Episode 3 Britain's Ancient Capital: Secrets of Orkney


Episode 3

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Stonehenge, on the plains of southern England.

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Britain's most famous ancient monument.

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But over 500 miles north,

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new discoveries are being unearthed that challenge its supremacy.

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How extraordinary!

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And they're turning the Stone Age map of Britain on its head.

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Was the centre of our ancient world

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really in the remote islands of Orkney...

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..a place cut off

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by the fastest-flowing stretch of water in Europe?

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We've joined forces with archaeologists

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and hundreds of volunteers to investigate

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how these far-flung islands may have forged Britain's

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first common culture.

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Oh, wow!

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Andy, look at this.

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So far, we've discovered this culture

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is around 500 years older than originally thought.

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It's way before Romans and Greeks.

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It's before any of the pyramids.

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And the stone circles here inspired Stonehenge.

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It boggles the mind. It beggars belief.

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Now we go on the hunt for the origin

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of the very first stone circle.

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We're going down, we're going to go investigate that,

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and let's see what we find.

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And we explore how this extraordinary society

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came to a dramatic end.

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There was a gathering,

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and as many as 400 head of cattle were slaughtered.

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Naturalist Chris Packham and I

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search for clues on an abandoned island.

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Maybe the people that left here

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felt good about going to the mainland.

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We find startling new evidence just outside the walls of the site.

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Is it something totally new?

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We've yet to see.

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Archaeological adventurer Andy Torbet makes a breakthrough...

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It's remarkable to think that no-one

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has looked down this view for 3,500 years.

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..and engineer Shini Somara

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tests the sophistication of ancient technology.

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This is working, I have to say, a lot better than I expected.

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-Together...

-Wow.

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..we investigate how this ancient society

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which dominated Britain for 1,000 years

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came to a sudden end.

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Late summer in Orkney -

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the last few weeks of an archaeological dig

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that's overturning the ancient history of Britain.

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The Ness of Brodgar -

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a vast complex poised between two stone circles.

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We're getting closer to understanding

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the full history of this extraordinary place.

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And a little set there.

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Yeah. God.

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This summer we've reached the bottom level of the site,

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and we've made some remarkable discoveries.

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We've set up base camp on the hill overlooking the Ness

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to consider the latest evidence.

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What we have got in now is the dates from, you know,

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the deepest parts of the site.

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What's fascinating is that

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the buildings that are largely exposed at the moment

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date to around 3000BC.

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This date, this 3512BC date, means that 500 years before that,

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there was already a complex of stone buildings on the Ness.

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They were building there for such a long time.

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And does that show that categorically

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the Ness is older than the stuff happening down

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in the South of England with Stonehenge?

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The evidence is clearly building

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that what was happening here at the Ness

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predates the developments of this

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Neolithic way of thinking further south.

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This date is powerful support

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for a brand-new theory,

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that the Ness of Brodgar was

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the centre of the stone circle cult

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which swept Britain 5,000 years ago,

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culminating in Stonehenge.

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This summer, startling evidence has emerged

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of what may have been the inspiration

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for the very first stone circle.

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How... How deep's the dive we're doing today?

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Compared to what you're used to? Bloody shallow.

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Seven metres, maybe. Eight.

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Marine archaeologist Richard Bates has surveyed the shallow waters

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near the Ness and discovered something intriguing.

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So, Richard, where exactly are we?

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Well, we're getting in towards

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the middle of the Bay of Firth in here,

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and so this is right at the heart of the area we've been surveying.

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This location here has got probably the most interesting feature

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in the whole of this bay.

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Geophysical data shows a circular stone mound

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below the waves that might once have been on dry land.

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This is the main feature we're going to dive on.

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This is the main mound itself.

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You can see how perfectly circular it is, 40-metre diameter.

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Nobody has ever seen anything like this

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anywhere in the north of Scotland.

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We're going down,

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we're going to go investigate that, and let's see what we find.

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-Fantastic. Looking forward to it.

-Yeah, let's get out there.

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It's a prize worth diving for -

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the answer to one of the great mysteries of British history...

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..the origin of the stone circles.

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6,000 years ago, the sea level around Orkney was lower,

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so this mound might once have been above water.

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Thousands of years of erosion

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would've reduced the stone mound to a fraction

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of its previous height.

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If this was above water, thousands of years ago,

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I can see people kind of latching onto this unusual natural feature.

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The question is, though, do you know for a fact that it was above water?

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Around this actual feature itself, we have yet to get that crucial core

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that's going to answer that question, so, we...

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You know, we want to go out there and do that.

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Is that our next job then?

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That's definitely the next job for us.

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A core sample will prove one way or the other

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whether the mound was once on dry land

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and visible to the people of the Ness.

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Back at the site,

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the archaeologists have widened their search for the origins

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of the culture which, we think, created the stone circle cult.

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They have dug a trench through a grassy mound

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50 metres outside the main complex.

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They've revealed a Stone Age rubbish dump, or midden.

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For archaeologists, middens are always treasure troves,

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but dig director Nick Card thinks this one holds the promise

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of something even more special.

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At the end of last season, at the bottom of the mound,

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we discovered some elements which could be a chambered tomb

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that actually predates

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the construction of the midden mound.

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But... So, Neolithic, but...

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-What, so, earlier than the rest of Brodgar or what?

-Possibly.

-Oh.

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This structure could be one of the earliest on-site,

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but if it's not a tomb, it could be something...

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a completely new, unique form of structure,

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the like of which we've never seen before.

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Orkney is littered with chambered tombs.

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One of the most spectacular is the Tomb of the Eagles,

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discovered 50 years ago on South Ronaldsay.

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If there is a tomb beneath here, it too might be intact.

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One of the student volunteers has made a breakthrough.

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Quite literally.

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Right before lunch, at about, like, 12 noon, I think,

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a couple of hours ago,

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came up really delicately up underneath a little ledge

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-and suddenly there was a hole.

-SHE LAUGHS

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Right before I'm supposed to leave in a couple of days,

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we find something really interesting,

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so it's a little frustrating now.

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Yeah, so it looks like there's a wall...

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Ben Chan is the trench supervisor.

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Cat just found, well, this void here,

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which is about this deep,

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and I can just about see inside the void.

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It looks like there's a wall face there.

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You know, it's a good starting point

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to suggest that it is part of a pretty enormous structure

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of some kind.

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-It's pretty amazing.

-But that is peculiar.

-Yes.

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So, I think, yeah, whoever's digging here better watch their footing.

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A little bit Indiana Jones.

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This could mean a massive structure,

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the like of which we've never really seen before.

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But what is it? Is it a chambered tomb?

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Is it something totally new?

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We've yet to see.

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Chris is intrigued by one of

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the other significant finds of the dig.

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Cattle bones - thousands of them.

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One thing that strikes me, Nick,

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is that obviously there were a lot of cattle here.

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If I were a Neolithic farmer,

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keeping goats and sheep would be a lot easier.

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The goats can go on quite steep slopes,

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as long as they're well-drained.

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They can eat almost anything, including quite rough grasses.

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Why not have a mix of all of them and make more of the land?

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Well, I think it's the status of cattle,

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perhaps a reflection of the number of cattle you had,

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that made a statement to other people -

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-"This is how big I am."

-Mm.

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So, I think the predominance of cattle can be a reflection

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of other aspects of Neolithic society.

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Cattle are a central part of Orcadian life, even today.

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One find earlier this summer suggests that cattle,

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for the people of the Ness,

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were not only a source of sustenance, but also revered.

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Oh, ho-ho!

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Oh, my goodness. That is cattle bone.

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These cattle bones were carefully placed

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below one of the buttresses in the building

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that may have been a kind of temple.

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-Wow.

-HE LAUGHS

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Yeah, I need a cup of tea now, definitely.

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That... Oh, that's pretty special. Wow.

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It looks like a ritual offering,

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a vital piece of evidence helping to build a picture

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of the complex belief system behind the mysterious stone circles.

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In the Bay of Firth,

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the hunt for the underwater stone circle is in its next phase.

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There's a...a tantalising idea there

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that this could've been the inspiration for all

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these stone circles.

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Andy and Richard are taking a core sample of the soil

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around the stone mound to find out when it was submerged.

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After 20 minutes of drilling, they've got it.

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I think now we've got...we've had success,

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and we've seen a decent core sample.

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ANGLE GRINDER WHIRS

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The sample they've collected gives them a cross-section

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through thousands of years of history.

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So, in here you can see it transitioning from this lake.

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You see it getting reedy wetlands.

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-See how it gets very dark in here?

-Yep.

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Now you're on land. This is land surface.

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So, we know at this point here, this is dry land,

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and anything above it is dry land.

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At that period in time,

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-anyone walking around this landscape can see that rock feature?

-Yes.

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The thing we need to find out is when is this point here.

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So, radiocarbon is the best way, and so we'll get a slice of that,

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get it bagged up, get it to the lab.

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The soil analysis and radiocarbon dating

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will establish when this mound was on dry land.

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Well, I've just got back from an interesting dive

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out in the Bay of Firth, where...

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Bracing, was it?

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It wasn't too bad, actually. It wasn't too bad.

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But they've found what appears to be a natural stone circle,

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which is quite unusual, but it's underwater.

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It would be very traumatic to see your land,

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upon which you depend, being inundated, encroached upon,

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taken away by the sea.

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And you might wonder,

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"If that's gone, what's going to go next?"

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And that might have inspired all sorts of behaviours

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of people trying to intervene, you know,

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and ask maybe the gods or the ancestors

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to intercede on their behalf, and protect the land

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upon which they lived and upon which they depended.

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It would have been a really epic natural event

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if that had happened, though.

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So, it would have taken people by...

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To see the waters rising around you during the course of a lifetime.

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You know, when you're little the water's away out there.

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By the time you're an old person, it's come all the way up,

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and you think, "Where's that going to stop? Is it going to stop?"

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What we are trying to do here is to figure out what people did.

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Trying to figure out what they thought

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is obviously a lot harder.

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While we wait for the results of the dive,

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there's another mystery to solve.

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What we know for certain is that whatever the success

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of the culture here and however long it lasted,

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it came to an end, and the fascination is why?

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Why did the people who'd been living a certain way for such a long time

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find reasons to change so profoundly?

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Recent evidence from the dig

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has established that after it had flourished for 1,000 years,

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the Ness came to a sudden end, around 2200BC -

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the buildings abandoned, the temple structure dismantled.

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To investigate, Andy and Shini are going to see

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if evidence about the culture that followed can shed some light...

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..and Chris and I are going to explore the reasons why

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people abandon a whole way of life.

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The lawn out there, the field...

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-Yeah.

-It still looks very manicured and green, doesn't it?

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-That'll be the cattle, keeping it down.

-Yeah.

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Throughout its history, Orkney has seen many cultures rise and fall,

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from the Iron Age to the Vikings.

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Chris and I are spending the night

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on one of the islands most recently deserted -

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Swona, two miles off the western tip of South Ronaldsay.

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God, imagine living out here.

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-It's like you might as well be on a raft...

-I know.

-..at sea.

-Yeah.

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It's so small.

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I hadn't taken into account how small it is.

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So, we're seeing it on probably one of the finest days of the year.

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Yeah, most of the time the waves would be breaking over that.

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They'd be breaking over that. We'd be lost in thick fog and rain.

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The island had been inhabited since the Neolithic,

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but the last inhabitants left in 1974,

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abandoning it to the elements.

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Perhaps their departure can help us understand

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what happened at the Ness.

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How many changes of clothing have you brought?

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I need my party frock for tonight.

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I've got big plans. I've got a portable glitter ball in here.

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So, what do you reckon? That one looks the most habitable.

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-The one in front of us?

-Yeah.

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Yeah, it definitely does, doesn't it?

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It feels quite strange approaching someone's abandoned home.

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I wonder what's left in there.

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Small hole in the roof,

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but it looks in a better state of repair than that one.

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Oh.

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Oh!

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Oh, look!

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A hard hat, a saucepan,

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two toilet rolls, a cardboard box and a brush.

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What will future archaeologists

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discern from that assemblage of objects, one wonders?

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Would you believe it? Garibaldis, and I can't stand garibaldis.

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Look at the seat! Look!

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That's sail, a sailcloth.

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-It looks like it's been knocked together from driftwood.

-Yeah.

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The whole thing's got the look of some...

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These are fish boxes, aren't they?

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-It's been furnished with shipwreck!

-Yeah.

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The thing is, Neil,

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if we cast ourselves 4,000 years into the future,

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imagine we're archaeologists here, what would survive?

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-Well, the ceramic.

-The ceramic, the glass.

-Iron from the stove.

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And the stove itself might not be intact,

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but such a heavy piece of iron, I think there would be iron.

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-I hate to say it.

-The plastic.

-The plastic will last...

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-That will look in 4,000 years...

-It will look exactly the same.

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-It's dry, isn't it?

-It's all solid.

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-Yeah.

-This is dry enough to make camp.

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-This'll do.

-I like the idea.

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It's quite a sad place, quite poignant.

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You know, you see, I don't feel that.

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I see this as a...

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as an optimistic place. Here nature is coming back.

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It's going to have the last laugh here.

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That's because you're on nature's side.

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My sadness is on behalf of the little human civilisation here

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that, for a combination of reasons, became too hard and was given up.

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I think that's got a poignancy.

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Maybe the people that left here,

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-maybe they felt good about going over to the mainland...

-Mm.

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..embracing new technologies, getting a TV, a washing machine.

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That's the thing. I mean, you say that,

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you know, the television, the washing machine.

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The Neolithic was replaced, was supplanted,

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by the technology of the Bronze Age.

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Even if they resisted it at first,

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they eventually went over to the bronze way,

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and similarly here people had tried and tried and persisted,

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but eventually the lure of another way of living.

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This is one of those privileged opportunities, isn't it?

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To get the chance to spend the night on an abandoned empty island.

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Yeah, very much so.

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This is a fabulous place.

0:20:090:20:11

It's kind of off the map.

0:20:110:20:13

Back at the Ness,

0:20:300:20:32

the team have borrowed an endoscope to look down into the void

0:20:320:20:36

they've just discovered.

0:20:360:20:38

It's not dark enough in there,

0:20:380:20:40

so the light's not really doing very much.

0:20:400:20:43

We can make out the wall, basically,

0:20:430:20:46

but I can see the wall anyway through the hole,

0:20:460:20:48

so it's not telling us very much new.

0:20:480:20:50

Goes about a metre in that direction.

0:20:520:20:56

About 1,200 plus.

0:20:560:20:59

This buried stone structure could be an ancient chamber tomb,

0:20:590:21:03

or something else altogether.

0:21:030:21:05

It's a slight puzzle at the moment because we would expect normally

0:21:050:21:08

for the interior face of a wall

0:21:080:21:10

to be well dressed, and this one is quite the opposite.

0:21:100:21:14

It feels quite roughly faced.

0:21:140:21:18

The bits that are not intended to be seen quite so much.

0:21:180:21:22

So, in some ways,

0:21:220:21:23

it feels like the building is a little bit inside out

0:21:230:21:26

and clearly we've got a lot left to understand what's going on here.

0:21:260:21:29

The jury's definitely still out on it.

0:21:300:21:33

And I know that Ben isn't wholly convinced yet,

0:21:330:21:36

but I still have an inkling that we do have the elements

0:21:360:21:39

of a chamber tomb.

0:21:390:21:40

After our night on the abandoned isle,

0:21:430:21:45

we're joined by wildlife cameraman Doug Allan.

0:21:450:21:48

-Hello, both.

-Hello.

0:21:480:21:51

He's accompanied by Cyril Annal,

0:21:510:21:53

the nephew of the last residents of Swona,

0:21:530:21:55

who spent his summer holidays here as a child.

0:21:550:21:58

Cyril can give me a first-hand account of life on the island

0:22:010:22:04

while Doug and Chris investigate the wildlife -

0:22:040:22:07

a unique herd of cattle.

0:22:070:22:09

-They look like normal cows.

-Yeah.

0:22:160:22:19

Yeah, they do. They look like perfectly normal cows.

0:22:190:22:21

They're Angus shorthorn cross.

0:22:210:22:23

Neolithic farmers domesticated the first cattle

0:22:250:22:28

from a wild breed known as aurochs.

0:22:280:22:31

The cattle on Swona were abandoned to their fate

0:22:310:22:35

when the last inhabitants left over 40 years ago.

0:22:350:22:37

Now they're returning to their natural state.

0:22:390:22:42

They haven't seen humans with any degree of regularity since 1974.

0:22:420:22:47

-'74 was the last...

-'74.

-So, how many generations of cow is that?

0:22:470:22:51

They think about ten.

0:22:510:22:53

Although they haven't changed genetically

0:22:530:22:55

or at least imperceptibly genetically,

0:22:550:22:57

their behaviour's changed,

0:22:570:22:58

and that's what we want to look at this morning.

0:22:580:23:00

-This way, Doug.

-OK.

0:23:000:23:02

I count 20 cows and calves

0:23:120:23:15

and then separate to the left there, there were the three bulls.

0:23:150:23:19

And of the cows and calves, there are at least four calves,

0:23:210:23:24

and they all look in very good condition, I've got to say.

0:23:240:23:27

So, they're not suffering the absence of human husbandry,

0:23:270:23:30

there's no doubt of that.

0:23:300:23:32

It's interesting to think that, probably,

0:23:340:23:37

since the end of the Neolithic,

0:23:370:23:39

this is as close to wild cows that there have been in the Orkneys.

0:23:390:23:44

Animals that have been unattended since '74.

0:23:450:23:49

I was just wondering, is this the size of herd

0:23:510:23:56

that the island can sustain?

0:23:560:23:57

Yeah, I think they have reached

0:23:570:23:59

-what we call their carrying capacity.

-Mm-hm.

0:23:590:24:01

Conditions out here are pretty harsh

0:24:010:24:03

and I should imagine that, therefore,

0:24:030:24:04

there's going to be quite a high first winter mortality

0:24:040:24:07

for these calves, and that will regulate the population.

0:24:070:24:11

I reckon we should try one more push in.

0:24:110:24:14

How far do you reckon?

0:24:140:24:17

Well, I think we can probably get another 40, 50 metres.

0:24:170:24:19

OK. I'm going to avoid looking at them.

0:24:190:24:21

-Yeah.

-Because I think if you look off to the side...

0:24:210:24:23

Yeah, I'm going to look down. You're right.

0:24:230:24:25

It's always a good technique.

0:24:250:24:27

The cattle on Swona have a fearsome reputation

0:24:330:24:36

for terrorising the few sailors or tourists who land here.

0:24:360:24:40

I expected these animals to run.

0:24:430:24:45

Instead of which, what they're doing is consolidate their position

0:24:450:24:50

around that group of calves.

0:24:500:24:52

So, they're doing a magnificent job of looking after those youngsters

0:24:540:25:00

in the face of what they see as a predatory threat.

0:25:000:25:02

I mean, this is primal behaviour.

0:25:020:25:04

This is what you see in musk ox and other wild bovids.

0:25:040:25:09

So, in the space of ten generations,

0:25:090:25:11

they've gone back to this inherited wild behaviour,

0:25:110:25:16

and that's absolutely brilliant.

0:25:160:25:18

People have lived on Swona since the time of the Ness.

0:25:240:25:28

At the turn of the 20th century,

0:25:280:25:30

it was a thriving fishing and farming community,

0:25:300:25:34

but Cyril's aunt and uncle were the last people to live here,

0:25:340:25:37

and they in turn left just over 40 years ago.

0:25:370:25:40

What happened by 1974 that the last occupant said,

0:25:480:25:54

"We don't need this place any more," was there a sadness?

0:25:540:25:57

There was a sadness and a disappointment

0:25:570:26:00

that the life wasn't continuing here as it had been for them.

0:26:000:26:05

So, the life elsewhere was just easier?

0:26:050:26:09

Yes, it was very much easier.

0:26:090:26:10

There was nothing wrong with the life here.

0:26:100:26:12

-There was nothing wrong with the life here.

-It just had its day.

0:26:120:26:15

Yes, it had its day.

0:26:150:26:17

What an amazing 24 hours.

0:26:260:26:28

It's perfect, in a way, because the time capsule in that house,

0:26:280:26:33

from the moment the human beings left,

0:26:330:26:36

nothing changed in that world,

0:26:360:26:38

-but yet in that world of the animals that you encountered...

-Yeah.

0:26:380:26:41

-..they've moved on.

-Yeah.

0:26:410:26:43

They've gone ten generations into the future and they're different.

0:26:430:26:46

Yeah, I know.

0:26:460:26:48

Oh, so good. This was our HG Wells moment.

0:26:480:26:51

-We've had a time machine.

-Yeah.

0:26:510:26:53

We've been back and we've come forward.

0:26:530:26:55

The whole way of life of Swona, remote and self-sufficient,

0:26:570:27:01

was rendered obsolete by the modern world.

0:27:010:27:03

When the Ness came to an end,

0:27:070:27:09

around 2200BC,

0:27:090:27:12

a whole way of life went with it.

0:27:120:27:15

Elaborate stone villages like Skara Brae

0:27:200:27:23

were replaced by individual homesteads.

0:27:230:27:25

The vast communal tombs like Maeshowe were sealed up.

0:27:270:27:32

The way the great stone circles were used changed as well.

0:27:330:27:37

The Ness of Brodgar,

0:27:420:27:43

which flourished for over 1,000 years, stood empty,

0:27:430:27:47

but we still don't know how or why.

0:27:470:27:51

A spectacular discovery last year on the island of Westray

0:27:520:27:55

could help us understand why this Neolithic culture disappeared.

0:27:550:28:00

All across Britain at this time,

0:28:030:28:06

a new way of life and technology emerged.

0:28:060:28:09

The Bronze Age.

0:28:100:28:12

-This is very pleasant.

-I wonder what it's going to be like.

0:28:200:28:25

Today, the settlement at the Links of Noltland

0:28:250:28:28

is only a few metres from the sea

0:28:280:28:30

in the dunes of an isolated beach.

0:28:300:28:32

Hiya.

0:28:340:28:35

Site director Hazel Moore is overseeing the excavation.

0:28:350:28:39

-It's big.

-It is, it is.

0:28:390:28:42

Well, it's more than we were expecting to find.

0:28:420:28:45

-So, this would all have been underground?

-Yes.

0:28:450:28:47

You have to imagine that we're actually inside a mound here.

0:28:470:28:50

We've taken the top off a mound and this is a subterranean room

0:28:500:28:54

and a passage that we found.

0:28:540:28:56

We weren't expecting to find anything quite so complicated,

0:28:560:28:59

so we're still finding our feet here as well.

0:28:590:29:01

The main floor area is entirely taken up by a water tank,

0:29:010:29:05

and the water tank is set above a natural spring,

0:29:050:29:07

so the tank is obviously the key feature in the building.

0:29:070:29:10

And what we can see from the mound around us here,

0:29:100:29:14

-it's made of burnt, cracked stone.

-Yeah.

0:29:140:29:15

So, what we think is, they're heating the stone

0:29:150:29:19

and using that to put into the tank to make steam.

0:29:190:29:21

So, what would the middle part have been used for?

0:29:210:29:24

What we're looking at is an underground sauna

0:29:240:29:26

or steam room.

0:29:260:29:28

-A sweat lodge.

-Gosh.

0:29:280:29:30

Hazel and her team have also discovered

0:29:320:29:34

a hidden underground passage.

0:29:340:29:37

What we have yet to find is where it goes to,

0:29:370:29:39

so that's our job for later on in the day.

0:29:390:29:41

-Mystery.

-Yes. That's our mission.

0:29:410:29:44

Andy is one of the world's most experienced cave divers

0:29:450:29:49

and is keen to get a look inside this tunnel.

0:29:490:29:52

I can see the passageway continues much as it is here, structurally,

0:29:520:29:55

but it bends round the left-hand side,

0:29:550:29:58

so I can't see any further than that bend.

0:29:580:29:59

However, unfortunately,

0:29:590:30:01

it's a bit too unstable at the moment

0:30:010:30:05

to put anyone in there, including me,

0:30:050:30:07

so we're going to send a robot instead.

0:30:070:30:09

Oh, looks interesting.

0:30:160:30:17

Yeah, it's a little remote control car.

0:30:170:30:20

I suppose we'll have some fun and games.

0:30:200:30:21

So, the plan is, we've got a camera here

0:30:210:30:23

on a little sort of gyroscope and a light.

0:30:230:30:26

So, I attach the rope to the back

0:30:260:30:28

just because I'm not 100% confident that it'll work in the sand.

0:30:280:30:32

I don't want to send it in and not get it back out.

0:30:320:30:34

-OK, that's a good idea.

-So, tie my rope on.

0:30:340:30:37

That is basically this TV screen for this camera.

0:30:400:30:44

The robot camera might be able to reveal

0:30:460:30:49

exactly where and how far this passage goes.

0:30:490:30:52

Lights on, cameras on. Yep, good. Right...

0:30:550:30:58

Right, let's see if this works.

0:31:010:31:05

While Andy gets his robot in gear,

0:31:070:31:09

I've also come along to join the Westray dig.

0:31:090:31:12

What does a sauna tell us about the Bronze Age in Orkney?

0:31:120:31:17

It's an interesting question.

0:31:170:31:18

Now, we haven't actually found a sauna before,

0:31:180:31:21

so this is our best guess,

0:31:210:31:22

but it's much more commonly found in a Scandinavian context...

0:31:220:31:26

..and it comes at a time when

0:31:280:31:29

there's increased trade with places like Shetland,

0:31:290:31:31

which is to the north of us here,

0:31:310:31:33

so it's possibly moving away from all the influences

0:31:330:31:37

that had been important in the Neolithic

0:31:370:31:40

and exploring a more northern part of the world.

0:31:400:31:44

So, Orkney had become a different place,

0:31:440:31:46

where in the Neolithic,

0:31:460:31:47

the influence and the focus was towards the south and Britain.

0:31:470:31:52

-Mm-hm.

-By the Bronze Age, it's turned through 180 degrees

0:31:520:31:57

and now looking and influencing, or being influenced by the north?

0:31:570:32:01

Mm-hm. Yes, I think so.

0:32:010:32:03

It was looking in a different direction, I think,

0:32:030:32:05

definitely, yeah.

0:32:050:32:06

This sauna is a far cry from the world of the Ness.

0:32:080:32:12

The Orcadians were still building in stone

0:32:120:32:14

but now they were also engineering with water,

0:32:140:32:17

and for what seems to be a very different purpose.

0:32:170:32:20

-Welcome to your home.

-This looks amazing.

0:32:250:32:28

Wow.

0:32:280:32:29

Shini is working out how the sauna functioned,

0:32:300:32:33

and with a team of locals is building a replica sauna.

0:32:330:32:37

A dry-stone waller, Gerry Wood, has constructed a metre-high base,

0:32:370:32:42

and a local weaver, Jan Hicks,

0:32:420:32:44

is making a willow frame for the roof.

0:32:440:32:46

The roof's starting to look really great

0:32:460:32:48

in terms of creating that dome shape,

0:32:480:32:50

and then on top, we hope that we can lay turf down.

0:32:500:32:55

It's like carpet, isn't it?

0:32:550:32:57

We don't know how long this is going to stay up,

0:32:570:32:59

but if it stays up long enough, it will, hopefully, grow together.

0:32:590:33:04

I'm going to put a third this side.

0:33:040:33:06

Shini's reconstruction is above ground,

0:33:120:33:15

but the principle is the same as the underground sauna.

0:33:150:33:18

It's not going to cave in.

0:33:190:33:21

-The willow is so supple, it'll bend but it won't snap.

-No.

0:33:210:33:25

-Last one coming, Shini.

-OK.

0:33:250:33:28

-Is that high enough?

-It's really sagging badly now.

0:33:300:33:33

Don't lean on it cos you're pushing some of the...

0:33:330:33:36

Yeah, I know. I've got a rake now, so I don't need to be on it.

0:33:360:33:38

-CRASHING

-Wait, get out, get out!

0:33:380:33:41

SHE GROANS

0:33:450:33:47

Yeah, I could see that happening from the inside.

0:33:470:33:49

-Yeah.

-Can we save this, or is it...?

0:33:490:33:52

We don't know that these things were covered with turf.

0:33:520:33:56

They could have been using animal skins.

0:33:560:33:57

So, do we have anything that resembles animal skins?

0:33:570:34:00

Maybe a hide. If we could find a tarpaulin...

0:34:000:34:02

-We haven't got a cow, but...

-We've got a tarpaulin there.

0:34:020:34:04

Why don't we try a tarpaulin?

0:34:040:34:06

It's lightweight and it saves us having to rebuild the whole wall.

0:34:060:34:09

Well done.

0:34:110:34:13

Andy too has run into a little local difficulty.

0:34:130:34:16

We might have a problem.

0:34:220:34:24

Didn't move an inch.

0:34:240:34:26

What we could do, if you've got any,

0:34:290:34:31

we could try and sort of manhandle planks up

0:34:310:34:35

into the tunnel and we push them along with the next plank

0:34:350:34:39

and try and create a little track for it to run along.

0:34:390:34:41

We've got planks here on site. Shall I go and get some?

0:34:410:34:43

-Yeah, I'll give you a hand.

-Grand.

0:34:430:34:44

I'll get this out and we'll get it sorted.

0:34:440:34:46

Right.

0:34:460:34:47

OK.

0:35:060:35:08

Right, we're at the top.

0:35:130:35:14

That's as far as she'll go.

0:35:140:35:16

-What can you see?

-It looks like it's blocked at this end.

0:35:170:35:20

You can see there's a big slab.

0:35:200:35:21

-It's a really fine-looking wall, though, isn't it?

-It is.

0:35:210:35:25

That's the first time anybody's seen that in thousands of years.

0:35:250:35:28

Is there any way we can kind of see the whole tunnel?

0:35:280:35:31

We've projected to where the passage goes to and we're digging down there

0:35:310:35:34

and the idea is to try and find the doorway from that end and then

0:35:340:35:36

-hopefully to clear the door.

-And then we'll be able to...

0:35:360:35:39

So, if you clear it from that end,

0:35:390:35:41

we should be able to see all the way through the tunnel?

0:35:410:35:43

That's right. Hopefully down to where we're stood now.

0:35:430:35:45

Along the beach,

0:35:520:35:53

Shini puts the final touches to her replica sauna.

0:35:530:35:56

That looks good.

0:35:580:35:59

It's not animal hides, but it really does look good.

0:35:590:36:04

I'm using this extra insulation turf round the edges

0:36:050:36:09

is going to seal the sides where the tarp joins the stones.

0:36:090:36:14

So, you know, cos we don't want too much steam loss.

0:36:140:36:19

That's one of the concerns.

0:36:190:36:21

Yeah. It's going to work a treat.

0:36:210:36:23

The real test will come tomorrow

0:36:260:36:28

when Shini tries out the sauna for the first time.

0:36:280:36:31

The lab has e-mailed me with their analysis of the core sample

0:36:380:36:41

from the dive in the Bay of Firth.

0:36:410:36:43

Andy is my first port of call.

0:36:430:36:46

-ON PHONE:

-'Hello.'

-Andy?

0:36:470:36:50

-'Yes.'

-It's Neil.

0:36:500:36:52

-'Oh, mate, how's things?'

-Not bad.

0:36:520:36:54

I've got the results back from the radiocarbon dates

0:36:540:36:58

of the underwater feature.

0:36:580:36:59

-'Oh, OK.'

-And, well, to cut a long story short,

0:37:000:37:04

it's been inundated by the water,

0:37:040:37:09

it's been a flooded feature by around 8,000 years

0:37:090:37:12

before the present.

0:37:120:37:13

'So, what do you think that means?'

0:37:160:37:18

Well, on the face of it,

0:37:180:37:22

it would appear that this idea that we had

0:37:220:37:26

that perhaps the presence of a large natural circular feature

0:37:260:37:30

in the landscape might have been an inspiration

0:37:300:37:34

for the henge monuments that come later...

0:37:340:37:37

-'Yeah.'

-..unravels a bit, because it would seem that

0:37:370:37:41

2,000 years before there were farmers here to be inspired,

0:37:410:37:46

that feature was already gone.

0:37:460:37:48

'It's disappointing.

0:37:480:37:50

'It would be great to think that that had started the whole

0:37:500:37:53

'stone circle tradition but, you know,

0:37:530:37:55

'from a scientific point of view,

0:37:550:37:58

'OK, we've proved that theory isn't correct

0:37:580:38:00

'but that's a step forward in the right direction.'

0:38:000:38:02

Can't quite make it fit at the moment.

0:38:020:38:04

So, the mystery of the inspiration for the stone circles remains,

0:38:090:38:13

but the hunt for an answer goes on.

0:38:130:38:16

There's only a week left before the dig

0:38:220:38:23

at the Ness of Brodgar must be covered over once more

0:38:230:38:27

to protect it from the incoming elements.

0:38:270:38:29

Every available volunteer is put to work.

0:38:290:38:32

Yeah, it's a very therapeutic thing to do, trowelling.

0:38:320:38:35

There's something very pleasing about it.

0:38:350:38:37

At the midden,

0:38:460:38:47

the small hole into the unknown void has now been carefully deepened.

0:38:470:38:51

It's a bit hard to see,

0:38:530:38:54

but this is actually a wall face

0:38:540:38:56

in here and you can count

0:38:560:38:59

at least seven courses of stonework making up that wall face

0:38:590:39:03

and then disappearing down, so I don't know how much deeper it is.

0:39:030:39:06

But what we didn't know

0:39:060:39:08

is that on this side,

0:39:080:39:11

so opposite that wall face,

0:39:110:39:13

is actually another massive upright slab of stone.

0:39:130:39:16

They've now revealed several large stones

0:39:190:39:21

within a few feet of each other.

0:39:210:39:23

Curiouser and curiouser.

0:39:230:39:25

I think all we can do is try and expose more of this,

0:39:250:39:29

but the intriguing thing is that all these separate elements,

0:39:290:39:33

some of them are lined but then, for instance,

0:39:330:39:35

this new slab of stone is over two metres long.

0:39:350:39:38

Just its location in relationship

0:39:380:39:40

to all these other structural elements

0:39:400:39:43

doesn't seem to kind of hang together at all.

0:39:430:39:47

It was already quite big and now it's really, really big.

0:39:500:39:54

So, yeah, it's extremely large and certainly bigger

0:39:540:39:57

than any we've got on this site.

0:39:570:40:01

This is just a hint that

0:40:010:40:03

this was a very unusual building, basically.

0:40:030:40:05

But that's one single block as far as we can see on either side...

0:40:050:40:09

-Right.

-..leaving a gap like that and at least that deep.

0:40:090:40:15

Every time we dig a bit of it,

0:40:150:40:17

it doesn't do what we want it to do

0:40:170:40:19

and we get more confused rather than less confused.

0:40:190:40:23

But that's the joy of archaeology, I suppose.

0:40:230:40:25

-Hazel.

-Hello! Hiya.

0:40:270:40:30

-Come in and have a look.

-Fantastic.

0:40:300:40:31

Back on Westray, they're about to make a breakthrough.

0:40:340:40:37

What do you think?

0:40:390:40:41

So, by my reckoning,

0:40:410:40:43

there should just be a plug of soil here that separates us,

0:40:430:40:46

and hopefully that's the last thing separating us from

0:40:460:40:49

the passage on the other side.

0:40:490:40:50

Have you been waiting for me?

0:40:520:40:54

Well, we've been holding ourself back

0:40:540:40:56

from pulling out this plug because we reckon

0:40:560:40:59

it can't be all that thick and there's probably a point in time

0:40:590:41:02

when it's going to just crumble away.

0:41:020:41:04

-That's the lintel.

-Certainly looks like it.

0:41:040:41:07

-Oh.

-Oh-ho.

0:41:070:41:09

There's a gap. Look at that. Right.

0:41:090:41:12

-Can you see that, Hazel?

-Look at that.

0:41:120:41:15

Can you see light coming through?

0:41:150:41:17

-Um, yeah, I can.

-Really? Oh, wow.

-Yeah.

0:41:170:41:20

Take a look. The sun's quite bright.

0:41:200:41:22

If you get right up close, you can see the entrance.

0:41:220:41:25

-Oh, yes.

-I'm pretty sure...

-It's actually quite a curve, isn't there?

0:41:250:41:28

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-You can just see the edge.

0:41:280:41:30

The tunnel is revealed in all its glory,

0:41:320:41:36

and the way it's built may tell us

0:41:360:41:38

how this special place was actually used.

0:41:380:41:43

You can see all the way back.

0:41:430:41:44

You can literally see light at the end of the tunnel

0:41:440:41:46

just peaking in through the boards.

0:41:460:41:48

That curve is definitely

0:41:480:41:49

the same tunnel we were in yesterday.

0:41:490:41:51

It's remarkable to think that no-one has looked this view,

0:41:510:41:54

down this view, for 3,500 years.

0:41:540:41:58

The underground passage is both narrow and curved,

0:41:580:42:02

perhaps designed to intimidate or impress.

0:42:020:42:05

It suggests that access to the sauna

0:42:050:42:08

may have been limited to a select few,

0:42:080:42:10

or even reserved for sacred rituals.

0:42:100:42:13

What's it like for you to look down the tunnel?

0:42:130:42:15

We've been waiting a year now to actually see this,

0:42:150:42:17

so there's been a sense of anticipation

0:42:170:42:19

all the way and it's fantastic that it's intact.

0:42:190:42:21

We didn't know it would be, so this is just the icing on the cake.

0:42:210:42:24

-It's lovely.

-Yeah, it's beautiful.

0:42:240:42:26

Along the beach,

0:42:300:42:31

Shini's reconstruction shows just how effective

0:42:310:42:34

Bronze Age technology could be.

0:42:340:42:36

So, the first rock is in the tank

0:42:370:42:41

and we can hear it sizzling.

0:42:410:42:44

It's a test case, so hopefully it steams up.

0:42:440:42:48

Andy has volunteered to be a guinea pig.

0:42:490:42:52

-What do you think?

-I'm impressed.

-Yeah?

0:42:550:42:57

Yeah. It's really good.

0:42:570:42:59

This is working, I have to say - no offence -

0:42:590:43:02

but a lot better than I expected.

0:43:020:43:03

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-I'm just glad it works.

0:43:030:43:06

You get a sense of what it would've been like

0:43:070:43:09

-in that complex on the hill.

-Yeah.

0:43:090:43:11

And they would've had a store of hot rocks,

0:43:110:43:14

so as these cool down, you just, you know,

0:43:140:43:18

top it up with more hot rocks.

0:43:180:43:20

And the thing is, the rocks,

0:43:200:43:22

I kind of thought, "One go and that will be them finished,"

0:43:220:43:25

but they're working again and again and again.

0:43:250:43:27

Yeah, they're actually very effective.

0:43:270:43:29

I might get you to build one of these in my back garden,

0:43:290:43:31

-if that's all right?

-SHE LAUGHS

0:43:310:43:34

For the people of Orkney,

0:43:340:43:35

this new technology may have offered both a more comfortable way

0:43:350:43:38

of living and a different spiritual life.

0:43:380:43:42

It's actually getting quite hot in here.

0:43:430:43:45

What we need is a plunge pool.

0:43:450:43:48

And there is one straight out the door.

0:43:480:43:50

Well done, Andy!

0:43:570:43:58

God, that must've been so cold.

0:44:000:44:02

That was bracing stuff. That was actually really nice.

0:44:050:44:08

Really nice.

0:44:080:44:09

Oh! Yeah, I could get used to this.

0:44:090:44:13

You know, Bronze Age sauna on the beach,

0:44:130:44:16

run down to a crystal-clear, beautiful, if a little chilly, sea.

0:44:160:44:20

I can see why they built it and why they built it here.

0:44:200:44:24

We now know more about what replaced the Neolithic way of life on Orkney,

0:44:270:44:32

but we still don't know why or how the Ness of Brodgar

0:44:320:44:35

came to an end when it did.

0:44:350:44:37

-How you doing?

-Hi, Neil. Welcome.

-Good to see you again.

0:44:400:44:43

Great to see you.

0:44:430:44:44

'Archaeologist Jane Downes is taking me to see an early settlement

0:44:440:44:48

'she discovered last year on the island of Sanday

0:44:480:44:50

'that may hold the answer to why these coastal communities

0:44:500:44:54

'are so susceptible to change.'

0:44:540:44:56

This is a very distinctive bit of landscape.

0:45:020:45:05

What's happening here?

0:45:050:45:07

It's caused by gravel accumulations

0:45:070:45:10

which have caused the spit to build up,

0:45:100:45:13

and the sand that you see has accumulated later.

0:45:130:45:16

Just coming up ahead actually is a little tuft of sand dune

0:45:190:45:23

-where we found the settlement.

-Oh, perfect.

0:45:230:45:25

So what was it that caught your eye?

0:45:360:45:38

First of all, we saw these stones sticking up,

0:45:380:45:42

and as we know from looking at

0:45:420:45:43

the other Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements, these upright stones...

0:45:430:45:46

Ah, right, these.

0:45:460:45:48

So, is that a hearth, that square setting there?

0:45:480:45:50

Yes, you're right. This is a hearth.

0:45:500:45:52

-These two in a row here?

-Yes.

-Right.

0:45:520:45:54

What could be a house shaped in an almost circular formation

0:45:540:45:58

running round, you're actually

0:45:580:46:00

sitting in the interior of it at the moment.

0:46:000:46:02

I found it hard at first to see

0:46:040:46:06

the outlines of this ancient homestead.

0:46:060:46:09

No wonder.

0:46:090:46:10

Jane tells me that this settlement was inundated by sand

0:46:100:46:13

thousands of years ago

0:46:130:46:14

and the people who lived here just moved away.

0:46:140:46:17

Around 2200BC, when activity at the Ness came to an end,

0:46:240:46:29

an increase in storminess and rising sea levels

0:46:290:46:32

would've made it more difficult to live by the sea.

0:46:320:46:36

A generally wetter climate

0:46:360:46:38

would have provided challenges for the lives

0:46:380:46:40

of the Neolithic farmers of Orkney.

0:46:400:46:42

Maybe it was this that prompted the changes to their way of life

0:46:420:46:46

and the abandonment of the Ness of Brodgar.

0:46:460:46:49

The archaeologists have also found evidence

0:46:510:46:53

of what happened at the very time the Ness came to an end.

0:46:530:46:57

A few summers ago, they uncovered thousands of burnt cattle bones

0:47:020:47:06

and piles of ash inside the main building, or temple,

0:47:060:47:10

which had then been carefully dismantled.

0:47:100:47:13

The destruction of the Ness and this great mass of cattle bones

0:47:130:47:17

found inside this temple may hold the final answer -

0:47:170:47:21

not to why the community disappeared, but how.

0:47:210:47:25

As many as 400 head of cattle were slaughtered.

0:47:270:47:31

And the shin bones from those animals were cooked

0:47:340:47:37

and smashed open and the marrow from within them was probably consumed.

0:47:370:47:42

It's like the wake,

0:47:420:47:43

the funeral feast to mark the death of this building.

0:47:430:47:47

The bones of these slaughtered cattle

0:48:010:48:03

might offer a unique insight into the community of the Ness

0:48:030:48:07

at the time of its end,

0:48:070:48:08

a clue as to what was really going on.

0:48:080:48:11

Archaeologist Ingrid Mainland is planning to analyse

0:48:130:48:17

the strontium in these cattle bones to reveal where they came from.

0:48:170:48:22

Well, the strontium, it comes...

0:48:220:48:24

It reflects the geology of the bedrock,

0:48:240:48:29

which is then incorporated into the soil of the plants,

0:48:290:48:33

and the animals eat the plants and that comes up into the body

0:48:330:48:37

of the animal, into the bones and into the teeth.

0:48:370:48:40

And depending on where you are in the country,

0:48:400:48:44

your strontium signatures will differ

0:48:440:48:46

depending on the geology of the bedrocks

0:48:460:48:48

that you're living within.

0:48:480:48:50

400 head of cattle.

0:48:500:48:52

You can't imagine Orkney having that many to spare...

0:48:520:48:56

-No.

-..that it could do away with that many adult animals

0:48:560:48:58

-all at one time.

-Exactly.

0:48:580:49:00

It represents quite a sacrifice for a community,

0:49:000:49:04

particularly if they did all come from Orkney.

0:49:040:49:06

You know, the animals represent your livelihood in the future,

0:49:060:49:09

so if you're culling that many across an area,

0:49:090:49:13

then that says something about the importance of the event.

0:49:130:49:17

We're sending some of the cattle teeth

0:49:180:49:20

to Durham University for isotope analysis.

0:49:200:49:24

We'll have to wait for the results.

0:49:240:49:26

Only a few days left before the dig comes to an end.

0:49:340:49:37

It's vital that every piece of data is recorded for scrutiny

0:49:370:49:42

across the long winter months when the dig is closed up

0:49:420:49:45

against the elements.

0:49:450:49:47

How do you do this on your own?

0:49:470:49:49

I always have an assistant taking photos.

0:49:490:49:51

HE LAUGHS

0:49:510:49:54

Shini is helping archaeologist Hugo Anderson-Whymark

0:49:540:49:58

to record this year's discoveries.

0:49:580:50:00

And we're going to do a row of photos.

0:50:000:50:02

We'll walk up twice.

0:50:020:50:04

So, we'll do one row of photos along this side of the trench

0:50:040:50:07

and we'll come back and do another row up this side.

0:50:070:50:09

And it will work out the relationship

0:50:090:50:11

of where your two cameras were and then it will create a 3-D model.

0:50:110:50:16

We'll try and spot familiarities from photo to photo,

0:50:160:50:18

-and based on that, it will stitch them together?

-Yeah.

0:50:180:50:21

What a fantastic piece of software for archaeology.

0:50:210:50:25

OK, so, I've downloaded the photos

0:50:270:50:30

and you're just beginning to see the outlines of the trench.

0:50:300:50:32

And the dense model, so all of those.

0:50:320:50:36

-Gosh.

-Some 5 million points calculated from...

0:50:360:50:39

-5 million?

-Yeah, from all those photographs.

0:50:390:50:43

So, can we now add this 3-D model to an overall 3-D model

0:50:430:50:47

that's been built?

0:50:470:50:48

Yeah, we have a model for the rest of the site

0:50:480:50:51

which I can show you here,

0:50:510:50:53

which is this view of all of the buildings on the site.

0:50:530:50:58

-That is incredible.

-Yeah.

0:50:580:51:00

Our new trench extends out

0:51:000:51:02

from the corner of this building down the slope this way.

0:51:020:51:04

This 3-D data could play an invaluable role

0:51:090:51:13

in uncovering the secrets of the site.

0:51:130:51:15

By making the stones appear smooth, details of carving,

0:51:150:51:20

which can be hard to see with the naked eye, may be revealed.

0:51:200:51:23

Back at the midden, they seem to be inching forward

0:51:260:51:29

to an extraordinary conclusion.

0:51:290:51:31

There are lots of questions,

0:51:310:51:32

not least of which, where the hell did these come from?

0:51:320:51:35

'They have found more of these large stones,

0:51:370:51:40

'or orthostats, within a few feet of each other.'

0:51:400:51:43

And what is the possible answer to that?

0:51:430:51:45

Well, we do wonder, were these originally standing stones?

0:51:450:51:48

Oh, heck.

0:51:480:51:49

After the disappointment

0:51:510:51:53

of the dates of the underwater circular feature,

0:51:530:51:56

the unearthing of these large stones,

0:51:560:51:59

like those found in standing circles,

0:51:590:52:01

could be leading us closer once again

0:52:010:52:04

to the origin of the stone circle cult.

0:52:040:52:06

So, once upon a time,

0:52:080:52:09

there was a stone circle involving these stones, maybe.

0:52:090:52:13

But if this is a stone circle, remnants of a stone circle,

0:52:130:52:17

that's been incorporated into the structure

0:52:170:52:20

and this structure predates the midden mound,

0:52:200:52:24

then what date does that make the stone circles?

0:52:240:52:26

Right.

0:52:260:52:27

Whatever the original function

0:52:290:52:31

of this stone structure beneath the midden,

0:52:310:52:33

it could mean people were building on the Ness

0:52:330:52:36

even earlier than 3500BC.

0:52:360:52:39

You're looking at the skeletal remains, in a way,

0:52:440:52:48

of a big - a very big - stone building.

0:52:480:52:51

That big long stone that's coming towards me

0:52:510:52:54

from the section of the trench,

0:52:540:52:56

and then there's another one going off in a straight line

0:52:560:52:59

and then it disappears

0:52:590:53:01

under the soil and there's...

0:53:010:53:03

It's a big square, or a big rectangle,

0:53:030:53:05

but only fragments of it are revealed at the moment,

0:53:050:53:08

but it's a monumental building.

0:53:080:53:12

This could be the first thing that was on the Ness of Brodgar,

0:53:130:53:16

some great big building that people were aware of and valued.

0:53:160:53:21

But even more difficult to get your head around

0:53:210:53:23

is the fact that these great long stones,

0:53:230:53:26

Nick reckons, might once have been standing stones.

0:53:260:53:28

They're now lying down on their sides

0:53:280:53:30

but once upon a time they were up like the Stones of Stenness.

0:53:300:53:33

So, maybe before even the great big building,

0:53:330:53:35

there was a stone circle here...

0:53:350:53:38

..so we're getting further and further back in time,

0:53:390:53:43

and this could be the reason for the Ness of Brodgar.

0:53:430:53:46

Get your head round that.

0:53:470:53:49

This extraordinary discovery

0:53:540:53:55

throws light on the origins of the Ness and its culture,

0:53:550:53:59

but we still don't know how it came to an end.

0:53:590:54:02

The analysis of the cattle bones may bring another clue.

0:54:030:54:08

Now, you know we took teeth from that fascinating deposit

0:54:080:54:13

of cattle bones,

0:54:130:54:14

and the strontium isotope was analysed.

0:54:140:54:18

Well, the results as they come back

0:54:180:54:21

seem to suggest that the cattle are not only all from Orkney

0:54:210:54:26

but they might all be from the same herd.

0:54:260:54:28

-SHE GASPS

-Isn't that amazing?

0:54:280:54:31

But I just like the idea that somebody had all that wealth.

0:54:310:54:36

It's almost like it was the royal herd

0:54:360:54:39

or the priesthood's herd that were used for this event

0:54:390:54:43

to close that building.

0:54:430:54:45

-I'll let you tell Nick, Jane.

-So, Nick...

0:54:450:54:47

-This is the isotope analysis.

-Wow.

-..the results are out.

0:54:470:54:51

-It's all there.

-Mm-hm.

0:54:510:54:54

For this to happen at that particular moment in time,

0:54:540:54:57

I think, is of huge significance

0:54:570:54:59

for our understanding of Neolithic economy.

0:54:590:55:01

Yes, major rethink required.

0:55:010:55:03

The isotope analysis reveals up to 400 cattle from one herd

0:55:050:55:10

were killed and the bones roasted in the flames of ritual bonfires.

0:55:100:55:14

It means that the abandonment of the Ness was carefully planned.

0:55:170:55:21

The people who lived here exploited one of their key resources, cattle,

0:55:210:55:26

in a way that was dramatic, even profligate.

0:55:260:55:29

Perhaps, as life across Orkney became more difficult,

0:55:300:55:34

they felt the need to turn to a new way of life.

0:55:340:55:38

These people faced the decision to move on,

0:55:380:55:41

just as the islanders of Swona did 40 years ago.

0:55:410:55:45

After this extraordinary period,

0:55:480:55:50

Orkney lost its influence over mainland Britain

0:55:500:55:53

and, from a southern viewpoint,

0:55:530:55:56

became a far-flung outpost.

0:55:560:55:57

But none of this can undermine the significance

0:55:570:56:01

of the thousand years when the culture of Orkney,

0:56:010:56:03

with the Ness of Brodgar at its heart,

0:56:030:56:05

seems to have dominated Britain.

0:56:050:56:07

It's the last day of the dig

0:56:110:56:12

and we're all looking back on what's been

0:56:120:56:14

an extraordinary summer.

0:56:140:56:16

We've discovered how the Orcadians could have moved the vast megaliths.

0:56:190:56:23

We've revealed how they could have crossed the Pentland Firth.

0:56:260:56:30

It's a funny thing that the only thing between us and the North Sea

0:56:300:56:33

is a bit of cow skin.

0:56:330:56:34

And we've found powerful evidence

0:56:360:56:38

that the people here inspired Stonehenge

0:56:380:56:41

and created Britain's first common culture.

0:56:410:56:44

It's as though in this season

0:56:440:56:47

we finally got back to page one of the Ness of Brodgar story.

0:56:470:56:52

I have read there it's eat at your own risk.

0:56:570:56:59

-Giles, eat it.

-Oh, God.

0:57:020:57:03

The archaeologists, volunteers, the team and I

0:57:030:57:06

celebrate with our own final feast.

0:57:060:57:08

-Edible.

-LAUGHTER

0:57:100:57:12

One, two, three.

0:57:120:57:14

A tasty Neolithic barbecue of roasted bone marrow.

0:57:180:57:23

One of the most exciting things has been sharing ideas and information

0:57:230:57:27

with the rest of the team.

0:57:270:57:29

You know, things that we've gathered from the archaeologists

0:57:290:57:31

and ideas that we've come up with ourselves.

0:57:310:57:33

Then you throw them onto the table

0:57:330:57:35

and other people chip in and it shapes and forms, I hope,

0:57:350:57:39

a better understanding of what

0:57:390:57:41

Neolithic man was doing in this place

0:57:410:57:43

5,500 years ago.

0:57:430:57:46

It really is beautiful here.

0:57:460:57:48

I mean, I've never been to Orkney and, you know,

0:57:480:57:51

the landscapes are...really kind of spark the imagination

0:57:510:57:55

of what life might have been like 5,000-plus years ago.

0:57:550:58:00

LAUGHTER

0:58:000:58:02

From my first sighting of the excavations,

0:58:080:58:13

I was convinced that the Ness of Brodgar

0:58:130:58:15

was uniquely significant,

0:58:150:58:17

and now with the evidence that we've been uncovering this summer,

0:58:170:58:21

the Ness of Brodgar should be a name that people know around the world.

0:58:210:58:25

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