91Èȱ¬

Historians Mary Beard and Amanda Vickery are to front two new series on 91Èȱ¬ Two, delving beneath the surface to uncover the private lives of those who have gone before us.

Mary Beard, Cambridge Professor of Classics and author of Pompeii – The Life Of A Roman Town, will glean evidence from an extraordinary find in the ancient city of Pompeii to provide a fascinating new insight into the people who lived in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius before its cataclysmic eruption.

Meanwhile, in Behind Closed Doors (working title), Amanda Vickery, prize-winning author and professor of modern British history at Royal Holloway, will set her sights on the Georgian era – the golden age of homemaking – as she traces the story of the unique relationship Britons enjoy with their homes, arguing that the Georgians' preoccupation with décor helped to redefine the part played by men and women in British society.

Martin Davidson, Commissioning editor, History and Business, says: "I am delighted that 91Èȱ¬ Two viewers will get to sample the knowledge, expertise and infectious passion of formidable historians like Amanda Vickery and Mary Beard. The Roman and Georgian periods are fascinating to me, and I can't wait to see what fresh insights these programmes will reveal."

Pompeii is one of the most famous natural disasters in human history. We know from the preserved remains how its people died, but how did they live? In a dark cellar in Oplontis, a suburb of ancient Pompeii, the remains of more than 50 victims of the eruption are about to be put under the microscope of forensic science.

The remains will be submitted to a barrage of tests that, together with a fresh look at other finds in the city, will unlock a valuable scientific snapshot of Pompeian life – and there are some surprises in store.

The programme will feature a visit to bars, dining rooms and an ancient cesspit, where viewers will see what really went through the ancient digestive tracts.

Mary Beard says: "I am very excited to be presenting this programme – the first documentary I have done for the 91Èȱ¬. I hope that it will bust some of the myths of Pompeii, and show that how the people of the town lived is actually just as interesting as how they died."

We are all familiar with the splendours of Georgian architecture, but we know less of what went on behind closed doors in the 18th century. In a new three-part series, Amanda Vickery will bring the Georgian home back to life and open a fascinating window on the soul of an age.

Using artefacts, letters, criminal trial records and diaries, Amanda will make viewers look afresh at a world we thought we were familiar with through costume dramas but which only now offers up its secrets.

She will shed light on the full spectrum of Georgian society from the richest to the poorest to the intriguing world of the "middling" classes.

Using dramatic reconstruction to breathe life into the personal stories of these characters, viewers will gain access to the dreams, hopes and fears of the Georgians. Amanda will provide a compelling account of their attitudes to love and sex as well as the burning issues of the day, such as privacy, consumption and security.

Amanda Vickery says: "Interior lives are endlessly fascinating to me. Historians are all natural voyeurs itching to know what really went on behind closed doors.

"You may think you know the Georgians from their mansions and town houses – so elegant, so stately, so calm, so empty – but my series recreates the vivid, messy, urgent reality. I am thrilled to unlock the secrets of the parlour, the dining room, the bedroom, and the closet for 91Èȱ¬ Two."

Pompeii and Behind Closed Doors (working title) will be broadcast later this year on 91Èȱ¬ Two.

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