Astonishing Anglo-Saxon Burial Ground Found By HS2 Archaeologists

[@HistoryHit]

Remember you can watch the full documentary on History Hit TV! 🎥access.historyhit.com/what-s-new/videos/digging-up-the-dark-ages As KZbin subscribers, you can sign up to History Hit TV today with code KZbin and enjoy 50% off your first 3 months!

[@tomB-A]

With a looming global recession, soaring food, oil and gas prices, not to mention a plethora of streaming services already available that people are already cutting back on….why would many people choose to take on more expense when they can watch nearly identical content on here for free?

[@ianbrown3493]

I'm assuming you lot are working on adding subtitles to your channel,?

[@erinmboehm]

Contemplating it- and Magellan tv

[@sophroniel]

What is the song/soundtrack music used at 2:00? I have heard it across many history documentaries and it's awesome, but no one lists the song anywhere!! Please help!

[@kiralana324]

is this link no longer active? or has the original video gone AWOL?

[@derekstocker6661]

Incredible site, the artefacts and the surrounding area are so wonderful. When people including me, moaned about HS2 damaging the countryside in the past, little did we know that without the HS2 plans we would never have seen these magical excavated items. Thanks so much for this great moment in time on the dig.

[@jack1428]

Horrendous that a high speed rail line is going to ruin that scenery.

[@murder13love]

To save barely any time yet the rail in the south west is awful and desperately needs updating yet it is ignored

[@bobstacey9311]

With out H2S then the history would not have been discovered

[@girlnorthof60]

The full Doc is even more astonishing! 😍 Cheers History Hit... the gift to yourself that keeps on giving, all year long! 👍

[@cindybryant1584]

I think I have watched every episode of Time Team since I discovered it. Fascinating, especially when they found Anglo-Saxon sites.

[@jhbluestar]

Hello from Arizona! You all from England are so very blessed with history. Course, I may be partial, well ok VERY partial to England and have been since i was a very young lad. Mom said that if she read stories to us kids that if it didnt have real English/ British history that I wasn't interested. My siblings loved Jack and the Beanstalk etc. I never could figure that out, why listen to fairytales when the Dark Ages was so full of stories and it was all TRUE? Anyhow, if I do make it to England I warn you now, Im not leaving. My dream has always been to be the first Heatherly to return to England (we originally came from the Bristol area so im told and left after Queen Elizabeth 1 died). I was born in America but my heart and soul has always been of England! Thank you for these videos, I love them ALL!

[@leemichael2154]

It's refreshing to hear a yank talk good about the brits considering what we did to you guy's! Our leadership has not been kind to the colonies we created and it's shameful to me personally

[@jhbluestar]

@@leemichael2154 well with all due respect I believe that in fact it was the colonies that caused the separation. For example, the 7 years war or in America it is called the French and Indian War. The colonies begged the King for his help and protection claiming rights as British subjects so the King agrees. However, wars cost money and when the King asked the colonies after the war was won for payments to be made the colonies refused. In my opinion, the King had every right to ask for payments and the colonists acted under Treason. The world owes England for their existence and culture. I wrote an essay as a 3rd grader about "the flag". The teacher had meant the American flag but in my mind the term, "The Flag" could only mean the Union Jack and I went on to explain what I thought the flag represented. The Cross of St Georges in the center and the Red and white bands going to what I saw was the four corners of the oceans or earth. Meaning, without England the world would not have achieved any true form of civilization. I had to redo the essay but my original was given high marks for originality. Anyway, I was born a Yank but I am truly a foreign born Englishman and I am proud of that fact! Thank you for your kind words. May God Bless our Queen and forever Bless England!

[@davehoward22]

nice to see an american embrace british heritage instead of guessing they are irish or german

[@jhbluestar]

@@davehoward22 fortunately my DNA testing has shown a 94% English/ Anglo Saxon with Scottish and Irish. Less than 1% American Indian for whatever reason...lol. No German whatsoever! Therefore in this day and age I declare myself a misplaced Brit loyal to the Crown!

[@jonser20cent68]

@@jhbluestar I think the native Americans would have fared much better as British or French subjects than they did under the colonists.

[@williamrobinson7435]

This is fascinating. I love the enthusiasm of all concerned, its very life affirming and inspiring! Thanks for this.👍

[@williamrobinson7435]

@@THINKincessantly No need to pull your punches.. Tell us what you REALLY think! 🤣👍

[@fw1421]

Truely amazing discovery. Smart to put up tents to protect the dig site from Englands frequent rains. I thoroughly enjoyed this video.👍🏻

[@daegudiva]

So interesting. This would make a solid premise for a full episode covering this dig.

[@stevepritchett6563]

Unfortunately, you need to PAY to watch the rest of it. A bit underhand if you ask me.

[@Wanderinghippi]

You have to credit England for caring so much for its history you hear stories of other countries that find thing and go in at night and smash up what they found so they don’t have to slow down their construction

[@warriorinagarden70]

Try to imagine the sights and sounds as you, a Saxon, Roman or Viking warrior sprinted into a melee wielding weapons designed for cutting or destroying other human bodies knowing you must use them well, or similar implements will be used on you.

[@OptimusPrinceps_Augustus]

" Do I have to ?"

[@Texeq]

Valhalla!

[@tristanpatterson3843]

It's the whole reason young boys are drawn to swords and guns. It used to be essential.

[@warriorinagarden70]

@@tristanpatterson3843 in the uk we still have a by-law which requires males over 14 to practise archery for 2 hours on a Sunday! Seems even more necessary right now 😄

[@tristanpatterson3843]

@@warriorinagarden70 Yep, I'd rather be a warrior in a garden as the saying goes.

[@Ben-cl2co]

11 minutes is about 11 times to short for a video like this. We need more! 😂

[@anthonydoyle7370]

Small segments like this are just to build up their hits for views, Ben. If they just show the full programme they probably only get one view per person. By breaking it into segments like this they get multiple views per person.

[@swagmanexplores7472]

Thoroughly enjoyed watching this presentation. 10/10 and instantly subscribed ☺️

[@suzannecooke2055]

I just love scientific descriptions like "pokey-out bits"!

[@mattsmithson4647]

I don't know who this 'Matthew Smithson-Shaw' is, but he's handsome and talented and deserves his own TV show.

[@lemming9984]

I agree. What's your phone number....

[@evegraceless8743]

I'd very happily marry that guy!

[@lemming9984]

@@evegraceless8743 I'm first!

[@jimofthejungle02]

I live very close to this site and honestly this is one of the coolest things (and possibly the only interesting thing in the area) that have ever been discovered

[@Tam0de]

If I were you I would go buy a metal detector & start scanning the surrounding areas. You're lucky to be living in a place with so much history.

[@OptimusPrinceps_Augustus]

I restore and sell ancient Roman coins and small artifacts for a living

[@shable1436]

@@OptimusPrinceps_Augustus where at?

[@OptimusPrinceps_Augustus]

@@shable1436 at my place of business

[@shable1436]

@@OptimusPrinceps_Augustus online?

[@fuferito]

I'm not conversant on the linguistics of it, but I'm willing to guess that the word, _seax_ to name the typical Anglo Saxon knife, also gave the Saxon people their name.

[@elwolf8536]

Spot on! sons of the knife or people of the knife

[@emilioalcazar-su9vi]

Awesome place,finds..love the work of these people,preserving the legacy.. beautiful video!

[@Labroidas]

While I absolutely love archaeology and history, and think that this is an amazing discovery, there is always a part of me that thinks that maybe we should respect the dead and not open up their graves, because they themselves would not have wanted that. But at the same time I appreciate the hard work of the archaeologists to give us a connection to our ancestors.

[@tommunyon2874]

So captivating. Makes one want to be there in person working one's own trowel in the earth. Family history/genealogy indicates one side likely reverse migrated from Britain back to Germanic Europe; other side principally from Great Britain & Ireland for generations. Both sides came together in 20th century North America.

[@garysmith5641]

Really similar to the one found while building our local B and Q in Southend that the builders kept Quiet about , about 500 yards from the Saxon king Burial found in the 90s , for years been waiting for it to be spoken about , but appears the Builders said nothing and just stripped it for the new car park . this is lucky i reckon hundreds get ignored because of Building investers

[@04williamsl]

It's been like that for years. I'm sure I read before about bones being found in a bag. They thought it was some missing boys from a few years back, but when they investigated the bones were hundreds of years old. Some builders found them, knew if they reported it they would get behind deadline, so bagged them up and reburied them elsewhere. Really sad really as it'll never now be investigated properly since a building/houses etc will be on top of them.

[@JohnyG29]

Why all the random capital letters?

[@garysmith5641]

@@04williamsl no this was about 30 graves , most of them Christian , 3 or 4 were pre christian , as they were facing south North , We also built a Sainsbury on top of a Cretaceous Coastline in Gloucester ,Fossils as big as your head , before we filled it in

[@garysmith5641]

@@JohnyG29 just to annoy nazis

[@rhyfelwrDuw]

Fascinating!! Wanted to be an archaeologist when I was a child - I think it was because I dug up some Victorian jewellery from my parents' garden lol! My dad sold it or donated to a museum, I think!

[@shotforshot5983]

Amazing state of preservation. In my American midwest region, iron has no hope of surviving that long, even the static positioning of the bones in what appears to be somewhat shallow graves can't happen here due to ground heave and burrowing animals.

[@bombkita]

Burrowing animals lol, internet scientist.

[@shotforshot5983]

@@bombkita lol, not internet scientist! Rural archeologist! You'd be surprised how far down some dens can go.

[@mitchellsmith4690]

Burrowing animals do indeed affect acheaology...to include dragging items down.

[@mondriaa]

time team as a episode where tanks driving over graves was not a problem for the graves but digging animals did destroy a couple of graves

[@evanhughes7609]

@@mitchellsmith4690 See also Anatolian archaeology. Bloody gerbils can make a proper mess of the stratigraphy!

[@Trevybaby]

This stuff fascinates me to no end

[@catrinholmes7026]

I love archeology and am fascinated by the finds, but how will they ever be able to finish this railway?

[@eileenpritchard9154]

So do I, if only I was younger I would love to go on a dig,I really enjoyed this.😊🤗😊🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@russelltaylor7779]

The person who made the comment "who wants to go to Birmingham" must be a southerner who had never got further than the M 25.

[@grahamturner1290]

Fascinating. May I recommend the Anglo-Saxon, Viking and European stories on the Northworthy Sagas and Stories channel here on KZbin. ⚔️

[@johnsamu]

I love the "not certain if this (the sword into his spine) actually was the cause of his death". I'm sure it was just a "fleshwound"(Monty Pyhton's black knight) and that he lived happily until dying of old age 😉

[@leifvejby8023]

Maybe he was nailed to the ground with it, after his death - to make him stay put.

[@ge2623]

He may have been bringing a shrubbery to someone.

[@Nozylatten]

I love this channel ❤️

[@jaclynmurphy8334]

💗 me too! 🫶❤️

[@leemichael2154]

Dan snow the original gangsta of history! Respect to this guy

[@prankishsquire2663]

Volume on this video is all over the place. Other wise very interesting. Thanks.

[@mistyvaughn6356]

I've been obsessed with this Woodhenge for the last few months ♥️

[@1ask2risk]

Perhaps the remains with the bent knees was simply buried while in rigor.

[@LuvBorderCollies]

Or his buds didn't feel like digging a bigger hole.

[@everactivedad]

This episode is very well done. Bravo

[@ge2623]

If you look closely at the position of the hands, I think that's a Samsung Galaxy S4 being held in his/her hand which I believe was the cause of death: Texting and Charioting.

[@CartoonHistory]

I love these clash of culture stories... when William the conqueror was crown in westminster, the anglo saxons celebrated and shouted. the norman soldiers outside thought they were attacking him and stormed the coronation, and ended up burning the place down...

[@noelryan6341]

Regarding the name 'Vortigern' pronounced by presenter as vor-tee-gern (as in germ) as a Gael myself I would say the pronunciation should be More-Tee-Earn because in my humble opinion it describes the bearer as a Mor (sounds like More) meaning 'Big' Tiarna (sounds like tee-arna) meaning 'Overlord' or 'Chieftain'.

[@irenejohnston6802]

We don't know we weren't there. an off point eg. MacAuliffe derives from Scandinavian Irish. Son of Olaf/0lav.

[@johnnieantler58]

Ancient burials and priceless treasure. Oh for a quality metal detector and a ticket across the pond. It’s on the Bucket list. Probably never make it but it’s a beautiful thought.

[@ItzCoopzFtw]

Really makes you wonder what else is buried all over the world. Thousands of years to be rediscovered.

[@marksaint-john3722]

Fascinating stuff and so necessary in learning of the past. I do however have a question about the graves of the dead. How are these remains viewed in terms of those being fallen warriors or such. Today we treat our fallen with great respect and dignity. Is there a place within your work to afford these ancients the same dignity and respect? No criticism inferred or intended just interested in that aspect. Thanks for the fine work you are all doing to bring history alive for us all to learn from.

[@c-puff]

I really enjoy these videos on this channel, but they also remind me why I rarely watch television documentaries any more. Seeing a preview at the start of a program I am currently watching that shows me things within the program I am about to watch and front loads everything interesting in the first minute of the show (and often before ever single ad break) is so off putting and eats up so much of a program's run time it's completely insufferable. Not only does it make the documentary less interesting to watch by essentially spoiling itself right at the start and then seeing the same information repeated so many times it stops being interesting and just gets tedious, but I also feel talked down to, as if my attention span won't hold long enough to watch the show so I need to be 'hooked' with reassurances that it will actually be interesting, AND it feels very corporate in that the show is busy padding itself for time. This is why I often end up watch 2 hour youtube videos made by passionate historians instead of tv productions these days. And it's been this way for like a DECADE by now.

[@sniper60605]

I totally agree C-Puff! Some shows spend half of the show previewing the show! Terrible.

[@silviac221]

I couldn't agree more! This video is clickbait.

[@boycottdisney2024]

Excellent news I’m a History Student and am interested in archaeology.

[@martyjansing2675]

Look up Caral, Peru on the Rio Supe. Fly down with Google Earth or other same function. There you will find 5000 year old stepped pyramids. At the main site, there are 13 sites, you will find multiple structures. One of the sites dates to 5500 ya.

[@eileenlocke7877]

Just found yr channel luv it thank u 🙏

[@JohnOLooney]

9:43 this isnt strange at all , in fact the story is before you - the injury to the spine shows that the victim was paralysed before death as the result of the spinal injury, the weapon is still embedded. This is why the legs are bent and id suggest that this injury was probably some time before death due to infection, the legs then unable to be straighted due to muscle spasm from the spinal cord trauma.

[@Ellen24493]

I think he went down on the spot and bled out, dying there. No infection. No spasm bending the legs. Left as carrion for nature to gradually reclaim. No burial.

[@JohnOLooney]

@@Ellen24493 i guess we will never truly know Ellen

[@superdave1263]

This archeological site was first discovered in 1938. What took them so long to do an excavation, and now they are in a hurry before the high speed train is built. What the hell???

[@BriggBuzzer]

Super Dave Where I live is a Bronze age walkway leading from the town out into the countryside. It was last examined in the 1930s, has never been carbon dated or properly excavated. The does not seem to be any interest in its origins.

[@superdave1263]

@@BriggBuzzer Evidently you haven’t researched this subject. Look a little deeper to get the real truth regarding this historical site. I certainly did, and it paid off handsomely in clarifying my questions and understanding of that historical excavation.

[@astrafaan]

What do they do with all the skeletons they find - do they re-inter them or leave them in boxes/museums etc?

[@jay13thstep]

From my limited knowledge, they tag/catalogue each piece so it can be reassembled, and store in small boxes in museums/labs etc. I guess one day they might run out of space but I assume it’s not a huge concern at the moment.

[@garyyork-zt8om]

They box them and store them on a shelf alongside the Ark of the Covenant.

[@g-dcomplex1609]

right on diggers, looks like you are on a great site, keep us updated, regards

[@lilmike2710]

They're standing on ancient battleground where the dead was buried virtually where they fell.

[@Jonathan-tz7ss]

7:13 "secret location", I know where that is :O

[@jackreacher5667]

Mixed emotions about these sites, yes we learn things from the remains , but then the artifacts are stored in a box and hardly ever shown to the public, as are the skeletons that are buried there. What ever happened to respecting the dead ?

[@joesanchez979]

Thanks 👍

[@joansavage1857]

This is so amazing!!

[@evanhughes7609]

Not sure about the shield wall as a combat option this early (5th/6th C); the shields are significantly smaller than in later periods, and the shield bosses seem to be designed as much for offensive combat as for protection of the hand holding the shield. This suggests a more fluid, open style of combat where the warrior deflects an opponent's weapon with the small shield (or punches the opponent with the boss) and follows through with spear, axe or seax.

[@beth7935]

Punch-blocking is a thing? I did that cos I'm too wimpy to hold a big shield, lol, but I know swordfighting in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachroism) is very much under the "Creative" part of the name, & I don't know a lot about _actual_ historical combat, but it's fascinating.

[@MrEnaric]

Fantastic to watch! The cruciform brooches closely the sixth/early seventh century ones from Westergo (Friesland, the Netherlands). They developed in the great almandine fibulae like the famous 'royal' fibula of Wijnaldum (over 300 garnet cloissons featuring a.o. dragons and Wodensmask) and on the other side the fibulae of the Domburg type (some also with masks)' They are now recognised as a form of ethnic Frisian finula form, found in all (old) Frisian shires along the Dutch, German and Danish coastline. The fibulae found in Buckinghamshire might very well have been part of the identity of the wearers.

[@future_me_6067]

There was a shield boss with a pointy bit on an Anglo Saxon Time Team somewhere along the way.

[@erinmboehm]

Amazing! Thank u

[@JeremySpencerJJWS]

About the only good thing to come out of HS2

[@intercat4907]

I know just how you feel! My sister will have a baby in couple of months and the little brat still doesn't have a job lined up. "On schedule and under construction" is SO overrated.

[@Fearnstein]

Totally agree, the archeological discoveries have been amazing, the technological advances are also worth noting

[@1chish]

The NIMBYs and naysayers whinge about the cost of HS2 but fail to mention the huge amount of environmental mitigation work (Cut & Cover Green tunnels, huge twin bore tunnels, tens of thousands of new woodlands etc) that has added significantly to those costs. And then there are the collateral benefits (that also cost money) like all the archaeological work. How many sites would never have been found let alone explored and saved were it not for the funding by HS2 of teams like these archaeologist's? This is how we should do infrastructure in the 21st century so we can learn from earlier Centuries.

[@rgmusicom]

Ironically the first advert that came up for this video was for Nurofen.

[@cyankirkpatrick5194]

All just amazing

[@davidevans3227]

is KZbin putting more adverts into programmes generally??

[@davidevans3227]

are saxons named after their knife??

[@davidevans3227]

i love how well teeth can survive.. and in such good (clean- ish) condition.. (it does put me to shame, although my dentures are wonderful lol)

[@schoolingdiana9086]

Yes. All accounts are having ads added now. You can’t opt out for your channel anymore.

[@davidevans3227]

@@schoolingdiana9086 ..thankyou, it's not just me then, it definitely seems much worse than it used to be.. and enjoying a nice bit of relaxing classical or something, i find impossible..!

[@acustomer3518]

all these places should be kept for prosperity but that goddamn railway is ploughing through the land

[@kariannecrysler640]

My dear Dan Snow… I hope you have someone to kiss you until your knees go week for this video!!!❤❤❤ You deserve it! Love 💕 this one

[@crazyeyesc.s1143]

This would of been a good Time Team episode.

[@peterwallace9764]

Bloody unreal hey. 👍🏻👍🏻🇦🇺

[@calartian85]

Jack Whyte wrote an amazing series of historical fiction that explores this period rolling it up with Arthurian legend. Check out The Camulod Chronicles.

[@debbralehrman5957]

Thanks

[@colinb5415]

I am fascinated with history but I have to ask, why the heck do you need a helmet when your scanning the ground? What`s going to fall on your head, the sky?

[@thomaspierce9374]

Couldnt watch 11 minute video without 4 freakin advertisements. KZbin sucks nowadays.

[@CBCycles]

That many I that short a time is the direct fault of the channel itself

[@thomaspierce9374]

@@CBCycles I agree. Not blaming the person who posted.

[@Materialworld4]

My family can be traced backed to Whalley, England, in 1536, around the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, My family left Manchester in 1834 for America, and then California in 1845, and were in the thick of the Bear Flag Revolt in 1846. James was in a line of Masons like his father Nicholas Henry Gregson who was born in 1798. I have 8 generations of family photographs starting with Henry. But from what I understand my families name was known in the Durham area before 1066. By the way, I didn't mean to shortchange you on how incredible your videos are to me. As someone with 39 years of digital imagining under my belt of the highest order. you are all fantastic, Bravo.

[@jhbluestar]

you sould like me, I love English history and have strong family ties to it!

[@billythedog-309]

Unless you had a lot of incest in your family back in 1536 you would have over 200,000 direct ancestors - l didn't realise Walley was that big.

[@keithbuckley3220]

Wow, another holdup!

[@thomaswattsjr.7]

"Pokey out bit" must be archeological terminology

[@emmilypalmer9269]

This guy is so over the top I can’t get enough I’m hanging on EVERY WORD…. A SPEARhead! @4:09 🤟plz don’t stop 😂 omg @5:01 I love you more every second of what is the best part of my day so far 🤟♾@5:06 ok Stop it. Stop it now. No please don’t. EVER. One more 🙏 @5:20 With so much love. I love you Brit’s. So much. SOOOOO BLOODY MUCH!!! And more spears heads! @5:50🙌💪👏👏😎

[@johnwilson5637]

Historians seem to have ignored the fact that the thousands of Roman Villas and farms that are dotted around the country were all abandoned at roughly the same time. Could this be due to the fact that much of that land had been taken from local tribes and 'awarded' to retired soldiers for their service? Once the Legions left how were the veterans able to protect their homes from the tribes who wanted to claim them back? The best option would be to relocate to the walled cities in order to defend themselves and await the return of the Legions.

[@KellyfromMemphisDD214]

If I lived in Britain, I would have to dig up my garden and have a look. I would be cold, broke, teeth stained and rotten, and worried about being assaulted (it brings great peace of mind to have my father’s old .38 revolver [think old west shoot outs] under my pillow..) and my sexual assault might be ignored so no one might feel like they were racist. But my terminal illness won’t bankrupt my surviving family…..yeah, I think I’ll just watch these programs on the Telly. 🤗

[@hetrodoxly1203]

That sounds like America, we have the healthiest teeth in the world, the USA doesn't make the top 10.

[@eileenlocke7877]

Very interesting I grew up in the chill terns

[@WORKERS.DREADNOUGHT]

I am not sure the Roman period can be seen as one of stability v a dark age of chaotic violence. In the 3rd century the Empire was going through an emperor of year & almost all died violently. Britain Brexitted & then returned, then British troops went off to fight in Rome. Everything sounded a bit chaotic all round

[@LuvBorderCollies]

The "pax Romana" was not very peaceful. When you get into the details of history, the Romans were constantly putting down rebellions, repelling invasions, invading another territory and the good ol' Roman civil wars to fill in the quiet times. It may have been peaceful for the city of Rome and the Italian peninsula, but out in the empire not so much.

[@elainechubb971]

I was a bit surprised to see the staff at the Cardiff center handling the artifacts and bones without gloves. Is this normal practice? Is it because the metal objects are still encrusted with soil and whatever elements they've picked up over the centuries?

[@lenabreijer1311]

Gloves are no longer used because the lack of tactile sensation caused more damage then gloves prevented. Clean hands are fine.

[@elainechubb971]

@@lenabreijer1311 Many thanks for your response! I was not aware of this.

[@allysmith2284]

They’ve been in the dirt for centuries….. a clean human hand should be fine!

[@Tom-uv7ry]

There's always one you're that one telling the professionals how it's done

[@elainechubb971]

@@Tom-uv7ry Actually, I was expressing (obviously not very clearly) my ignorance and asking for information.I got that from Lena Breijer and Ally Smith. Thanks to both of them.

[@trstquint7114]

Imagine being hit by a spear, your friends trying to pull it out, but only the wooden lance comes out creaking. You shrink in pain, you die, and you are buried. With that piece of iron in your spine.😭

[@TheEnglish-Saxon]

Good ole days!

[@AndyJarman]

Ioan nearly has kittens as the oaf from the press grabs it off the table.

[@parrotraiser6541]

The surveying and excavation of the sites along the proposed route means that at least some good may emerge from the HS2 boondoggle. It's going to be an economic disaster.

[@1chish]

Oh look another expert Naysayer and doom merchant joins us. You know sometimes its best to let people think you are an idiot than tap a keyboard and prove it. (With apologies to Abraham Lincoln)

[@yesindeed2151]

@@1chish Oh look, someone who should practice what you preach.

[@1chish]

@@yesindeed2151 Oh look someone trying to be 'really clever' with nothing of value other than a random Ad Hominem. And looking stupid as a result.

[@PortmanRd]

The Anglo-Saxons had been raiding British shores as early as the 4th century. These Germanic/Pagan pirates were definitely the forerunners of their later Scandinavian cousins, and apparently had a worse reputation regarding their brutality.

[@sherryrector2275]

I do also but then agin I love all history and archeological finds.

[@jacksongunner7122]

You get the feeling sometimes that England is just one large graveyard. Everywhere you dig some dead guy pops up.

[@frasermay7825]

Read Alice Roberts book 'Burial' if you're interested in the not so Dark ages. A brilliant, well researched book/

[@OzarkRose]

Thank you for the suggestion. I will find a copy to read.

[@martingilvray06]

I have issue with what we are taught regarding this time period . There is another view of this time period which Academia seems to stop books being published etc . In brief the Norman invasion was the Celt reinvasion .

[@philipfreyaborn8288]

The Normans were Danes who had been settled in N.France for150 years .. more similar to Anglo-Saxons than Celts .... more so on the Y chromosome

[@schoolingdiana9086]

“Norman” literally means “north men.” Most of them were from Norway. I’m descended from several of them, straight back to Harald Fairhair (first King of Norway). My white grandma’s maiden name was Waller, aka Våler, family from the village and peninsula in Norway of the same name by way of Normandy (came over with William the Conqueror) and then the states-where she married my Creek and Seminole grandpa.

[@warwarneverchanges4937]

Wonderful finds, too bad they dont have more time to work on the site.

[@duckpuddles]

Very similar to our 5th/6th century cemetery in Lincolnshire. the cruciform brooch that was gilded is nearly identical to one of ours. most of out graves were crouch burials as they were mainly women of high status. Men were buried prone with a shield boss similar to these, I thought that the nipple on the shield boss ]may have been used to catch the enemy sword and divert the blow leaving the right arm free to deliver the coup de grace. kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4q8ZoebeN6MsKs

[@GB-nu6ow]

Thanks for the link - it's Dr Alice 👍👍👍

[@duckpuddles]

@@GB-nu6ow Why does my heart beat faster whenever I see her! To cap it all she said that her favourite object in the whole series was the little boar's head helmet mount with red garnet eyes that I found with my new XP Deus detector. So Ivory rings from Africa dated to the same 6th century period and red garnets from Sri Lanka all 100 yards from my front door. It is a comfort for my Danish wife and I to feel that out ancestors are close by!

[@schoolingdiana9086]

Don’t we already know that Rome started out trading/commerce for several years before they decided to take over? Likewise, as troubles in Rome grew, they slowly started removing troops from England; it wasn’t just a “everyone suddenly left all at once” scenario? I’m confused why the positing of questions we already know answers to widely.

[@BIBIWCICC]

HS2 should be re-routed. Let’s start a campaign to preserve our ancient heritage.

[@JohnyG29]

No point anymore, the archaeologists have already looted and disturbed those poor peoples' graves.

[@onlinefriend3889]

Rerouted where?

[@petersaunders747]

Why are they wearing Hard Hats? Are they expecting something to fall out of the sky and hit them o the bonce??

[@davidbrown9093]

Never heard of elf n safety ?

[@mrlister2000]

It's such a shame Time Team aren't there. They'd have that site cleared in just 3 days! Is Phil Harding there as he is an expert in Anglo-Saxon?

[@gchecosse]

He's an expert on the stone age isn't he? He's been excavating Waterloo (the battlefield), you can find lots of videos on KZbin

[@joshuahasson9687]

In an ever ironic twist these Anglo Saxon graves & grave goods were taken to Wales, a place the Anglo Saxons were never able to conquer.

[@lezbarker2673]

I often wonder where they buried the bodied after large battles. There must have been many skirmishes and battles we haven’t heard of and they must have buried the dead together somewhere

[@SarahlabyrinthLHC]

There was a certain time in history when the bodies were allowed to rot and the bones gathered and ground for fertiliser for the crops. Thus the line in the fairy tale "I'll grind his bones to make my bread."

[@Rusty_Gold85]

Or cremated to remove the smell of rotting flesh and attraction to bears and Wolves (not extinct yet) and Ravens . A fire would be quicker to dispose of bones into ash for fertility too. A whole let less sympathy then

[@lezbarker2673]

@@Rusty_Gold85 I looked it up and the farmers did use the bones for fertiliser that’s pretty weak. Then they were robbed of everything I saw stories of French soldiers in Russia waking up naked and freezing as their own soldiers had looted their bodies. One wrote of being awake and just looking into the eyes of the person robbing him. War is just stupid or maybe God if there is one invented it to keep the population down. Imagine if the millions didn’t die in the world wars how many billions of people would there be on earth. It’s crazy when you think about it no Black Death or plague we could have seen the industrial era 200 years earlier and now we could be in a real mad max type situation 😆 the world is crazy.

[@outinthesticks1035]

​@@Rusty_Gold85 have you ever tried gathering enough wood to cremate a body ? it takes a lot . I did it with a dog that I thought might have been rabid . I don't think anyone would put that effort into cleaning up after a battle

[@OlubukolaOladepo]

Honestly digging up a grave yard for a high speed train ,it should be a scenery to see the bones and all.

[@eisaatana96]

The guy explaining what a shield boss is for is wrong, they weren't primarily for "bashing" but to protect the hand of the person holding the shield, as without it there'd be a gaping hole in the middle with your hand sticking through. Anglo-Saxon (and indeed Norse) shields did not have any kind of straps to make them easier to hold like later medieval shields did, they were held with a simple wooden bar that went across a hole in the middle of the shield. The boss was there to cover up the hole and stop your hand from getting mashed. Perhaps it was used for bashing but that wasn't its primary function.

[@mattsmithson4647]

Something I've learned in the meantime, but thanks! That's the gorgeous thing about these sites, they basically force you to have a read around and improve your knowledge about things. In this case, historical weaponry.

[@stevorobo7455]

Goes to secret location, reveals company name's in industrial unit 🤷🤦🤣

[@cyankirkpatrick5194]

Hello, do you have anything about the one's before the Celt's that starts with E I'm not going to risk the chance of misspelling that word no no and heck no the Celt's started in lower Europe? 🤨 I left a question mark. I know they were in parts of France which wasn't really called France I don't think it really had a name.

[@outinthesticks1035]

I think I recall that the celts came out of eastern Europe. I am not sure and could stand to be corrected. we of western European ancestry tend to be a bit myoptic but it seems most prehistoric European cultures developed is Siberia , south west Asia or eastern Europe and spread west

[@cyankirkpatrick5194]

@@outinthesticks1035 Interesting and thanks.

[@schoolingdiana9086]

Boudicca’s tribe? That would be the Iceni peoples.

[@uncletiggermclaren7592]

They were quite a wealthy people, obviously, and remained so for at least a generation. Or them graves would have been opened up by grandsons/replacing populations.