[2] It was produced by Michele Buck and Damien Timmer of Mammoth Screen Ltd and co-produced with Monastic Productions.

[3] Adrian Lester has described the programme as "CSI meets Indiana Jones [...] There's an element of the crime procedural show, there's science, conspiracy theories—and there's a big underlying mystery that goes through the whole six-episode series.

The Guardian's Gareth McLean described the show as "mind-bogglingly dreadful", with "lame characters delivering abysmal lines",[13] David Chater of The Times thought it "rubbish",[14] and The Independent's Thomas Sutcliffe found it laughable and full of absurdities, while also observing that "Professor Magwilde's approach to archaeology is unconventional.

'"[15] In BBC Two's Newsnight Review, the author Kate Mosse asserted it would be "great for teenagers", while the academic and critic Sarah Churchwell said the "execution [was] appalling" and that it was "beyond silly"; John Mullan likewise criticised the show's absurdities, saying that "Hokum has to have its own logic".

[19] In line with the broadly negative reviews, the reception amongst the academic community was mixed, with different complaints around technical accuracy.