Join James and Alison for another fascinating episode of the Birmingham History Podcast.

Today they speak to Dr Mike Hodder, Honorary Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Birmingham. Mike worked as a planning archaeologist at Birmingham City Council for many years.

Mike discusses the fascinating prehistory and Roman period of Birmingham's History. This includes: -

- Learning about the forests that once covered the present day Curzon Street area of Birmingham

- The sophisticated peoples that lived in what we know to be Birmingham now.

- We learn about the barrow mound in Kingstanding and its link to King Charles I

- Burnt mounds and the important research done by Mike and colleagues in Birmingham. Were they prehistoric saunas?

- The Romans in Birmingham and the fort they built near present day Edgbaston. Which soldiers were stationed there?

How did the local population interact with the soldiers?

- The Roman roads in Birmingham and the well preserved section you can visit today in Sutton Park

Alison and James delve into the History of Birmingham. They explore different areas and answer a number of fascinating questions

- We look at the neolithic origins of Birmingham and the Saltley handaxe

- The roman fort and its links to Boudicca and the roman road you can walk on today.

- Who was Boerma? And where does the name Birmingham come from?

- Origins of Warwickshire and Birmingham as a borderland

- Medieval Birmingham:-

Who were the De Birmingham Family? and where was there manor house?

How the market made Birmingham the city it is today.

Religious life- guilds/church/ a priory and a martyr

Growth of industry- nailmakers and smiths

- What was the Midlands Enlightenment? How did it shape Birmingham

- How did Thomas Atwood overhaul the political landscape?

- Victorian Birmingham and what the Chamberlains did for Birmingham

- WW2 - what impact did it have on the city?

- Post WW2- boom and bust