About this episode

The episode explores the evidence surrounding child sacrifice in ancient religions with expert Dr Eve MacDonald.

We have all heard rumours that ancient religions used children in ritual sacrifice. But did it really happen? To discuss the evidence, Helen and Lloyd are joined in the Time Machine by Dr Eve MacDonald, lecturer at Cardiff University and author of the acclaimed, Carthage: A New History of an Ancient Empire (Penguin, 2025). Dr MacDonald answers questions like: Did human sacrifice really occur in the ancient world, and what does the archaeological evidence actually show?What happene...

People in this episode

Hosts: Helen Bond, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

Guest: Dr Eve MacDonald

Topics covered

• child sacrifice
• ancient religion
• archaeological evidence
• human sacrifice
• Carthage

Keywords

• child sacrifice
• ancient religions
• ritual sacrifice
• archaeological evidence
• human sacrifice

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cardiff University, Penguin

Books & works: Carthage: A New History of an Ancient Empire

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