Antique Lands — short films from the ancient world

The strangest real jobs in history, lived first-person.

Thirty-second reconstructions of working life between 2500 BC and 1150 AD — the liver-reader, the tooth-jeweler, the oracle. Each one is built from the published archaeology, with sources on every page. New civilization every week.

In production
Greece · c. 500 BC

Day in the Life of the Oracle of Delphi

One day a month
Day in the Life of an Indus Valley Bead Driller
Indus Valley · c. 2500 BC

Day in the Life of an Indus Valley Bead Driller

3 days a bead
Day in the Life of an Angkor Temple Dancer
Khmer · c. 1150 AD

Day in the Life of an Angkor Temple Dancer

For gods only
Day in the Life of a Petra Stonemason
Nabataea · c. 50 AD

Day in the Life of a Petra Stonemason

He carved top-down
Day in the Life of a Carthage Purple-Dyer
Carthage · c. 300 BC

Day in the Life of a Carthage Purple-Dyer

12,000 snails
Day in the Life of a Maya Tooth-Jeweler
Maya · c. 700 AD

Day in the Life of a Maya Tooth-Jeweler

Jade in live teeth
Day in the Life of a Babylonian bārû
Babylonia · c. 600 BC

Day in the Life of a Babylonian bārû

He read sheep livers