient Invisible Cities – Constantinople’, presented by Professor Michael Scott (Warwick), will air on BBC 2 Scotland on Friday 21 September at 21.00.

 

Ancient Invisible Cities BBC website

View episodes on Cairo and Athens – BBC iPlayer

Professor Jim Crow’s staff profile