A Neolithic Cathedral? (Northborough, Peterborough) | S12E05 | Time Team

[@helenamcginty4920]

Re Victor Ambrus. A quote from Wikipedia biography. Just to show how well respected he was. "Ambrus was an Associate of the Royal College of Art and a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Society of Painters, Etchers and Engravers. He was also a patron of the Association of Archaeological Illustrators and Surveyors up until its merger with the Institute for Archaeologists in 2011."

[@katherinecooper6159]

It is sad to learn about people and then find out they are deceased. like mitch

[@GaryNoone-jz3mq]

😮😢​@@katherinecooper6159

[@Jaqueli9er]

I love Francis, his passion and optimism is so contagious, and he is not afraid of being wrong or admitting he was wrong in his hypothesis, which goes to show how much of a competent professional he is. Love him.

[@RKHageman]

So do I. I am very fond of Dr. Pryor. Big fan.

[@Agameda1]

They are all enthusiasts - en theos, with the gods and professional everyone is passionate about what they are doing and their love for, sometimes, the grubbiest find is comforting and inspiring.

[@eldr4362]

Yeah. It feels like you're always just on the cusp of a great discovery

[@sharonwhiteley6510]

Another important member of the team is Stewart Ainsworth. How many times has he provided the answers just outside any "finds", saving the day? Showing its not about one person: it truly takes a TEAM .

[@Lemma01]

Do agree - he deserves a series of his own

[@zephz1285]

@@Lemma01 all of them do, but that would be only a fraction as entertaining and informational. as Sharon said, it takes a TEAM

[@zonabrown9241]

I totally agree & without the dramas of others

[@GeraBrown]

​@@zonabrown9241Ouch! Who's bringing the drama? I see drama in the finds. I can only imagine being on the bad side of a crazed aurochs!😮 Climb your average tree and Superbull would uproot it and send you flying! 🙃

[@SilkeSaint]

I simply adore the way that Phil makes a pair of cut offs look studious 🤓 📚

[@CodonQuixote]

I don't know who I am, I don’t know why I'm here, All I know is that I must watch every Time Team episode ever made.

[@gertsgarden]

Several times

[@gertsgarden]

I’m honored, Thank you

[@IanZainea1990]

I discovered this last week (seemingly around the time you did) and I feel the same. Amazon Prime in the US has a lot of classic time team.

[@Timotei75]

You're a very famous and daring pirate.

[@CodonQuixote]

@@Timotei75 Damn it I think you're right... It's all coming back to me! I'm a man of action, a swashbuckler and a rouge. A man who can hold his breath for ten minutes!

[@johansmallberries9874]

Shout out to the unsung hero of time team: the random aerial photographer.

[@mr.holmes4698]

I love Phil and his love for flint tools. What a legend

[@STScott-qo4pw]

and stuart and mick teased him for it! 😁 many episodes i swear tony robinson's main job wasn't to narrate and guide us viewers but to keep mick and phil apart!

[@STScott-qo4pw]

PS, has anyone ever observed Phil without his hat? Is he truly one of us - homo sapien?

[@Invictus13666]

@@STScott-qo4pw he takes the hat off in every episode

[@lindawuorio5466]

Don't forget his snort snorts he ALWAYS wears

[@raibeart1955]

He could also handle a shovel and spade better than a lot of people half his age. All the best to you and yours. Rab

[@8888Rik]

I was a member of an archeological field crew during my later grad student years at the University Of Massachusetts at Amherst. I was technically the "osteology consultant", but I was also a regular down-in-the-dirt crewmember. We did survey work all over the Northeast here in the US. It was gruelingly hard work every very long day, but it was also wonderful, and we made some very exciting finds. And we had a hell of a lot of fun, living together for weeks on end in cheap motels Watching Time Team brings it all back to me now, in retirement, and I feel a bit of nostalgia as well an envy, and I miss it just a bit. I've been watching and rewatching this series for some years now, and it's always exciting.

[@butterflyladeda1080]

Yes, I can see that it was long and gruelingly hard work. Lots of spade work and especially being on all fours( or threes) scraping away with a trowel. Passion is a wonderful thing.

[@8888Rik]

@@butterflyladeda1080 I remember one project when we spent several days literally waist-deep in poison ivy. I think a lot of people think that poison ivy is a very small "weed", but in fact it can get very tall. People who do field work of any sort here in the Northeast of the U.S. learn very quickly to recognize poison ivy. I knew someone years ago from Utah, who had never even heard of the stuff, and she ended up covered in a rash because she was weeding a garden that was loaded with the stuff.

[@Demun1649]

How far back in the history of North America did you dig? Did you ever prove that the indigenous peoples were there before the European illegal immigrants?

[@8888Rik]

@@Demun1649 I spent my career as a paleontologist. There is no fossil evidence of primates in the Americas after the end of the Paleocene, about 56 million years ago, and according to the latest data , no evidence of humans earlier than about 30.000 years ago. If there are other data to the contrary, show them to me, along with your sources.

[@8888Rik]

@@butterflyladeda1080 I was a construction worker for a time as a grad student, but archeology was the hardest physical work I ever did.

[@alexritchie4586]

I love how Francis Pryor can make me genuinely excited about slight variation in soil colour!

[@krumplethemal8831]

Great episode. Phil is my favorite on the show. I know hes now in his 70s, I hope he is enjoying life, I know archelology is a physically demanding career so hope he still has a way to enjoy his passion besides beer.

[@GraemeBT]

Phil's leading a dig at the site of the battle of Waterloo

[@commonsense571]

My mum is 77 and could outrun me easy. 🤷🏻‍♀️💖

[@Just_Sara]

@@commonsense571 Yeah, my mom is 68 and could absolutely kick my butt. I'm proud of her!

[@russellelie793]

Also the cut off jean shorts are always badass

[@Andy-qo6rq]

Watched all the series on TV and when it ended I tried to go straight but I was tempted and watch all the series again on KZbin. Yes my names Andy and I’m an addict. 😂😂😂

[@Peggyanns]

Hello Andy! My name is Peggyann and I’m happily addicted to Time Team, chocolate chip cookies and Irish Breakfast tea.

[@Focusarethebest]

Me too!

[@The-RA-Guy]

My name is Clive and I am a TT addict. Do you think we have enough yet for a support group?! :-))

[@Andy-qo6rq]

@@The-RA-Guy yes more will join as long as we do a 12 step program.

[@PeggyMcclure-d1z]

My name is Peggy and I am a time team addict

[@sharonwhiteley6510]

The extremely talented, yet very unheralded member of TIME TEAM, was their illustrator. What a loss for the Team and myriad of viewers. His talents will be sorely missed.

[@karenklnck1377]

There is, somewhere on You Tube, a show on him.

[@NickanM]

His name; Victor Ambrus

[@eldr4362]

My wife and I were just commenting to each other about how great his illustrations are. Time team are practically a multi-generational tradition in my family now.

[@GaryNoone-jz3mq]

Victor's work will be much missed.

[@maxb4074]

Phil and Maisie's segments together are delightful and very informative

[@allandavis8201]

I don’t know if it’s an age thing, but as I get older things that I wouldn’t have even considered as being remotely interesting have become fascinating and interesting, not to mention informative as well, and time team seem to bring things to life from the most tiny fragments of artefacts, having an artist on the team is a brilliant idea, his artwork is phenomenal. Thanks for another excellent episode, I don’t think I have watched an episode yet that hasn’t been worthy of a big thumbs up 👍😀🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@orgeuillealkali]

When I was a child, history bored me to tears - now in my thirties and I can’t get enough of it!

[@mrjohn.whereyoufrom]

I'm exactly the same. Years ago I had no interest but now I can't get enough of watching history shows and reading history books.

[@raibeart1955]

Hi Allan, I feel the same way. History was boring at school. back in the 50's and60's, it was just learning dates of battles, etc. Put in the context of programs like this brings it more to the fore so to speak. All the best to you and yours.Rab

[@dinerouk]

@@raibeart1955 Ditto!

[@annwagner5779]

I loved history from the beginning. But then, my father was a teacher and an amateur historian who was wonderful at making history fun and human. And I’m a professional art historian. I was so lucky in my parents!

[@snodrog5]

Victor Ambrus was an unheralded star of Time Team. Never received the proper recognition for his wonderful contributions.

[@PtolemyJones]

I agree completely. Such a talent.

[@ilanamillion8942]

I would love to have prints of some of the work he has done on Time Team digs.

[@TimeTeamOfficial]

@@ilanamillion8942 We're working on some more Victor related items for the Time Team Official Shop so keep you eye out!

[@thecalicoheart7946]

Victor’s pictures were absolutely beautiful. I love them. The colours and the faces - amazing. He could have drawn a bin and made it look interesting and beautiful. 😊

[@Aoderic]

I love his drawings, they really made the past feel alive.

[@tubularap]

The weather is nice so we have Phil in shorts, and Victor drawing on location, just great.

[@dougmackey448]

Love these pre-history episodes!

[@Gremriel]

I was told Phil is a classical/blues guitarist, and he needs those long nails for picking.

[@abyssminiaturestudios6103]

have recently found this channel, cracking Archelogy work, been binge watching late nights after work. Cheers from Vermont in the usa.

[@didisinclair3605]

I discovered Time Team after my second hip replacement... watched the entire series during my recovery.. it was heaven!!!!

[@vermontvermont9292]

Also from VT USA .

[@Chamberlians]

There is great work being done in the lithic period in that area these days by the State Archeologists of Vt., N.H., Me., and the U de Montreal. Pioneer people after the retreat of the glacier settling around the great Champlain Sea and such.

[@abyssminiaturestudios6103]

@@Chamberlians hmm will have to check that out would be great to do some state side.

[@ImCarolB]

Also from VT, but moved to an even more remote town in Maine.

[@sandrasuzuki9903]

Love watching Time Team, I live near Los Angeles CA. Started watching on cable channel in the 2000's and was sad when the show ended. Looking forward to new episodes. I bought 8 DVD's - I had to buy a all region DVD player. Was so happy to find out Time Team is on You Tube. Been watching the old episodes

[@Lee-eu6wf]

Love u

[@Ljw-low-ljw]

This might be my favourite episode. The ritual vs practical final debate at the end was really interesting.

[@RocLobo358]

I've found a number of neolithic stone scrapers and the two things always impress me 1: how sharp they are even now and 2: How fantastic they feel in your hand. They are incredibly ergonomic

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

They were all hafted.

[@stephanieyee9784]

Lucky duck!

[@jazzles_d]

Super interesting episode, especially as I spent the first 20-odd years of my life living literally just down the road to Northborough.

[@macdameron9321]

Didnt realize I had watched this beofre during COVID until Maisie Taylor showed up and talked about bowls. Goes to show you the replayability of Time Team!

[@lindawuorio5466]

Or your ability to pay attention and retain information

[@annk.8750]

I think Maisie is Francis Pryor's wife.

[@ByronLina]

17:53 Maisie Taylor, as well as being a massive expert on ancient wood, is also married to Francis Pryor. Neolithic power couple!

[@garethamery3167]

@@rarespa Someone is triggered, I see.Yes she is `attested' as she is a professional archaeologist with the requisite training and publications. And NO, you are wrong about coppicing not being a sustainable way to manage woodland. There is no `political tirade' in an assertion of fact, unless your politics are rooted in fantasy.

[@katerinakemp5701]

@@garethamery3167 🤣🥰🤣

[@SN-sz7kw]

@@rarespa and you are not a grammar expert - your sentence structure leaves your assertions unintelligible

[@oldmedic3216]

As a Yank, I love Time Team. Very educational and entertaining.

[@ivaneames4354]

Paul Middleton taught me archaeology at A level in the 90s. Glad to see him still doing well.

[@lukeloveshislord4623]

Since watching every time team episode there's nothing else I can find as interesting and engaging archolodgy wise to watch. Love time team.

[@V.Hansen.]

These oldest sights are extra special IMO. So fascinating.

[@idontknowpreston3673]

I am a big fan of Francis. But I'm always prepared for one of "Francis' Flights of Fancy". This is his ritual version of one stone is a stone. Two stones are a wall..... I hope he's part of the new team.👍✌

[@leonmarsh3378]

a awesome show wish it was still going one of the most interesting shows out there love Phil he's such a cool character loves to be in the dirt lol

[@Gorboduc]

I wouldn't be surprised if they were both right, and these enclosures were hubs for a ceremonial gift economy, a la the Trobriand kula ring or Pacific Northwest potlatch culture. I had always assumed that the ditch was a continuous border, thus suggesting a defensive function, but the way they're pigeonholed into separate units suggests one bin for each family/ clan/ moity/ whatever, with annual debits and credits and obligations and paybacks etc. Bringing in cattle explains the phoshates, and the ritual exchange of goods or livestock explains the offerings. Time to reread the Cattle Raid of Cooley with this in mind...

[@deanmc178]

time team has had me hooked since it started all those years ago ,, i love history and have metal detecting equipment to find history in the ground

[@gregorydaines]

With all the drones now, people must have a greater chance of spotting these field markings given that they’re flying overhead in various seasons.

[@paradise2783]

If you're ever bored you can download Google Earth and look for them yourself! Don't forget to turn on historical imagery so that you can choose the best image for the season, as well as seeing if the marks are there over several years. What I'm missing is some sort of database or way of checking if I've found actual, studied marks or are just hallucinating

[@98Zai]

@@paradise2783 There's a thing called "global xplorer", a platform for marking places of possible archeological interest. They use crowdsourcing and send out a tile of map to each participant to fine comb. The location is unknown though, since the idea is to protect the findings. Haven't seen any activity from them for a few years... I hope they weren't looters in disguise :P Their first survey was in South America and I checked a few tiles. It was pretty fun! But took a lot of time. There might still be a database for your area though!

[@paradise2783]

@@98Zai Wow thank you! that's _exactly_ the sort of thing I was hoping someone would suggest :D

[@wendybirdhouse]

I think Northborough has more rings for double the drainage, as it's closest to the marsh. The enclosures face rivers to keep an eye on rising water levels. Living on the Lincolnshire salt marshes, when there's rain and high tides, we dig holes to keep our lawns dry! It's no good if your cattle get foot rot.

[@paulrward]

Ms. Cadwallader, you are the only person with real vision. These sites, with cattle bones, ( and Aurochs Bones ! ) were nothing but huge CATTLE PENS ! These sites were very swampy, so, as you state, to keep the cattle's feet dry, you had to drain the land. So, they dug a set of ring ditches to collect the water, put down layers of bullrushes, and moved the cattle into them at night to protect them from predators and thieves. They might even have laid down layers of small branches to serve as a ' floor 'to the enclosure. As time went on, the level of the soil in the enclosure would rise above the surrounding area, making the enclosure even dryer for the cattle. At night, while the cows were inside, you kept a few guards, and also blocked the entrance ( the causeway ) with a gateway woven from branches and thorny brush. During the day, the boys and teenagers would herd the cattle out to the pastures to graze. They were experimenting with castrating bulls into steers, probably gathering large amounts of milk for cheese and butter, and, in general, beginning the great transition from hunter-gatherers to herder-farmers. The Double Rings might mean the ground was VERY wet, or they might have been dug as an expansion of the cattle pens, as the number of cattle increased, they needed to expand the enclosure to contain them. The timing between the creation of the rings might have been a few years, or perhaps one or two decades. Ms. Cadwallader, an excellent insight.

[@Invictus13666]

@@paulrward except that every last bit of evidence is against you and your drug induced haze of a theory...

[@douglasgraebner1831]

@@Invictus13666 I mean it's not *insane* insofar as it accounts for some things like the very high proportion of cattle bones and phosphate levels. It's also not incompatible with their use being primarily for feasting, especially if you have periodic cullings and feast cycles (possibly timed for seasonal migration). The bigger problem is that 1) it's conjecture , 2) it doesn't *really* answer the function question or the issue of what the scope of ritual use at the site was except by discarding the question of how people thought about it, and 3) it doesn't seem to account terribly well for the burned areas or the charcoal.

[@Invictus13666]

@@douglasgraebner1831 and doesn’t take into account other evidence from other sites. It kills me-as an archaeologist-to see people who’ve watched a couple of episodes of time team and suddenly they’re experts on everything from the very dawn of time through 1980.

[@douglasgraebner1831]

Oooof. This is why I *try* (and fail) to not d-k myself.

[@MajorHavoc214]

I'll be sure to have some tea ready for this event.

[@chasemurraychristopherdola7108]

One thing for sure I think that i will have Chamomile tea and Crumpets ready for this event

[@MajorHavoc214]

Would you all believe that I am living in Oklahoma and have Cherokee heritage and have a lot of contacts in the UK? But I do have to admit that my grandfather did get a great wife from the UK during WWII.

[@chasemurraychristopherdola7108]

@@MajorHavoc214 wow that’s very interesting because I am interested in the native Americans because I live in New Jersey but the only ties I have to the uk 🇬🇧 are my ancestors the Seftons of Lancashire and the Ickes of Yorkshire.

[@chasemurraychristopherdola7108]

@Jack King I don’t know i have no idea at all but it’s possible but I don’t know much about that side of my English ancestors

[@chasemurraychristopherdola7108]

And just saying but I don’t know where in Yorkshire my ancestors are from

[@EleanorPeterson]

Watching these startling snapshots of ancient history - and our stumbling efforts to decode whatever the heck was going on back then - I like to think how today's artefacts, both great and small, might be viewed and analysed 5,000 years from now. Would anything remain? Would those future archaeologists understand the relevance we attach to 'stuff'? Of course we'll never know, but I'm tempted to fire some dodgy clay tablets inscribed with gibberish and drawings of spaceships, dinosaurs, and Giant Killer Cabbages, just to give them something to be working on...

[@Aoderic]

Imagine future archaeologists digging out Wembley stadium, and then arguing whether it was a cattle enclosure or a ritualistic site.. 😃

[@greenhorn6582]

@@Aoderic Both.

[@karanfield4229]

Lots of plastic will remain......

[@joshuabryant3493]

Stuart was so often the man who solved shit out

[@leesloan8216]

@Simon Simon I think what our coarse friend is trying to say, is that Mr Ainsworth usually works it all out and comes up with more grounded theories as to the environment and putting the archeology in context

[@greywater3186]

Smartest person on the show - by far

[@Invictus13666]

@@greywater3186 not a chance. As much as I dislike him, that would be Michael Aston. Guy who wrote the book Stewie learned from.

[@joesinclair8910]

@@Invictus13666 what have you got against him? He always comes across as quite nice and mellow

[@Invictus13666]

@@joesinclair8910 nothing against stewie. Just the people that idolize him, make him out to be the only landscape archaeologist ever, anywhere.

[@MagiTailWelkin]

It's great to watch this one in the UK. I live in Peterborough, so it's fun to know all this was there.

[@cyndyhillman3813]

Hi I'm living in Peterborough also but in Ontario he mentioned Fenlon falls is there a fenelon falls there too ? Love seeing England and it history

[@MagiTailWelkin]

@@cyndyhillman3813 I don't believe so.

[@cyndyhillman3813]

@@MagiTailWelkin ok thanks I'm in Peterborough Ontario Canada

[@EIixir]

I wish I had as much knowledge and sharp eyes as these folks. I miss seeing masters of their craft at work.

[@roundgreenthing]

While i'm not 100% sure if this is the reason or not but i think these are being reuploaded due to the previous being geo-blocked in the UK. I'm guessing time team classics has came to an agreement with the TV channel 4(where they were first broadcast year ago) to be allowed to legally show here on youtube. In any case i'm just happy to be able to view again. Thanks TTC!

[@Invictus13666]

Indeed, you’re wrong.

[@roundgreenthing]

State your case please. If you have some behind the scenes insider info i'm quite sure people would love to know.. :)

[@jodyshepard9482]

Oh mercy! So much digging! I'm very impressed. Thanks all. Love TT.

[@160rpm]

Really nice to see these in HD

[@hollymunford6857]

Joy club news! I’m 70 too, did my first archeological dig one week ago! Love Ukulele HollyBloe USA! Inspiring!

[@MossyMozart]

@Holly Munford - That sounds wonerful!

[@jenniferbruce451]

I love Time Team and their always interesting Archeological work. 😊❤

[@feralbluee]

i love this guy. he is so not into himelf, just gets all excited about the subject. he's wonderful. :) 🎭🤫

[@MrOllieBD]

Love that you’ve never watched Blackadder! Look it up. It’s good.

[@MsRedwiz]

Phil: "Here you can see very clearly" Me: Mmmm yeah ok /squinting not seeing squat

[@catlinboy]

This is really cool. I was just reading about causewayed enclosures the other day and now I feel like I understand much more. Personally I lean more to the farming side of the argument, with a heavy sprinkling of ritual behaviour. Food and work and belief systems are so intertwined! Whilst I don't think you let your cows poo in church, I do think you take your beliefs into the kitchen and the shop etc. Ever heard of throwing pinch of salt over your shoulder to keep the devil away? Doesn't make the kitchen a church.

[@julilla1]

I think you're right, but I wouldn't think the cattle were kept there long. My guess would be that there would be a time of year, or maybe two where the cattle were brought for ceremonial purposes much like Beltane where the cattle were driven between fires to bless them. I'd imagine that sacrifice at that time would be part of it, perhaps choosing the best as offerings. We can't know for sure, but it would make sense, I think.

[@cfrandre8319]

@@julilla1 Maybe sacrifice and feasting were done together at solstices, or harvest times. If they sacrificed too many of their best animals, they’d weaken their stock instead of improve them, so maybe it was trading event, too, comparing cattle, sheep, etc. and picking one or two from each category of animal, using others from ordinary stock to get enough for everyone to eat and trading or bartering for animals or goods...maybe a bit like county fairs.

[@ryanpeck3377]

Francis always thinks everything is ritual. If you listen to him all ancient people did was have ceremonies and rituals

[@trinkab]

I look at the two rings and thought "looks like an animal pen. If they don't have the wood for a huge fence, having ditches around it will keep the dumber animals from just walking straight out from the paddock." Mainly because I worked at a place that used sheep to keep the grounds short (as a "green" replacement for lawn mowers) and to keep them from wandering away down the driveway they had speed bumps across the road between the drainage ditches.

[@RocLobo358]

It's a good thought but other found examples (ceide fields) of neolithic animal pens are square.

[@davidwilkinson333]

'Very first farming communities'...and yet they had already not just domesticated several species of livestock, but practiced subtle and sophisticated husbandry techniques such as castration! This has echoes of the Egyptian Old Kingdom that suddenly appeared and within a mere several hundred years had become master builders and masons with a deep knowledge of astronomy and river management. Hmm! At times I am tempted to think there are some big missing chunks in the narrative and the danger of flimsy hypotheses consolidating into 'established dogma'. Modern scientists have developed a worrying habit of not retesting the validity of the established paradigm before building on it. A wonderful series and cast of characters and I am so glad it is back again :-)

[@Gambit771]

It is what they did day in and day out for generations. They'd be good at it and would've learnt and developed techniques, tools and trades to help them. You are overthinking it.

[@jasonhare8540]

West country Harding and the trench of doom ... Now that's a film I want to see 🤣 *It would have been hilarious if on one of these episodes they turned the tables on Tony and every time he started to monologue all the archaeologists ran over and started judging his monologue 🤣

[@4Usuality]

Francis hopping into that first hole was more impressive to me than it should have been. That looked pretty deep actually, and he isn't that young here. Good to see the work keeps you fit lol

[@gavinc9938]

The soliloquy by Francis from 11:37 is quite humbling and profound

[@seanpaula8924]

So glad I found your programs. Greetings from Michigan USA ✌👍

[@anneburke3756]

I love that phill put the shovels in the digger bucket for transport😂

[@GeraBrown]

Another great episode! And with an aurochs reference yet! Still can't fathom the absent end credits tho. Although the date is pretty much determined by the Carenza cameo.😢 But I've always been a credits watcher. 😎

[@DHealey]

Looks like a DIY cattle grid to me

[@sinnocent7530]

Anyone else have a spine tingle or shiver to see the random appearance of Carenza?

[@Invictus13666]

Vomit.

[@johnisaaco8795]

If you dig a small ditch and put the dirt between the small ditches, you only have to dig half the amount of space to enclose something for the animals, maybe, ? And the parts where you want the animals to come through you leave open, and the ditch spoil is put elsewhere.

[@kevincarrigan6348]

Or the enclosures could have been (also) a Neolithic 'stock exchange' for the barter between cultivators & ranchers, w/ sacrificial feasts for the assembled living, & some offerings of produce to their ancestors.....

[@otowngirl12]

I need to know why were aren't taking more about Phil's shorts!?

[@jasonlipmyer36]

Because they've already been debated for years.

[@karanfield4229]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤓

[@treehousekohtao]

Too long?

[@jasonlipmyer36]

@@treehousekohtao that seems to be the general consensus.

[@julilla1]

You couldn't tell me that Phil wasn't proud of showing off his smooth, tanned legs. As a woman who has to shave her legs, I'm so jealous.

[@dyannejohnson6184]

Guybush ......I have a heads up for you...I have them downloaded and every nite they are on all nite...they are my “counting sheep” insomniac solution!

[@Graham_Rule]

OK, I admit to finding this very interesting. But the "Roman canal" mentioned in passing then completely ignored. There's surely room for an entire program on how the Romans managed water here. And a single canal running through the entire enclosure surely indicated that the island nature of the site had changed by then. I suppose that's the thing about research - the more you find out the more you know there's more to learn.

[@paradise2783]

The river running over the enclosure at the bottom also indicates that the landscape must have changed significantly

[@carmineredd1198]

@@paradise2783 site / landscape - same

[@faithlesshound5621]

That the "Romans" dug a canal through the centre of the enclosure suggests that the site had fallen out of use or lost most of its significance by then, unless whoever ordered the canal built was powerful enough not to care. I would also like to know more about how the Romans managed water. They had marshy areas elsewhere in their vast empire, and men who knew what was done in Egypt and Mesopotamia may well have brought new ideas to East Anglia, Somerset and the Netherlands.

[@theknave4415]

Gotta love Francis. Utterly sincere. Even when he isn't. ;) No. I would not buy a used car from him. :D

[@katerinakemp5701]

🤣🤣🤣

[@k.s.333]

RIP Victor Ambrus

[@GregSchmidt711]

Ritual or a farm? Everyday life is filled with ritual. Every Sunday we hear about the "perfect sacrifice" as the priest holds the wafer and chalice to the sky. In many Christian families today a prayer is offered prior to eating. It isn't much of a step to offer a piece of the meal via the cook fire. In many cultures it's customary to anoint a hunter with the blood of his/her first kill to imbue them with the animal's spirit. I'd wager serious money that almost every neo site has both domestic and ritual components intertwined together.

[@rosewhite---]

that perfect sacrifice your priest prattles about is his belief that Jesus was killed by the same sun worshippers as pope and all catholics and holding the wafer to the sun makes it forbidden according to Jeremiah 7:17Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven;'

[@paulhowourth9540]

Lol

[@evilborg]

Neolithic husband: Ok its time to pack up and move again. Neolithic wife: NO!! Neolithic husband: ok.....

[@thecalicoheart7946]

🤣 I wouldn’t be surprised if that was amazingly close to the truth!!! 😳😂

[@georgedorn1022]

He sounds more like a Mesolithic husband!

[@Tawadeb]

Lol

[@Gambit771]

Feminism wasn't around to destroy relationships back then so we know that isn't how it went.

[@glenysclark8503]

Love your work, Victor

[@wiiliamgrant6074]

One thing I miss about the series is...Phil's collection of hats.

[@hot_off_the_hardware]

How does Phil manage to keep his nails so long among all that rock and rubble? They're like miniature shovels.

[@MsRedwiz]

Always creeps me out completely

[@suzannecochrane5924]

I thought the same.Diamond Nails nail varnish, is a hardener and protecter. Is he guitarist, I wonder?

[@cfrandre8319]

@@suzannecochrane5924 He’s a guitarist who plays “picking” style.

[@katerinakemp5701]

@@suzannecochrane5924 yes our Phil is.

[@katerinakemp5701]

@@MsRedwiz well your easy to creep out over the length of a persons fingernails lol, i see alot of female fingernails that are acrylic and they are really creepy looking.

[@thedish61]

This duplicates the "Northborough, Peterborough" video posted November 18, 2020. Is that video not playing for some?

[@MagiTailWelkin]

It, and many others, were blocked for people like me in the UK.

[@commonsense571]

“A hopeless ditch” 😂😂😂 Don’t know as I’ve ever thought of a hopeful one tho haha

[@Thirdbase9]

Phil probably dropped the broken arrowhead.

[@carmineredd1198]

or shot it at the bald little guy trying to knock a raspberry off his noggin

[@Ljw-low-ljw]

Will Francis be coming back for the new Time Team? Hope so!

[@juststeve7665]

He's 77 now so..... like Phil and Tony they are taking it slow nowdays.

[@MrOllieBD]

Anyone else want the sound bite of Phil saying ‘burning’ as the alert tone for the mother in law?!

[@mikeshandtightgarage4893]

Fil the only man on earth I've seen rock bottie shorts!

[@wasteyelo1]

Phil in Daisy Dukes. The Man is fearless. 😄

[@Invictus13666]

Those aren’t daisy dukes.

[@tonymoyer2817]

Has anyone ever asked whether the ring ditches could perhaps be a religious enclosure of water? Like other rings found of stone and wood? Perhaps it's related to the particular element water, or something water represents.

[@Lee-eu6wf]

Hmmm interesting 🤔

[@Blessings.429]

I think family and extend family Tribe members meeting up so the young can meet others and to talk about perhaps marriage and family backing each other should be talked about and Cultural differences also. I am no Archeological person at all but have had many years to sit back and think about all this and find we mostly agree. Thank You Time Team for all the free knowledge you have shared. We don’t agree this time.girls and boy’s coming of age.

[@angel-astanfield7939]

Hilarious. There is a Fenlon Falls near Peterborough in Ontario, Canada too. I wonder where the founders came from? 🧐 😆💕

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Thanks.

[@sergarlantyrell7847]

Isn't it more likely to be in the middle of the ditch because of gravity and the shape of the ditch? It seems like the ditch could simply have been to contain the cattle.

[@faithlesshound5621]

To contain cattle or sheep they would have needed a continuous ditch or a fence. The interrupted ditches would have led to a lot of lost animals, and many injuries.

[@faithlesshound5621]

To contain cattle or sheep they would have needed a continuous ditch or a fence. The interrupted ditches would have led to a lot of lost animals, and many injuries.

[@sergarlantyrell7847]

@@faithlesshound5621 a simple gate across each entrance would keep them in but give good access from many directions.

[@casteretpollux]

@@sergarlantyrell7847 Any evidence of a fence? Did they have hedging?

[@jamiecullum5567]

Yeah cause cattle dont know how to jump do they

[@edrooks]

Looks like a cattle corral to protect your cattle from rustlers and other dangers and, or a trading center.

[@MossyMozart]

Roman, Roman, blah, blah, blah. So what? What I find TRULY amazing is Neolithic/Bronze Age explorations. It is not only that the traces of those people still exist, but the finds show those "primative" people were very cleaver problem solvers who had a deep well of knowledge on many things including their environment. We stand on their shoulders. Then, Mr Ambrus' astonishing artwork brings those long dead people back to life right before our eyes.

[@Lannisen]

So now I'm imagining that the uroxe was buried there as a sort of totem to keep the cattle safe, and the burnt offering to keep the grain plentiful. We pray where we live and live where we pray after all.

[@Invictus13666]

Auroch. Jesus. And no.

[@rachelholdt6840]

My guess is they did butchery. If they did it seasonally, then there would be some amount of ritual going on to bless the harvest. The fire may have been used as a sort of fence to keep the animals there until they could be dispatched. It would have definitely been used to singe the hair off of the skin. Butchering a beef animal takes a lot of work because of their size, so it would have made sense to come together as a group to get it all done at once so the meat, bones, and hides could be preserved, much like the Native Americans of the Great Plains did with the bison.

[@DK640OBrianYT]

The ditches seem to be formed such that cattle can't cross them. They'd be scared to fall in. The half-fired pot with burned grain, well.....it could be no different as the ritual of laying a coin when rising a building nowadays....they might just have said: Here we will make a cattle field and for good luck we'll la this pot.

[@Invictus13666]

Except the totality of the evidence from there and multiple other sites says no...but hey, you tried, good for you. 🙄

[@DK640OBrianYT]

@@Invictus13666 Thanx Tootsie. Good to know at least someone is keeping a watchful eye in case somebody is wrong on the Internet. It's so useful. You deserve a medal. Hopefully the high ranks points their fingers at you.

[@antiquegeek]

​ @darthinvictus666 Totality of evidence? Who are you to determine what the exact ritual significance of a particular find is? Not even the professionals at the site were willing to venture an absolute. Recognizing that, the original poster's conjecture is not without merit. When ritual is involved, from the major to the minor, small blessings or massive ceremony, the reasons are often unclear to us but people did what they did for reasons. Why wouldn't they be making sacrifices and rituals to ensure bountiful farm results or cyclic remembrances as well? There was certainly not enough excavation to determine if a permanent settlement was there so permanent farm community might be a stretch conclusion but evidence of habitation and farm animals and ritual. You can use your crystal ball and the original poster is welcome to use theirs.

[@Invictus13666]

@@antiquegeek 😂 you attack me all fancy, then spend the rest of your novel laying out the case for why I’m correct before circling back to attack me again. How about you white knight with someone who’s more impressed, ‘Kay slugger? As for who I am blah blah...nothing, a mere nobody. Simply a professional in the field with the education and years of study to back it up. You?

[@antiquegeek]

@@Invictus13666 Ah yes the attack of the infamous pseudo expert. Years of experience blah blah ...professional...blah. Was there actually a rebuttal in your response or a reasoned professional argument as support for your contesting the original poster's comment? That's how we professionals debate stuff Chuckles. A hint for you- when all parties are unsure of a conclusion then ANY party's conjecture is valid to consider. Not necessarily accept but that's where professionals offer counter conjecture and debate. But you would know that...being a professional and all. All I see from you so far is school yard taunts and claims of being proven correct when you have offered nothing to be correct about. Offer valid counter argument based on the science or a valid counter conjecture or be silent troll.

[@ORDEROFTHEKNIGHTSTEMPLAR13]

Seeing Phil in the demim shorts has traumatized me for life now 😵

[@TheOldOak-2023ad]

Some of that architecture looks very similar to the castle that carries my family name . Lowther Castle in Cumbria

[@vermontvermont9292]

"But on this side, damnit!" Lol

[@bf2823]

Has anyone considered that one possible use for a pit in the ground is for storing produce? In the American south it's called a "bank" and such things as sweet potatoes are stored there. It's the equivalent of a root cellar. Maybe that's all that those pits were.

[@lorilea3188]

enclosures of old europe are the first slaughterhouses, herds of animals driven into ditches , injured animals killed , big feasting? equivalent of the buffalo kill sites here on Turtle Island. good stuff.

[@hammerandspannerman1]

I wonder as it appears this community at this time we're more advanced than many believed could the ditches possibly been allocated to different families or groups as their marker of being in the collective ? They would also bring in their livestock and other wares perhaps for trade? Staying for short periods before leaving with their belongings and animals that they have gained? The number of these enclosures locally could possibly show that this was a meeting place for many perhaps from the other areas in the country. To me the allocation of a ditch and what has been found in them draws together both sides of the use argument that perhaps leaving families or groups deposited offerings for a good time had or wanted?

[@phillipdavies6548]

An amazing series where you get to watch someone scraping a bit of stony ground with a trowel to eventually find a bit of broken pottery. From which they are able to extrapolate an amazing amount of theory about the massive building that was there and who lived in it. Right down to what colour socks they wore and what they had for breakfast. If it wasn't for their intuitive brilliance I'd have thought I was just watching some guys playing in a hole.

[@morrisweiss8658]

Thanks!

[@TheSouthernLady777]

All I know is that in Texas there are grated bridges that cattle simply will not cross. They're very effective. Perhaps that is what these ditches are.

[@artbermiss369]

What I didn't hear mentioned was that by placing families with campfires around the outside between ditches full of water, the livestock would have been best protected from predators. The second ring would have provided protected watering holes for livestock separate from human consumption.

[@MossyMozart]

@Amber Adler - Your supposition has a ring of truth. I would love to see it further explored.

[@edgeplay4205]

I notice that everywhere they dig a ditch it fills up with water. But they do not say if it is fresh or brackish. If I had cattle and the water was fresh this would be perfect. I dont need to bring the water to the herd, or take the herd to the water. I just dig a ditch.

[@knailstheman]

You might not let your cows into church, but you might if its a shrine in reverence of cattle, an animal they seem to rely on for a huge amount of meat, not to mention the milk, leather, and bone. With the aurochs bone in the center, seemingly as a focus point, it makes sense to me to be a shrine in honor of their cattle.

[@paean109]

Fascinating.

[@AvaT42]

Fascinating!