0:00:02 > 0:00:03Britain has an epic history.
0:00:03 > 0:00:08But within it there's a wealth of untold secrets still to uncover.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10It's a really key find. Find of the week.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14So, every year, hundreds of archaeologists set out hunting for
0:00:14 > 0:00:19clues to solve the mystery of who we are and where we have come from.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22I've just found this amazing pendant.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Over the past year,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27their discoveries have been more exciting than ever.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29This series will explore the best of them...
0:00:29 > 0:00:32- I just found a coin. - Oh, marvellous.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36..brought to you from the field in a very special way.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40Each excavation has been filmed for us as it happened
0:00:40 > 0:00:43by the archaeologists themselves.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47It looks absolutely fantastic.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50I bet he had a bad day when he never brought these back.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54Their dig diaries mean that we can be there
0:00:54 > 0:00:58for every crucial moment of discovery.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01Oh, wow!
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Do we have a winner here?
0:01:03 > 0:01:05- I think it's stunning. - Incredible.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08Our archaeologists will be joining us here in our special lab to
0:01:08 > 0:01:10take a closer look at their finds
0:01:10 > 0:01:14and to figure out what they really mean.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16This is so exciting.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19Welcome to Digging For Britain.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33In this episode we are exploring the discoveries from the north
0:01:33 > 0:01:37of Britain that change what we know about this island's story.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40We scramble to uncover the earliest origins
0:01:40 > 0:01:42of Scotland's first kingdoms.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47We are there for the find of a lifetime
0:01:47 > 0:01:51that reveals the true extent of Viking power.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53And we have a winner here!
0:01:53 > 0:01:57And a new housing development reveals the mass graveyard
0:01:57 > 0:02:00of warriors whose people may have marched from Europe
0:02:00 > 0:02:02to settle in Yorkshire.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05It looks absolutely fantastic.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10'These discoveries are rewriting our history.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13'To find out how, archaeologist Matt Williams and I
0:02:13 > 0:02:16'have been given special access to Yorkshire Museum.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20'Its collection tells the story of the north
0:02:20 > 0:02:22'and the people who settled here.'
0:02:22 > 0:02:25The Gilling Sword.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29'And we're going behind-the-scenes to the back rooms that ordinary
0:02:29 > 0:02:32'visitors just don't get to see.'
0:02:32 > 0:02:35You could get lost in here for days.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43Star Carr is an archaeological site of world importance.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46Excavations began here in 1948
0:02:46 > 0:02:51and have revealed a Stone Age settlement 11,000 years old.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54The whole site covers five acres.
0:02:55 > 0:03:01Discoveries at Star Carr include the remains of Britain's oldest house,
0:03:01 > 0:03:05ancient tools and the earliest carpentry in Europe.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10Finds like these have shown how our Stone Age ancestors lived.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15'Digging For Britain first visited the site in 2011,
0:03:15 > 0:03:20'when I discovered that the team's work had become a race against time.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25'The soil at Star Carr was becoming acidic and destroying the evidence.'
0:03:25 > 0:03:28So that's antler from the original excavation site,
0:03:28 > 0:03:30so when would that been excavated?
0:03:30 > 0:03:33- 1950.- 1950.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38'This antler has been preserved in almost perfect condition
0:03:38 > 0:03:41'but the items being pulled from the ground 60 years later
0:03:41 > 0:03:43'have deteriorated drastically.'
0:03:43 > 0:03:45It's like a piece of rubber.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49It's basically because the water table has fallen dramatically.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51That's let oxygen into the deposits
0:03:51 > 0:03:54and that's created a chemical reaction.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58We've been told by our specialist it's a bit like car battery acid.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02It is shocking to see how the acid is attacking Star Carr
0:04:02 > 0:04:06and it shows just how urgent the work carried out
0:04:06 > 0:04:09by Nicky and her team really is.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12But now they are finally running out of time
0:04:12 > 0:04:16as six decades of research at Star Carr come to an end.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21They are hoping to solve one last mystery
0:04:21 > 0:04:24and reveal the true significance of this site
0:04:24 > 0:04:26to our Stone Age ancestors.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Was Star Carr just a settlement
0:04:30 > 0:04:34or do the clues show that it was something much more?
0:04:34 > 0:04:37This is their dig diary.
0:04:37 > 0:04:43From day one, it was clear that the soil had become even more acidic.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47It's actually very fragile. This is one of the problems that we have,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50and this bit is actually turning to jelly.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55The chances of finding any well-preserved artefacts seem slim.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Then, a couple of weeks in, the archaeologists dug another
0:05:00 > 0:05:05trench where, remarkably, the soil conditions were very different
0:05:05 > 0:05:08and the preservation outstanding.
0:05:08 > 0:05:13Just cleaning off this area behind me and it's incredibly exciting.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17Here we've got an absolutely jam-packed area of bone and flint
0:05:17 > 0:05:21and wood that we've not seen anywhere else on the site.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24In the rest of the trenches, we've had a real problem.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26We've had very acid conditions
0:05:26 > 0:05:28which has meant that the bone and antlers have disappeared.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32So this is a really amazing insight into what people were
0:05:32 > 0:05:34doing on the edge of the lake here.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37People are placing bone and antler and wood in this area.
0:05:39 > 0:05:44But why would people have been deliberately placing these materials
0:05:44 > 0:05:46here 11,000 years ago?
0:05:46 > 0:05:50A few days later, another remarkable discovery could be a clue.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55- It's a deer.- It is a deer, yeah.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59It's a cluster of deer skulls.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03It's a really amazing example.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07There are lots from this site, but this one is very robust.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11You can see the antlers here coming off the main skull
0:06:11 > 0:06:15and it's also in association with a couple of roe deer skulls,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17one here,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20and one here, so we're just cleaning it up some more and then we'll be
0:06:20 > 0:06:24lifting it very carefully and taking it to the conservation labs.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29This discovery is new evidence to support a growing theory that
0:06:29 > 0:06:33explains the wealth of deer skulls at Star Carr.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37These have been made into headdresses from red deer skulls
0:06:37 > 0:06:40and we think that they were possibly used by Shamans
0:06:40 > 0:06:44wearing them on their heads as part of ritual practices.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48It's just amazing to think 11,000 years ago someone might have
0:06:48 > 0:06:52had one of these on their heads.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54In the final few days,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57even more of these partial deer skulls are uncovered.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00But can they really be ritual headdresses?
0:07:00 > 0:07:04I'm in the vaults of York Museum to see the evidence for myself.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10- Can we open it up...- We can. - ..and have a look?
0:07:10 > 0:07:12It's like Christmas.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16So this is the latest one?
0:07:18 > 0:07:22So it is just the top of the skull essentially.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26- We've lost all of the nose and the upper jaw down here.- We have.
0:07:26 > 0:07:31So it is just this uppermost part with the antlers attached.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35And that's one of the first clues that tells us that this probably
0:07:35 > 0:07:38isn't just a piece of deer skull that's been found in the ground.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41It's been worked by human hands for a particular purpose.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43If this is a deer in its prime, a large deer, it would
0:07:43 > 0:07:46have very big antlers and they've been trimmed back
0:07:46 > 0:07:49and what that does is effectively makes this a lot lighter.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53An almost cap-type shape if you think of a hollowed out skull.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55It's almost a cap-type shape going on there.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58So one of the other features that we see and we certainly
0:07:58 > 0:08:01see on other frontlets that have been found are these piercings,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04these circular piercings that you see through the skull.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08Now these piercings could be for sinew or for cord to pass through.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10It suggests that this might be something
0:08:10 > 0:08:13that's been worked by human hands to be worn on the head.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16And it's really important, as well, that this isn't a unique object,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19that it's one of many that have been found at Star Carr.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23Just over 20 similar objects have been found at Star Carr,
0:08:23 > 0:08:27so this is not a one-off and they all seem to be treated
0:08:27 > 0:08:30in the same way, so perhaps it's a group of objects that are being
0:08:30 > 0:08:34used for very specific purpose and made in a very specific way.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39The archaeologists think it's likely that these skulls really
0:08:39 > 0:08:42were worn as ritual headdresses.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45Together with the wealth of votive offerings of antler and bone,
0:08:45 > 0:08:51the finds suggest that Star Carr was more than just a settlement.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55Back at the dig on day 40, the team makes another remarkable
0:08:55 > 0:08:57and exceptionally rare discovery
0:08:57 > 0:09:01which also hints at the ritual significance of Star Carr.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06We have actually just found this amazing pendant which
0:09:06 > 0:09:08actually has artwork on it.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11It's so rare to find something like this.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14There's only a few pieces of artwork from this country
0:09:14 > 0:09:16and very few from the whole of Europe.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18It's very classic Mesolithic.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21It has geometric lines on it.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25An 11,000-year-old pendant, piles of bone and antler.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29Nicky believes this could be evidence that Star Carr
0:09:29 > 0:09:31held sacred significance.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34And we are really beginning to think that these things weren't just lost.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37They were perhaps some kind of votive offerings
0:09:37 > 0:09:40that were placed in this particular spot.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44A piece of Mesolithic artwork is an extraordinary find
0:09:44 > 0:09:46anywhere in Europe.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50I can't wait to hear what this one can tell us about Star Carr.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57This is so exciting. When I heard that you had found this,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00I didn't quite believe it, Nicky, I must say.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03You must have been thrilled to find that on your site?
0:10:03 > 0:10:05The more we've looked at it and the more we've analysed it,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08the more excited we're getting about it because
0:10:08 > 0:10:12Mesolithic art is incredibly rare, particularly for this country,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15and so to find something like this is really spectacular.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18I can certainly see quite a bit of detail here but also you've
0:10:18 > 0:10:22got this enlarged image of it, which really brings it out, doesn't it?
0:10:22 > 0:10:26You've got these longer incised grooves on it
0:10:26 > 0:10:29but lots of little tiny grooves as well. An awful lot of detail here.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32One interpretation I quite like at the moment
0:10:32 > 0:10:33is that we might have a tree on here,
0:10:33 > 0:10:37so that's the trunk and these are the branches coming off it
0:10:37 > 0:10:43and I think I'm interested in that because again, for shamans,
0:10:43 > 0:10:46sometimes trees can be holy,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49they link different parts of the spirit world
0:10:49 > 0:10:53and so possibly there's something like that to it.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56The interpretation of pendants in Denmark,
0:10:56 > 0:11:00where they are usually made of amber, is they might be amulets
0:11:00 > 0:11:03and so they are protecting the person who wears them.
0:11:03 > 0:11:04So, over the six decade or so
0:11:04 > 0:11:07that excavations have been going on at Star Carr,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11what has that added to our knowledge of the Mesolithic in Britain?
0:11:11 > 0:11:13Because we've opened up such a large area,
0:11:13 > 0:11:16we have a much better understanding of how people were living there.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20We have houses, huts on the dry land.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23We have great big platforms made out of timber on the lake edge
0:11:23 > 0:11:26with all these bones and headdresses and so on around them.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30We think that this actually might be a special place in the landscape.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32The mouth of the lake.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34When people were coming upriver,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37it's the first place they come to as they reach the lake,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40so perhaps it's kind of like an entranceway
0:11:40 > 0:11:44where certain interesting ritual and activities are happening.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48The modified deer skulls votive offerings
0:11:48 > 0:11:53and now this exceptionally rare piece of Stone Age art provide us
0:11:53 > 0:11:58with extraordinary insights into life in Britain 11,000 years ago.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02The clues from Star Carr tell us
0:12:02 > 0:12:05not only about survival on a day-to-day basis,
0:12:05 > 0:12:07but allow us a precious glimpse
0:12:07 > 0:12:11into the spiritual and artistic aspects of Mesolithic life.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18Archaeology can be just as fascinating on a much smaller scale.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Our next dig diary is from the Black Loch of Myrton
0:12:21 > 0:12:22in southwest Scotland
0:12:22 > 0:12:25where excavations are taking us fireside for a glimpse
0:12:25 > 0:12:29into the domestic lives of our ancient ancestors.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32When archaeologists working in Dumfries & Galloway
0:12:32 > 0:12:36discovered the remains of an Iron Age lakeside village,
0:12:36 > 0:12:38it was a first for Scotland.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41Even better, the wetland environment had preserved
0:12:41 > 0:12:45the archaeology beautifully, giving the archaeologists
0:12:45 > 0:12:49insight into how ancient Britons lived 2,000 years ago.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52This year, they returned to the site looking for clues as to how
0:12:52 > 0:12:56Iron Age people designed and built their houses
0:12:56 > 0:12:59and they recorded their big discovery in their dig diary.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04When the village was first discovered,
0:13:04 > 0:13:07the team found evidence of seven houses.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11At least one of which was 2,500 years old.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15Now, Anne Crone is leading a full excavation of the site.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18She's hoping to discover how our Iron Age ancestors
0:13:18 > 0:13:22designed their homes inside and out.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31This is day two of our excavations at the Black Loch of Myrton.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34We are excavating what we think is a loch village
0:13:34 > 0:13:36of the mid-first millennium BC.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40We've excavated one structure a few years ago
0:13:40 > 0:13:43and this year we're exposing the second structure.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49The team have just three weeks to excavate this roundhouse and they
0:13:49 > 0:13:55begin by uncovering a vast fireplace right at the centre of the house.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57In the background, you can see the trench.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59We've completely de-turfed now
0:13:59 > 0:14:05and over here you can see the half mound at the centre of the house.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10Behind me we have big spreads of stone,
0:14:10 > 0:14:14which we think may be a wall circling the hearth.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19This huge hearth would have provided heat, light
0:14:19 > 0:14:22and somewhere to cook on a large scale.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25A real heart of the home.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28And, amazingly, the Iron Age people who lived here
0:14:28 > 0:14:31went in for another creature comfort,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34one still found in homes today.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36A type of carpet.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42In this area, we've not uncovered the wicker screens yet
0:14:42 > 0:14:44because lying over it,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48we've got very well-preserved compressed plant litter flooring.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51This is the sort of knobbly shiny surface
0:14:51 > 0:14:55that you can see all over this area here.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59And the family who lived here also liked their space.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01After a week and a half of digging,
0:15:01 > 0:15:05the team has only just reached the outside wall of the house.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12This looks like it's a very large piece of oak
0:15:12 > 0:15:16which has been dressed at the end.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20It's obviously been carefully shaped.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24The house was a full 13 metres in diameter.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28It's a huge structure to build on sodden marshland
0:15:28 > 0:15:32without it sinking into the mud.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36But, on the last day of the dig, and with the site flooding,
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Anne finds out how the Iron Age builders managed to do it.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44By building a giant raft.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47Morning. Tell me all about it.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49In the last few hours of the excavation
0:15:49 > 0:15:52we find this stupendous structure.
0:15:52 > 0:15:58It seems to be the substructure on which part of the house is based.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02And, as far as we can see, they are laying down very large
0:16:02 > 0:16:06non-oak logs in parallel
0:16:06 > 0:16:12and then putting large logs at right angles to those on top.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19This assembly of logs provided a sort of floating foundation
0:16:19 > 0:16:23to allow these Iron Age builders to construct their huge home
0:16:23 > 0:16:25in the middle of a marsh.
0:16:25 > 0:16:272,500 years later,
0:16:27 > 0:16:31it's remarkable to see how well their craftsmanship survives.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36They certainly put a huge amount of labour and effort
0:16:36 > 0:16:39and skill into building the foundations and the houses.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41What evidence do you have for the construction?
0:16:41 > 0:16:43We've been scanning and recording the tool marks
0:16:43 > 0:16:48because we very rarely find iron axes and so we are beginning
0:16:48 > 0:16:53to get a nice body of evidence as to size of axe that they're using.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56Here's the replica. Let's see.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59- So they fit just about in there, don't they?- Yeah.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03So this has been made specifically to fit those marks?
0:17:03 > 0:17:05Yeah, I mean, most of the tool marks that we are recording
0:17:05 > 0:17:08are between four and five centimetres wide.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15'It may seem a small tool for cutting down a large tree,
0:17:15 > 0:17:19'but the curved design of the shaft and a very sharp blade
0:17:19 > 0:17:21'made it highly effective,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24'offering an insight into Iron Age engineering know-how.
0:17:25 > 0:17:30'But other finds reveal more than just HOW this house was constructed.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33'They begin to hint at WHY it was built here.'
0:17:34 > 0:17:37So they are building, essentially, on a promontory
0:17:37 > 0:17:39going into marshland or a lake?
0:17:39 > 0:17:41A very strange place to choose your settlement.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43Why do you think they lived there?
0:17:43 > 0:17:46In the Iron Age, water was venerated.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49It seemed to have a very special significance for them.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52As you know, you get the deposition of metalwork and bodies
0:17:52 > 0:17:54and things like that.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58We think that maybe the houses are some way of bringing
0:17:58 > 0:18:02the sacred and profane together within a sort of domestic setting.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04And you've got some other artefacts as well here, Anne,
0:18:04 > 0:18:06so tell us about these.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10Well, the quartz pebbles, we found them scattered all over the house
0:18:10 > 0:18:13underneath the wickerwork floors.
0:18:13 > 0:18:14Sometimes in a little caches.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17What I've brought here is one of those little caches
0:18:17 > 0:18:20and they look as though they were little foundation deposits,
0:18:20 > 0:18:24little offerings before the subfloor was laid down.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28- So they are not just natural?- Oh, no, nothing on the site is natural.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31Everything has been brought on to the site.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33When we started finding these,
0:18:33 > 0:18:36you can imagine white shiny pebbles popping out of the dark peat,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38they are very, very obvious, yeah.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44Anne believes that these offerings may be tied up with why the Iron Age
0:18:44 > 0:18:48people chose to build this house in such a challenging location.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54There doesn't seem to be any pragmatic reason why you
0:18:54 > 0:18:58would live out of these little lochs.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01To exploit them you could easily do that from the shore.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04They are very small water bodies.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06You could walk around them,
0:19:06 > 0:19:11so why live out there unless there is some other intangible reason?
0:19:13 > 0:19:17It was a challenge to build on the wet marsh at Black Loch.
0:19:17 > 0:19:22But, for the Iron Age builders, it must've been worth it.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25The water of the lake may even have connected this tribe
0:19:25 > 0:19:27to their deities.
0:19:27 > 0:19:292,500 years later,
0:19:29 > 0:19:33this new archaeology connects us back to them...
0:19:34 > 0:19:37..and reveals that their domestic world
0:19:37 > 0:19:42was actually very like our own.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46Amazing discoveries like these are the work of dedicated professionals.
0:19:46 > 0:19:51But sometimes, we have to thank the devotion, enthusiasm
0:19:51 > 0:19:55and luck of a band of amateurs.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59Metal detectorists are a special breed, spending hours
0:19:59 > 0:20:03scouring the countryside and beaches looking for treasure.
0:20:03 > 0:20:08And, very, very occasionally they find some.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Now, a hoard of treasure buried in the ground
0:20:11 > 0:20:14away from human settlement or other signs of human activity
0:20:14 > 0:20:18on its own can only offer us limited information.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23But sometimes the objects themselves tell a story,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26as with this Viking hoard.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Dumfries in the west of Scotland,
0:20:30 > 0:20:34where a keen metal detectorist invested months of his own time
0:20:34 > 0:20:36researching one particular field.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43What Derek McLennan found was the discovery of his lifetime
0:20:43 > 0:20:48that reveals the wide connections of the Vikings.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52It's harvest time so there were bales of hay in the field
0:20:52 > 0:20:55and I began going up and down towards one particular bale
0:20:55 > 0:20:59and then I decided to change tack and moved to another bale.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01METAL DETECTOR BEEPS
0:21:01 > 0:21:03I got a signal which was very faint,
0:21:03 > 0:21:06but it sounded like iron and I thought,
0:21:06 > 0:21:12"Well, I've already dug 30 nails so one more nail won't harm me"
0:21:12 > 0:21:16and I put the spade into the ground and dug out the clod
0:21:16 > 0:21:20and noticed something glinting in the hole. Put my hand into it.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23It was quite deep, and when I pulled it out, I saw it was silver.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27I rubbed my thumb across it and instantly seen the saltire
0:21:27 > 0:21:31design which I knew from my research was a Viking symbol.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36Derek realised the importance of his find
0:21:36 > 0:21:39so he immediately called the local authorities.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42They sent an archaeologist to help with the excavation.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46What they uncovered together was truly astounding.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49A hoard of Viking arm rings and gold ingots.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52But there was more.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55Oh, wow!
0:21:57 > 0:22:00A large Christian cross.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02We have a winner here!
0:22:03 > 0:22:08Its stunning decorations revealed for the first time in 1,000 years.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14At that moment, my senses erupted
0:22:14 > 0:22:17and the excitement
0:22:17 > 0:22:20and joy of what I discovered really hit me.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23But there was even more treasure to come,
0:22:23 > 0:22:28including this beautiful pot still wrapped in protective fabric.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33The Viking hoard of the decade, I think.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39The Vikings were pagan invaders who came from Scandinavia
0:22:39 > 0:22:44to raid Britain and to set up their own kingdoms here in 793 AD.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53This find could reveal new insights into this turbulent
0:22:53 > 0:22:56chapter in British history.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01So it's been handed to a team from Historic Scotland for analysis.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03When they lifted the lid of the pot,
0:23:03 > 0:23:07even more treasure was packed inside.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11To find out what, the team turns to modern scanning technology.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13That's got quite a density.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Yeah, and then there's a layer of dense material
0:23:15 > 0:23:17right down at the bottom here.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20- You can see it's got a lattice on it.- Yeah.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24Let's see if we can look at some of the other objects.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27The scans reveal rings,
0:23:27 > 0:23:32brooches and other pieces of fine jewellery packed inside the pot.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36Excavating and conserving them has taken months.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39Now, almost a year after making his remarkable discovery,
0:23:39 > 0:23:44Derek has come to view the treasures for himself.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46It's hard to put into words.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50I'm absolutely stunned by the amount of artefacts
0:23:50 > 0:23:53that came out of the pot and textiles and everything
0:23:53 > 0:23:57being so carefully wrapped and packed.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00It shows that, even 1,200 years ago,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03these objects were very coveted
0:24:03 > 0:24:07and cared for.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11'This hoard is full of riches and mystery.
0:24:11 > 0:24:16'It brings the Viking world alive and shows that there was more
0:24:16 > 0:24:20'to these legendary warriors than just raiding.'
0:24:20 > 0:24:23Richard, I think the appropriate response is "Wow!"
0:24:23 > 0:24:25This is astonishing. What a beautiful collection.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28- It's pretty remarkable stuff, isn't it?- It is.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31It's wonderful to see it all laid out like this.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35'One particular treasure has been fashioned from a silver coin
0:24:35 > 0:24:39'which gives a clue to the date and origins of the hoard.'
0:24:39 > 0:24:42- There's the word Rex...- Yes.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45..and, if you come back around here, you can see start with
0:24:45 > 0:24:48C-O-E-N...
0:24:50 > 0:24:52..W-U-L F.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55- Coenwulf.- Coenwulf.- Rex.
0:24:56 > 0:25:01Coenwulf was the Viking king of Murcia in the Midlands.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05He ruled from 796-821 AD,
0:25:05 > 0:25:09leading experts to believe that this is when the hoard dates from.
0:25:09 > 0:25:14A period when Viking raids on Britain were intensifying.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18So do you think this is Viking plunder that's been gathered
0:25:18 > 0:25:19together and buried in the ground?
0:25:19 > 0:25:22You can't help but start to speculate that this is some
0:25:22 > 0:25:24form of Viking raiding booty.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28Why would someone who was a devout Christian bury
0:25:28 > 0:25:30things like that wonderful cross?
0:25:30 > 0:25:34- This cross is...- Well, yes. - ..gorgeous.- This is exceptional.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38The beautiful, wonderful simple form of the Celtic cross with what
0:25:38 > 0:25:41we think are the four apostles, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44- Isn't that wonderful? - Can you see the Saint's head?
0:25:44 > 0:25:46Yes, I can see the halo.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49That's straight out of The New Book of Kells Manuscript, isn't it?
0:25:49 > 0:25:53- It is. It's wonderful.- And the cross is straight out of the wonderful
0:25:53 > 0:25:55St John's Cross on Iona, for example. It's quite something.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01'This cross is typical of the treasures plundered by Vikings
0:26:01 > 0:26:04'from Christian monasteries across Britain and Europe.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08'But further clues in the hoard
0:26:08 > 0:26:12'show that the Vikings weren't only interested in raiding.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15'They were motivated by commerce as well.'
0:26:15 > 0:26:17This is beautiful, this pot.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21At the top are eight glass beads of various shapes and forms.
0:26:21 > 0:26:26Some of them held in clasps with metal or silver fixings.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29There seems to be a variety of objects
0:26:29 > 0:26:32and of different styles coming from different places,
0:26:32 > 0:26:36- coming from France, Anglo-Saxon styles and Viking styles.- Yes.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40What's this object in here, then, Richard?
0:26:40 > 0:26:42We think that what you see between the gold
0:26:42 > 0:26:45is a glass vessel of some description.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48Sitting within a very fine leather pouch,
0:26:48 > 0:26:51with this extraordinary sumptuous silk,
0:26:51 > 0:26:55Semite silk from the Far East, or Middle East, something very precious
0:26:55 > 0:26:59and special wrapped in something which was very, very exotic.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04Eastern treasures like this remind us that there was more to
0:27:04 > 0:27:06the Vikings than simple raiding.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08By the 11th century,
0:27:08 > 0:27:12the Vikings' vast trading network stretched across Europe,
0:27:12 > 0:27:15beyond Constantinople, all the way to Baghdad.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20They were a trading superpower
0:27:20 > 0:27:24which engaged with cultures right across the known world.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30But the Vikings weren't the first foreign power to colonise Britain.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39The Romans began their conquest centuries earlier in 43 AD.
0:27:40 > 0:27:45The story of Rome's 400-year rule is well known.
0:27:45 > 0:27:50But what happened here after the Roman Empire fell is still
0:27:50 > 0:27:52a mystery.
0:27:54 > 0:27:59The end of Roman rule in Britain saw us plunged into the Dark Ages -
0:27:59 > 0:28:03several obscure centuries for which there is little written record
0:28:03 > 0:28:06and, actually, finding archaeological evidence
0:28:06 > 0:28:09from this period of time is relatively rare.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13But a team of archaeologists is hoping to strike it lucky
0:28:13 > 0:28:18with a new dig at an abandoned Roman military fort near Lancaster.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24This is the famous Roman fort of Ribchester,
0:28:24 > 0:28:26where a team is digging for evidence to explain what
0:28:26 > 0:28:30happened in Britain after the Roman Empire fell,
0:28:30 > 0:28:34and to reveal if we really did slip into centuries of chaos,
0:28:34 > 0:28:36often thought of as the Dark Ages.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42They start by excavating the Roman road running through the fort
0:28:42 > 0:28:45and get their first intriguing clue.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53We've just cleaned off this Roman road surface
0:28:53 > 0:28:57and we've just discovered that it's been robbed.
0:28:57 > 0:28:58Really interesting.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02The road appears to have been dismantled after the Roman
0:29:02 > 0:29:06occupation, with the heaviest stones taken away.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11There's a really nice insight into the operations of the fort,
0:29:11 > 0:29:14pretty much after the Romans have left
0:29:14 > 0:29:18because they are destroying the infrastructure of it to build
0:29:18 > 0:29:21buildings and taking that material away somewhere else.
0:29:23 > 0:29:28So what were these Dark Age Britons building with this stone, and where?
0:29:28 > 0:29:30The team thinks they've found the first clues
0:29:30 > 0:29:32at the other end of the fort.
0:29:33 > 0:29:37The beginning of week three and we have large bits of tile
0:29:37 > 0:29:42and that more intense orange is the hearth
0:29:42 > 0:29:48and that orange burning element there suggests workshop activities
0:29:48 > 0:29:50taking place within that building.
0:29:52 > 0:29:57The burnt orange earth suggests that this was the site of a fire
0:29:57 > 0:30:01built after the Roman administration had collapsed.
0:30:01 > 0:30:05But this fire does seem to be on an industrial scale,
0:30:05 > 0:30:09making it possible evidence of manufacturing.
0:30:09 > 0:30:13And further excavation reveals what they may have been making.
0:30:17 > 0:30:18That's fantastic.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22That's a fantastic piece of evidence, a really nice thing there.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26That is really good evidence that manufacturing here involved glass.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30There's a little bit of a run off of glass,
0:30:30 > 0:30:33probably from recycling old vessels and stuff like that.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36It's a really key find. Finder of the week. Thank you very much.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42We sometimes think of Dark Age Britain as extremely backward,
0:30:42 > 0:30:46but with this glass and the signs of an industrial fire,
0:30:46 > 0:30:49this dig could be revealing something very different.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53Britons converting an old Roman fort into workshops.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58It's new evidence for an area of enterprise
0:30:58 > 0:31:02and further finds offer more clues to this new
0:31:02 > 0:31:04British post-Roman economy.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10- I've just found a coin. - Oh, marvellous.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14It's a tiny third or fourth century Roman coin.
0:31:14 > 0:31:15Marvellous. There we go.
0:31:17 > 0:31:19The team finds over 20 more coins,
0:31:19 > 0:31:22all from around the same workshop building.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30Now Duncan has brought these and his other finds into our lab.
0:31:30 > 0:31:31We're hoping that they can tell us
0:31:31 > 0:31:35how this fort was used after Roman rule collapsed
0:31:35 > 0:31:38and shine a light on the truth about Britain in the Dark Ages.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44OK, so we found 22 coins when we excavated there
0:31:44 > 0:31:47in those very, very top surfaces.
0:31:47 > 0:31:53So I think this is the very, very end of the Roman use of the fort.
0:31:53 > 0:31:54Can we look at some of these coins?
0:31:54 > 0:31:58I'll bring this over so that we can see them a bit more clearly.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01The head on that side is hardly visible, isn't it?
0:32:01 > 0:32:03- It's almost smooth. - Hardly visible, exactly.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07We are looking at a lot of wear and use that's going on as well.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10But this is a Roman coin. Who is the Emperor on that, then?
0:32:10 > 0:32:13Valentinian is the Emperor on that one.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16It's minted between 364 and 378.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20'But Duncan believes that these coins were deposited
0:32:20 > 0:32:23'perhaps two centuries later.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26'They are very heavily worn, suggesting that they may have
0:32:26 > 0:32:31'been used long after Roman rule in Britain ended in 410.'
0:32:31 > 0:32:34I think, given that we've got all that wear,
0:32:34 > 0:32:37these coins were probably in circulation for quite a long time.
0:32:37 > 0:32:44Certainly after you see the collapse of Roman administration, really.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48Coins and pottery are no longer created in the same volumes
0:32:48 > 0:32:50or at all as they were previously
0:32:50 > 0:32:55but the people who live in these forts, these Roman landscape places,
0:32:55 > 0:32:56would certainly remain there
0:32:56 > 0:33:00so they continue to use quite a lot of this material and culture.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03Certainly, I think we shouldn't be seeing this as
0:33:03 > 0:33:05an absolute cut-off point.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08We shouldn't be saying, "410 AD, the Romans left."
0:33:08 > 0:33:12What is happening is one continuous decline, or chance formation is
0:33:12 > 0:33:15a better way of thinking about it, into something completely different.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21Without military rule, post-Roman society in Britain would
0:33:21 > 0:33:23undoubtedly have been more dangerous.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26But this new evidence suggests that it may have been more
0:33:26 > 0:33:28sophisticated than we thought.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33So the person who dropped this coin here, for example -
0:33:33 > 0:33:35what was he doing in the fort?
0:33:35 > 0:33:37What we are seeing there is a whole series of different
0:33:37 > 0:33:40manufacturing activities, so we've got the glass that you can
0:33:40 > 0:33:43see there, the weights, the coins for trade and exchange.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45We think we've got tanning pits
0:33:45 > 0:33:47and think we've got evidence of iron-making as well.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50But wouldn't you expect those things to be present in a Roman fort
0:33:50 > 0:33:51- as well?- Not necessarily, no.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53By the time you get into the fourth century,
0:33:53 > 0:33:55it becomes quite a dangerous place to be.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59If you're moving large numbers of goods and valuable things across
0:33:59 > 0:34:01the north of Britain, you're probably going to be attacked.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04There's probably a lot of brigands around so I suspect,
0:34:04 > 0:34:07as we start to see the breakdown of that administration
0:34:07 > 0:34:11of the safety networks that exist, then you see that manufacturing to
0:34:11 > 0:34:14support the fort is starting to take place within it itself.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20These finds show that we are wrong to think of the Dark Ages
0:34:20 > 0:34:25as a period of utter chaos and decline in Britain.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28Archaeology suggests that this was, in fact,
0:34:28 > 0:34:30a new age of resourcefulness.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36When Britons began their own trades and industries,
0:34:36 > 0:34:39and built a new society.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47While England was being rebuilt after the Romans,
0:34:47 > 0:34:50in Scotland it was a different story.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53Here, the earliest line of Scottish kings was reaching
0:34:53 > 0:34:55the height of their power.
0:34:55 > 0:34:59But today the full story of these northern rulers remains
0:34:59 > 0:35:01shrouded in mystery.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05The Picts were the ancient people of Scotland, depicted by history
0:35:05 > 0:35:10as fearsome, painted warriors feared even by the Romans.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14While southern Britain fell to the armies from Rome,
0:35:14 > 0:35:18here in the North, the Picts were largely unconquered.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22They continued to rule across Scotland and into northern England
0:35:22 > 0:35:26right up until the 10th century but their story is little-known.
0:35:28 > 0:35:33Hard evidence of the Picts and their kingdom has been hard to find.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35Now, though, a team of archaeologists thinks
0:35:35 > 0:35:40they might just pinpointed the seat of Pictish power.
0:35:40 > 0:35:41Here is their dig diary.
0:35:42 > 0:35:46Some of the very few clues the Picts left behind
0:35:46 > 0:35:49are giant symbol stones.
0:35:49 > 0:35:53The most famous is the six-foot-tall terrifying-looking Rhynie Man.
0:35:54 > 0:35:58These stones seem to be linked with Pictish royalty.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01Archaeologist Gordon Noble has spent his entire career
0:36:01 > 0:36:03searching for evidence of the Picts
0:36:03 > 0:36:06and he's now digging at a site in the east of Scotland where
0:36:06 > 0:36:10some of their mysterious symbol stones have been found.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15He's hoping to unearth the seat of forgotten Pictish kings.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19Right, here we are at Dunnicaer.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22This is the site where, in the 19th century,
0:36:22 > 0:36:27six Pictish symbol stones were found on top of the sea stack here.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31Only a few people have visited the site in the 20th century
0:36:31 > 0:36:35and didn't really note much on top
0:36:35 > 0:36:39but already, yesterday was our first ascent,
0:36:39 > 0:36:42which was quite precarious and slightly scary.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44We found remains on top.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48It's a promising find.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50But to fully investigate it,
0:36:50 > 0:36:53they will have to make the dangerous climb all over again.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56The stack is 60 feet tall,
0:36:56 > 0:36:58surrounded by jagged rocks
0:36:58 > 0:37:00and the chilly north Atlantic.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04A strong defensive position for a Pictish warrior tribe
0:37:04 > 0:37:08but not the easiest commute for a team of archaeologists.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12However, if they have found a Pictish fort,
0:37:12 > 0:37:13it will all have been worth it.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17Right, so we're on top of the sea stack now,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20where the symbol stones were found.
0:37:20 > 0:37:24We are at the lower portion of what we think is the fortified site.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28Following the trail of the symbol stones pays off immediately.
0:37:28 > 0:37:33The very first trial trench reveals an area of flat stones,
0:37:33 > 0:37:35possibly a hearth.
0:37:35 > 0:37:41It looks like evidence of actual occupation activities
0:37:41 > 0:37:44actually on top of the promontory here, so that's quite exciting.
0:37:44 > 0:37:49Lots of charcoal with fragments of animal bone, so hopefully it's
0:37:49 > 0:37:53good evidence of how people were using the promontory in the past.
0:37:55 > 0:37:56It's a promising start
0:37:56 > 0:38:00and another trench provides evidence that this site may, in fact,
0:38:00 > 0:38:02have been a dwelling or even a fortress.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08OK, so we're in test pit five at the moment.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12We've just opened this up and we've found a series of post-holes.
0:38:12 > 0:38:18We've got one that's been fully excavated out
0:38:18 > 0:38:22and we've uncovered another four over here in a row.
0:38:22 > 0:38:27There's another possible one, half of one, sitting in the corner here,
0:38:27 > 0:38:31so this might be part of the building - we don't quite know yet -
0:38:31 > 0:38:33but we're taking samples from that one
0:38:33 > 0:38:36so we'll wait and see what we've got for the rest.
0:38:38 > 0:38:43A line of post-holes suggests a wooden wall.
0:38:43 > 0:38:44And, by day four,
0:38:44 > 0:38:48the team has uncovered hard evidence of a substantial fortification.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53So we've got some quite exciting results here.
0:38:53 > 0:38:58We've got remains of big slots here used for timber beams
0:38:58 > 0:39:02and this one here projects all the way from the edge of the cliff
0:39:02 > 0:39:07up to this feature here, which is a giant, very large post-hole,
0:39:07 > 0:39:13so it looks like we've got both upright timber elements
0:39:13 > 0:39:17and horizontal timber elements creating this big wall,
0:39:17 > 0:39:22enclosing the sea stack here.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24So that's quite exciting and great detail, really,
0:39:24 > 0:39:28on the construction methods for this rampart here.
0:39:30 > 0:39:33'The team have found compelling evidence that this was once
0:39:33 > 0:39:37'a fortified site but, to be sure that it belonged to the Picts,
0:39:37 > 0:39:41'they'll have to radiocarbon date their finds.'
0:39:41 > 0:39:44That rock stack looked really difficult to access.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48Presumably it would have been connected to the mainland by a more
0:39:48 > 0:39:50- significant causeway, perhaps? - We think so.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53We think it was probably a promontory in the Pictish period,
0:39:53 > 0:39:56which makes a lot of sense. You wouldn't want to build
0:39:56 > 0:39:59a fort on top of the stack today, certainly.
0:39:59 > 0:40:03The dating came back with some staggering results.
0:40:03 > 0:40:07This sea fort does date to the time of the Picts,
0:40:07 > 0:40:11but, incredibly, it's 200 years older than anyone expected.
0:40:11 > 0:40:16What's quite interesting, the dates for most Pictish forts
0:40:16 > 0:40:19fall into the fifth and sixth centuries AD,
0:40:19 > 0:40:24when they really seem to reach their height of construction and use,
0:40:24 > 0:40:28but this example here, we just got the radiocarbon dates back
0:40:28 > 0:40:31and it's actually third and fourth centuries AD,
0:40:31 > 0:40:34which is really interesting, so it's the earliest example we have so far.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39What's more, they think that this fort was just one of a string
0:40:39 > 0:40:44of coastal defences built by the Picts to defend their territory.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47We know that these defending closures were deeply
0:40:47 > 0:40:49implicated in kingship,
0:40:49 > 0:40:53so we perhaps have the first glimmers, really, of that process
0:40:53 > 0:40:57where we get the emergence of these early kingdoms in northern Britain.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00So if this is the emergence of early Pictish kingdoms,
0:41:00 > 0:41:03what's that growing out of?
0:41:03 > 0:41:07Smaller scale societies in the Iron Age, certainly,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10or certainly a shift towards more lineage-based models
0:41:10 > 0:41:14where we are getting certain individuals styling themselves as
0:41:14 > 0:41:20kings and really underlining their power by building these forts.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23So they are growing into bigger political units, effectively?
0:41:23 > 0:41:30Really, this period is the birth, or the first evidence for these,
0:41:30 > 0:41:33essentially what become the early Medieval states of northern Europe
0:41:33 > 0:41:36emerging, so it's a really, really important time period.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42The discovery of Britain's earliest Pictish fort is huge
0:41:42 > 0:41:46but it is not the seat of royal power Gordon was hoping for,
0:41:46 > 0:41:51so he's starting a new dig at Rhynie itself,
0:41:51 > 0:41:55whose place name comes from the Celtic word for "king".
0:41:56 > 0:41:59This was where Rhynie Man once stood
0:41:59 > 0:42:04and the site is still marked by other mysterious symbol stones.
0:42:07 > 0:42:12These symbol stones date to the fifth and sixth centuries AD
0:42:12 > 0:42:17and we have this contemporary complex of monuments
0:42:17 > 0:42:21enclosures around about the standing stone here.
0:42:21 > 0:42:25The standing stone here, the cross theme, which hopefully you can see,
0:42:25 > 0:42:30there's a salmon here and a Pictish beast, as well.
0:42:31 > 0:42:35Big, long legs here and the snout here
0:42:35 > 0:42:38and this little mane on the top here.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43The symbol stone marks the entrance to a huge circular enclosure.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48His hunch now is that the scale of this site shows it was far
0:42:48 > 0:42:51more significant than the fort at Dunnicaer.
0:42:54 > 0:43:00So I'm trying to uncover a bit more of this settlement this year,
0:43:00 > 0:43:05so we've dug this very large trench, about 40 metres by 35 metres,
0:43:05 > 0:43:10to uncover more elements of the enclosure complex.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15This new trench reveals the circular enclosure was defined by
0:43:15 > 0:43:20a deep outer ditch and a defensive timber wall or palisade.
0:43:26 > 0:43:28Day 12 at Rhynie.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30A lovely summer's day.
0:43:31 > 0:43:36So we're down here looking at the palisade
0:43:36 > 0:43:41and post setting, which defines the outer boundary of the fort here.
0:43:41 > 0:43:45So we're getting some really quite exciting architectural
0:43:45 > 0:43:49details out here, beginning to find evidence of actual planks
0:43:49 > 0:43:54and post settings here and then, just over to my right over here,
0:43:54 > 0:43:57there's a whole line of post-holes
0:43:57 > 0:44:00and these seem to respect this outer enclosure here,
0:44:00 > 0:44:05so we've got big, wooden plank-based wall on the outside
0:44:05 > 0:44:10and then big posts on the inside, perhaps creating a raised platform,
0:44:10 > 0:44:15a raised walkway around the edge of the fort around here.
0:44:20 > 0:44:25Gordon's team has found evidence of a huge fort.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28It would have been 60 metres in diameter...
0:44:31 > 0:44:34..and its defensive wall was complex.
0:44:35 > 0:44:39The team has found the remains of a second wall outside the first.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45It begins to look like Gordon's hunch has paid off.
0:44:45 > 0:44:49His team may have discovered a royal stronghold worthy of the first
0:44:49 > 0:44:51kings of Scotland.
0:44:51 > 0:44:55The reason this big wooden wall is important is
0:44:55 > 0:44:59because we know that in this period Pictish kings are closely
0:44:59 > 0:45:02tied to these fortified sites and that seems to be
0:45:02 > 0:45:07one of the underpinnings of their rulership and we have had
0:45:07 > 0:45:10very few excavations of this scale to actually reveal this
0:45:10 > 0:45:13important architectural detail and, really,
0:45:13 > 0:45:17the scale of the outer enclosure is really quite staggering at this
0:45:17 > 0:45:21relatively early phase in the fifth and sixth centuries AD.
0:45:23 > 0:45:28The Pictish kings are Britain's most mysterious rulers
0:45:28 > 0:45:31and now, Gordon's team has pushed back
0:45:31 > 0:45:35the date of the rise of their power and discovered what may have been
0:45:35 > 0:45:38one of their primary strongholds-
0:45:38 > 0:45:41but, incredibly, that's not all.
0:45:41 > 0:45:45Gordon has also discovered evidence here to show how the Pictish kings
0:45:45 > 0:45:49lived and he's brought it back to our lab.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52So who actually lived at a palace like this? A king?
0:45:52 > 0:45:56What kind of area would he have covered? Was his family there?
0:45:56 > 0:45:58Would there have been army there?
0:45:58 > 0:46:00First of all, I'm not sure I'd call it a palace.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03- I would call it a kind of royal complex, really.- OK.
0:46:03 > 0:46:05It's clearly, perhaps,
0:46:05 > 0:46:08at certain times of the year, people lived there.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10We have buildings inside.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13But, at the same time, we don't have any evidence for any actual
0:46:13 > 0:46:17grinding of grain or some of the more everyday tasks.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20I think this is more likely a place where kings are coming
0:46:20 > 0:46:24at certain times of year and entertaining his followers.
0:46:26 > 0:46:29Some of the finds revealed that this entertaining was
0:46:29 > 0:46:33done in a lavish style using imported luxuries.
0:46:35 > 0:46:37So these things don't look like much.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40They look like bits of toffee or something.
0:46:40 > 0:46:44But this is incredibly rare pottery in Britain
0:46:44 > 0:46:46and Ireland in this time period.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48Where's it actually from?
0:46:48 > 0:46:51We don't know exactly, but somewhere in the eastern Mediterranean
0:46:51 > 0:46:55and these would have been big storage amphora
0:46:55 > 0:46:59of the sixth century AD or late fifth century.
0:46:59 > 0:47:05They're probably for storing wine or some other exotic foodstuff.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08Do you think by the time they got to Scotland they still had wine in?
0:47:08 > 0:47:12I hope so. I can't imagine why else they would come so far.
0:47:12 > 0:47:18These are the northernmost examples found in Britain and Ireland so far
0:47:18 > 0:47:21and they are coming really far inland.
0:47:21 > 0:47:23So the Pictish kings of Rhynie are getting
0:47:23 > 0:47:26a bit of a taste for the luxuries of the Mediterranean?
0:47:26 > 0:47:27That's right, yes.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29It's amazing to think, really,
0:47:29 > 0:47:33that Pictish high-status people were sitting in Rhynie drinking
0:47:33 > 0:47:36Mediterranean wine in the sixth century.
0:47:36 > 0:47:38It's quite a fantastic image, really, isn't it?
0:47:39 > 0:47:43There was more going on at Rhynie than just fine dining.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47The team also found signs of a ritual offering of cattle bones
0:47:47 > 0:47:51and teeth buried in a pit right underneath the spot where
0:47:51 > 0:47:55Gordon believes Rhynie Man himself once stood.
0:47:55 > 0:47:59It's another clue to the ritual significance of the fort.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05It's not the most defensible location.
0:48:05 > 0:48:10Most forts in this time period are on promontories or on hills,
0:48:10 > 0:48:14so this is a more lowland location and what we think we've got here
0:48:14 > 0:48:17is... It's using the language of defence, but, actually,
0:48:17 > 0:48:19there's perhaps more going on here,
0:48:19 > 0:48:23so the Rhynie Man, for example, carries this axe
0:48:23 > 0:48:27and it's thought to be a sacrificial axe for poleaxing cattle,
0:48:27 > 0:48:30so we think there's probably cult dimensions to the site
0:48:30 > 0:48:34as well as being perhaps a residence at certain times of the year.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41The team is delving into the mysteries of the Picts and they've
0:48:41 > 0:48:45revealed what appears to have been a very early royal site,
0:48:45 > 0:48:50two centuries older than anyone expected to find.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53Here, perhaps, was the seat of Pictish power,
0:48:53 > 0:48:56a royal court with luxuries from the Mediterranean.
0:48:56 > 0:49:01For Gordon, it is a satisfying conclusion to his year-long search
0:49:01 > 0:49:03for the Picts.
0:49:08 > 0:49:09In archaeology,
0:49:09 > 0:49:16some fantastic discoveries come only after years of painstaking research.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19Others are made by chance and often against the clock.
0:49:21 > 0:49:24Before any major construction project gets under way,
0:49:24 > 0:49:28the developers must first call in the archaeologists to survey
0:49:28 > 0:49:33the site and to save any archaeology it might contain.
0:49:33 > 0:49:36Commercial digs like this often turn up surprising
0:49:36 > 0:49:40and exciting finds as our next dig diary shows,
0:49:40 > 0:49:43when archaeologists uncovered evidence of one of the most
0:49:43 > 0:49:46intriguing Iron Age cultures in Britain.
0:49:50 > 0:49:54November 2014, in a small Yorkshire village,
0:49:54 > 0:49:57and a team is beginning a dig to rescue
0:49:57 > 0:50:00the archaeology from a site where a housing estate is planned.
0:50:02 > 0:50:04Time is tight.
0:50:04 > 0:50:09The excavation needs to be completed so construction can get under way.
0:50:09 > 0:50:10But, within days,
0:50:10 > 0:50:13it's clear there's more to this site than anyone had predicted...
0:50:14 > 0:50:17..when the archaeologists begin to unearth an array
0:50:17 > 0:50:21of 2,000-year-old burial mounds, known as barrows.
0:50:23 > 0:50:25Right, it's John's.
0:50:25 > 0:50:27Very exciting. Three barrows now.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33John, would you mind coming to describe your burial, please?
0:50:33 > 0:50:39We've got a crouch burial lying on its left side, facing east,
0:50:39 > 0:50:40with the head to the north.
0:50:40 > 0:50:43So you've still got quite a lot to do?
0:50:43 > 0:50:48Well, that's six burials in this one barrow alone.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52There's two that are just north.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55There's one definite grave in there
0:50:55 > 0:51:00and then some black patches that are still to be explored.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02- Tons to do.- Brilliant.
0:51:04 > 0:51:07More and more graves are unearthed,
0:51:07 > 0:51:10until it's clear that the site for the new housing estate is
0:51:10 > 0:51:13actually a large Iron Age cemetery.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18And it's such an incredibly rare find,
0:51:18 > 0:51:21the developers agree to give the archaeologists more time.
0:51:23 > 0:51:27We're going to start stripping this area this afternoon,
0:51:27 > 0:51:30which we hope to see an extension to the square barrow cemetery.
0:51:30 > 0:51:32Obviously, there's great anticipation
0:51:32 > 0:51:35because we still have no idea what's under here.
0:51:35 > 0:51:40As burial after burial is revealed, the team realise that, until now,
0:51:40 > 0:51:44their excavations only scratch the surface of this extraordinary site.
0:51:46 > 0:51:48Oh, looking good.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52Extremely good.
0:51:52 > 0:51:58For months, the team works against the clock until, by day 149,
0:51:58 > 0:52:01they have revealed a staggering 38 square barrows.
0:52:04 > 0:52:09Within the cemetery, we have all shapes and sizes of square barrows.
0:52:09 > 0:52:11This one's a classic representation,
0:52:11 > 0:52:14eight metres by six metres with a central grave.
0:52:14 > 0:52:18We've got a much smaller one here but still with a central grave.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23Barrow graves like these are usually associated with high status
0:52:23 > 0:52:26individuals like this man,
0:52:26 > 0:52:29who has been carefully laid out with his shield.
0:52:33 > 0:52:37It looks absolutely fantastic.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42If we are right in saying that this is a shield,
0:52:42 > 0:52:45- then that's pretty special.- Yep.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48It's one for Pete to tick off his list.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51THEY LAUGH
0:52:53 > 0:52:57We came here eight months ago anticipating a couple of square
0:52:57 > 0:53:02barrows but, in fact, we've got an Iron Age square barrow cemetery.
0:53:02 > 0:53:05We've excavated over 60 barrows
0:53:05 > 0:53:07and 101 skeletons to date.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11This vast cemetery was a chance find,
0:53:11 > 0:53:14made because of a housing development.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17But who were the mysterious Iron Age tribe buried here?
0:53:17 > 0:53:20Only now can the analysis begin,
0:53:20 > 0:53:26with the skeleton of a 25-year-old man buried with an array of weapons.
0:53:29 > 0:53:30He dates to the Iron Age.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33He's obviously significant within his community.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36It's highly likely that he was a warrior.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39That he was afforded more ritual than the other
0:53:39 > 0:53:41burials that we are seeing.
0:53:41 > 0:53:44He is a significant member of his community.
0:53:44 > 0:53:48- And is this the only sword you've got on site?- Yes.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51This is the only example.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55We've got other objects that have been found within the barrows,
0:53:55 > 0:53:57but that's the only sword that we've got.
0:53:57 > 0:54:02We've got an iron blade with a scabbard still adhering to it,
0:54:02 > 0:54:05made of timber, and then the horn handle.
0:54:05 > 0:54:09- Are these little bits of bronze as well?- Yes.- Here and here?
0:54:09 > 0:54:11So quite decorative at the top, then?
0:54:11 > 0:54:14It would have been really decorative, yes.
0:54:14 > 0:54:18'The fine craftsmanship hints at a sword that once belonged to someone
0:54:18 > 0:54:22'of high status and the spearheads found beside the body offer
0:54:22 > 0:54:27'further insight into the burial afforded to this high-ranking man.'
0:54:29 > 0:54:33Along with the sword, the person had been buried with several spears
0:54:33 > 0:54:38that you can see around his body and they haven't been placed.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41They are just randomly positioned within the grave.
0:54:41 > 0:54:44Do you imagine people throwing them into the grave, then?
0:54:44 > 0:54:47That's what we thought, as part of his ritual -
0:54:47 > 0:54:49that they stood at the top of the grave
0:54:49 > 0:54:52and they were placing these spears within the grave.
0:54:53 > 0:54:58This cemetery is in Yorkshire but the style of the burials,
0:54:58 > 0:54:59the contents of the graves
0:54:59 > 0:55:04and the design of this sword are distinctly continental.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08It's a mysterious phenomenon known as Arras culture
0:55:08 > 0:55:12and unique in Britain to East Yorkshire.
0:55:12 > 0:55:17York Museum holds an extraordinary collection of Arras treasures,
0:55:17 > 0:55:20showing cultural connections with France.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23And they reveal that these Iron Age people venerated
0:55:23 > 0:55:28not just their warrior men but, more remarkably, their women.
0:55:29 > 0:55:31These beads are utterly astonishing. They're beautiful.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34They're one of my favourites objects in these cemeteries
0:55:34 > 0:55:36and the wonderful thing about this necklace,
0:55:36 > 0:55:40which was found in a fairly elderly woman's barrow, we think,
0:55:40 > 0:55:43is that it's composed of lots of different types of beads.
0:55:43 > 0:55:45These are eye beads and, cross-culturally,
0:55:45 > 0:55:48we know that's quite a powerful symbol to ward off evil.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51But these beads come from a different necklace.
0:55:51 > 0:55:53These are wave beads, again from another necklace.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56These eye beads have been made in a different way to these ones.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59Do these perhaps suggest that they weren't all made at the same time
0:55:59 > 0:56:01specifically to make this necklace?
0:56:01 > 0:56:03No, I think they've come from a range of different necklaces
0:56:03 > 0:56:06and perhaps, as a woman, as you enter your more senior
0:56:06 > 0:56:09years of life, you inherit these beads through mothers
0:56:09 > 0:56:12and grandmothers, perhaps as you come through the major
0:56:12 > 0:56:16rites of passage like childbirth and survive it, which not all women did.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19And this is something that you wear as a senior female figure
0:56:19 > 0:56:22in that community that speaks of those connections
0:56:22 > 0:56:24with your maternal forebears,
0:56:24 > 0:56:28so I think that's an extraordinary object which speaks of a biography
0:56:28 > 0:56:30of your connections and the families of which you are a part.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33And how does the Arras culture specifically fit within
0:56:33 > 0:56:36what's going on around it?
0:56:36 > 0:56:39Does it fit within the rest of the Iron Age culture in the area?
0:56:39 > 0:56:43It's peculiar because there are very few other people who formally
0:56:43 > 0:56:46bury their dead this time, so the phenomenon of
0:56:46 > 0:56:49the square barrow cemeteries is really quite unique.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51It has connections with the continent.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54That's where you might expect to see that kind of barrow
0:56:54 > 0:56:57and so it's possible that that idea has been brought
0:56:57 > 0:56:59over by somebody important or powerful
0:56:59 > 0:57:01so, for all intents and purposes,
0:57:01 > 0:57:06our locals are at least first or second generation incomers.
0:57:11 > 0:57:18The discovery of the Arras cemetery was unexpected and extraordinary.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21It offers us tantalising evidence of our links to
0:57:21 > 0:57:24the continent in the Iron Age.
0:57:24 > 0:57:28And to a possible mysterious tribe of ancient immigrants who
0:57:28 > 0:57:33came from Europe to settle in the heart of Yorkshire 2,000 years ago.
0:57:38 > 0:57:41From Black Loch to Star Carr,
0:57:41 > 0:57:45archaeology can reveal how our ancestors lived
0:57:45 > 0:57:47and what they thought
0:57:47 > 0:57:50while, from Scottish kings who built a new kingdom
0:57:50 > 0:57:54to Dark Age Britons who built a new way of life,
0:57:54 > 0:57:59it can illuminate worlds we never thought we could know
0:57:59 > 0:58:03to reveal the ancient people with new ideas
0:58:03 > 0:58:07who laid the foundations for our modern Britain.