Pieces of me

My life in seven objects, by historian Bettany Hughes

The historian Bettany Hughes

1 Works of Plato When I was younger, my best friend’s father, the Reverend Peter Watkins, had a big influence on me. He gave me these 18th-century-edition works of Plato when I was writing my book The Hemlock Cup.

2 Antique brooch My father, Peter [an actor whose credits include Evita], gave me this brooch when I got into the University of Oxford.

3 Map painting One of our friends, the journalist John Vidal, lived with us for years. Just before May was born he drew this map of the family. I think it’s so imaginative.

4 Lava When I was making my BBC Two documentary

Atlantis: The Evidence in 2010, I went to Santorini to visit the site of the 1615BC Thera volcanic eruption, and found this lava. It reminds me of the power of nature.

5 Bark I found this on my honeymoon in 1993, in a field in Portugal. It’s bark with a row of holes where corks have been punched out. These days so many wine bottles have plastic corks – this feels like an artefact. 6 Terracotta figurine This fertility idol, from the Indus Valley in ancient India, reminds me that though people write stupid things online about me and my cleavage, there was a time when breasts meant more than a comment on Twitter. 7 Photograph of trapeze artists My husband ran a circus in France called Archaos for seven years. This photo was taken in 1990 – we have pictures of his circus family all over our walls.

Bettany Hughes, 49, is a historian, writer and television presenter. She has made documentaries for Channel 4, the BBC and National Geographic. Her latest book, Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £25), is out now. She lives in west London with her husband, Adrian, and daughters, Sorrel, 20, and May, 16. Interview by Jessica Carpani. Photographs by Gabby Laurent People write stupid things online about my cleavage, but there was a time when breasts meant more than a tweet