0:00:03 > 0:00:04Right across Britain,
0:00:04 > 0:00:08archaeologists are unearthing the relics of ancient lives.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13But so much of modern archaeology is what happens after excavation.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19Today, forensic analysis and cutting-edge science,
0:00:19 > 0:00:21as well as brand-new finds,
0:00:21 > 0:00:23are overturning what we once thought
0:00:23 > 0:00:26about entire eras of our ancient history.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31I'm Julian Richards. Over the years, I've been lucky enough
0:00:31 > 0:00:35to have taken part in some of our most important digs.
0:00:35 > 0:00:36You've not?
0:00:36 > 0:00:38A lead coffin?
0:00:40 > 0:00:43Now I'm going back to some of my favourites
0:00:43 > 0:00:49to discover the very latest stories of our most ancient ancestors.
0:01:04 > 0:01:05The Anglo-Saxons.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Invading warriors who came to Britain
0:01:09 > 0:01:11in the wake of the Roman Empire.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Bringing in a whole new era in our history.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22As an archaeologist, this era, the early part of the Dark Ages,
0:01:22 > 0:01:24really excites me.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26Because unlike the time of the Romans that came before
0:01:26 > 0:01:29and the later Anglo-Saxon period,
0:01:29 > 0:01:32we know so little about Britain in the fifth century AD.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35Just who were these early Anglo-Saxon people?
0:01:35 > 0:01:39And more importantly, what happened when they started to arrive
0:01:39 > 0:01:41from their lands over the seas in the east
0:01:41 > 0:01:44and landed here, on our shores?
0:01:47 > 0:01:51More than a decade ago, I took part in two remarkable excavations
0:01:51 > 0:01:54that have opened windows into this mysterious world.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59One was the grave of a powerful man.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Buried alongside his horse and weapons.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07The incredibly well-preserved remains
0:02:07 > 0:02:10of an early Anglo-Saxon warrior.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14Now, over a decade later, brand-new scientific analysis
0:02:14 > 0:02:17is revealing exactly who he was,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21when he lived and where he came from.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25It was such a stunning discovery and so exciting for us.
0:02:25 > 0:02:26Once in a lifetime, really.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31The other dig was very different.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34A whole cemetery of men and women.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Burials with evidence for the lives and beliefs
0:02:37 > 0:02:40of the people who settled the east of England
0:02:40 > 0:02:42from the fifth century AD.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48And today, even wider studies of populations like these,
0:02:48 > 0:02:50together with DNA science,
0:02:50 > 0:02:54are revealing the scale of the Anglo-Saxon invasions
0:02:54 > 0:02:57for the very first time.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00The Frisians were not just similar to the English,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03but in genetic or statistical terms, we couldn't tell them apart.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08These two digs show just how much in archaeology
0:03:08 > 0:03:11actually happens after the excavations are over.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14So now I'm returning to see
0:03:14 > 0:03:17how the story of the Anglo-Saxon invasions has moved on
0:03:17 > 0:03:21and how the very latest studies have shed new light on the Dark Ages.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25A mysterious era from which our first English kingdoms
0:03:25 > 0:03:29and the very language we speak today would start to emerge.
0:03:36 > 0:03:37I've come to East Anglia
0:03:37 > 0:03:41in search of one particular group of fifth century invaders.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46We refer to these people who arrived
0:03:46 > 0:03:49after the Romans left in 410 AD as Anglo-Saxons.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53But in fact, this wasn't one homogenous group of people,
0:03:53 > 0:03:55but rather lots of different groups of people
0:03:55 > 0:03:58from tribes across the whole of the mainland of northwest Europe.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01And in particular, from parts of Germany.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04And these different groups came to different parts of Britain.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13Saxon people came to the Thames Estuary and to the south
0:04:13 > 0:04:18while the Angles settled in the eastern part of Britain.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22And it's from the Angles that we get the name East Anglia.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25And Angle Land, or England.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32And it was here, in East Anglia, 16 years ago,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36a team of Suffolk archaeologists made an amazing discovery.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41I remember when I got the call to invite me down to the excavation,
0:04:41 > 0:04:43it sounded simply too good to be true.
0:04:43 > 0:04:48One of those rare discoveries that every archaeologist dreams of.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58Let me take you back 16 years to 1997.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02A military airbase, RAF Lakenheath.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09Here, archaeologists had uncovered the grave of a man laid to rest
0:05:09 > 0:05:12with all the possessions he'd need for the afterlife.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14The man's on this side
0:05:14 > 0:05:16and he's buried in a coffin
0:05:16 > 0:05:19with his spear up at the top corner,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22his shield, which is the big lump of metal on his chest,
0:05:22 > 0:05:23that's his shield box.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26It would've been a wooden shield, a circular wooden shield,
0:05:26 > 0:05:27and the wood's all rotted away.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30Down this side, you can just see, is his sword.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32What an enormous sword!
0:05:32 > 0:05:35- That's a warrior, isn't it?- That is.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38Somebody who's got a sword, a spear, a shield and a horse.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41- I mean, there's no question. - That's it, yeah.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47The burial was dated to the early Anglo-Saxon period,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49around the middle of the sixth century AD.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Nothing quite like it had ever been found in Britain.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00- It's incredibly exciting.- You couldn't hope for anything better!
0:06:00 > 0:06:04This is absolutely brilliant. It's the best thing we could've had.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08What made the find even more exciting
0:06:08 > 0:06:11was the incredible preservation of the bones.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Including our warrior's 1,500-year-old skull.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28From his remains, experts in facial reconstruction
0:06:28 > 0:06:32were able to reveal how he might have appeared in life.
0:06:44 > 0:06:4716 years after the dig,
0:06:47 > 0:06:50the warrior's remains are held at the Suffolk Archaeological Unit
0:06:50 > 0:06:52in Bury St Edmunds.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01I never thought I'd actually see him again,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04but being here now makes me realise
0:07:04 > 0:07:06that perhaps if I'd met this person in real life,
0:07:06 > 0:07:10I might've been a bit intimidated by such a powerful figure.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15This is the leg bone of a very tall man.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19And these marks here show that he had very, very strong muscles.
0:07:19 > 0:07:24So maybe this was the reason this man was chosen to be a warrior.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26Because of his strength, because of his build.
0:07:26 > 0:07:31Or alternatively, he might have been born into a privileged class,
0:07:31 > 0:07:33where access to more and better food
0:07:33 > 0:07:36could have resulted in him growing taller and stronger.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42Our warrior stood around five foot ten inches.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44Tall for the time.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48And his bones suggested he was still young when he died.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50Around 30 years old.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57When he was discovered, we thought he'd lived around 550 AD.
0:08:01 > 0:08:06But now, new scientific research has revealed he was alive much earlier.
0:08:08 > 0:08:09Over the last few years,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12new and very high-precision radiocarbon testing
0:08:12 > 0:08:14has been carried out on our man's bones
0:08:14 > 0:08:17and has given us a far more accurate date for him.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21It's also shown that he's far more interesting and important
0:08:21 > 0:08:23because he's much earlier than we expected.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28He was born in around 470 AD.
0:08:28 > 0:08:29Now, that does make him special
0:08:29 > 0:08:33because few burials date from these first few decades of the Dark Ages.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37It's only a couple of generations after the end of the Roman period.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42So if the Anglo-Saxons were warrior invaders,
0:08:42 > 0:08:44then he could have been right there at the time.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50Back in 1997,
0:08:50 > 0:08:54archaeologists also found all the trappings of a seasoned fighter.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59His spear and his shield.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03And, close by his side, even in death,
0:09:03 > 0:09:05his massive sword.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11A team of specialists from the British Museum
0:09:11 > 0:09:15was called in to help lift these rare and fragile finds.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26And as the items were cleaned, their full splendour was revealed.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32From the silver-plated rivets that held the shield together
0:09:32 > 0:09:36to its centrepiece, scratched and scarred with use.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40Most impressive of all, the huge iron sword.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43Although badly preserved,
0:09:43 > 0:09:48X-rays revealed an incredible level of craftsmanship.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50This patterned blade was the creation
0:09:50 > 0:09:53of a highly-skilled swordsmith.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Fabricated from nearly 80 individual strips of metal.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03Hector Cole, a traditional ironworker
0:10:03 > 0:10:08took on the challenge of recreating our warrior's sword.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12- It's hard work, isn't it?- Oh, yes.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15This is where a good striker is worth his weight in gold.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19And you can see the way the metal's moving, that it's quite plastic.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22It's a lovely feeling under the hammer, isn't it?
0:10:22 > 0:10:24I didn't realise it would move quite so much as that.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27This is wrought iron. You can't get anything better.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34Strips of iron were forged together
0:10:34 > 0:10:38and twisted into bars to give our sword strength.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40And also, a unique pattern.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51The main body of the sword was iron,
0:10:51 > 0:10:56but the Anglo-Saxons used steel to provide a sharp cutting edge.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02This was an object that could only have been carried
0:11:02 > 0:11:06by a wealthy and powerful warrior leader.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08The work that's gone into making this sword is, to me,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11one of the most amazing processes I've ever seen.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15There are no less than 79 different strips of metal
0:11:15 > 0:11:17woven into this one blade.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19I can hardly wait to see what it looks like
0:11:19 > 0:11:21when it's all cleaned up and polished.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28- I didn't think it would come up that quickly!- Mm.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33It's gorgeous, isn't it? All sort of sinuous and swirling.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35- It's a lovely pattern. - You're pleased with it?
0:11:35 > 0:11:39I'm very pleased with it. It's a beautiful pattern, this, yes.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48Cor! That's a...
0:11:48 > 0:11:50- It's a hefty blade. - It's a weighty blade, isn't it?
0:11:50 > 0:11:54If you brought that down on someone, the momentum behind it would...
0:11:54 > 0:11:56HE CHUCKLES
0:11:56 > 0:11:58- But holding it out like that...- Yes.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01- You'd have to have a strong sword arm, wouldn't you?- Yes.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10A sword in a burial is a status symbol.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13It's a sign that you're somebody powerful and important.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16But this man had something else.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Because next to him in the grave was this.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21An entire horse.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24And seeing it laid out here, one thing it reminds me of
0:12:24 > 0:12:26is just how enormous that grave had to be
0:12:26 > 0:12:29to accommodate not only a full-grown man with all his weapons,
0:12:29 > 0:12:33but this entire animal laid out beside him.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37Now, you'll see that there's something missing here.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39That's because the head is so fragile
0:12:39 > 0:12:42that it can't come out of its box here.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46This, though, is what really gave a clue
0:12:46 > 0:12:49about how important this person was,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52how important the horse was.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54Because on these fragile bones,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57you can see little green stains here.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03These mark where the bronze fittings of an elaborate bridle once sat.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11Back in 1997, we found the finely-crafted decorations
0:13:11 > 0:13:14still clinging to the horse's skull.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20This enabled experts to piece together for the first time
0:13:20 > 0:13:24the precise appearance of an Anglo-Saxon bridle.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26So, where do those wonderful things go, then?
0:13:26 > 0:13:33Well, this one actually fits on a separate strap, loose.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36It dangles. It's just a decorative dangler.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38And it's got this extraordinary face on it.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44Then we have this, again, very, very beautiful...
0:13:44 > 0:13:48- Lovely!- ..gilt bronze with three panels.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50And at the centre, you can see the double cross.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53These are placed obliquely on the fitting.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56And then to either side, there are gilded fields
0:13:56 > 0:13:58with a little animal on it.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02And this, actually, simply sits in the middle.
0:14:02 > 0:14:03Just here.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06On the horse's brow...
0:14:06 > 0:14:10we have another gilt-bronze fitting.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13- With a big dent in it. - This is the bent one.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16And if you actually look at it very, very closely,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19you can actually see what looks like a glancing blow on the gilding.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24The dent was evidence of a severe blow to the head.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27All horse burials of this sort of period...
0:14:27 > 0:14:30An injury that was even more apparent on the skull.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34Now we can get a good look at this massive depressed fracture here.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36Is that actually what killed the horse, then?
0:14:36 > 0:14:40I doubt that would have been immediately lethal.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42Even though it's done quite a lot of damage,
0:14:42 > 0:14:44it's actually a little too far forward.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47If you really wanted to kill a horse with a blunt-instrument injury
0:14:47 > 0:14:50to the front of the head, you'd want to aim for the brain.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53It probably just caused a little brain damage, but not a lot.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55I think the probability has to be,
0:14:55 > 0:14:58given that that would only really have stunned it,
0:14:58 > 0:15:00that something else was done to finish it off.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02And the most obvious thing is opening up an artery
0:15:02 > 0:15:06and allowing loss of blood actually to kill the animal.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Nasty, but effective.
0:15:12 > 0:15:17From the moment our Lakenheath warrior was discovered back in 1997,
0:15:17 > 0:15:18we knew he was an important find.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24But our new analysis has made his story even more significant.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28He was somebody who was physically powerful,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31but also wielded social power, as well.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33He was an elite leader.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37But he died aged 30, in the prime of his life.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40Now, new radiocarbon dating has shown
0:15:40 > 0:15:42that he lived much earlier than we expected.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45In the fifth century AD.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48And that raises a very interesting question.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52Because if he's that early and if he was born overseas,
0:15:52 > 0:15:54somewhere over there to the east,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57then he might have been one of the very first invaders.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00Part of the initial wave of warrior opportunists
0:16:00 > 0:16:04who came and seized power and land in this part of the country
0:16:04 > 0:16:06in the wake of the retreating Roman Empire.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11Now we've commissioned scientists
0:16:11 > 0:16:15to carry out the very first isotope analysis of the warrior's remains
0:16:15 > 0:16:18to discover where he came from.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25It's a technique that simply wasn't established
0:16:25 > 0:16:28when he was excavated 16 years ago.
0:16:28 > 0:16:33Different areas of the world have different chemical signals
0:16:33 > 0:16:34in their oxygen in the water.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38And when your teeth are being made by your body,
0:16:38 > 0:16:40it records that chemical signal of the water
0:16:40 > 0:16:44in the place where you're growing up.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49By comparing the results to data from various regions,
0:16:49 > 0:16:51it's possible to discover if the warrior grew up
0:16:51 > 0:16:55locally in eastern Britain or overseas.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00So our results strongly suggest that he is local in birth.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02He could be a second generation,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05so his parents could be born in the homelands and have moved over.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Going on the results we've got,
0:17:08 > 0:17:09I would put money on the fact
0:17:09 > 0:17:11that he's not from the Germanic homelands.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14That he was born in the east of England.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19So it turns out that our warrior, early as he is,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22wasn't an invader from across the sea.
0:17:26 > 0:17:27So, what's going on?
0:17:29 > 0:17:32Well, the analysis can't tell us everything
0:17:32 > 0:17:34about our warrior's genetic inheritance.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38If he was the locally-born son of an invader from the east,
0:17:38 > 0:17:43then his isotopes would still mark him out as being British.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Even though to all the locals, he'd be very much an Anglo-Saxon.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50But in some ways, this makes things even more interesting.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Because what it suggests is that by 470 AD,
0:17:53 > 0:17:56these people are well established here in eastern England.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59They've been here for at least a generation,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02right off the back of the Roman withdrawal.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09But we're not yet done with the warrior's story.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13There are more clues about the life of this elite Anglo-Saxon man
0:18:13 > 0:18:16and the society that he lived in.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Because our warrior wasn't found alone.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24What we were unearthing 16 years ago was an entire cemetery
0:18:24 > 0:18:28with burials spreading off in all directions from his grave.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30160 in total.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33And what these excavations have started to do
0:18:33 > 0:18:36is to paint a wider picture of the community he lived in.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45Back in 1997, surrounding the burial of our warrior,
0:18:45 > 0:18:50we found lots of smaller graves containing children.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56We've got a cluster of child graves all around the horse burial.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00We've got an infant in here.
0:19:00 > 0:19:06These bones were badly decayed and only fragments remained in the soil.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09We've got the teeth up here, a bit of skull there,
0:19:09 > 0:19:13an arm bone running down here and the ribs coming across.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16You can just see them here. And then we've got a bit of the upper leg...
0:19:16 > 0:19:20What I found extraordinary was that some of these children's graves
0:19:20 > 0:19:22contained full-sized weapons.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25- But isn't that a spear? - It is a spear.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27And that's a knife, as well.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31Um...this is the third child grave we've had with weapons.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33This, I think this is the smallest.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36It's a bit bizarre, really. I don't know what it means.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40That child can't be more than, what, three, four maybe?
0:19:40 > 0:19:44- Yeah.- It seems so incongruous to have a little grave
0:19:44 > 0:19:47and these great big grown-up weapons in it.
0:19:50 > 0:19:56Now, 16 years on, I'm returning to the excavation site at Lakenheath.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59I'm intrigued to know what the latest research can tell us
0:19:59 > 0:20:01about those unusual child burials.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04And the other graves that surrounded our warrior.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12The cemetery was discovered
0:20:12 > 0:20:14near this sports pitch on the military base.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Archaeologist Jo Caruth has been analysing the finds
0:20:20 > 0:20:22for more than a decade.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25If you have a look at this, now this is the site plan,
0:20:25 > 0:20:29and you can see this is the horse and rider burial here...
0:20:29 > 0:20:32- With the ditch around it. - That's right.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35- And I've coloured this for you. The men are blue.- Right.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38- The women are red and the children are green.- Right.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42Do you remember when we were onsite, we were looking at this one
0:20:42 > 0:20:44and this was a child with a spear, a big spear.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46- Oh, a really tiny child. - That's right.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48And we guessed at how old it was.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52Well, in fact, we've had... All the bone analysis has now been done,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55and in fact, this is a baby. This is someone of six to nine months old.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57- What? That young?- That young.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01It is interesting that we've got five children
0:21:01 > 0:21:04with spears across this site.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08But of those, three of them are between 11 and 12 years old.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11Which is really the sort of age where we might be looking at
0:21:11 > 0:21:13those children sort of stepping into adulthood.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15So it's not really that surprising
0:21:15 > 0:21:18that they might start to have a weapon set at that point,
0:21:18 > 0:21:22perhaps training to be warriors of the future.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25When they were unearthed, we wondered
0:21:25 > 0:21:29if there was any link between the warrior and these children.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32And now, recent forensic analysis
0:21:32 > 0:21:34has revealed an unusual common feature.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39If you have a look at his skull,
0:21:39 > 0:21:42which I've got here...
0:21:42 > 0:21:45and...
0:21:45 > 0:21:50he has got a particular genetic anomaly on his skull.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52And if you have a look...
0:21:52 > 0:21:53if you have a look there,
0:21:53 > 0:21:55can you see where the sutures come together,
0:21:55 > 0:21:57there's an extra little bit of bone?
0:21:57 > 0:22:01- That little bit there? - That little bit there, yeah.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04He's got this, but we can also see it on this child
0:22:04 > 0:22:08and this child and this woman here.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12And interestingly, we've also got it on this male here,
0:22:12 > 0:22:15this male here, this male here
0:22:15 > 0:22:17and this female here.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20So that does at least suggest the possibility
0:22:20 > 0:22:22that there are some family groupings in here
0:22:22 > 0:22:27- and that some of the people buried around him may be relatives.- Yeah.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33There's something else about him I think you'll be interested to see.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35Now, if you have a look here, can you see,
0:22:35 > 0:22:40there's no male burials within quite a considerable area around him.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44It may mean that because he's a particularly powerful man,
0:22:44 > 0:22:47he doesn't need protection himself.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50And possibly even having other warriors near him
0:22:50 > 0:22:51would be seen as a threat.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55Effectively encroaching on his territory, if you like.
0:22:56 > 0:23:0016 years ago, we unearthed 160 graves surrounding our warrior.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06But now, thanks to further excavation work by Jo's team,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09we know this burial ground was even bigger.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13Three cemeteries and more than 400 graves.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17The burials span two centuries.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19And our new date for the warrior
0:23:19 > 0:23:23suggests that he's probably the earliest.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25Given all this new evidence,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28where do you think this puts the position of our warrior
0:23:28 > 0:23:29in the bigger picture?
0:23:29 > 0:23:32We are now looking seriously at the possibility
0:23:32 > 0:23:35that this is a founding burial for this cemetery,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38possibly for all three cemeteries.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40And that this man, he's the first
0:23:40 > 0:23:44and these are his people following on from him.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52Today, we know so much more about the Lakenheath warrior
0:23:52 > 0:23:55than we could ever have imagined 16 years ago.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00We know that he lived much earlier than we thought
0:24:00 > 0:24:04and that he wasn't actually an invader himself, but was born here.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07And yet he does seem to have been the founding father
0:24:07 > 0:24:10for a whole dynasty of descendants.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13And we're not yet finished with the Lakenheath discoveries either.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15Because analysis of what was found with the burials
0:24:15 > 0:24:17is telling us more and more
0:24:17 > 0:24:22about this extended family, this emerging society.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38The 428 graves from Lakenheath have yielded up treasures.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40Thousands of them.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45And now, after nearly a decade of conservation and study,
0:24:45 > 0:24:47they're opening up the world of the warrior's people.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53Men and women living in Suffolk
0:24:53 > 0:24:56between the fifth and the seventh centuries.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01Beads are the single most common class of artefacts.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04We've got nearly a thousand different glass beads.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08- A thousand?- Yes. The same number of amber beads, as well.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10There's a real difference.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13That's black and yellow. It's incredibly striking, isn't it?
0:25:13 > 0:25:16- And then you've got blue there. - That's right.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21And that one, which is a type we find all over western Europe.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24They've been commented on as being like Wedgwood porcelain, really.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26- Yes. The blue and white?- Exactly.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28And the appearance that they give.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35Some of the women's brooches reveal a particularly dazzling
0:25:35 > 0:25:37display of craftsmanship and wealth.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42That's incredible, isn't it? The workmanship on that!
0:25:42 > 0:25:43And the gilding.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47That would have looked astonishing when it was new, wouldn't it?
0:25:47 > 0:25:50You can see the gilding, you can even see that very, very fine
0:25:50 > 0:25:53punch-marking that's along there.
0:25:53 > 0:25:58What we've also got on this are these areas here in the corners
0:25:58 > 0:26:01and on the rounded footplate lobes
0:26:01 > 0:26:03which were covered with silver sheet.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06So you've get the interplay between the gold and the silver.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08Interestingly, the process of gilding itself
0:26:08 > 0:26:11requires a supply of mercury.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15So there are resources going into the production of these
0:26:15 > 0:26:18that more than immediately meets the eye.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24Now, what intrigues me about this
0:26:24 > 0:26:28is some of those little bits of decoration there
0:26:28 > 0:26:31look like some of the bits of decoration on the bridle.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35- Yes.- From our warrior's horse.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45There is actually a connection between this particular brooch
0:26:45 > 0:26:48and what came out on the horse's bridle
0:26:48 > 0:26:52in that this is the woman's grave
0:26:52 > 0:26:56that is closest to where the man and the horse were buried
0:26:56 > 0:26:58and in fact, in terms of date,
0:26:58 > 0:27:00we would say they're pretty much contemporary.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04It's perfectly possible that this could be the wife
0:27:04 > 0:27:07of the man who was buried with his horse.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11That is amazing if there really is that connection.
0:27:11 > 0:27:16But it's humbler jewellery that reveals really striking differences
0:27:16 > 0:27:20between groups of burials from different areas of the cemeteries.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28Here we find that there's a very much
0:27:28 > 0:27:31higher proportion of women there
0:27:31 > 0:27:34than in the other places
0:27:34 > 0:27:37who are fastening their dresses
0:27:37 > 0:27:41by wearing a pair of these very simple, but very effective brooches.
0:27:41 > 0:27:46- That's quite plain.- It's a simple ring with an iron pin on it.
0:27:46 > 0:27:47Now, conversely,
0:27:47 > 0:27:52if we come to the largest burial ground that we've got,
0:27:52 > 0:27:56the women there are fastening their dresses
0:27:56 > 0:28:00by wearing a pair of brooches like this.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04What's this telling us about Anglo-Saxon society?
0:28:04 > 0:28:06Certainly what it says to me is this was a people
0:28:06 > 0:28:12for whom the expression of their identity in appearance,
0:28:12 > 0:28:16in what they had, not only around them, but on show,
0:28:16 > 0:28:18really did matter for them.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20It was making a statement.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23They almost seem to pull two ways at once.
0:28:23 > 0:28:24There's so much about this
0:28:24 > 0:28:28that talks to me about a common Anglo-Saxon...
0:28:28 > 0:28:32To be honest, I would say in this case, Anglian identity.
0:28:32 > 0:28:37But even within that, without challenging your Anglian identity
0:28:37 > 0:28:40or your incipient English identity,
0:28:40 > 0:28:44you can also have an identity of this particular local group
0:28:44 > 0:28:47as opposed to that particular local group.
0:28:47 > 0:28:52Why do you think this micro level, sort of small identity,
0:28:52 > 0:28:54is so important to these people?
0:28:54 > 0:28:59This was a society in which, rather like a military group,
0:28:59 > 0:29:03you depend on everybody doing their job and fulfilling their roles.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06Now, these were roles that, yes, were very stereotype.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09They were imposed by tradition.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13They didn't leave space for a great deal of individuality.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16The individuality, if you like,
0:29:16 > 0:29:18we're seeing between these small groups,
0:29:18 > 0:29:21not within those small groups.
0:29:25 > 0:29:281,500 years ago, a new wealthy elite
0:29:28 > 0:29:30with a common Anglo-Saxon culture
0:29:30 > 0:29:33began to emerge in southern and eastern Britain.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39But this was more complex than a mass invasion
0:29:39 > 0:29:42bringing fully-formed lifestyles and beliefs.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46The early Anglo-Saxons,
0:29:46 > 0:29:49just like today's second or third generation of British immigrants,
0:29:49 > 0:29:53were probably riding multiple cultural identities.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56They brought from their homelands the traditions of their ancestors,
0:29:56 > 0:29:59but they would have been trying to work out not only who they were,
0:29:59 > 0:30:02but who they wanted to be.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05And our Lakenheath warrior, as one of these early generations,
0:30:05 > 0:30:08would have been instrumental in trying to forge
0:30:08 > 0:30:10an identity for those who followed.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16But we still have to address that big question - just how many
0:30:16 > 0:30:21Anglo-Saxons did come over from mainland Europe in the first place?
0:30:23 > 0:30:27Scientists and archaeologists are just beginning to tackle this
0:30:27 > 0:30:31thorny question. Was it invasion or was it migration?
0:30:31 > 0:30:34Massed hoards or perhaps just a few intrepid settlers?
0:30:36 > 0:30:40Individual finds or graves actually aren't that much use
0:30:40 > 0:30:44because all they do is paint a snapshot of one person.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47What you need is to cast the net a lot wider and that's what
0:30:47 > 0:30:50archaeologists and scientists have been doing more recently.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54Together, they've been looking at large Anglo-Saxon cemeteries
0:30:54 > 0:30:58and also carrying out cutting edge studies involving modern populations and DNA.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04But it still all begins with archaeology.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06You just need a lot more of it.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10Large cemeteries, ideally people of the same communities, who
0:31:10 > 0:31:14were buried together at about the same time in that very early period.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22And that's where another early Anglo-Saxon site that
0:31:22 > 0:31:27I helped dig more than a decade ago would help to play a part.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32Because two years after our warrior excavation,
0:31:32 > 0:31:35I was called back to East Anglia.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40The site was at a small village called Alwalton,
0:31:40 > 0:31:43just 40 miles west of Lakenheath.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49It was 1999 and early Anglo-Saxon remains had been
0:31:49 > 0:31:52discovered on a building site.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02As soon as I arrived, I was put to work.
0:32:02 > 0:32:07But my first skeleton wasn't exactly in perfect condition.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10Well, the skull is just where it should be,
0:32:10 > 0:32:13but the unfortunate thing is that somebody has dug a trench
0:32:13 > 0:32:15right the way across the top of the grave.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18And taken away about half the skull.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21'Fortunately, not everything in the grave had been destroyed.'
0:32:21 > 0:32:24You have to dig something like this so carefully
0:32:24 > 0:32:27because look at the size of these beads that I've just found.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29They're absolutely tiny.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33There's a mixture of glass, bronze and possibly even some amber.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40'As I continued to dig, more treasures appeared,
0:32:40 > 0:32:43'including a bronze brooch and even silver rings.'
0:32:43 > 0:32:46Well, I've just finished excavating this grave
0:32:46 > 0:32:49and it contains an amazing selection of finds.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52There's some beads, what looks like part of a decorative belt
0:32:52 > 0:32:53and down by the knees,
0:32:53 > 0:32:58an extraordinary collection of iron, bronze and what looks like ivory.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03'Nearby, some of the other diggers were making even more
0:33:03 > 0:33:05'exciting finds.'
0:33:06 > 0:33:09You've got a nice selection of stuff in here.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13Yeah, there's those two brooches there.
0:33:13 > 0:33:17- Yeah.- And there's that copper ring down there and the ivory ring.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21That's just like the one that I had from the grave over there,
0:33:21 > 0:33:24only that one's in better condition.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28Mind you, this is all in better condition, including the skull.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31It's quite crushed but it looks as if it's all there, the cheekbones
0:33:31 > 0:33:36and there's the nose bone and the mandibles going down there.
0:33:39 > 0:33:45After 1,500 years in the dark earth, the skull was incredibly fragile.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59It's all there.
0:33:59 > 0:34:05But skulls aren't really supposed to be that shape.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08So I think this is going to be a very interesting
0:34:08 > 0:34:11reconstruction job for somebody.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15Let's have a look, then.
0:34:15 > 0:34:20At Manchester University, a forensic team got to work on the skull.
0:34:20 > 0:34:24- Hmm, lots of bits.- Lots of pieces.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31Half a mandible.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37A bit of the orbit on that side.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41- And that side.- At least we've got both arches, that's good.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43Yeah. Let's have a look.
0:34:43 > 0:34:48We'd found the remains of a woman of about 30 years old.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50Looks like we've lost the top.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53And although badly crushed, her skull still offered
0:34:53 > 0:34:57the possibility of reconstructing her features.
0:35:00 > 0:35:05She's got quite a...powerful face, quite masculine proportions.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08Everything about it's quite large.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12There is a slight asymmetry in the face, which, if you look at it,
0:35:12 > 0:35:16you can see that one eye is slightly higher than the other, but as
0:35:16 > 0:35:20this face is actually building, you don't notice that quite as much.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23On the skull, there was actually a frontal suture that was
0:35:23 > 0:35:28actually slightly open and the nasal spine was also quite splayed,
0:35:28 > 0:35:33which is indicative of a biffed nose, which is like a nose which has
0:35:33 > 0:35:37a cleft or a line down the middle of it.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39And again this will be echoed in the chin.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42She's going to have a cleft in her chin as well.
0:35:42 > 0:35:46So altogether, she's going to have quite a memorable face, I think.
0:35:49 > 0:35:53At last, we came face to face with Alwalton Woman,
0:35:53 > 0:35:57an early Anglo-Saxon who lived around 500 AD.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09Meanwhile, her jewellery was carefully cleaned,
0:36:09 > 0:36:13revealing exquisite design and craftsmanship.
0:36:15 > 0:36:19These rings and brooches could be linked to mainland Europe
0:36:19 > 0:36:21and beyond.
0:36:23 > 0:36:28When we first found these rings, my initial reaction was - is it ivory?
0:36:28 > 0:36:30- Can you tell me what it is?- Right.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33What we've got here is actually a sliver
0:36:33 > 0:36:35and if I put this under the microscope, you can
0:36:35 > 0:36:38see the corrugations running across it here
0:36:38 > 0:36:42and the striations running off those corrugations.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44If we turn to this photograph over here, you can
0:36:44 > 0:36:48see exactly the same structures and this is elephant ivory.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51So this stuff's come all the way from Africa, which is
0:36:51 > 0:36:55- quite a distance to Peterborough! - It certainly is.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58Though I think it would probably have come perhaps through
0:36:58 > 0:37:01a series of traders. It doesn't necessarily come directly.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04And it would probably have come as a piece of raw material,
0:37:04 > 0:37:06a lump of material,
0:37:06 > 0:37:09to be worked up in the areas where it was going to, into the characteristic
0:37:09 > 0:37:13items that were required in the sort of luxury end of the market.
0:37:13 > 0:37:17Alwalton Woman's amber beads were also analysed to find out
0:37:17 > 0:37:19where they came from.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22Amber can be found all over the world.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26The richest source of amber in Europe is from the Baltic region.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29From Northern Europe, particularly Western Jutland
0:37:29 > 0:37:33and along the coast of modern day Lithuania.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37So what did you do to find out whether this was Baltic amber?
0:37:37 > 0:37:41Well, I took a small piece of the already fragmented bead and
0:37:41 > 0:37:46slotted it into the sample chamber of the infrared spectrometer.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50And we should be able to generate a fingerprint that we can use
0:37:50 > 0:37:55to identify the amber to a precise geographical source.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57And this region of the infrared spectrum is
0:37:57 > 0:38:00known as the Baltic Shoulder
0:38:00 > 0:38:05and distinguishes Baltic amber from all of the other amber sources.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12The Dark Ages often get a rather bad press.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15The idea that once the Romans left,
0:38:15 > 0:38:20that much of Britain simply went to rack and ruin.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23But the stunning jewellery from Alwalton tells a very
0:38:23 > 0:38:28different story, of a wealthy society in touch with the latest
0:38:28 > 0:38:31in design and with far-flung trading connections.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39I'm coming back to Alwalton for the first time in 14 years
0:38:39 > 0:38:43because ever since the excavation, this site has intrigued me.
0:38:48 > 0:38:53It's not just that one woman that makes this place so fascinating.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56But the whole population of early Anglo-Saxons who were buried
0:38:56 > 0:39:00here between the fifth and the sixth centuries.
0:39:02 > 0:39:07Since the dig though, this place has changed a lot.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10Back then, it was a building site.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13And now, it's a fully fledged business park.
0:39:14 > 0:39:19That must be...over there.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22So that hedge line was...there.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24That's right.
0:39:24 > 0:39:28'I had the excavation plan, but was struggling to get my bearings.'
0:39:28 > 0:39:33About 20...metres. So, one, two, three...
0:39:36 > 0:39:39Actually, it's quite a challenge to find a single
0:39:39 > 0:39:41burial in a business park car park.
0:39:41 > 0:39:45But I think with the aid of this plan, I think I'm in the right spot.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48I remember there was a hedge over there
0:39:48 > 0:39:51and that's where I excavated the first woman's burial,
0:39:51 > 0:39:53that was actually quite badly damaged,
0:39:53 > 0:39:56but then there was a whole cluster around here
0:39:56 > 0:40:01and just about here, this is where we found that quite
0:40:01 > 0:40:06well-preserved woman's burial, with all of those wonderful objects.
0:40:06 > 0:40:11Altogether, we found 34 skeletons, mostly in just this one area.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15And another 30 graves across the whole site -
0:40:15 > 0:40:18an entire community of early Anglo-Saxons.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23But while some were burials, within the same cemetery,
0:40:23 > 0:40:28we also found evidence of a very different form of funeral practice.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31Over here, we had something very different
0:40:31 > 0:40:33and actually quite surprising
0:40:33 > 0:40:37because in that corner of the site, it was mostly burials.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40Here, it was almost entirely cremations.
0:40:40 > 0:40:45And not just small pottery urns containing burnt human bones,
0:40:45 > 0:40:49but the remains of a pyre site where the cremation took place.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51Now, this complicates things a bit
0:40:51 > 0:40:55because either society is undergoing a radical shift in the way it
0:40:55 > 0:40:59views death and the afterlife, or at the same time,
0:40:59 > 0:41:02you've got two separate groups of people,
0:41:02 > 0:41:05each choosing to bury their dead in a very different way.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14With most of the skeletons removed, attention turned to a new
0:41:14 > 0:41:18area of the site where cremation urns had been found,
0:41:18 > 0:41:21buried very closely together and all dated to the fifth
0:41:21 > 0:41:23and early sixth century AD.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31We all had our own urn to dig.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34And I hoped that the contents of mine
0:41:34 > 0:41:38would offer clues about the identity of these people.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40But first, I had to get it out of the ground.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45My first urn's turning out to be absolutely wonderful.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47It's much bigger than I thought.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50It seems to be complete and there's lovely decoration running all
0:41:50 > 0:41:53the way down the side of it. The thing that bothers me
0:41:53 > 0:41:56though is that there's some rather ominous cracks just starting
0:41:56 > 0:41:58to appear and I do wonder
0:41:58 > 0:42:02whether the whole thing's going to come out in one piece.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06'Before trying to lift it, we gave it a little bit of extra support.'
0:42:09 > 0:42:13Of course, what I'm not sure about is how much more there is
0:42:13 > 0:42:17underneath cos I can't get down any deeper, so what do we do?
0:42:17 > 0:42:22- Just try and see if we can...? - Yeah, rock it.- Rock it, loosen it.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25Oh, dear. Hang on.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28- I've got a...- I've got a crack down here.- Have you?- Yeah.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30What? You think the base has come off?
0:42:30 > 0:42:33If we rock it that way, at least we should be able to see
0:42:33 > 0:42:35whether it's actually...gone or not.
0:42:35 > 0:42:37Seems OK to me.
0:42:37 > 0:42:43Ah, there's...at the very base of it, the very base of it.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46I think that's the best we can hope for.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49So what do we do? Just lift this up and put this straight on to the...?
0:42:49 > 0:42:51- Yes.- OK.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55'Luckily, the urn's contents were so tightly packed that nothing
0:42:55 > 0:42:59'fell out through the gaping hole in its base.'
0:42:59 > 0:43:02Now, that's the reason that we couldn't get the pot out of
0:43:02 > 0:43:05the ground, this little lip at the bottom was firmly
0:43:05 > 0:43:10stuck in the soil, but at least it's out now and that's the whole pot.
0:43:10 > 0:43:14For us though, it wasn't the urn that was as important...
0:43:16 > 0:43:20..as the burnt remains that it contained.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23The common misconception with cremated bones is that what
0:43:23 > 0:43:26you get are tiny fragments. You don't. If you look here, you can
0:43:26 > 0:43:30actually see recognisable pieces of bone and what I do is I go through
0:43:30 > 0:43:32and I pick out the bits that are going to tell me
0:43:32 > 0:43:35something about the age of the individual, the sex
0:43:35 > 0:43:38of the individual, and of course how many individuals there are.
0:43:38 > 0:43:42For instance, this is a fairly distinctive piece.
0:43:42 > 0:43:44This is what your ear looks like on the inside.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47And because it's of a very distinctive appearance, even if you
0:43:47 > 0:43:50get a very small piece of it, a tiny piece, you can
0:43:50 > 0:43:53still tell what you've got and usually which side it's from.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55And there are no other pieces here that suggest
0:43:55 > 0:43:59any other petrous temporals, which is what this is called.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01- So you've just got one person in the pot.- Yes.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05How can you tell it's a male though from all these tiny fragments?
0:44:05 > 0:44:09In this instance, what I've gone on is basically the size
0:44:09 > 0:44:13and robusticity, how heavily built the skeleton was.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16For instance, if you were to look at this bone here,
0:44:16 > 0:44:18this is actually the back part of the femur,
0:44:18 > 0:44:21where you have quite a big muscle attachment coming in.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24And that is quite a strong attachment down the back of that femur.
0:44:24 > 0:44:28Apart from this one person, did you find anything else in the urn?
0:44:28 > 0:44:30There were also some grave goods.
0:44:30 > 0:44:36As you can see, there's a set of shears, part of a razor blade
0:44:36 > 0:44:39and an unidentified piece of metalwork.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43It's the sort of thing which commonly gets referred to as a toilet set.
0:44:49 > 0:44:53It's all too easy to think of Anglo-Saxon men as alpha males,
0:44:53 > 0:44:57aggressive warriors, buried with swords.
0:44:57 > 0:44:58But at Alwalton,
0:44:58 > 0:45:02we get a very different picture of Saxon masculinity
0:45:02 > 0:45:06because here, the men are choosing to be buried with grooming sets
0:45:06 > 0:45:09and with these - combs, which were found in almost every single
0:45:09 > 0:45:13one of the urns that were discovered.
0:45:13 > 0:45:18Cremation burials of men from north Germany also contained
0:45:18 > 0:45:20grooming sets and combs.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23So there does seem to be a direct cultural
0:45:23 > 0:45:27connection between Alwalton and the Anglo-Saxon homelands.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32In their own way, the burnt remains were every
0:45:32 > 0:45:36bit as telling as our powerful warrior's sword.
0:45:40 > 0:45:42Our two digs have revealed very different
0:45:42 > 0:45:44pictures of the early Anglo-Saxons,
0:45:44 > 0:45:47the people who lived in East Anglia during this mysterious
0:45:47 > 0:45:50time that we call the Dark Ages.
0:45:51 > 0:45:56The first, a warrior, buried alongside his horse and weapons.
0:45:56 > 0:46:01Someone who seems to have been the founder of an entire community.
0:46:02 > 0:46:06The other, a cemetery where the women were buried with fabulous
0:46:06 > 0:46:08and exotic jewellery.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11But where the cremated men took combs
0:46:11 > 0:46:13and grooming sets to the next world.
0:46:15 > 0:46:19Together, they paint a fascinating picture of a new wealthy
0:46:19 > 0:46:22elite emerging shortly after the Romans had left.
0:46:22 > 0:46:26A people who shared an Anglo-Saxon culture,
0:46:26 > 0:46:30but who identified very strongly with their own local groups.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33At Lakenheath, surrounding our warrior,
0:46:33 > 0:46:37different groups of Anglo-Saxons marked themselves out from one
0:46:37 > 0:46:40another through dress and appearance.
0:46:41 > 0:46:45At Alwalton, two separate groups suggested even deeper
0:46:45 > 0:46:49differences with seemingly contrasting customs and beliefs.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52With these groups jostling for recognition
0:46:52 > 0:46:56and power in this new land, we see modern England in the making.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00And just two centuries later, these fierce local identities would
0:47:00 > 0:47:02give rise to our first English kingdoms.
0:47:02 > 0:47:05But there's another question in all of this. What about the locals?
0:47:05 > 0:47:08What about the people who were living here
0:47:08 > 0:47:12when the Anglo-Saxons arrived? How do they fit into this picture?
0:47:12 > 0:47:15It's a question that goes right to the heart of the debate.
0:47:17 > 0:47:22Just what was the size and impact of the Anglo-Saxon invasion?
0:47:30 > 0:47:35The arrival of the Anglo-Saxons is always seen as a watershed moment,
0:47:35 > 0:47:39a mass invasion that left England with a new people
0:47:39 > 0:47:41and a new way of life and culture.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44Sites like Lakenheath
0:47:44 > 0:47:50and Alwalton seem to confirm the presence of a dominant new people.
0:47:50 > 0:47:55It's as if the ancient Britons had simply disappeared from the land.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57In early Anglo-Saxon England,
0:47:57 > 0:48:01what we don't get is very much evidence for what you could
0:48:01 > 0:48:03call Celtic culture in the south east of the country.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05And that's very odd
0:48:05 > 0:48:08because this is a culture that persists strongly throughout
0:48:08 > 0:48:12the whole of the Roman period and yet just seems to disappear
0:48:12 > 0:48:16completely as soon as the Saxons arrive.
0:48:16 > 0:48:20And yet population estimates suggest that there were around
0:48:20 > 0:48:24two million Britons living here after the Romans left.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27So, just what happened to them all?
0:48:29 > 0:48:33Once, the view was of local people either being killed or
0:48:33 > 0:48:37driven to the fringes of Britain by bands of marauding warriors.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41But the big problem with this theory is the total lack of conflict.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43For all the big swords in burials,
0:48:43 > 0:48:47there aren't cut marks on bones that show battles have taken place.
0:48:47 > 0:48:50And there aren't any layers of ash that show where farmsteads
0:48:50 > 0:48:52have been burnt down.
0:48:52 > 0:48:55In fact, the big problem is the almost complete lack of any
0:48:55 > 0:48:58evidence for widespread destruction.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01But now, scientists have found new evidence that could help
0:49:01 > 0:49:04reveal what happened to the local Britons.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09Like the analysis of our warrior,
0:49:09 > 0:49:14but applied to hundreds of burials, new isotope studies can today
0:49:14 > 0:49:18reveal who was moving where, when, and in what numbers.
0:49:20 > 0:49:24Dr Sam Lucy has been looking for patterns to build up
0:49:24 > 0:49:27a picture of population changes in fifth century Britain.
0:49:29 > 0:49:34One site we've got is all the way up here in East Yorkshire,
0:49:34 > 0:49:36the site at West Heslerton.
0:49:36 > 0:49:41The overwhelming majority of the population appeared to be
0:49:41 > 0:49:44local to Britain, certainly, even if not local to East Yorkshire.
0:49:44 > 0:49:48There were a few individuals, three or four, who looked as if they
0:49:48 > 0:49:52could have come from colder oxygen climates,
0:49:52 > 0:49:55like Continental North West Europe or Scandinavia.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59The next site that we've got some results from is
0:49:59 > 0:50:03at Berinsfield which is down here in the Upper Thames Valley.
0:50:03 > 0:50:08There, virtually everybody looked as if they were local to that area.
0:50:08 > 0:50:12And the final site that we've got good results from is right down
0:50:12 > 0:50:15here on the south coast, Eastbourne.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18There appeared to be two population groups within
0:50:18 > 0:50:19the cemetery at Eastbourne.
0:50:19 > 0:50:24One of which did look as if it was from outside of that local area.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27Potentially again from slightly colder oxygen climates.
0:50:27 > 0:50:31So if you're looking at these patterns as a whole,
0:50:31 > 0:50:37you've got local, local, potential immigrants,
0:50:37 > 0:50:40and then potentially a few immigrants,
0:50:40 > 0:50:46so I think, if anything, this has to make people rethink the extent and
0:50:46 > 0:50:52significance of potential migration that we've got in this period.
0:50:52 > 0:50:56Sam Lucy's findings suggest that only tens of thousands
0:50:56 > 0:51:00of Anglo-Saxons migrated to Britain in the fifth century,
0:51:00 > 0:51:04compared to a local population of around two million.
0:51:05 > 0:51:08New science is taking us
0:51:08 > 0:51:12a step closer to understanding the Anglo-Saxon invasion.
0:51:12 > 0:51:14A lower number of people,
0:51:14 > 0:51:17but people who nevertheless had a massive cultural impact.
0:51:19 > 0:51:23The isotope work of the last decade is absolutely fascinating
0:51:23 > 0:51:26because what it's shown us is that we do have locals living within
0:51:26 > 0:51:29and alongside these new Anglo-Saxon communities.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32But they're just very difficult to single out
0:51:32 > 0:51:36because they've adopted all of the new Germanic dress and fashions.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39But in some ways, what's even more interesting is that we're now
0:51:39 > 0:51:43starting to get a handle on the size of the Anglo-Saxon invasion
0:51:43 > 0:51:46because if you deliberately target this early period,
0:51:46 > 0:51:49the fifth and sixth centuries, a time when we think there are lots
0:51:49 > 0:51:52of Anglo-Saxons coming into this country,
0:51:52 > 0:51:56then we should find lots of evidence for immigrants. And we don't.
0:51:56 > 0:52:00So what that means is that this migration is much smaller
0:52:00 > 0:52:02than we've always thought.
0:52:06 > 0:52:10But there's startling new evidence that suggests
0:52:10 > 0:52:12that as well as bringing cultural change,
0:52:12 > 0:52:16these new people also had a massive genetic impact.
0:52:16 > 0:52:20And this time, the evidence doesn't come from ancient bones,
0:52:20 > 0:52:23but from living, breathing people.
0:52:23 > 0:52:25From all of us.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28Since the digs, more than a decade ago,
0:52:28 > 0:52:32a new scientific tool has been growing in influence.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35And that's DNA.
0:52:38 > 0:52:42You can't look at an individual and pinpoint an Anglo-Saxon gene,
0:52:42 > 0:52:45but by studying a whole population, it is
0:52:45 > 0:52:50possible to detect statistical similarities or differences.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53- Hi, Mark.- Hi, Julian. - Nice to see you.
0:52:53 > 0:52:58'One recent study compared the Y chromosome of men from England,
0:52:58 > 0:53:01'Wales and an area of the Netherlands once home
0:53:01 > 0:53:05'to the Anglo-Saxons, called Friesland.'
0:53:07 > 0:53:12So we chose Friesland because Friesians have their own language
0:53:12 > 0:53:16and it's the closest living language, apart from English, to Old English.
0:53:16 > 0:53:20And we compared all those Y chromosomes and what
0:53:20 > 0:53:23we found was the English towns were very similar to each other.
0:53:23 > 0:53:26And the Welsh towns were really quite different.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29But the Friesians were not just similar to the English,
0:53:29 > 0:53:34- but in genetic or statistical terms, we couldn't tell them apart.- Really?
0:53:34 > 0:53:37Studying modern DNA,
0:53:37 > 0:53:40the English samples look totally different to the neighbouring Welsh.
0:53:40 > 0:53:44But almost identical to the Friesland samples,
0:53:44 > 0:53:47where the Anglo-Saxons came from.
0:53:47 > 0:53:50So what's going on?
0:53:51 > 0:53:53If it is the Anglo-Saxon migration,
0:53:53 > 0:53:56how big would that migration have to be to have this effect?
0:53:56 > 0:53:59And what's the answer?
0:53:59 > 0:54:05The answer, remarkably, is somewhere between 50 and 100% replacement.
0:54:05 > 0:54:09So we're looking at a contribution of these Anglo-Saxon
0:54:09 > 0:54:13migrants of between 50 and 100%
0:54:13 > 0:54:17to the ancestry of English men.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21That's...a lot more than I would have expected. An awful lot more.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23Right.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26'The results seem to contradict isotope studies, which suggest
0:54:26 > 0:54:30'a comparatively small number of Anglo-Saxon invaders.
0:54:30 > 0:54:32'But there could be an explanation.
0:54:32 > 0:54:35'And it's all down to power and wealth.'
0:54:35 > 0:54:39If a smaller number of Anglo-Saxon migrants came over
0:54:39 > 0:54:41and if they have a higher status,
0:54:41 > 0:54:44that probably means they're wealthier, and if they're wealthier,
0:54:44 > 0:54:48that means their children are more likely to survive to adulthood.
0:54:48 > 0:54:52So if they kept apart and they didn't interbreed too much,
0:54:52 > 0:54:55then we can show by computer simulations that in about ten
0:54:55 > 0:54:59generations, even a small migration can lead to
0:54:59 > 0:55:02an over 50% contribution to the ancestry.
0:55:02 > 0:55:06So what you're saying then is that a smaller number of,
0:55:06 > 0:55:10to use a word, an elite that came over, if they were really
0:55:10 > 0:55:15successful, then their influence could gradually expand.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17Including their genetic influence.
0:55:17 > 0:55:21So we don't necessarily need to have this massive migration.
0:55:21 > 0:55:25We could have a smaller migration of more successful people, basically.
0:55:25 > 0:55:27- Correct.- Right.- Correct.
0:55:30 > 0:55:34Surprisingly, DNA studies of modern populations are opening up
0:55:34 > 0:55:39windows into the ancient past and together with new isotope
0:55:39 > 0:55:42studies of fifth and sixth-century populations,
0:55:42 > 0:55:46as well as a wealth of traditional archaeology,
0:55:46 > 0:55:51we're finally building a clearer picture of the early Anglo-Saxons.
0:55:59 > 0:56:04I visited two amazing excavations, at Lakenheath and Alwalton, that to
0:56:04 > 0:56:08me really opened up the mysterious world of the first Anglo-Saxons.
0:56:08 > 0:56:11And now, new science and archaeology have brought us
0:56:11 > 0:56:13much closer to an understanding about what was
0:56:13 > 0:56:18going on in the fifth century, at this time that we call the Dark Ages.
0:56:18 > 0:56:21It's shed new light on who these people were and just how many of
0:56:21 > 0:56:24them might have come across the seas to settle these new
0:56:24 > 0:56:26lands of the fifth century.
0:56:26 > 0:56:30And one thing is also very clear - our Lakenheath warrior,
0:56:30 > 0:56:34whoever he was, left a lasting legacy.
0:56:40 > 0:56:44We now know that this emerging Anglo-Saxon England was about
0:56:44 > 0:56:46far more than just marauding invaders,
0:56:46 > 0:56:51but our warrior still fits into this increasingly complicated picture.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54And in an even more fascinating way.
0:56:54 > 0:56:56He may actually have been a fighter,
0:56:56 > 0:57:00somebody who wielded that mighty sword in anger, but
0:57:00 > 0:57:05we now know his influence spread far beyond his prowess in battle.
0:57:05 > 0:57:08His real influence lay in his genes.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15The warrior, together with the people we found at Alwalton,
0:57:15 > 0:57:20reveal a new society emerging from the ashes of the Roman Empire,
0:57:20 > 0:57:24ruled over by a wealthy elite of Continental migrants.
0:57:26 > 0:57:30They were people in a new land who followed the customs of their
0:57:30 > 0:57:35homelands, but who also, over a few generations, forged a new,
0:57:35 > 0:57:38local and very distinctive culture.
0:57:41 > 0:57:43And despite their small numbers,
0:57:43 > 0:57:48even their genetic line has come down to us today.
0:57:50 > 0:57:53Each new discovery, each scientific advance,
0:57:53 > 0:57:58has taken us one step closer to understanding who these people were.
0:57:58 > 0:58:01These elusive early Anglo-Saxons that laid
0:58:01 > 0:58:05the foundation for our modern English nation.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd