Sussex Ups and Downs (Blackpatch, West Sussex) | S13E09 | Time Team

After you watch this episode, check out the official commentary video on the Time Team Official KZbin Channel! • Time Team Commentary: ...
The team travels to what could be a Neolithic settlement in the Sussex Downs.
Initially discovered by John Pull in 1923, the site is littered with remains of 6000-year-old flint mines. But Pull claimed to have discovered a second site nearby, which has so far eluded other diggers. The team are joined by archaeologist Miles Russell, pottery expert Sue Hamilton and wood specialist Maisie Taylor. Neolithic lifestyle specialist Jacqui Wood makes some elderflower tea and threatens to make a new hat for Phil. Phil and Francis demonstrate the relative merits of mesolithic and neolithic axes.
Series 13, Episode 09
#TimeTeam #BritishHistory #SussexDowns #Blackpatch #NeolithicHistory
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[@jodylarson5317]

things are rough going in my world right now, and i am binge watching Tony Robinson everything - he has the most calming effect for me 💖

[@D0ntTickleMe]

I hope things get better for you! On a positive note, I learned I'm not the only person who likes to listen to Tony Robinson talk to calm my nerves etc.. I like to watch this show to sleep every night too.. but I don't like the BOOMING drums that pop up every now and again 😂

[@jodylarson5317]

@@D0ntTickleMe everyone on the show is just so genuine and sweet and excited, it's all kinds of happy vibes to fall asleep to!

[@Tawadeb]

I know what you mean!!!

[@wildcrocus]

It truly is the perfect program to soothe frazzled nerves. I had a relapse of my Long Covid so I need to spend most of my days resting and it is a balm to the soul to be able to watch episode after episode. I hope you are doing better @jodylarson

[@treering8228]

Have you found the Tony Robinson’s Fans and Tony Robinson’s Time Travels channels? I’m working my way through the train series at the moment.

[@madmick9205]

R.I.P John Paul. I am so pleased that you have been validated for your work. Also, your unquestioned talent. You were self taught and that is true talent. I raise my glass to you.

[@dynimo1]

It's John Pull you fucking moron

[@Invictus13666]

Oh calm down. It’s not rocket science.

[@williamcobbett4943]

​@@Invictus13666wind your neck in, you hater

[@moogiealways3016]

I love Phil -- the excitement, the joy -- years can not dampen the thrill for a real archeologist.

[@discostu947]

Absolutely! The smile on his face when his Neo axe felled the tree: priceless!!

[@MizWaller]

Wait a minute! I’m in love with Phil also. ( I’m 82 , happily married and in the USA)

[@reikoamano102]

Yes, I love him.

[@brittany1049]

Yup

[@kerriefearby9542]

I'm 70 and divorced, what's Phil's address ❤️❤️❤️

[@jayrennie7031]

This episode is utter joy - Phil's new hat, the elderflowers, that an amateur archaeologist was better than a "professional" one of their day. one of my favourites

[@bethbartlett5692]

You are most correct. ...and their Ego-Minded Arrogance with Gaslighting to intentionally hurt that man and his famiky. Many still could upgrade the Minds to Conscious Thoughts + applying the Higher-Mind. Particularly the Egyptologists. The Mainstream Mundane 19th Century Darwinian Theory Paradigm Dogma.

[@mikespehar6920]

It is possible that what they found in this episode is a bank for the most valuable stuff around in the neolithic age. The people worked terribly hard to extract flint from deep pits. But they couldn't have used it all at once. Having extracted the flint, they needed some place to store and safeguard it from the neolithic equivalent of claim jumpers. Hence, the need for a bank, of sorts. They weren't worshiping stuff they had dug from the ground. They were protecting their "goods," as in the Treasure of Sierra Madre film.

[@chris...9497]

The term that had come to my mind was 'cache site'. And I would speculate that tree uprootings likely had flints caught up in their roots; perhaps this ditch ring was the initial site of the large tree that first presented flint-entangled roots that later gave rise to the flint mining nearby.

[@TheGordem]

Something similar occurred to me but the word that came to mind was warehouse. Mining on a relatively industrial scale would unlikely have been purely for their own use and they could have accumulated a stock ready for trading.

[@DavidSmith-yx7kn]

They get into a mind set and can't work past it. The obvious reasons don't register.

[@carolynbriggs6972]

That was my thought, too. They were storing it for the future.

[@cindydebree313]

What if they thought that the flint was like seeds, and they had to replant?

[@wonderbubbles4092]

Logically, it looks like a cache. When they had enough people to mine, they did. Then they went back to their primary food and security place, but couldn't haul the full weight of what they'd dug up. Burying it shallowly made it much easier to retrieve later and kept it from drying out, keeping it easier to work. The "barrow" is (in my purely practical opinion) a cache for future need. Three to five people could make a quick trip to get enough flint for a village to use for a winter, leaving the rest for next time they needed it. They would only have to get all the way to the bottom of the mines once every few years, making it more efficient and safer for everyone in the long run.

[@terryt.1643]

I bet you have figured it out! Making a cache of flint makes so much sense.

[@victoriaeads6126]

This particular TT is quite significant. Not only do Raksha and Matt make appearances, but the idea that amateur archeology as real archeology is rather beautifully exemplified. They don't, of course, condone souvenir diggers, but they do see actual amateur archaeologists as important.

[@bethbartlett5692]

Matt is in an even earlier one.

[@tonyarogers6997]

Rakshaw is a baby and very smart

[@themysticnavigator]

These time team episodes have gotten me through a lot of healing times. Wish the crew knew how much it means to so many of us. ❤❤❤

[@lizzy66125]

I suffer with severe M.E and can only lie flat in my bed in the dark(coming up for 2 years now). Time team is my connection to the outside world now and keeps me from going insane. maybe in my next life I can come back as an archeologist.that is my wish❤️. please can you upload more old episodes?

[@georgielancaster1356]

Hi M, I hope I can add to your relief. Have you tried The Museum of Curiosity? It's radio, so you can listen in the dark. Full of fascinating people and facts and laughs. Then, if you like etymology, you might like the radio show - or podcast, Something Rhymes With Purple. There are the radio plays of, or read books of Charles Paris, if you like detective fiction. Written by Simon Brett. A bit juvenile at times, but also No Such Thing As A Fish podcast. All to listen to, about 40 mins to an hour and over 450 episodes... Virtual hugs from Oz...

[@georgielancaster1356]

Also just thought of another series you would probably love, but is very hard to find in full. A series hosted by the lovely archaeologist Julian Richards. Called MEET THE ANCESTORS. I think there might be an episode or 2 on yt, but they are hard to find. I think 6 series from 1998. Might have changed titles from MEET THE ANCESTORS to ANCESTORS. There is another series you might love, but I cannot remember the details. I will try to find the details and return with them. If I don't it will be because I can't find this comments page. It is research by mainly women and also features the facial reconstruction of one of the people from an investigation. One of the main hosts much later, became famous for developing the way to identify hands in cases of child interference. I am trying not to set off yt. She has actually sent people to prison with her evidence. What IS on yt, is Julian's talk on Mick Aston, after his death. They were friends, so you should love Julian's work. He made a point of investigating one particular person found in digs and at the end, they do a facial reconstruction on Meet The Ancestors. Hope I give you a little joy

[@georgielancaster1356]

History Cold Case with Prof, now Baroness (Life Peer), Sue Black. She is extraordinary. Worked with war crimes investigations, etc etc but the (very) cold cases were before most of that. Even the young woman building up the faces of the dead is now a Doctor in her own right, or professor. A lot of time has passed! Alarming me! So try History Cold Case, as well, though those episodes might have to be hunted and/or bought. Hope some of these suggestions entertain. I just watched one Julian Richards episode. Interesting, but not the usual to expect. It was the one about the 7' stone coffin in the rose garden. I think only one other episode on yt, but might be found or bought elsewhere.

[@lizzy66125]

​@@georgielancaster1356 thank you❤

[@lizzy66125]

​@@georgielancaster1356 thank you so much for your suggestions.❤

[@dennisnicholson952]

John Pull deserves to be an honorary Time Team archaeologist.

[@user-hy7zb2vl3t]

Probably is

[@bradlong7651]

I'm so glad Time team is planning on coming back and showing old episodes, I was off sick for 7 weeks once, I watched every single episode. I can't wait to watch them all again.

[@ProfessorH]

Same. When i broke my leg I went through the whole series. Helped keep me sane.

[@bradlong7651]

@@ProfessorH yeah same here, I tore some ligaments in my ankle, luckily this was back when torrents were still a big thing, 160gb of time team later I was just about fit for work haha

[@victoriaeads6126]

Time Team has helped me from just losing it in 2020. For whatever reason, such a lovely show about humanity's past gives me hope for our future. TT is fantastic!!!

[@Tiger89Lilly]

When I was up all night with the baby I got through every episode in about 4 months

[@PtolemyJones]

I love the episodes with the human touch and the people who are involved, and Mr. Pull's daughter is a true gem.

[@margomoore4527]

“While Phil tries to hang on to his hat….” Best laugh I’ve had all day!

[@jakubj_]

I remember this episode from way back but always nice to re-watch. The series inspired me to work with archeologists for a time as a volunteer - a period that was one of the best in my life.

[@lindamavrikis2229]

I would love to volunteer

[@discostu947]

Hi folks. Ditto ditto ditto. Time Team has kept me sane for many years, and I often start my day watching/listening to long-repeated episodes. In a world of many problems at the moment, I also marvel at the constant positive messages attached to these episodes, from people just like you lot: as calming as the episodes themselves.

[@leeneufeld4140]

As I watched this, I thought that one thing that all mines have in common is cave-ins. Mine caves in, miners are buried. The mine shaft becomes, in essence, their grave. There is no body to cremate or bury, so a memorial is set up to remember them. It's just a thought, but it seems to fit what they found here. They might similarly memorialize someone who has been carried off by a wild animal.

[@andrewtaylor7377]

Indeed. John Pull in c1953 found the skeleton of a neolithic man who had "been killed by a fall of roof in the entrance to one of the underground workings". His body was found by Pull in situ, pinned by three large blocks and the rubble of the fall.

[@crowjr2]

This is a brilliant possible explanation. Makes a whole lot of sense.

[@Libbathegreat]

Came looking to see if anyone else had this idea. I wonder if they built the monument to their fallen comrades around a sacred tree, which would account for the tree throw pit in the middle. It would have been a fitting remembrance for them, with offerings of flint as an assurance against further loss of life.

[@sixxygrrl]

This is one of my favorite TT episodes 💖 Phil looks FABULOUS in his new hat btw 😄💜💜💜

[@KrispyChops]

As a history and archaeology fanatic, this show is just the best! Most shows similar to yours just glaze over digs already completed, and don't get into the nitty-gritty details. I love the day-to-day, sometimes even hour by hour of Time Team's efforts, and the team's sense of humor lines up perfectly with my own. . . How have I never heard of it until now? Currently Binge watching every episode. Time team, if you ever need a middle aged, American to help dig and ask dumb questions, I'm your man!

[@Tiger89Lilly]

@Ziggyfamilydad Once the world opens up again look into dig venture. I think Raksha Dave helps run it and it allows plebs like you or me to become archaeologists for a couple of weeks. I think it was about 3 years ago they helped at Star Carr which is a fascinating prehistoric site in Yorkshire. If you Google it you'll find more information.

[@KrispyChops]

@@Tiger89Lilly Thank you, that would be wonderful to be a part of.

[@benediktmorak4409]

good to see that grown up archeologists still can get excited and have some fun chopping down a tree.

[@kassbayer]

Phil’s grin when he chopped the tree down.😂

[@andrewtongue7084]

One century on, & Mr. John Pull's legacy continues - RIP, Sir !

[@AMRosa10]

It seems that Francis Pryor always defaults to some sort of sacred ritual as an explanation. A more practical explanation of the cache of flint found in the ring feature at the top of Blackpatch is that it was a neolithic "warehouse" for unworked flint. The miners may have mined more raw flint than could be worked into tools, and this was the store that had been intended for later use. They buried it instead of just leaving it on the surface so that it wasn't washed away in storms or taken by other groups traveling across the landscape not part of their group. The miners may have needed to move on, or the community may have succumb to famine or disease, and the store of Flint was lost to time.

[@MrJarl66]

Being a north norwegian I am very jealous of you brits for all that history you have in your ground...Great show, first I saw them on the TV in the 90's...good to see them on KZbin :)

[@ronaldderooij1774]

The only neolithic rock drawings I ever saw in my life with my own eyes, were in the north of Scandinavia. So, don't lose hope.

[@MrJarl66]

@@ronaldderooij1774 ahh...you’ve been in Alta and seen the rock drawings 😊 Strangly...there is a place ca 200 km NE of Alta, where they excavated a settlement to be 8500 BCE...so all was not ice up here...

[@sunny-sq6ci]

Norway prob has just as much rich historical sites as England. theres some evidence that northern Europe has been habited by humans for at least since the early bronze age or maybe older. here in America/ North America, human history does not really began until at 10-15,000yrs maybe up to 20,000yrs.

[@Happyheretic2308]

@@MrJarl66 don’t fall for this CE/BCE nonsense. BC/AD is good enough for us all.

[@MrJarl66]

@@Happyheretic2308 Not for me, don't belive in the hole God/Jesus thingy...;)

[@celticwolff5429]

Seeing an episode talking about chalk and flint is especially interesting after reading Terry Pratchett books. One of his main characters comes from an area like this.

[@user-hy7zb2vl3t]

An her frying pan too 😂

[@FromaTwistedMind]

Excellent post. I'm so lucky to live in this area. TT could spend 7 days a week for 10 years up on the wonderful SouthDowns with neolithic, bronze age, Celtic, Roman, Romano British, early to late Saxon archaeology and modern history including a WW2 tank, folklore, tales of Saxon ghosts, Fairies, Knucker holes EVERYWHERE within a 10 mile radius of BlackPatch.

[@captainchaos3667]

What fun to watch this after reading Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching books. Now I now where she lived, and what Sir Terry was on about with "the Chalk" and it being soft but there also being hard pieces of flint in it!

[@kimmarsh5987]

Another Kevin!

[@manaboutit1594]

I enjoy the experimental archeology segments. How the folks lived back in the day is so very interesting.

[@skivvy3565]

This really is one of my favorite episodes. Such a compelling story from the archaeologist let alone the mining colony

[@PatrickMHoey]

If Phil’s hat could talk, it would sound exactly like Phil.

[@elizabethmencia6027]

The color of that grass is amazing💚💚it's so yellow green!!💚💚

[@FreekVerkerk]

Flint was apparently important to the old folk, so it makes sense to store it somewhere, like we store money in the bank. Maybe even save under the ground. It could also be a present from the parents to their children, that were they ever in need of flint, they did not have to dig a big hole but just a small hole will do.

[@francesworcester3599]

As with another comment, I believe in the idea of storage of flint. Dig out as much as you can and what you can't carry bury for later use.

[@Dovietail]

John pool's daughter is utterly charming. What a lovely lady!

[@psychobartus]

Simp

[@Dovietail]

@@psychobartus sorry. I'm in the USA. What does that mean?

[@choughed3072]

@@Dovietail "Someone who Idolises Mediocre Pussy" is what it stands for, though now a days it's usually an indicator of the commenters mental age.

[@lindasolomon2654]

No

[@Dovietail]

@@choughed3072 So clearly that guy is just a troll. Well that's pathetic.

[@paulking54]

Love it, great story. I studied archaeology, miles was my tutor at Bournemouth and me and my bro used to stay in a caravan on longfurlong farm. Always felt the long furlong was a magic place.

[@dwightehowell8179]

One of the things I got pounded into my head by Time Team is that vast numbers of bronze age people were still largely or completely dependent on stone tools. You had to be fairly rich to afford many metal objects and those were mostly limited to an ax and maybe a knife as for the rest, stone. Many poor people may have never owned a metal tool in their lives. Iron on the other hand was much more readily available though at first soft wrought Iron may not have been any better than bronze. Iron, while still costly, was actually cheap enough to completely displace stone for tool making, well almost. There was the occasional odd thing where stone was used.

[@TheWizardOfTheFens]

I LOVE archaeologists!…..if you don’t know what something is, can’t explain it…….. It’s RITUAL, SACRED…..😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@falsesyllogism2116]

If anyone is interested in the work of John Pull, "Rough Quarries, Rocks and Hills. John Pull and the Neolithic Flint Mines of Sussex" by Miles Russell is worth a read.

[@priscillareeve]

Anything by Miles Russell is worth a good look. He's a star in my book

[@haas047]

I love what you all do!

[@jenamyallen]

I love how we learn through use of the tools how life was really like in those days. Thank you so much for these episodes, I love them❤❤

[@13minutestomidnight]

Wonderful episode. It's very difficult to figure out how good an archeologist was nearly a century ago when modern archeology was still in its infancy back then and knowledge about prehistory was so rudimentary. It's best to appreciate their contributions for what they were. It's just such a shame so much documentation and finds were lost. ...That said if you're wondering whether an archeologist has messed up or their site has been bulldozed to bits, usually a good indication is if you can't find their trenches because they've been bulldozed to bits.

[@shanegrass889]

I really like Phil's enthusiasm, like a child in a Sweet's shop😊

[@germaineprien7691]

Since I found this channel I am watching every single episode, I always wanted to study archaeology, esp abroad as I live in US. But more and more is being found here all the time by amateurs, TY TT👍👍👍

[@philipingram1563]

I LOVE Time Team

[@Libbathegreat]

Maisie and Francis seem like such a wonderful couple, I bet they're a hoot to be around.

[@Scriptorsilentum]

Phil Harding. Phil, Phil, Phil... Knows his stuff. Always a great show, always fascinating, always learning something from it. And always glad for Phil Harding. And everybody else, too!

[@adam-k]

Maybe a stash of flint is just a stash of flint? You mine more than you need and/or transport so you stash it away to pick it up later?

[@reneekuhlman9890]

Stewart Ainsworth rules! I'm so glad I found TT during COVID.

[@laurag7295]

So interesting to find out about such an avid amateur archeologist and his work!

[@ShalomMichael]

Ha, I love Phil's new hat. It would be ideal on a summer day. Time Team fan from the USA.

[@ChrisHyde537]

If Phil wears the new hat, he’ll look just like Tom Bombadil.

[@Schmorgus]

There's always one Lord of the rings nerd feeling the need to spread their imaginations ;)

[@ChrisHyde537]

@@Schmorgus Ai! laurië lantar lassi súrinen, / Yéni únótimë ve rámar aldaron! / Yéni ve lintë yuldar avánier / mi oromardi lisse-miruvóreva / Andúnë pella, Vardo tellumar / nu luini yassen Guilty as hell.

[@jenniferm1605]

JRRT would approve. Myth imbues life with meaning.

[@ChrisHyde537]

@@jenniferm1605 Honestly, I don’t know if Tolkien would approve. He was finicky that way.

[@HELLRZR-nm3vv]

I'd like to think that Phils toes are a wee smaller, but a bit furrier..L♡L.

[@StanSwan]

The soda pop bottles make it even more real within the lifetime of people not so long ago and thousands of years ago it is the story of our humanity. People that enjoyed a day with loved ones is what makes us all human.

[@kathycarlson7947]

Here's another brilliant avenue to learning and delight. Thank you

[@koningbolo4700]

3:13 The most important IF is whether or not Phil is happy with the local pub...

[@mypinkladycrafts]

Love you guys! Been watching your journey, since 2019, through the ups and downs. This would be an amazing gift! I've been canning for years but it's getting to be too much. God bless you!

[@rof8412]

I love Phil and Francis together.

[@AnnabelSmyth]

Goodness, I remember when John Pull was murdered! I was only a child, but it was a huge, huge story in the area. His murderer, the leader of the bank robbers, was eventually sentenced to death, I believe.

[@emilyjayne77]

I really miss time team! I wish they’d come back with today’s technology

[@lindaeckley949]

Ui

[@louisedavies8675]

There is so much archaeology in West Sussex, I wish you could do more digs there.

[@jamess7048]

My favourite episode - cannot wait for this!

[@devonseamoor]

I'm so glad I discovered this channel! Nothing more beautiful than seeing the digging and dreaming of this time team, running around, drinking flower tea from a wooden bowl, at times, with herbal witch-ladies around, and meanwhile seeing the results and enjoy many views from the county I've visited often, on holidays. Such a great coastal county, Sussex. It's where I'll live close by.

[@brothermaleuspraetor9505]

That music gets me every time.

[@notpublic7149]

Wow! I thought I had seen all episodes 3 or 4 times. Nope, somehow I must have missed this one. Thanks so much doing the licensing legal thing and make these available on YT. Cheers.

[@Sailing_Antrice]

I have a different interpretation of the ring barrow. It’s a flint nappers work area. They would not carry the mined flint very far from the pit mines. Just far enough to be out of the way of the miners. Then they have a nice defined work area with each Napier having a store of flint in a pit. The ring is where they dug material for a low wall which defined the work area and provided a bit of shelter from the wind. My Dad was an archeologist. He always looked for practical explanations. I saw a highly polished “ceremonial stone spear” in the Dublin Museum which made the polished axe in the episode look very half done. (Sorry Phil) It was obviously actually a goldsmiths agate burnisher you can still buy them today. It was used to make the Celtic Gold jewellery in the next gallery. Not ceremonial but a practical tool. Having said that I love time team. Reminds me of Digging at Fishbourne and Cameldown in my youth. I hope you can start again. Best wishes.

[@classicambo9781]

There would be evidence of that though, with many little pieces of flint left over from striking. That's been seen on other sites where middens of flint off cuts (for lack of a better word) are found.

[@thaifreeburma]

My! You do unearth some stunning stories - they even map out English/British culture. Well done!

[@annk.8750]

Any chance that the big collection of flint that they found near the end of the dig is sort of a "warehouse", a collection of a commodity that would be traded with other groups that didn't have access to a good source of flint?

[@juliechi6166]

Mr. Pull's story reminds me of Mr. Brown who dug Sutton Hoo...watch The Dig.

[@THINKincessantly]

🇬🇧 Notice what the elder lady said about crime in Worthing? It was a shock because we just didnt deal in crime in those days...seems to be more and more--whats changed??

[@perrykuehr5538]

Gdmit , I sat here for 4min before I clued myself in..I REALLY want to see how that new hat for Phil works out.

[@CJT3X]

Archaeology Fabulous

[@victoriaeads6126]

It doesn't matter. Whatever hat Phil wears, as per Terry Pratchett, will immediately become Phil's Hat. It is entropy.

[@perrykuehr5538]

@@victoriaeads6126 hi Victoria, hey I know what entropy is but I dont understand how your saying it about the hat thing...plz tell me...(I automatically feel sympathetic with the person you are because you watch these shows too) haha. it's like you're my friend out there who il never meet

[@victoriaeads6126]

@@perrykuehr5538 LOL! I was just saying it's inevitable that his hat will end up always looking the same in the same way that eventually energy levels even out due to entropy. Regardless, hi! Nice to meet you! I love TT!!!! I got myself a metal detector and my kids and I play TT in our yard. I live in Northern Virginia, so metal detecting is rather restricted in most areas, but we've got a big yard.

[@perrykuehr5538]

@@victoriaeads6126 hi again, thx for your reply...you and me are in a very select group if people that know the word 'entropy'..most (all?) my coworkers in all the jobs I've ever had didnt...I learned of it from a '70s Esquire article that was trying to 'up' the intellectual level of its readers, haha anyway you're great and I hope you have to put very little energy into your lifes improvements (you know: to counter entropy) bye, maybe il see another comment of yours on time team

[@BI-du1nl]

The family is so lovely. So is the raven on the fence post of the watercolour. Love it.

[@jbradshaw4236]

Really looking forward to this

[@grizzlygamer8891]

It's so nice to see these episodes again. Hand down beats this sensationalized "archeology" shows you get on Discovery and the likes now.

[@IanHaywardCalvados]

I love Stewart giggling in the background at 8.10 onwards

[@marilyngoldie5946]

Thank you Time Team.

[@1701enter]

What an interesting episode. My own thought as to "why" flint was returned in such a volume to the barrow was would be is it more of a depository? like a savings bank deposit or someone's "stock" of flint for sale or barter? When we look at the American west the prospectors had mining on their minds but others came to vend food, drink, social activities, storekeepers so why not as here as we see in this south downs setting?

[@faithlesshound5621]

@@colinb9148 Maybe as the stone age gave way to the bronze age, flints became old fashioned and were thrown away, or even returned to the earth?

[@Dampfish]

I don't think I agree with their conclusion that the "flint barrow" was ritualistic. I'd say it was probably just storage. I mean, with all those pit mines you'd be hard pressed to use up all the flint at the same rate you're taking it out, so you'd need some kind of depot to put it all.

[@jeannorris1510]

The women who introduced the wood cutting competition is Francis priors wife. Maize Taylor. 🤔

[@PTER-vh9jg]

Victor...always like a magician, who can make time disappear.

[@eyesofisabelofficial]

Phil and Francis's face off highlights one innovation that has been overlooked, in that polished flint axe heads, though much more efficient than previous styles, where still easier and cheaper to obtain than the rarer and more expensive stone axe heads. That would be quite an innovation in it's day. PS : Get Adblock for youtube ™ then make donations to Time Team Classics via Patreon to assuage ones guilt = Win Win !

[@skivvy3565]

It’s good to see an episode with Francis again, Rest In Peace mate

[@lizzy66125]

he s not dead .

[@janehollander1934]

Indeed, Prof. Francis Manning (b. 1945) is still very much alive and well 💪🏻. He may have "retired" from fulltime Archaeology. But he still appears on TV from time to time and writes books. ✌🏻

[@dermotmccorkell663]

Paleolithic spear point in phils tray. Stunning. Not mention why.

[@RoseCarroll-pk6mt]

Happy to see you back

[@maryleescott9028]

Could the reburying of the flint been a way to more easily access it in the future more quickly than digging out of the mine. Like an arsenal readily at hand maybe even if the mines availability were lost to them.

[@tammydriver5759]

I'll be at work, so I'll have to watch it after I get home.

[@ian_b]

Make sure you set the VCR correctly!

[@ian_b]

@Jason Sunderland I'm going to have a cup of tea in a bit.

[@helenamacrae202]

so would i be ''thrilled to bits'' to have paul pull's work an diggings proven he did do it.. i was in tears when you all said his work was destroyed then he was killed.. that is the saddest information ever.. i sure hope for his families sake he is reprieved.. God knows all things.. x

[@Al_Ellisande]

Never seen Francis so happy.

[@daynarathman5816]

I’m so glad they made a comment about Phil’s hat..I thought maybe it was “normal” but sure enough it is considered gross. Haha

[@meowwl]

It occurs to me that what they have isn't so much a ritual site, inside that big ditch, but a mercantile one, with a display of what is being produced for trade, as well as a couple of shade trees to haggle under .

[@Twmpa]

I love Time team and enjoy watching them over and over again and I love that they are being put (officially) on KZbin. However, whilst I appreciate that a level of advertising is necessary, I do question what level is appropriate before it impacts on the enjoyment of the viewing. This episode was interrupted 10 times, at 1, 8, 12, 15, 18, 20, 26, 38, 41 and 45 minutes for adverts which seems quite excessive and quite frankly was annoying. Is there any chance that this can be reviewed?

[@anthonynyman167]

I miss this show from our public broadcaster schedule here in Ontario!

[@tango6nf477]

Trivia, the bottles found were mineral water bottles produced by Fryco's or R.Fry & Co Portslade

[@janistotham-davies4300]

Maybe they were storing the flint in the holes as it was so useful to them.😉

[@jessicakoster2543]

You would want to keep it handy, where you live, but there were no signs of dwellings there.

[@mverna3628]

Love the show, I can’t stomach the commercials anymore.

[@johntoffee2566]

One of the great episodes.

[@RICDirector]

Here's a thought....if the 'barrow' was actually a storage area for flint, why couldn't the smaller 'burials' around the outside be the equivalent of lockers for the miners...?

[@89ludeawakening1]

Because why would a miner put a piece of pottery in their locker? Or just one flint tool? The holes had not been disturbed and that's all that was in them. Those holes were significant and small items placed there by other people. My guess is they were memorials for some of the miners.

[@faithlesshound5621]

@@89ludeawakening1 There is something like that at Stonehenge, where pits are said to have been dug at a very late date which contain a small piece of one of the kinds of stone used for the monoliths: I don't recall whether sarsen or bluestone. These have been interpreted as "decommissioning" or desecration of the monument by the new population who replaced the original builders. Or perhaps it had some other religious significance. Flints must have been valuable if they took time and effort to make. Maybe they buried other things as well which have rotted away in the chalky environment. Or perhaps they had some idea of "giving it back to the earth?"

[@kimmartin2522]

I know nothing of archeology but I do love British shows. Much love from the USA!!!

[@mbvoelker8448]

Francis ALWAYS says "ritual". My mind immediately said "warehouse" -- since flint was trades and since they apparently didn't live there long-term, why wouldn't they have made a convenient cache to come to when they wanted more flint without having to mine it all bit-by-bit? Isn't that what people do when they have an abundance of some resource? Preserve it for future use?

[@Missangie827]

Mr. Pull would have been great friends with the Time Team crew in no time

[@JJSoileau]

With flint being as valuable as it was 3000 years ago it is possible that whoever dug the mines buried some of the flint to preserve it for trade later.

[@glenncambray626]

"I'm worried about the angle you're doing it at Francis". Now, that's a suggestive line, if ever I've heard one.

[@TheEnabledDisabled]

No horni in time team, unless it for the archeology. But dont make a mess

[@theonlyjaie]

Ian and Phil have an even naughtier exchange in another episode and Tony made more than one risque remark, he can be very saucy, and it's always fun to see.

[@dianapatterson1559]

I love re-watching these episodes with good quality video. Thanks so much! But may I ask that when the new Time Teams are made that the endings are not quite to corny. As a result of Time Team we are all a bit more sophisticated these days.

[@woopwoop1747]

Love the axe race xx