0:00:06 > 0:00:10700 years ago, in June, 1314,
0:00:10 > 0:00:13two armies clashed just to the south of Stirling.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15It's the sight of Scotland's most famous
0:00:15 > 0:00:19and iconic battle against the English - Bannockburn.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23What was at stake 700 years ago was this castle.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26Whoever captured it on that day would decide the future
0:00:26 > 0:00:29of both the Kingdom of Scotland and Britain.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38Just down there is a statue of the man who led the Scots to victory.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40Against all the odds,
0:00:40 > 0:00:42Robert the Bruce fought off the English
0:00:42 > 0:00:45in an epic two-day battle, and despite it being
0:00:45 > 0:00:49one of the most significant clashes in British history,
0:00:49 > 0:00:53still today the precise location of the battlefield remains a mystery.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01No-one has ever managed to precisely locate the battlefield,
0:01:01 > 0:01:04and that's the quest that we've set ourselves.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07And we also want to find out just how Robert the Bruce was able to
0:01:07 > 0:01:10secure a victory over an army that wasn't just
0:01:10 > 0:01:14twice the size of his own, but also regarded as one of the most
0:01:14 > 0:01:17effective fighting forces in the whole of the medieval world.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30MEN SHOUT
0:01:30 > 0:01:32It was an epic clash.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36The spearmen of Bruce's army fighting for independence,
0:01:36 > 0:01:38up against the cavalry and archers of Edward II,
0:01:38 > 0:01:43intent on suppressing once and for all their unruly northern neighbour.
0:01:44 > 0:01:49Oh, that is the best thing ever!
0:01:51 > 0:01:54Together with a team of the country's most experienced archaeologists,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57we're going to launch the biggest ever search for evidence
0:01:57 > 0:01:59of this elusive battle.
0:01:59 > 0:02:00Oh, yes.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03We'll use the latest technology to help us understand
0:02:03 > 0:02:07what the landscape actually looked like seven centuries ago.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09Oh, that's great. Stirling's gone.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12Look, there's the Bannock Burn coming in.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14Sinuously winding its way around, looping.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17Really quite insignificant from here,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20but up close and personal, it was a killer.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41This isn't the first time Tony and I
0:02:41 > 0:02:44have searched for the location of the Battle of Bannockburn.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48- Look at that. - TONY LAUGHS
0:02:49 > 0:02:50As fledgling archaeologists,
0:02:50 > 0:02:55we were approached in 2002 to make the TV series Two Men In A Trench.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00And, in one episode, we tried to find the Battle of Bannockburn.
0:03:01 > 0:03:02Look at you, you look about 12!
0:03:02 > 0:03:05'..clean that rubbish off, we came across this...'
0:03:05 > 0:03:08- What's happened to you? - Yeah, it's hard living, man.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10'That's exactly what we were hoping to find.'
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Wait till we see you, hang on a minute.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Time stands still for no man, you know.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18- Look at your hair! How could you see anything with all that hair?- I know.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23- I'd just left school then. That's my first job.- That's true!
0:03:23 > 0:03:26It was the first time you did any work, anyway!
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Right, that's you and me digging.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34'As soon as we'd removed the plough soil, we got our first surprise.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37- 'What are you getting down there? - 'Coal dust.'
0:03:39 > 0:03:44And, to be honest, coal dust was pretty much all we found back then.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46And we didn't have long to do what we did then, did we?
0:03:46 > 0:03:50That was just a couple of weeks before and a couple of weeks there.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53Yeah, the whole thing took three weeks - the survey,
0:03:53 > 0:03:55excavation, the whole kit and caboodle.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58We just scratched the surface.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Tony and I have never lost our passion for digging up the past.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04While I went on to present TV shows about it,
0:04:04 > 0:04:06Tony became a leading expert in battlefield archaeology.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11- Look at young us. Breaks my heart! - Can't look back.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15The only good thing is time's been kind to me.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17Which makes us the perfect candidates for
0:04:17 > 0:04:20what might well be the biggest challenge of our careers.
0:04:23 > 0:04:272014 is the 700th anniversary of what, to many Scots,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31was and remains THE defining moment in their history.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33What happened over the two-day battle
0:04:33 > 0:04:36still sets the pulse of many a Scot racing.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40It was the battle that helped win Scotland's independence.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42Even to this day,
0:04:42 > 0:04:46rallies are held every year to mark the anniversary of the battle.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Bannockburn is still argued about, still studied,
0:04:54 > 0:04:59and constantly reassessed by historians and writers.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02It's one of the key conflicts in British history, but despite
0:05:02 > 0:05:07its iconic status, no-one knows where the actual site is.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15This is the National Trust for Scotland's new Bannockburn Centre,
0:05:15 > 0:05:19redeveloped to mark the 700th anniversary of the battle.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23- Look at that 3D!- It's like something out of James Bond.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26'Here, visitors are given a bird's-eye view.'
0:05:26 > 0:05:29There's the castle. My house must be on here!
0:05:29 > 0:05:33'This 3D map, specially constructed for the centre,
0:05:33 > 0:05:37'covers 13 square miles of the landscape around Stirling Castle.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40'Somewhere down there lies the battle ground.'
0:05:40 > 0:05:44So, what do we know? 700 years ago there was a battle.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47- We know it was fought somewhere on this map.- And it took two days.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51The problem is finding it, because after 700 years, obviously,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53this landscape has changed dramatically.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56And you think it still matters to find it?
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Does that change how we view the battle?
0:05:58 > 0:06:01Very much so, because I think if we're going to understand
0:06:01 > 0:06:04the events of the battle and the history of that period,
0:06:04 > 0:06:08knowing exactly where it took place is an important stepping stone.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10But first thing we need to look at
0:06:10 > 0:06:13are the accounts that come from the time.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16And how good are the historical accounts?
0:06:16 > 0:06:18For the time, they're pretty good
0:06:18 > 0:06:20but I think we should limit our expectations.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23This isn't like today, where the news is instant.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26These are written decades, in most cases, after the battle.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28They're not instant eyewitness recollections.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31But we've got four main contenders, really.
0:06:31 > 0:06:32They're almost like four gospels,
0:06:32 > 0:06:36each of which gives a slightly different take on the battle.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39The most famous is probably one of the Scottish ones.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42This is The Brus by Barbour, and it's an epic poem
0:06:42 > 0:06:44which basically glamorises the life of Robert the Bruce.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47- It's not all about the battle? - Not at all,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51a small segment tells the story of the battle. But it's very important,
0:06:51 > 0:06:53- it's a Scottish perspective on the event.- Yeah.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55This is the Scalacronica.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Now, this is interesting
0:06:57 > 0:07:01because this is written from an eyewitness perspective -
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Sir Thomas Grey, who fought on the English side
0:07:04 > 0:07:08but was captured by the Scots and passes this account down to his son.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12- But it's clearly written for a Scottish audience.- Right.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14- So, we can count it really as a Scottish account.- OK.
0:07:14 > 0:07:20And on the English side, we have The Chronicle of Lanercost,
0:07:20 > 0:07:25which was set down by the monks of the Abbey of Lanercost
0:07:25 > 0:07:27in the North of England.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29One of the stories it tells is
0:07:29 > 0:07:32of a big set-to between Scotland and England.
0:07:32 > 0:07:37The other one on the English side is the tripping-off-the-tongue
0:07:37 > 0:07:40- Vita Edwardi Secundi. - So it's the life of Edward II.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44Exactly, it's Edward II's official biography.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48So what, if anything, do the chronicles agree on?
0:07:48 > 0:07:53Well, for a start, they agree it's a two-day affair, and on day one,
0:07:53 > 0:07:57the English arrive within striking distance of the Scots.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00'Edward arrived on June 23rd, 1314,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03'intent on relieving Stirling Castle,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06'in English hands but besieged by Robert the Bruce.'
0:08:10 > 0:08:12Stirling lies at the heart of Scotland,
0:08:12 > 0:08:17and this medieval map shows the strategic importance of the castle.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22It guarded the bridge crossing the River Forth,
0:08:22 > 0:08:27and in 1314 was one of the few crossings to the Highlands.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30It was the key to the Kingdom of Scotland.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42I never get tired of looking at that castle.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44That's the best castle in Scotland, that one.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47It's the way it stands out on the plain.
0:08:47 > 0:08:48That's the whole point.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51The English army would have seen it miles back.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54'Just north of the castle is the River Forth.'
0:08:54 > 0:08:57That's a fantastic view. Look at that.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01You've got the river here, and it loops around like a huge intestine,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04doesn't it? It's amazing. A major barrier between the Highlands,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06- and the Lowlands, and the Central Belt.- Yeah.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14And look at the size of that ground.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17You could have caught a battle in lots of places down there.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20And the town's expanded outwards.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22The footprint of the town is so huge.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26And our problem is that it's 700 years ago.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28If we were able to find, archaeologically,
0:09:28 > 0:09:30evidence for this battle, it would certainly be the oldest
0:09:30 > 0:09:34- battle in Britain that's been found archaeologically.- It is a big ask.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36It's a real challenge.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38I've been living in Stirling for six or seven years now.
0:09:38 > 0:09:43It's always amazing to me that there's such a major battlefield
0:09:43 > 0:09:47on my doorstep, and yet no-one, myself included, knows where it is.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52Yeah. Only you and I would be foolish enough to try and find out, my friend.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55Only you and I don't find what we don't find.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57With the panache that we don't find it with!
0:09:59 > 0:10:02And south of the castle flows the Bannock Burn.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05This long, meandering stream gave the battle its name
0:10:05 > 0:10:07and mythical status.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09MEN SHOUT
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Bannockburn was one of THE great pivotal events
0:10:12 > 0:10:14in the shaping of the British Isles.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17Bruce's victory helped seal Scotland's future
0:10:17 > 0:10:20as an independent kingdom, with a powerful new identity.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27But while the battle lasted just a couple of days,
0:10:27 > 0:10:32the war for the Kingdom of Scotland had been raging for 18 long years.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43Which was why Edward II marched north with an army of over 16,000,
0:10:43 > 0:10:48bent on finishing the invasion his father, Edward I, had started.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54Son of a nobleman, Robert the Bruce was just 22 years old
0:10:54 > 0:10:58when Edward I defeated the Scots and deposed the Scottish King,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01John Balliol, in 1296.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05As far as Edward was concerned,
0:11:05 > 0:11:09there would only ever be one King of Scotland - the King of England.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12So he marched to Scone, near Perth,
0:11:12 > 0:11:16to remove one of Scotland's most precious symbols of kingship.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27Just over the wall from the cemetery
0:11:27 > 0:11:30is the original site of the Abbey of Scone.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32And it's here, up until the time of Bruce,
0:11:32 > 0:11:35that the kings of Scotland were enthroned.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37This book's the Scalacronica,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40and it describes the times in which Bruce grew up.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07'Scott McMaster runs the National Trust for Scotland's
0:12:07 > 0:12:09'Battle of Bannockburn Centre,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12'and is a specialist in the Scottish Wars of Independence.'
0:12:12 > 0:12:14What is the Stone of Destiny?
0:12:14 > 0:12:17The Stone of Destiny was a piece of red sandstone
0:12:17 > 0:12:20- which previous kings were enthroned upon.- Yeah.
0:12:20 > 0:12:21Of course, what Edward's doing is,
0:12:21 > 0:12:25when he's taken this stone away, he's actually making a point.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Scotland is no longer a kingdom, there's no longer a King of Scots,
0:12:28 > 0:12:33it's a province which is a subject of Edward I of England.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35'And to add insult to injury,
0:12:35 > 0:12:37'he jammed the stone firmly
0:12:37 > 0:12:39'underneath the English Coronation chair.'
0:12:39 > 0:12:42It's a replica, obviously, but it gives some idea.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45You've got the stone shoved underneath it there.
0:12:45 > 0:12:46What's the idea with that?
0:12:46 > 0:12:50Well, this chair was built specifically by Edward I
0:12:50 > 0:12:51with one purpose -
0:12:51 > 0:12:54that all future monarchs of England are crowned on top of the
0:12:54 > 0:12:59Stone of Destiny, and it symbolises that Scotland is subject to England.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01But as Edward himself was to discover, it wasn't
0:13:01 > 0:13:04as straightforward as sticking a stone underneath a chair.
0:13:04 > 0:13:05No, absolutely not.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08It takes a lot more than just the removal of a stone to try
0:13:08 > 0:13:10and strip away the Scottish kingdom.
0:13:10 > 0:13:11Yes, indeed. Very interesting.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20There was resistance, of course.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23This monument marks the spot where, in 1297,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25William Wallace launched his attack
0:13:25 > 0:13:29to crush the English at Stirling Bridge and take the castle.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32Edward's archers annihilated Wallace's army
0:13:32 > 0:13:35at the Battle of Falkirk a year later.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42But getting Stirling Castle back from the Scots
0:13:42 > 0:13:45was quite another matter.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54This was the moment Edward I earned his nickname, Hammer of the Scots.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59Stirling Castle seemed impregnable,
0:13:59 > 0:14:03but Edward had a secret and terrible weapon.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06In his determination to get the castle back,
0:14:06 > 0:14:10Edward spared no expense, and ordered a new siege engine,
0:14:10 > 0:14:14a monstrous trebuchet, the War Wolf.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25It was one of the largest trebuchets ever built,
0:14:25 > 0:14:30and its lead weights were transported in 27 wagons.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33It was a terror weapon.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35It's big up close, isn't it?
0:14:35 > 0:14:36So we become the moving parts, do we?
0:14:36 > 0:14:39You are. You're going to be our giant hamsters for today.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41Oh, no, I don't like the sound of that.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44- I'm a bit worried about our armoured tea cosies.- Yeah, well.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48I'm sure I look every bit as good in mine as you do in yours.
0:14:48 > 0:14:49Boys, are you ready?
0:14:49 > 0:14:51ALL: Born ready!
0:14:51 > 0:14:55'War Wolf was capable of hurling 300lb missiles
0:14:55 > 0:14:57'to smash through the castle walls.'
0:14:57 > 0:15:00- It's quite fast.- That's right.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03It's going at a heck of a speed, surely? How are you doing, Tony?
0:15:03 > 0:15:05- I don't know.- It's horrendous.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07'It was also great entertainment.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09'Edward even set up a tent
0:15:09 > 0:15:12'so the ladies could enjoy watching the siege.'
0:15:12 > 0:15:15- TANNOY:- 'The trebuchet is now live and ready to launch.'
0:15:15 > 0:15:19- Look at the size of it.- But this is a baby compared to War Wolf.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23Yeah, War Wolf was, I would say, at least twice that size.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25Have a care!
0:15:26 > 0:15:28Ohh! Ohhh!
0:15:28 > 0:15:32Oh, that is the best thing ever!
0:15:34 > 0:15:37- DISTANT THUD - Oh, do that again!
0:15:38 > 0:15:40Oh, I love that.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42I love that more than anything else I've ever seen in my life!
0:15:42 > 0:15:45- That is truly awesome.- Wow!
0:15:45 > 0:15:49That was fantastic. Do that again - all day!
0:15:53 > 0:15:58The siege of Stirling took its time, though, as Scalacronica describes.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28War Wolf's destruction of Stirling Castle's walls
0:16:28 > 0:16:33completed the conquest of Scotland, and in the summer of 1304,
0:16:33 > 0:16:37Edward was, at long last, able to return home to England.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45This gave Robert the Bruce the chance
0:16:45 > 0:16:48to quietly plot to become King of Scotland.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56With the death of his father, Robert the Bruce
0:16:56 > 0:16:59inherited his family's claim to the Scottish throne.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11Bruce faced a stark choice - submission to the English King,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14or make a bid to become King of Scotland.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24Here, at the Abbey of Cambuskenneth on the banks of the River Forth,
0:17:24 > 0:17:26the decision was made for him.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31Bruce secretly met with Scotland's leading bishops,
0:17:31 > 0:17:34who promised him the Church's backing.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41Now, with God on his side, Bruce declared his kingship,
0:17:41 > 0:17:44and was hurriedly crowned King of Scots
0:17:44 > 0:17:47at Scone Abbey in March, 1306.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59Bruce has himself crowned. What's Edward's take on this?
0:17:59 > 0:18:03- How does he react? - Edward is absolutely furious.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06If you can imagine him when he hears, gets wind of this,
0:18:06 > 0:18:10kicking things over, despite his old age, and really
0:18:10 > 0:18:13there's no quarter given to Bruce or any of his supporters.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Three of his brothers are executed.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19His daughter and his wife, essentially, are captured.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21That's the way Edward deals with it.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25If you support Bruce, you've had it, as far as Edward's concerned.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31Bruce spent the next year in hiding.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35But then, in 1307, his luck changed.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42Edward I died on his way to Scotland.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51But his son, Edward II, had other plans.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55He decided to leave Scotland for another day,
0:18:55 > 0:18:59giving Bruce a much-needed breathing space.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06Bruce took full advantage,
0:19:06 > 0:19:10and set about taking Scotland back, castle by castle.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20It was to be a war of attrition counted in years rather than months.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23By 1314, the English occupying forces
0:19:23 > 0:19:25had been all but driven out of Scotland.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40When he captures castles, he reduces them.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42When he takes towns, he reduces the walls
0:19:42 > 0:19:45so they can't be re-garrisoned, and because without a castle,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48you can't collect tax, you can't dispense law.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50These are fundamental in the medieval period.
0:19:50 > 0:19:55The last major castle that remained under Edward's control was Stirling.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00Bruce's men laid siege.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03Edward's chronicle tells of the dramatic moment
0:20:03 > 0:20:07he receives news that he's about to lose this castle as well.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21The constable had agreed to hand over the castle to the Scots
0:20:21 > 0:20:27unless an English force arrived to relieve him by 24th June, 1314.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35So they come away from Berwick-upon-Tweed on 17th June.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37They cross the border on the 17th,
0:20:37 > 0:20:40and they're running all the way up, very quickly.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42These are just the night stops.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44So, it's one night, two nights, three, four,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46- five and they're at Falkirk. - And that's by the 23rd June.
0:20:46 > 0:20:5023rd, they're in the vicinity
0:20:50 > 0:20:53and we get our first day's contact on the 23rd.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56And they've come... There has been a muster of English forces
0:20:56 > 0:20:58so there's crossbowmen from Bristol,
0:20:58 > 0:21:00there's spearmen from Wales,
0:21:00 > 0:21:02they're all up and they've had to bring everything with them.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04And it must have been quite a sight.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06This thing must have been tailing back for miles.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09And, in fact, if we were the English garrison of the castle,
0:21:09 > 0:21:11we'd quite clearly see Edward approaching.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13Amazing to see that from up here.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15If you were up here, you'd be an Englishman surrounded by Scots.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19You'd be delighted to see it, obviously.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21'Although the contemporary accounts make no mention of it,
0:21:21 > 0:21:26'we're confident Edward and his 16,000-strong army must have followed
0:21:26 > 0:21:30'the thousand-year-old Roman road from Falkirk to Stirling.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34'This was the only logical route of approach for Edward's army,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37'given its numbers and size of the baggage train.'
0:21:44 > 0:21:47'So, if we follow the course of the Roman road,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50'we can find where it crossed the Bannock Burn.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53'Then we will be able to work out where Bruce
0:21:53 > 0:21:57'made his stand against Edward to block his path to the castle.'
0:21:57 > 0:21:59- See the road there? Straight as a die.- Yes.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02Telltale sign of a Roman road.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04That would have been Edward's route into Stirling.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08- Yeah. And it points pretty much at the castle.- Yeah.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12'Looking from above, it's easy to follow this Roman road.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16'But, suddenly, the modern road becomes distinctly wriggly,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19'and the straight Roman road just disappears.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22'Back in 2002, this is where we found
0:22:22 > 0:22:24'the last evidence of the road.'
0:22:24 > 0:22:26How many years is that since we excavated that
0:22:26 > 0:22:29- for Two Men In A Trench? - Too long to remember!
0:22:29 > 0:22:33This is the Roman road that we were looking for.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37The large stones dotted along in that line are all that survives
0:22:37 > 0:22:40of the curve that was put in place to hold the whole thing together
0:22:40 > 0:22:44and stop the surface going flat as the whole thing slid downhill.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48And this, that we've got our feet on, is all that remains
0:22:48 > 0:22:51of the surfacing, the actual metalled surface
0:22:51 > 0:22:54that vehicles were able to move over.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56What always amazes me as well is the fact that
0:22:56 > 0:23:01- even by the time Edward was using that road, that was ancient.- Yeah.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04That road had been there since, you know, way before memory.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07Problem is, as we know, it disappears, and we don't even know
0:23:07 > 0:23:09where it crosses the Bannock Burn closer to Stirling.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14Somewhere on the other side of the Bannock Burn,
0:23:14 > 0:23:15Bruce would have been waiting.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25'At Beechwood Park, in the shadow of Stirling Castle,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28'a community dig organised by Stirling Council Archaeology
0:23:28 > 0:23:30'is in full swing.'
0:23:31 > 0:23:35- What is this?- That's the bottom of an old wine bottle.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38- That could be 200 years old.- Ohh!
0:23:38 > 0:23:42'Led by Murray Cook, the team has made a major discovery.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45'They've found another section of the Roman road, north of the Bannock Burn
0:23:45 > 0:23:50'and two miles north of where Neil and I excavated back in 2002.'
0:23:50 > 0:23:54So, Murray, are you confident that you have the Roman road here?
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Very much so. We've got the classic cobbles,
0:23:56 > 0:24:00we've also got a series of later medieval resurfacings.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03It's got green glazed pottery and an Elizabethan coin. Very exciting.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07- It looks like one.- I have to say, from what I've seen, I agree.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10One of the reasons I think you're right is that we've seen this before,
0:24:10 > 0:24:15when we first looked way back outside of Stirling
0:24:15 > 0:24:17and we found the Roman road there.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20It's pretty much the same dimensions, seven or eight metres wide.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23It's got a camber, so it's coming up in the middle
0:24:23 > 0:24:25which yours definitely is, worn cobbles...
0:24:25 > 0:24:29So pretty much mirroring what we had there.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33The problem is, obviously, as we came in, it just totally disappeared.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38But having found it so close in to the castle is pretty amazing, really.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41It's a significant discovery.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44What this medieval resurfacing and pottery tell us
0:24:44 > 0:24:48is that the Roman road was maintained right up to 1314,
0:24:48 > 0:24:51taking Edward's army to the gates of Stirling Castle.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58We now have confirmed sites for the road to the north
0:24:58 > 0:25:01and south of the Bannock Burn, so the next step is to work out
0:25:01 > 0:25:04the precise route between these two locations,
0:25:04 > 0:25:08and discover where Edward's forces would have crossed the burn.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10'To do this, we're going to use
0:25:10 > 0:25:13'a highly accurate model of the landscape.'
0:25:13 > 0:25:19- Wow, so this is the LiDAR model of Bannockburn?- Yep.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23'One of my PhD students is reconstructing the route using
0:25:23 > 0:25:26'LiDAR imaging, or laser mapping.'
0:25:26 > 0:25:30So what we've got here is really a 3D computer model of the landscape?
0:25:30 > 0:25:31Yeah, yeah, essentially.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33Edward's approaching from the south,
0:25:33 > 0:25:36heading towards the castle along the Roman road.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39Have you been able to work out where the Roman road
0:25:39 > 0:25:41is most likely to cross the Bannock Burn?
0:25:41 > 0:25:44- Cos that's a big mystery today in the modern landscape.- Yeah,
0:25:44 > 0:25:49- you can get a general idea of line just by linking those.- Wow.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51And it comes across the Bannock Burn,
0:25:51 > 0:25:54it seems to cut just to the north of Milton Bog,
0:25:54 > 0:25:59and then goes up into the New Park close by the visitor centre.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04So, with the help of LiDAR, we now know the most likely route
0:26:04 > 0:26:09of the Roman road, and where it crossed the Bannock Burn.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12I suppose a major problem that an army on the move
0:26:12 > 0:26:15would deal with at the time is that when you come to waterways,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18there's not a lot of bridges around, really.
0:26:18 > 0:26:23No, bridges at that time are a major construct, and most of the time
0:26:23 > 0:26:26you're going to be finding shallow places to cross, fords like this.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29This is what Edward's going to be looking for,
0:26:29 > 0:26:32cos he's got to cross the Bannock Burn to get to Bruce.
0:26:33 > 0:26:34Yeah, that's it.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38So the onus is on him because he's got to get to the castle.
0:26:38 > 0:26:39Horses and men are one thing
0:26:39 > 0:26:42because, you know, maybe they can swim, but it's the kit.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44It's all that equipment.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47Whatever food supplies, and weaponry...
0:26:47 > 0:26:51It's the whole moving city that goes with the medieval army,
0:26:51 > 0:26:54that you've got to get across places like this
0:26:54 > 0:26:57with the enemy on the other side of it.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59So, you don't know what's going to happen
0:26:59 > 0:27:01as you're weakened as you cross it.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11On the north side of the Bannock Burn, Bruce was waiting for them.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16This statue of Bruce stands on top of Monument Hill.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19- The monument's come on well, all polished up.- Yeah.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22'With views commanding the castle, the Bannock Burn
0:27:22 > 0:27:24'and the Roman road, this is the spot
0:27:24 > 0:27:27'where the Scottish King made his stand.
0:27:27 > 0:27:28'Over the centuries,
0:27:28 > 0:27:32'it's been a place of pilgrimage for thousands of visitors.'
0:27:32 > 0:27:34There's the new visitor centre.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Probably the one and only time we'll get to see it from above.
0:27:37 > 0:27:38I guess so.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47So far, the evidence suggests the monument is in the right place.
0:27:47 > 0:27:48But to date,
0:27:48 > 0:27:52no archaeological evidence has been found of this first encounter.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54The question is, can we?
0:27:57 > 0:28:02We've enlisted some local people from Stirling to help with the digging.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05Digging is already under way in the search for clues
0:28:05 > 0:28:07as to the site of the Battle of Bannockburn...
0:28:08 > 0:28:11'Derek Alexander, head of archaeology for
0:28:11 > 0:28:13'the National Trust for Scotland, is leading the dig.'
0:28:13 > 0:28:16- Hello, Derek. You've got a lot of bodies here, Derek.- Hello, everyone.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18This is our volunteer army.
0:28:18 > 0:28:19Got anything? Tell us about it.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21So far, a lot of the things we've found
0:28:21 > 0:28:24have been old bricks from the 17th, 18th century.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27- So, farming?- Farming.
0:28:27 > 0:28:32- Over the years, has anything of note been found here?- Not on this bit.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35I suppose, whether or not we find anything archaeologically,
0:28:35 > 0:28:37you've only got to look at where we are in relation to
0:28:37 > 0:28:40the rest of the landscape to see that this would surely have been
0:28:40 > 0:28:42a place where there would have been a presence.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44It would have been reprehensible had they not kept
0:28:44 > 0:28:46an eye on the road that leads to the castle.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48So whether or not we find anything
0:28:48 > 0:28:52is not going to say that this site has no relevance. This site will always be relevant.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02'Bruce's camp was nearby,
0:29:02 > 0:29:06'and to get an idea of what his army would have looked like in 1314,
0:29:06 > 0:29:11'we invited along a local medieval re-enactment group called Clanranald.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17'Led by Charlie Allan, Clanranald have amassed
0:29:17 > 0:29:20'an impressive collection of weapons and kit to help give us a glimpse
0:29:20 > 0:29:23'of what might have been left behind on the battlefield.'
0:29:23 > 0:29:24- Hiya, Charlie.- Hello.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28- Did you bring all of your hardware or just some of it?- Just some of it.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31I'm assuming that this kind of gear is expensive?
0:29:31 > 0:29:33The rank and file, would they have swords?
0:29:33 > 0:29:35Would the ordinary fighting men have them?
0:29:35 > 0:29:36Not every man would have had swords.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39I mean, you have axes, working tools...
0:29:39 > 0:29:43What about what the men are wearing? I mean, there's chain mail.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46Surely that's a luxury item as well, worn by the few?
0:29:46 > 0:29:48Yep, definitely. I mean, these things were handmade.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50Cos this is just the sort of thing we might find,
0:29:50 > 0:29:52individual or just a few of these,
0:29:52 > 0:29:55- that have been smashed up and left on the battlefield.- Yeah.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57The problem we've always got is that
0:29:57 > 0:29:59if anything is left behind on a battlefield
0:29:59 > 0:30:00that's in any way serviceable,
0:30:00 > 0:30:02- it's going to be collected within minutes.- Absolutely.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04Even broken weaponry.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06I mean, the metal itself is a valuable commodity.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09Well, you've got a forge there, you could melt it down again.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11We're looking for stuff that's genuinely gone out of sight,
0:30:11 > 0:30:14it's gone into a river or it's been trampled into the mud.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17- If it's visible and it's metal, somebody's going to take it away on the day.- Aye.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22Back at the excavation, the team are digging several trenches...
0:30:24 > 0:30:25..metal detecting...
0:30:26 > 0:30:30..and using geophysics to cover as much of Monument Hill as possible.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35And there is plenty of archaeological evidence
0:30:35 > 0:30:37to show that this was a busy place through the centuries.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43There are one or two nice little pieces.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45This, for instance,
0:30:45 > 0:30:51is a cartwheel penny from 1797.
0:30:51 > 0:30:52Inasmuch as we were worried
0:30:52 > 0:30:55that nothing much would survive beyond the 1960s,
0:30:55 > 0:30:58the fact that there's an 18th-century coin...
0:30:58 > 0:31:00Yeah, I think it shows promise,
0:31:00 > 0:31:02because it shows that the ground we're working
0:31:02 > 0:31:05isn't entirely imported later when they're building the monument.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07And the other thing is, I think it tells part of the story,
0:31:07 > 0:31:10because this is material that may have been lost
0:31:10 > 0:31:13- by tourists coming up to visit in the late 18th century.- Yes.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16And it's quite nice to think that people were visiting that early on.
0:31:16 > 0:31:18Now, talking of stuff surviving,
0:31:18 > 0:31:20take a look at this.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23- This is probably today's little gem.- Lovely.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27That is bona fide medieval. I think they call it white gritty ware.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29- That is...- For obvious reasons.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32..probably of the period, it's 14th century, 1300s.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36That could be camp debris, that could be from Bruce's men.
0:31:36 > 0:31:37That's great, isn't it?
0:31:37 > 0:31:39The base of a bowl of some sort, maybe a cooking vessel.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42Which, of course, they would be carrying around with them.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44And let's not forget, the Scots are here for days,
0:31:44 > 0:31:47- if not weeks, before the battle. - Yeah, they're not just fighting,
0:31:47 > 0:31:49they're living and eating and drinking.
0:31:51 > 0:31:52The contemporary accounts
0:31:52 > 0:31:55all describe that on the eve of the battle
0:31:55 > 0:31:56Bruce camped in a wooded area
0:31:56 > 0:31:57known as the New Park.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02Robert the Bruce is recorded as using it as cover
0:32:02 > 0:32:04to hide from the advancing English.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11What do you think is really meant by the term New Park?
0:32:11 > 0:32:14- What is that? - Well, it's hunting, isn't it?
0:32:14 > 0:32:17Because you've got the King's castle back there -
0:32:17 > 0:32:20around it he would have land where he could go out on horseback
0:32:20 > 0:32:22and hunt his deer and, I suppose, not just for sport...
0:32:22 > 0:32:25What would it look like? I mean, what... Is it trees...?
0:32:25 > 0:32:28It's going to be trees, isn't it? It's got to be.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31You've got... Cos that's theoretically what happened here.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34You've got Robert the Bruce in the New Park, in the trees,
0:32:34 > 0:32:37shielding himself from the English cavalry coming in that direction.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41So, it's got to be a wood of some sort, that's how I see it in my mind's eye.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43That's the big fascination I have about this kind of thing,
0:32:43 > 0:32:45because you take this layout for granted
0:32:45 > 0:32:48and then you have to, in your mind's eye, clear it,
0:32:48 > 0:32:50and allow for something that looks utterly different.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59Alongside the archaeology, another team is conducting
0:32:59 > 0:33:01an environmental science research project.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05Led by Professor Richard Tipping,
0:33:05 > 0:33:07they are hoping to give us
0:33:07 > 0:33:09a better understanding of the landscape
0:33:09 > 0:33:11as Robert the Bruce would have seen it,
0:33:11 > 0:33:14and they've uncovered something surprising.
0:33:14 > 0:33:19How do you think we should be envisaging the landscape at the time?
0:33:19 > 0:33:23Well, fundamentally different to the way it looks now.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27There's probably more woodland now
0:33:27 > 0:33:31- than there was in 1314. - Really?- A lot of this is...
0:33:31 > 0:33:36- 19th-century, even 20th-century planting.- Yeah.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40It's hard to think that there were trees enough
0:33:40 > 0:33:42for Bruce's men to hide behind.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45I have to say, to my mind, that's quite a revolutionary statement,
0:33:45 > 0:33:48because the image we have is a kind of Robin Hood scenario,
0:33:48 > 0:33:51with the Scottish army kind of concealed, weighing up its chances.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53But what you're saying is
0:33:53 > 0:33:55that if Robert the Bruce's army is on this hill,
0:33:55 > 0:33:58it's out there in open sight, in plain sight of the English,
0:33:58 > 0:34:01and that may be a full statement of intent
0:34:01 > 0:34:03- on the part of Robert the Bruce.- Yes.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05This is a very sensible place to put your army,
0:34:05 > 0:34:09because you are on the route of Edward's army
0:34:09 > 0:34:11as they advance towards Stirling.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15That's amazing. I have to say I'm really surprised to hear this,
0:34:15 > 0:34:16this is incredible stuff.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22To Bruce, Monument Hill made perfect sense.
0:34:22 > 0:34:23It gave him the high ground
0:34:23 > 0:34:26and clear views of Edward's approaching army.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30So Bruce, when he's up on this hill,
0:34:30 > 0:34:32is on higher ground than the road,
0:34:32 > 0:34:35- he's covering it quite nicely. - Yeah.- It makes sense.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38And the other thing is we haven't found evidence for trees,
0:34:38 > 0:34:41- we haven't found... - There's no root holes.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43Or anything that you would relate to a forest.
0:34:43 > 0:34:45So what Richard Tipping says
0:34:45 > 0:34:48about this place being fairly free of trees
0:34:48 > 0:34:50is backed up with the archaeology.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52So, again, in your mind's eye
0:34:52 > 0:34:54you've got to get rid of all this clutter,
0:34:54 > 0:34:56and just have it as an open hilltop.
0:34:56 > 0:34:57I have to say, that tree thing
0:34:57 > 0:35:00is probably the thing that's surprised me the most.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02That's integral to the traditional story
0:35:02 > 0:35:05of what Robert the Bruce is doing here on that first day
0:35:05 > 0:35:07and the days prior to that.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09Whatever he was doing, he wasn't hiding in the trees. Yeah.
0:35:09 > 0:35:13But we've got plenty of ground to cover,
0:35:13 > 0:35:16- there's a big job still ahead of us. - Yes. Oh, yeah.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19- Right, let's go and help with the backfilling.- On you go.
0:35:19 > 0:35:21TONY LAUGHS
0:35:24 > 0:35:26Standing on this hill,
0:35:26 > 0:35:30Bruce would have seen the English army arriving in its full splendour.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35They were a far superior fighting force.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38There were at least 14,000 English infantry and archers,
0:35:38 > 0:35:42while the Scots footmen were only half that number.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48But the main threat for the Scottish army was Edward's cavalry -
0:35:48 > 0:35:522,000 English knights on their much-feared warhorses.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59So, what WAS Bruce's strategy?
0:36:01 > 0:36:02Facing an army that size,
0:36:02 > 0:36:05he had to exploit every advantage he could
0:36:05 > 0:36:08by using the natural landscape to block the English.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13To help us understand how Bruce achieved that,
0:36:13 > 0:36:17the National Trust for Scotland have used Richard Tipping's research,
0:36:17 > 0:36:19combined with the LiDAR data set,
0:36:19 > 0:36:22to create an historically accurate map of Stirling's landscape
0:36:22 > 0:36:24700 years ago.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28Oh, that's great, isn't it?
0:36:28 > 0:36:30- Time machine.- Stirling's gone.
0:36:30 > 0:36:32Right, we're back in 1314.
0:36:32 > 0:36:34It's the landscape that catches your eye
0:36:34 > 0:36:36rather than the built-up area.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39Yeah, exactly. That's what we need to look at.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42So, that's the line of approach then, that's the Roman road.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44That's it, coming from the south.
0:36:44 > 0:36:49Straight towards the castle, which is the English target.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51And the English army can see the Scots.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53Yeah. That's the thing,
0:36:53 > 0:36:56they're up on this ground here, which is a high rise.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59So Robert Bruce can see the English approaching
0:36:59 > 0:37:01from a good distance away.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03So the English have options there -
0:37:03 > 0:37:06they either go left or right, around the Scots.
0:37:06 > 0:37:08Should they go to the left,
0:37:08 > 0:37:10which would force them into boggy ground
0:37:10 > 0:37:13and then some conspicuously high ground,
0:37:13 > 0:37:14or should they go right,
0:37:14 > 0:37:18which would take them down onto possibly more boggy ground?
0:37:18 > 0:37:20So, the favoured option, clearly,
0:37:20 > 0:37:22is to break on straight through,
0:37:22 > 0:37:26but that's where the trouble lies, cos the Scots are in the way.
0:37:30 > 0:37:35Bruce was determined to force Edward's army onto difficult ground.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39And as the contemporary accounts tell us,
0:37:39 > 0:37:42he had several tricks up his sleeve to make sure he did.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47As Barbour describes...
0:38:10 > 0:38:13'These treacherous medieval minefields
0:38:13 > 0:38:15'could stop cavalry dead in their tracks,
0:38:15 > 0:38:17'as the volunteers
0:38:17 > 0:38:20'from the local medieval re-enactment group Clanranald
0:38:20 > 0:38:21'are about to show me.'
0:38:21 > 0:38:24It's such a simple, low-tech way to break up horsemen, isn't it?
0:38:24 > 0:38:29- Aye.- The most feared weapon in medieval Europe, the heavy horse.
0:38:29 > 0:38:34You dig some three-foot-deep holes and they can't deploy. Brilliant.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38- Should be deep enough to just snap one of the legs.- Yeah.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42And when you've got a few rows like this, staggered,
0:38:42 > 0:38:44they couldn't really jump them either.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46As well as breaking up the heavy horse,
0:38:46 > 0:38:51even infantry couldn't advance, in formation,
0:38:51 > 0:38:53over ground that's been prepared like this.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55Not at any great speed anyway.
0:38:55 > 0:39:01It's so simple. How long do think you would take...to complete one?
0:39:01 > 0:39:02In this ground? Half an hour.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05- Half an hour.- Yeah. Easy. - And you'd put the effort in
0:39:05 > 0:39:08- if you knew it would save your life the following day!- Oh, yeah!
0:39:08 > 0:39:12Although it's hard labour just the same.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15- Rather you than me. - THEY LAUGH
0:39:15 > 0:39:18Now, remember, they only work by the hundreds,
0:39:18 > 0:39:20so I need another 250...
0:39:20 > 0:39:23by the end of the day. Best of luck.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30So where did Bruce plant this medieval minefield?
0:39:31 > 0:39:34It's probably easiest if I draw a rough map.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37Now, if you imagine that's the river, Bannock Burn,
0:39:37 > 0:39:40and it's crossed at some point by the Roman road.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45The English heavy horse and the rest of them
0:39:45 > 0:39:47are moving in this direction.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50They cross the river at that available point.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53Just beyond the water,
0:39:53 > 0:39:54the Bruce had ordered his men
0:39:54 > 0:39:59to dig the pits either side of the road...
0:40:00 > 0:40:04..which meant that as soon as they came out of the water,
0:40:04 > 0:40:06the heavy horse,
0:40:06 > 0:40:09the riders realised they couldn't fan out into a front.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12Instead, they were kept hemmed in
0:40:12 > 0:40:14and could only proceed in that direction
0:40:14 > 0:40:17in a group just a couple of horses wide,
0:40:17 > 0:40:20and that configuration would leave them vulnerable to attack.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25There's no doubt that the pits posed a fearsome threat.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29One contemporary chronicle had them as "a contrivance full of evils
0:40:29 > 0:40:31"formed for the feet of horses
0:40:31 > 0:40:35"so they may not pass without disasters."
0:40:36 > 0:40:40And the pits were even more evil when combined with these.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42- Schiltron!- ALL:- Huh!
0:40:43 > 0:40:46Bruce had trained his men well.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49How many pikes are lying over there?
0:40:49 > 0:40:53'Charlie Allan has made a study of the Scots' tactics.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56'Using real weapons, he trains his Clanranald combat team
0:40:56 > 0:40:59'in the same way Robert the Bruce would have done,
0:40:59 > 0:41:02'to work in a tight fighting unit.'
0:41:02 > 0:41:05These guys are clearly used to fighting in various forms.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08So they could almost be like a medieval army
0:41:08 > 0:41:10that fights every now and again
0:41:10 > 0:41:12and then comes back together for another war.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14Absolutely. When you get a group of guys into that mindset,
0:41:14 > 0:41:16working as a team together,
0:41:16 > 0:41:18with all one cause in common,
0:41:18 > 0:41:21that's to get the job done and get the job done properly...
0:41:21 > 0:41:24- Which is exactly what Robert Bruce would have to do.- Yeah.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26To pull those men together
0:41:26 > 0:41:29up against a formidable force, like the English had on that day,
0:41:29 > 0:41:32to get those guys to put their head in the lion's mouth, so to speak,
0:41:32 > 0:41:35you know, he must have had great respect from his men.
0:41:35 > 0:41:39- You know, and that goes two ways. - He for them.- Yeah.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43MEN CHANT
0:41:43 > 0:41:46One of the techniques in which the Scots worked together
0:41:46 > 0:41:47was schiltrons.
0:41:47 > 0:41:48These medieval hedgehogs
0:41:48 > 0:41:52were large groups of tightly packed men armed with spears.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54They formed a sort of tank,
0:41:54 > 0:41:56impenetrable by cavalry.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00The Vita Edwardi Secundi, the Life Of Edward II,
0:42:00 > 0:42:02describes the schiltrons in detail.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18Charlie, how does this here schiltron work?
0:42:18 > 0:42:21Come here and I'll show you.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24- You need one of these.- OK.- Pike.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28- That is quite a substantial piece of wood.- It is, yeah.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31Obviously there's a particular way to hold it.
0:42:31 > 0:42:32If you were front-line,
0:42:32 > 0:42:35- obviously you'd wedge that pointed end into the ground.- OK.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38Your left foot against it, side-on,
0:42:38 > 0:42:41and then kneel down in a comfortable position,
0:42:41 > 0:42:42try not to stretch your knee too far.
0:42:42 > 0:42:47- OK...- That's it. And that way you've kind of got the control now.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50Any horse that came on top of that would just impale itself.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53The whole point of the schiltron was to keep everybody tight together.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56So you were basically creating a spiky fence,
0:42:56 > 0:42:59so that nobody could penetrate that.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01- Arms up!- MEN:- Huh!
0:43:01 > 0:43:02Schiltron!
0:43:02 > 0:43:05- MEN:- Huh!
0:43:05 > 0:43:07That's not as easy as it looks.
0:43:07 > 0:43:08No, it's not.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10Do that again.
0:43:10 > 0:43:11Schiltron!
0:43:11 > 0:43:13- MEN:- Huh!
0:43:13 > 0:43:15By the end of the day we'll have you snappy.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17Looks very cool, though.
0:43:17 > 0:43:19Well, your front line's your main defence.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22Its sole purpose is to stop the cavalry getting in.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25So the front line would go down on their knees first.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30You can see I'm having to move back already.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33Now, looking at that on its own, you would probably think,
0:43:33 > 0:43:35"Well, I could smash my way through that and step in
0:43:35 > 0:43:37"and thrust in with a sword."
0:43:37 > 0:43:41But what you've got is your secondary protection...
0:43:41 > 0:43:43over the top.
0:43:43 > 0:43:46So now you see that even gives YOU a bit of defence.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48I've got a roof now.
0:43:48 > 0:43:49I feel safer.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52OK, and then your third line coming in over the top,
0:43:52 > 0:43:55standing in between the people in front of them.
0:43:55 > 0:43:57So you've got this massive hedge.
0:43:57 > 0:44:01At this point, there's absolutely nowhere I can go.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03By the time you get in so far, past this one,
0:44:03 > 0:44:06you've got this, you know, head-height.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08These are razor-sharp. There's just no way.
0:44:08 > 0:44:12- That is formidable.- For as long as there's numbers behind,
0:44:12 > 0:44:14the wall will always remain the same.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17You'd need to be Superman to get through that.
0:44:22 > 0:44:26Of course, Edward had no idea what preparations Bruce had made.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44To get a better understanding of what happened next...
0:44:46 > 0:44:50..we're about to conduct a unique archaeological experiment,
0:44:50 > 0:44:53using stuntmen, horses,
0:44:53 > 0:44:55a small army of battle re-enactors,
0:44:55 > 0:44:58and state-of-the-art special effects.
0:44:58 > 0:45:00We're going to try to piece together
0:45:00 > 0:45:03what happened when the English and Scottish forces finally clashed
0:45:03 > 0:45:05on the first day of the battle.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12Welcome to our medieval battlefield.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15It's actually the River Endrick near Drymen,
0:45:15 > 0:45:17but it bears a striking resemblance
0:45:17 > 0:45:20to what Bannock Burn would have looked like in 1314.
0:45:20 > 0:45:22It's wider than the Bannock Burn and much sandier,
0:45:22 > 0:45:25but for the purposes of this experiment, it's going to be ideal.
0:45:30 > 0:45:35The English army arrived late in the afternoon of June 23rd.
0:45:35 > 0:45:37At this point, Edward and his commanders
0:45:37 > 0:45:40confidently assumed that their vast and powerful army
0:45:40 > 0:45:43would effortlessly wipe out the Scots,
0:45:43 > 0:45:44whose forces were half its size.
0:45:47 > 0:45:49And this arrogance is demonstrated
0:45:49 > 0:45:51when the English knights first encountered the Scots.
0:45:53 > 0:45:57A vanguard of English cavalry started to cross the Bannock Burn.
0:45:58 > 0:46:00At their head was a young knight,
0:46:00 > 0:46:02Sir Henry de Bohun.
0:46:02 > 0:46:06According to Barbour, he spotted the Bruce addressing his troops
0:46:06 > 0:46:09and decided to challenge the King of Scots.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12De Bohun's horse is clearly much bigger than Robert the Bruce's.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15Yeah, de Bohun would be riding a destrier, a warhorse.
0:46:15 > 0:46:18He's a young knight who's trying to make a good name for himself,
0:46:18 > 0:46:20this is his opportunity here.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24If he gets Bruce, who's lightly armed, only with a small battle-axe,
0:46:24 > 0:46:25then it's game over,
0:46:25 > 0:46:28and it'll send a shock wave throughout the Scots.
0:46:28 > 0:46:30It's worth a chance, isn't it?
0:46:30 > 0:46:32And...action!
0:46:32 > 0:46:34- He's off.- Oh, wow.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38Scene one, de Bohun's attack on Bruce.
0:46:41 > 0:46:45This is how Barbour describes it in the Scottish version.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53"The vanguard rode in good array, without stopping,
0:46:53 > 0:46:54"straight to the Park.
0:46:58 > 0:47:03"And when the Bruce knew they were come so near in full order of battle
0:47:03 > 0:47:05"he set his men in array.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17"The gallant Sir Henry de Bohun knew the King
0:47:17 > 0:47:20"by reason of the crown on his basinet."
0:47:20 > 0:47:22MEN SHOUT
0:47:26 > 0:47:30"When the Bruce saw him come on so openly before all his comrades,
0:47:30 > 0:47:32"he turned his horse towards him.
0:47:52 > 0:47:54"The Bruce, with his keen, strong axe,
0:47:54 > 0:47:56"dealt him such a mighty blow
0:47:56 > 0:48:00"as neither hat nor helmet could withstand.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02"The axe handle shivered in two
0:48:02 > 0:48:05"and de Bohun crashed, helpless, to the earth."
0:48:07 > 0:48:12It's a rather graphic account, but the chronicles don't entirely agree.
0:48:12 > 0:48:15What do the sources say exactly happened?
0:48:15 > 0:48:18Well, Barbour records it very well.
0:48:18 > 0:48:21And Barbour writes that the Bruce, during the incident,
0:48:21 > 0:48:23cleaved de Bohun's head in two.
0:48:23 > 0:48:28"He cleaves his head in twain but breaks his axe." However...
0:48:28 > 0:48:31the Vita Edwardi Secundi, The Life Of Edward II,
0:48:31 > 0:48:34sort of reports it in a different way altogether.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38And it basically reports that de Bohun was moving forward
0:48:38 > 0:48:41with some of his men, spots the Bruce
0:48:41 > 0:48:43and then tries to make it back to his companions.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46And Bruce rides after him and strikes him dead.
0:48:46 > 0:48:49- So...- That's the English version. - That's the English version.
0:48:49 > 0:48:51- The Brus version is the hero's version.- Yeah.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53And that's really what the book's about,
0:48:53 > 0:48:55being elevated to heroic status.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57Is it possible that the Bruce
0:48:57 > 0:49:00was able to inflict the kind of damage
0:49:00 > 0:49:02that's described in Barbour?
0:49:02 > 0:49:04- You know, split his head in two. - I think...
0:49:04 > 0:49:09Well, in some accounts, he basically splits the head in two from the...
0:49:09 > 0:49:11right through the skull to the chest bone.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14Now, I don't know if that is possible. We'd have to...
0:49:14 > 0:49:16I think what we need to do is a little experiment
0:49:16 > 0:49:19and I know the man we need for that job.
0:49:19 > 0:49:20I think we all do.
0:49:20 > 0:49:21Charlie.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26- Steady on, lad. - It's a man with an axe!
0:49:26 > 0:49:29Charlie, what do you think is the most likely way in which
0:49:29 > 0:49:35that scene played out in real life, between the Bruce and de Bohun?
0:49:35 > 0:49:39Well, personally, you risk glancing off armour
0:49:39 > 0:49:42or any kind of helmet with an edged blade.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45My choice would have been, you know, the pick
0:49:45 > 0:49:49because, even if I hit the armour, it's going to go through it.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52If I miss the armour and hit him anywhere on the body,
0:49:52 > 0:49:53it's going to go through it.
0:49:53 > 0:49:58Right, Charlie, hit it with the blade of the axe first, see what that does.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01HE YELLS
0:50:05 > 0:50:07You've split it.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10It's certainly going to have done some damage to him,
0:50:10 > 0:50:12but not killed him outright or split his skull wide open,
0:50:12 > 0:50:15- that's for sure.- Yeah, nothing like that account of the skull opening,
0:50:15 > 0:50:18- the helmet opening right down to his...- To the chest bone.- ..chest.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21Try it with the point this time, Charlie.
0:50:21 > 0:50:23HE YELLS ALL: Oh!
0:50:23 > 0:50:25HE YELLS ALL: OH!
0:50:25 > 0:50:26Bull's-eye!
0:50:26 > 0:50:29- Wow.- He's a goner, he's dead.
0:50:29 > 0:50:31- He is a goner.- And it's turned his head through 180 degrees.
0:50:31 > 0:50:32Which doesn't help!
0:50:34 > 0:50:37- Well...- There you go. - Poor old de Bohun, eh?
0:50:53 > 0:50:55Whatever the manner of the slaying,
0:50:55 > 0:50:58Robert the Bruce had made himself the leader of legend.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01De Bohun's killed by the Bruce.
0:51:01 > 0:51:05What impact does that English knight's death have on both sides?
0:51:05 > 0:51:08It has two big impacts, to be honest, two main impacts.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11For the Scottish foot soldiers, for the infantry,
0:51:11 > 0:51:12it's a huge morale boost.
0:51:12 > 0:51:17They've just seen their King basically take out a leading knight
0:51:17 > 0:51:20from the English army in a spectacular fashion.
0:51:20 > 0:51:24It sends a shock wave through to the English ranks, as well,
0:51:24 > 0:51:26because they've seen a young knight
0:51:26 > 0:51:29basically being killed very effectively with a small axe.
0:51:29 > 0:51:31So there's a boost to morale for them,
0:51:31 > 0:51:33and to the English, they go, "Hang on -
0:51:33 > 0:51:34"what exactly have we got here?
0:51:34 > 0:51:37- "This is not the guerrilla fighter, he can handle himself."- Yeah.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40So, after that instant shock on both sides, what...
0:51:40 > 0:51:42How does it unfold after that?
0:51:42 > 0:51:44Well, the second element, of course, was de Bohun is slain
0:51:44 > 0:51:47but then Hereford and Gloucester lead the attack
0:51:47 > 0:51:51upon the Scots schiltron and are basically repulsed backwards.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54- So pretty disastrous, all in, for the English on day one?- Absolutely.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57- Let's see how that unfolds.- OK.
0:51:57 > 0:52:00Stand by, schiltron!
0:52:00 > 0:52:02And...action!
0:52:02 > 0:52:04Scene two, the English cavalry charge.
0:52:08 > 0:52:12In anger, the English cavalry charge the schiltrons.
0:52:12 > 0:52:16It's an impetuous move, fuelled by rage over de Bohun's killing.
0:52:18 > 0:52:23Barbour describes Bruce encouraging his men to stick to the plan.
0:52:23 > 0:52:25As long as they stayed together,
0:52:25 > 0:52:28the schiltrons would stand firm against the English cavalry.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30THEY SHOUT
0:52:30 > 0:52:33HOOVES THUNDER
0:52:37 > 0:52:40"Be not dismayed because of their din
0:52:40 > 0:52:42"but set your spears before you
0:52:42 > 0:52:46"and keep all back-to-back, with the spear points out."
0:52:48 > 0:52:49THEY SHOUT
0:52:49 > 0:52:52The combination of schiltrons and pits proved so impenetrable
0:52:52 > 0:52:57that the English, in frustration, hurled their weapons at the Scots.
0:52:57 > 0:53:01"Many spears, darts, knives and weapons of all sorts
0:53:01 > 0:53:05"were cast among the Scots, but they defended themselves so skilfully
0:53:05 > 0:53:09"that the English were filled with wonder."
0:53:09 > 0:53:12THEY SHOUT
0:53:17 > 0:53:20From the outset, Bruce knew he would be outnumbered
0:53:20 > 0:53:23and that the English cavalry posed the greatest threat.
0:53:28 > 0:53:30But Bruce chose his position well,
0:53:30 > 0:53:33and cleverly used the natural landscape
0:53:33 > 0:53:36to stop Edward's army in its tracks.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42By digging a honeycomb of pits,
0:53:42 > 0:53:45and forming his men into well-drilled schiltrons,
0:53:45 > 0:53:47he saw off the English cavalry charge.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56So far, we've not found any evidence of the battle on Monument Hill
0:53:56 > 0:53:59and that backs up what the contemporary accounts tell us.
0:53:59 > 0:54:03The only thing that happened on day one was a skirmish.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08With the light fading, Edward decided to have one more go
0:54:08 > 0:54:12at the Scots by trying to outflank the Bruce.
0:54:15 > 0:54:17As we get to the end of the first day,
0:54:17 > 0:54:19the English vanguard have another crack
0:54:19 > 0:54:24and they send a unit under Clifford and Beaumont off the high ground,
0:54:24 > 0:54:27- onto the flat ground of the carse... - ..to try and outflank the Scots.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30Exactly. And there's another encounter somewhere around here,
0:54:30 > 0:54:32and the English come off worse again,
0:54:32 > 0:54:36but what that move allows them to do is to reconnoitre the ground
0:54:36 > 0:54:39so they know that they can get off there, onto that lower ground.
0:54:39 > 0:54:41So, by the evening
0:54:41 > 0:54:44the entire English army is moving onto the carse.
0:54:44 > 0:54:47And imagine trying to get 20,000 men
0:54:47 > 0:54:49across that burn onto the other side -
0:54:49 > 0:54:51- it's probably going to take them most of the night.- Yeah.
0:54:51 > 0:54:54And they end up spending the night, probably fairly uncomfortably,
0:54:54 > 0:54:58in this area here, between the Bannock Burn and the Pelstream.
0:55:02 > 0:55:06Unable to proceed north or west to the castle,
0:55:06 > 0:55:10Edward II was forced to lead his men down onto a huge plain to the east -
0:55:10 > 0:55:15the carse, bounded by the river Bannock Burn and the Pelstream.
0:55:36 > 0:55:39'So we find ourselves on the edge of the carse.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42'On Midsummer's Eve, 1314,
0:55:42 > 0:55:45'the English camped here, waiting for the next day's battle.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50'No-one has found any evidence of where it was fought,
0:55:50 > 0:55:53'and that's our next challenge.'
0:55:53 > 0:55:56Do you think the English had to suffer midges?
0:55:56 > 0:55:59I think everybody for the last 100,000 years
0:55:59 > 0:56:02- in this part of the world's suffered midges.- Unbelievable.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05Not a comfortable place to be camping, really, is it?
0:56:05 > 0:56:08Cos if this WAS the evening after the first day,
0:56:08 > 0:56:10- they've had a really bad day.- Uh-huh.
0:56:10 > 0:56:14They've lost twice, two actions, pushed off the high ground,
0:56:14 > 0:56:16down here onto the carse.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19I would imagine our equivalents, stood around fires like this,
0:56:19 > 0:56:21would be fairly disgruntled by now.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24"What the hell are we doing here? This wasn't supposed to happen."
0:56:24 > 0:56:26Enough of them, though. You know what worries me?
0:56:26 > 0:56:29Look at the size of this place.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31The carse is massive,
0:56:31 > 0:56:35and our problem is that, somewhere in here,
0:56:35 > 0:56:37- we've got to find that battlefield. - Yeah.
0:56:37 > 0:56:39We're going to have to be really careful about what we do,
0:56:39 > 0:56:43about where we look, because we don't have for ever to do that.
0:56:43 > 0:56:47- No, we just have the midges. - Millions.
0:56:52 > 0:56:55'Next time on The Quest For Bannockburn...
0:56:57 > 0:57:00'..we recruit an army of volunteers to search for the site
0:57:00 > 0:57:02'where these two mighty armies clashed.
0:57:06 > 0:57:08'We investigate the Bannock Burn itself.'
0:57:08 > 0:57:12In all the years of talking about Bannock Burn, I've never been on it.
0:57:12 > 0:57:13I'm off!
0:57:13 > 0:57:16'We discover how Bruce's spearmen won the battle...'
0:57:18 > 0:57:21Yeah, that's our team, look. All the way along the Bannock Burn.
0:57:21 > 0:57:25'..and at last, the carse reveals some of its treasures.'
0:57:25 > 0:57:27What have we here? Ooh!
0:57:27 > 0:57:28That's superb.