Warrior

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0:00:48 > 0:00:53On a Suffolk air force base, where fighter planes scream overhead,

0:00:53 > 0:00:58an ancient warrior has been found, but he wasn't alone.

0:01:03 > 0:01:07For some weeks, a group of archaeologists

0:01:07 > 0:01:12have been digging behind the fences. They've found something spectacular,

0:01:12 > 0:01:15and decided to let us in on the secret.

0:01:15 > 0:01:19The excavation is happening at the US air force base at Lakenheath.

0:01:22 > 0:01:24Security here is very tight.

0:01:24 > 0:01:29I've never been given a military escort to a dig before,

0:01:29 > 0:01:33but eventually, I was handed over to archaeologist Jo Carruth.

0:01:33 > 0:01:38- Hi, Jo!- Hi!- Jo, I want you to meet Julian Richards.- Hello!- Hello!

0:01:38 > 0:01:45- Jo Carruth is the archaeologist in charge of the site. She'll show you everything.- Let's go!

0:01:48 > 0:01:52Under a field where new dormitories will be built,

0:01:52 > 0:01:57the Suffolk archaeological unit have discovered over 160 graves.

0:01:57 > 0:02:00Jo wanted to show me one of them.

0:02:00 > 0:02:04As you can see, we've got a warrior and his horse.

0:02:04 > 0:02:07The man's on this side,

0:02:07 > 0:02:10and he's buried in a coffin with a spear

0:02:10 > 0:02:15and a shield - the shield boss is the lump of metal on his chest.

0:02:15 > 0:02:19The shield would have been wooden, but it's rotted away.

0:02:19 > 0:02:24- Down here, you can see his sword. - Enormous!- It has an iron blade.

0:02:24 > 0:02:26That's a warrior, isn't it?

0:02:26 > 0:02:32Someone who has a sword, a spear, a shield and a horse - there's no question!

0:02:32 > 0:02:34That's it, yeah.

0:02:34 > 0:02:39The man and horse were buried in Saxon times over 1,300 years ago -

0:02:39 > 0:02:43the horse sacrificed to accompany him to the afterlife.

0:02:43 > 0:02:49Green stains on the horse's skull mark where bronze bridle fittings were.

0:02:49 > 0:02:54They were removed for conservation. Jo hopes that more lie beneath it.

0:02:54 > 0:02:59In other horse burials we've seen, the harness wasn't in position.

0:02:59 > 0:03:04We knew they wore harnesses but didn't know how they fitted them -

0:03:04 > 0:03:08with the leather gone, only metal pieces remained.

0:03:08 > 0:03:14Now we'll know how those pieces fit in relation to each other, so it's exciting!

0:03:14 > 0:03:18- It couldn't be better! - It's the best thing!

0:03:20 > 0:03:26The air base is like a small American town where over 10,000 people live and work.

0:03:26 > 0:03:31The discovery of the Anglo-Saxon cemetery caused quite a stir.

0:03:31 > 0:03:36- This is very exciting!- It's gripped everyone on the base, hasn't it?

0:03:36 > 0:03:42Yes. Who'd have thought that in our own back yard, this site of warriors

0:03:42 > 0:03:46was also the site of ancient warriors? Incredible.

0:03:46 > 0:03:50Archaeologists need to assess the state of the bones and artefacts

0:03:50 > 0:03:53to decide how best to remove them.

0:03:55 > 0:04:00A closer look at the corroded sword, placed at the warrior's side,

0:04:00 > 0:04:03shows it's fused to his arm bone.

0:04:03 > 0:04:08The finds are so important that the British Museum has sent specialists.

0:04:11 > 0:04:16To ensure that vital evidence is not lost when the sword is lifted,

0:04:16 > 0:04:21it's first wrapped in foil and then encased in sheets of flexible resin,

0:04:21 > 0:04:26which hardens in daylight, giving off toxic fumes in the process.

0:04:34 > 0:04:39The same method is used to lift the horse's skull and soil underneath.

0:04:39 > 0:04:43Only back in the British Museum laboratory,

0:04:43 > 0:04:47will they find if there are more of the delicate harness fittings.

0:04:53 > 0:04:58All the bones in the grave are in remarkable condition.

0:04:58 > 0:05:00Even the warrior's ribs

0:05:00 > 0:05:06and the fragile bones of his spine could be removed intact.

0:05:12 > 0:05:17Finally, with great care, the skull is lifted

0:05:17 > 0:05:21and we see the first clues to the face of our ancestor.

0:05:25 > 0:05:28You can tell he's done it before!

0:05:32 > 0:05:39The warrior's grave was the largest in the cemetery and would have been marked by a low earth mound.

0:05:39 > 0:05:42But around it, are smaller graves.

0:05:42 > 0:05:46We've got a cluster of child graves all around the horse burial.

0:05:46 > 0:05:52'The graves cut into chalk contained well-preserved skeletons.

0:05:52 > 0:05:58'But in the more acidic sand, often only faint outlines of the bones could be made out.'

0:05:58 > 0:06:00..the ribs coming across.

0:06:00 > 0:06:04And a bit of upper leg here...

0:06:04 > 0:06:06'But some contained unusual finds.'

0:06:06 > 0:06:09- Isn't that a spear?- It is.

0:06:09 > 0:06:12And that's a knife, as well.

0:06:12 > 0:06:16This is the third child grave we've had with weapons.

0:06:16 > 0:06:21It's a bit bizarre really. I don't know what it means.

0:06:21 > 0:06:25That child can't be more than three, maybe four.

0:06:25 > 0:06:27- Yes.- It seems so incongruous -

0:06:27 > 0:06:32a little grave and these great big grown-up weapons in it.

0:06:39 > 0:06:45Until today, my impression of the man in the grave with the horse and weapons

0:06:45 > 0:06:48was of somebody who was a warrior.

0:06:48 > 0:06:55But finding his grave surrounded by graves of little children has softened the way I think about him.

0:06:55 > 0:07:01He might have looked after the children in death, as presumably he did in life.

0:07:01 > 0:07:04He was their protector.

0:07:04 > 0:07:07The pathologist's report told us

0:07:07 > 0:07:12that the warrior was a robust man of 5' 10" and in his early 30s.

0:07:12 > 0:07:17But there are no clues, no signs of illness or injury,

0:07:17 > 0:07:19to suggest how or why he died.

0:07:19 > 0:07:25His death remains a mystery, but I wanted to know what he looked like.

0:07:27 > 0:07:30- A small box.- It's a small box

0:07:30 > 0:07:33but it's a fairly large skull...

0:07:33 > 0:07:38'I took the skull to University College, London,

0:07:38 > 0:07:42'where Robin Richards will reconstruct the warrior's face.

0:07:45 > 0:07:52'A laser beam scans the skull, providing data for a computer to produce an accurate 3D image.

0:07:52 > 0:07:58'Robin plots points to show where skin and tissue depths are known

0:07:58 > 0:08:03'and wraps an average face around the skull.'

0:08:03 > 0:08:09- Can we see what the average face looks like?- Where I'm starting from, it looks like that.

0:08:10 > 0:08:14- Same sort of age, same sex.- Yes.

0:08:14 > 0:08:19So what happens when you put that face over a Saxon skull?

0:08:19 > 0:08:25We get a face that looks like...this.

0:08:25 > 0:08:28The jaw has squared up.

0:08:28 > 0:08:32One thing puzzles me. Can you go back to the skull?

0:08:32 > 0:08:37I had the impression that the skull had quite a point to the chin.

0:08:38 > 0:08:41Let's go back to the face now.

0:08:41 > 0:08:44Is it that square across the front?

0:08:44 > 0:08:49No, it's not. You're right, that point to the chin is there.

0:08:51 > 0:08:56In her studio, archaeological illustrator Jane Brayne

0:08:56 > 0:09:00works on the warrior's portrait.

0:09:00 > 0:09:04The warrior didn't reveal much, but the horse was a different story.

0:09:06 > 0:09:11In Bury St Edmunds, I met animal bone specialist Terry O'Connor.

0:09:11 > 0:09:16'The horse's head was still being excavated at the British Museum,

0:09:16 > 0:09:20'but there was still plenty to find out.'

0:09:20 > 0:09:23For a Saxon horse, this is large

0:09:23 > 0:09:28but compared with modern horses, it's a big pony. About 14 hands.

0:09:28 > 0:09:34Looking at the state of maturity of the skeleton, it's just reached skeletal maturity.

0:09:34 > 0:09:39It appears to be a male horse, so that puts it about five years old

0:09:39 > 0:09:42give or take a year.

0:09:42 > 0:09:49- It's not some old nag that was killed put in the grave?- No, it's a fine animal, in its prime.

0:09:49 > 0:09:54Though there is some evidence of injury and some bone pathology.

0:09:54 > 0:09:57There's one bit on this radius.

0:09:57 > 0:10:01If we rather delicately lift it off.

0:10:01 > 0:10:05Down here at the wrist end of the bone

0:10:05 > 0:10:10there's a raised area of roughened, rather spongy-looking bone.

0:10:10 > 0:10:15Extra bone where there shouldn't be any is a bit of an enigma

0:10:15 > 0:10:20because a lot of things can cause the skeleton to sprout extra bone.

0:10:20 > 0:10:27The most likely bet, given the condition of that new bone, and given its position,

0:10:27 > 0:10:33is that this horse has had a deep bruise, up on the forefoot - a vulnerable area.

0:10:33 > 0:10:40If bruising like that causes bleeding between the surface of the bone and the thin layer of tissue,

0:10:40 > 0:10:42the blood clot can ossify.

0:10:42 > 0:10:49The skeleton reacts to having the blood clot and turns to bone. I think that's what we've got.

0:10:49 > 0:10:54It doesn't seem to have affected the joint itself.

0:10:54 > 0:10:58- It wouldn't make the horse lame? - Probably not.

0:10:58 > 0:11:01But the pathology on the back feet may have.

0:11:05 > 0:11:10Let's look at the first and second bones of the toe.

0:11:10 > 0:11:14In this case, they're normal with a smooth, even joint surface.

0:11:14 > 0:11:18There's no extra bone or lipping of the joint.

0:11:18 > 0:11:26If we compare that with this foot, the difference is fairly startling.

0:11:26 > 0:11:30It's in a dreadful state.

0:11:30 > 0:11:35It's crumbly and there's new bone formation making something of a lip.

0:11:35 > 0:11:40And the joint surface itself is rather sort of scooped out.

0:11:40 > 0:11:44In places, it's breaking down altogether.

0:11:44 > 0:11:47There's uneven pitting

0:11:47 > 0:11:53which in fact matches nicely across the two sides of the joint.

0:11:53 > 0:11:56That's very nice, but not for the horse.

0:11:56 > 0:12:00We would loosely describe that as arthritis.

0:12:00 > 0:12:03- Would this have made the horse lame? - Yes, that joint

0:12:03 > 0:12:06would not have been moving properly.

0:12:06 > 0:12:14The abrasion shows it is still moving but the new bone formation shows it wasn't moving normally.

0:12:14 > 0:12:19In the live animal, it would look expanded and uncomfortable

0:12:19 > 0:12:22and it probably limped on that foot.

0:12:24 > 0:12:29For Jane to do a really accurate reconstruction, we need two things.

0:12:29 > 0:12:31The first is a horse.

0:12:31 > 0:12:34Thank you.

0:12:34 > 0:12:38Meet Jim - he's just the right type and height.

0:12:38 > 0:12:43We also need the warrior. And guess who's the same height as he is?

0:12:43 > 0:12:46Hello. Do you want to be a Saxon horse?

0:12:46 > 0:12:49OK, here we go.

0:12:52 > 0:12:56- Meet Jim.- He's lovely!

0:12:56 > 0:12:59He's exactly the right size and type of horse.

0:12:59 > 0:13:04- So about 14,3?- Yes. And he's got a nice shaggy mane.

0:13:04 > 0:13:08- Plenty of tail. - It looks to have been trimmed a bit.

0:13:08 > 0:13:13- Perhaps slightly hairier fetlocks. - Do you mean me or the horse?!

0:13:13 > 0:13:16I wouldn't like to say, really!

0:13:16 > 0:13:21So I think this should be a good basis for you to start.

0:13:23 > 0:13:28To get on with her reconstruction, Jane went to the British Museum

0:13:28 > 0:13:33to see the artefacts from the warrior's grave.

0:13:33 > 0:13:38Conservator Fleur Sheerman showed her what was on the other side of the horse's head -

0:13:38 > 0:13:44more bridal fittings and traces of the strap that linked them.

0:13:44 > 0:13:47..the vertebrae of the neck here.

0:13:47 > 0:13:53Here are the main fittings, with the leather strap down here

0:13:53 > 0:13:57and perhaps joining on to this one behind the bit.

0:13:57 > 0:14:01And then the bit area is here.

0:14:03 > 0:14:06It's very useful for me to do this.

0:14:06 > 0:14:11You never look at anything so intensely as when you're drawing.

0:14:11 > 0:14:15You look very closely at things.

0:14:15 > 0:14:19And you also begin to understand the structure.

0:14:19 > 0:14:23That should feed into my finished reconstruction.

0:14:23 > 0:14:28It's better than photographs or other people's drawings.

0:14:28 > 0:14:34You get a three-dimensional sense of the thing, which is important.

0:14:34 > 0:14:38And here it comes.

0:14:38 > 0:14:42The next job for Fleur is to remove the delicate fittings

0:14:42 > 0:14:45for cleaning and restoration.

0:14:46 > 0:14:49Here's the cruciform.

0:14:49 > 0:14:53There we are.

0:14:53 > 0:14:56The weapons buried with the warrior

0:14:56 > 0:14:59are also in Fleur's care.

0:14:59 > 0:15:04The iron shield boss was held in place with silver-plated rivets.

0:15:06 > 0:15:09Gently cleaning with formic acid

0:15:09 > 0:15:13restores the silver to its original splendour.

0:15:18 > 0:15:22The restored rivets give a real sense of how the shield looked.

0:15:22 > 0:15:26The central piece reveals scratch marks.

0:15:26 > 0:15:29Could these be battle scars?

0:15:32 > 0:15:36The warrior's sword is barely recognisable as a weapon,

0:15:36 > 0:15:41but this mass of rust holds a clue as to how it was made.

0:15:42 > 0:15:48X-rays of the sword reveal faint diagonal lines in a chevron pattern.

0:15:51 > 0:15:56The chevrons show the sword is pattern-welded,

0:15:56 > 0:15:59forged by a master swordsmith

0:15:59 > 0:16:03whose skills were lost 900 years ago. Or were they?

0:16:07 > 0:16:11'I went to Malmesbury to visit Hector Cole.

0:16:11 > 0:16:16'Hector is an modern iron worker who will reconstruct our sword.

0:16:16 > 0:16:20'He'll attempt it using traditional methods,

0:16:20 > 0:16:23'something never done before.

0:16:27 > 0:16:31'There's always a place for a swordsmith's apprentice.'

0:16:37 > 0:16:41- < That was a nice gentle one. - Yes. It's hard work.- Yes.

0:16:41 > 0:16:45A good striker's worth his weight in gold.

0:16:45 > 0:16:51You can see by the way the metal's moving that it's quite plastic.

0:16:51 > 0:16:55- I'm surprised it moved so much. - This is wrought iron.

0:16:55 > 0:16:58You can't get anything better.

0:17:00 > 0:17:03The sword has a very complex structure.

0:17:03 > 0:17:06At its centre is a soft iron core.

0:17:06 > 0:17:12Bars of twisted iron give it the distinctive chevron design.

0:17:12 > 0:17:18And welded to the outside are cutting edges of carbon steel.

0:17:26 > 0:17:31'When heated to a red glow, the bars that make the chevron pattern

0:17:31 > 0:17:34'are twisted into a spiral.'

0:17:42 > 0:17:47'Each bar contains 16 separate strips of iron.'

0:17:47 > 0:17:50- How many bars will you make?- Six.

0:17:50 > 0:17:53That is for both sides of the blade.

0:17:56 > 0:18:00'Hector now fire-welds the bars together,

0:18:00 > 0:18:04'three for each side, and hopes to flatten the pattern

0:18:04 > 0:18:08'without distorting it. It's a highly skilled process.'

0:18:11 > 0:18:13I just see the chevron pattern.

0:18:13 > 0:18:16See them coming up?

0:18:22 > 0:18:26'The final bits to be added to the sword

0:18:26 > 0:18:29'are the carbon steel cutting edges

0:18:30 > 0:18:35'Steel has to be extremely hot to weld, but if the fire is too hot,

0:18:35 > 0:18:37'the steel burns away.

0:18:37 > 0:18:40'The difference is a few degrees,

0:18:40 > 0:18:46'but it takes years to gauge it by the colour and feel of the metal.

0:18:52 > 0:18:55'This looks more like a sword,

0:18:55 > 0:19:01'but the hammering has dulled the surface and the pattern has gone.

0:19:01 > 0:19:05'Hector was surprised how much iron was lost.

0:19:05 > 0:19:09'It took six kilos of iron to make a 1.5 kilo sword.

0:19:11 > 0:19:14'After 334 separate heatings,

0:19:14 > 0:19:17'the shape of the blade is ready.'

0:19:17 > 0:19:20Has it turned out OK?

0:19:20 > 0:19:27There are a few flaws, but I'd have been surprised to have none. They are, to me, acceptable.

0:19:27 > 0:19:32We'll see when it's cleaned up. That's the test.

0:19:34 > 0:19:40The work that went into making this sword is an amazing process.

0:19:40 > 0:19:44It's no wonder there are legends about blacksmiths.

0:19:44 > 0:19:50There are no less than 79 strips of metal in this one blade

0:19:50 > 0:19:54and I can't wait to see it when it's polished.

0:19:56 > 0:19:59'And now the moment of truth.

0:19:59 > 0:20:04'Organic acid is used to reveal the pattern. It emerges as if by magic.'

0:20:04 > 0:20:09You can see the hard cutting edges down there, coming along as well.

0:20:10 > 0:20:16- As we come further, we start to get this pattern.- That came up quickly.

0:20:16 > 0:20:19It's gorgeous. All sinuous and swirling.

0:20:19 > 0:20:23- It's a lovely pattern. - You're pleased with it?

0:20:23 > 0:20:28I'm very pleased with it. It's a beautiful pattern.

0:20:28 > 0:20:32- Is it what you expected? - It is not what I expected.

0:20:32 > 0:20:38We should have a chevron pattern, but who wouldn't want this one,

0:20:38 > 0:20:41which is more beautiful?

0:20:42 > 0:20:47The handle would have been made of white cow horn,

0:20:47 > 0:20:52but because of a shortage due to BSE, we've had to use buffalo horn.

0:21:04 > 0:21:06I think we're getting there.

0:21:15 > 0:21:18What's it feel like?

0:21:19 > 0:21:23- Cor, that's a...- It's a hefty blade. - It's a weighty blade.

0:21:23 > 0:21:29If you bought that down on someone, the momentum behind it...

0:21:29 > 0:21:34But holding it out like that. You'd have to have a strong sword arm.

0:21:35 > 0:21:39It's fantastic, but I didn't expect this colour.

0:21:39 > 0:21:43I thought it would be shinier.

0:21:43 > 0:21:47It's debatable as to what colour they were finished.

0:21:47 > 0:21:52I think they were finished like this, because this colour

0:21:52 > 0:21:57brings out the pattern more, which is what they were looking for.

0:21:57 > 0:22:00That's what made the sword what it was.

0:22:05 > 0:22:10The horse's head is back in Bury St Edmunds.

0:22:10 > 0:22:12I hope Terry O'Connor knows

0:22:12 > 0:22:15how the horse was sacrificed.

0:22:15 > 0:22:17It's great it's out of plaster.

0:22:17 > 0:22:22Especially from this side, which was hidden at the museum.

0:22:22 > 0:22:29- Now we can get a good look at this depressed fracture here. - So is that what killed the horse?

0:22:30 > 0:22:33I doubt that would have been lethal.

0:22:33 > 0:22:37Even though it's done damage, it's too far forward.

0:22:37 > 0:22:41If you wanted to kill a horse with a blunt instrument,

0:22:41 > 0:22:44you'd aim for the brain.

0:22:44 > 0:22:51Most of that damage is to the air sinuses. It's caused a little brain damage.

0:22:51 > 0:22:54In that case, how was it killed?

0:22:54 > 0:22:59One of the things I've looked for is any sign of other violence,

0:22:59 > 0:23:05because there are several examples of horse burials of this period,

0:23:05 > 0:23:11some of which show an injury to the skull, but also show knife cuts

0:23:11 > 0:23:17across the ventral surface. So those horses had their throats cut

0:23:17 > 0:23:22with such force that the knife cut through tissue and nicked the bone.

0:23:22 > 0:23:26- Have you found any marks on this? - No.

0:23:27 > 0:23:32I looked carefully at the places along the neck

0:23:32 > 0:23:37and in fact under the jaw for any trace of cuts, and there's none.

0:23:37 > 0:23:41It doesn't mean this horse's throat wasn't cut,

0:23:41 > 0:23:45but there was not enough force to touch the bone.

0:23:45 > 0:23:52The probability has to be that something else was done to finish it off.

0:23:52 > 0:23:57The most obvious thing is opening up an artery to kill the animal.

0:23:57 > 0:23:59Nasty but effective.

0:24:04 > 0:24:07Seeing the beauty of the bridle fittings,

0:24:07 > 0:24:10decorated with gold and silver,

0:24:10 > 0:24:15it's hard to believe they were buried for 1,400 years.

0:24:33 > 0:24:36Saxon specialist Angela Care Evans

0:24:36 > 0:24:40reveals how the decorative pieces were arranged.

0:24:40 > 0:24:45We have one of these beautiful quatrefoil fittings.

0:24:45 > 0:24:50It sits over the junction of the cheek strap and nose band.

0:24:50 > 0:24:55- I thought there were four of these. - There are. There's one here.

0:24:55 > 0:25:00There's another one up here and two on the other side.

0:25:00 > 0:25:03Where do those go?

0:25:03 > 0:25:06Well, this one actually fits

0:25:06 > 0:25:11on a separate strap, loose. It dangles. It's a decorative dangler.

0:25:11 > 0:25:15It hangs down the side of the horse's head.

0:25:15 > 0:25:20It's got this extraordinary face, with what looks like ears

0:25:20 > 0:25:24- or horns or something. - It looks like an owl to me.

0:25:24 > 0:25:30I don't think it is. It has been suggested it is a long-eared owl.

0:25:30 > 0:25:36It's... I think it is a face with some kind of decorative headgear on.

0:25:36 > 0:25:41- Then we have this, again very beautiful...- Lovely.

0:25:41 > 0:25:44..gilt bronze, with three panels.

0:25:44 > 0:25:50At the centre, you can see the double cross, placed obliquely.

0:25:50 > 0:25:55To either side, there are gilded fields with an animal on it.

0:25:55 > 0:26:00- This simply sits in the middle. Just here.- Right...

0:26:00 > 0:26:03And I mean, it seems to be just decorative.

0:26:03 > 0:26:06On the horse's brow,

0:26:06 > 0:26:09we have...

0:26:09 > 0:26:14another...gilt bronze fitting,

0:26:14 > 0:26:18exactly the same as the one on the cheek piece,

0:26:18 > 0:26:23except it has these lugs, from which some pendant would've hung.

0:26:23 > 0:26:27- That's the one with the dent in it. - This is the bent one.

0:26:27 > 0:26:33If you look very closely, you can see what looks like a glancing blow.

0:26:33 > 0:26:39It looks like it caught the full blow when the horse was stunned.

0:26:39 > 0:26:44Then it's possible that the pendant fitting flew off, but um...

0:26:44 > 0:26:47we're not sure about that yet.

0:26:47 > 0:26:51I wanted to show Jane's paintings to Jo Carruth,

0:26:51 > 0:26:56one of the first archaeologists to see the find.

0:26:56 > 0:26:59Oh. That's him, is it?

0:26:59 > 0:27:02- Yes.- He's handsome, isn't he?

0:27:02 > 0:27:05He's got a square, solid face, hasn't he?

0:27:05 > 0:27:10- His skull was chunky, masculine. - He looks like a nice person.

0:27:10 > 0:27:14Yeah. Very confident and strong.

0:27:14 > 0:27:16So that's the warrior.

0:27:16 > 0:27:19That's the portrait.

0:27:19 > 0:27:23But then of course, we've got here...

0:27:23 > 0:27:26This is him and the harness.

0:27:26 > 0:27:30- The harness is fantastic. - We've got the whole lot.

0:27:30 > 0:27:33Is this how you imagined them?

0:27:33 > 0:27:37Although you think, looking at skeletons

0:27:37 > 0:27:40that you can see them as human beings,

0:27:40 > 0:27:45it's only when you see this, you realise how hard it is to imagine it,

0:27:45 > 0:27:48when you see it in the ground.

0:27:48 > 0:27:51This has really brought it to life.

0:27:51 > 0:27:58I feel I can give what we saw in the ground some form. I thought I'd DONE that.

0:27:58 > 0:28:02Seeing this, I realise I hadn't seen him.

0:28:02 > 0:28:061,400 years ago, this man was the ultimate warrior.

0:28:06 > 0:28:11It was a time when your position in society was earned.

0:28:11 > 0:28:15He was buried with symbols of that power -

0:28:15 > 0:28:21his shield, spear, sword and his horse, sacrificed to lie beside its master.

0:28:21 > 0:28:27He wasn't just a warrior. He lay surrounded by graves of children.

0:28:27 > 0:28:31He'd been their guardian and leader in life

0:28:31 > 0:28:34and he led them into the next world.

0:28:54 > 0:28:57Subtitles by BBC Subtitling - 1999