This work is a collection of the most amazing, surprising, funny, unusual and gruesome – and short! – things that you REALLY need to know about ancient history. Relax – the experts at the British Museum have read all those heavy ancient history encyclopaedias for you, and sifted out all the short, good bits into one essential, easy-read book. You’ll never again be short of an interesting historical fact to stun your friends and impress your teachers. Did you know that the ancient Aztecs invented football (but they sacrificed the losing team to the gods)? How did they get the squishy bits out of the insides of mummies in ancient Egypt? Did you know that ancient Greek men did athletics in the nude (and didn’t let girls watch?) What were the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World? What’s the oldest human-made item ever found? What were the top ten biggest things that ancient people ever built – and the tiniest? How many Egyptian pharaohs were there? How many pyramids? Who liked to eat boiled ostrich? Did you know that the Romans’ favourite sauce wasn’t tomato ketchup, but rancid fish? Can you name the Twelve Olympian gods of ancient Greece? Can you list ten top facts about cats in ancient Egypt?