The Mystery Of Ancient London's First Bridge | Time Team | Odyssey

Time Team are on the clock (even more than usual). They're investigating whether or not some stumps in the Thames riverbed are actually London's earliest bridge. But can they solve the mystery before the river reclaims this priceless piece of archeology.
Odyssey is your journey into the world of Ancient History; from the dawn of Mesopotamia to the fall of Rome. We'll be bringing you only the best documentaries that journey into the mysteries and ruins of worlds long lost.
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[@MeissnerEffect]

Some of the best television that was or will ever be made is our fabulous Time Team. How many thousands of children found a love of history and science through this series?

[@lindasue8719]

As a Time Team binger it's always exciting to come across a video that I haven't seen before!!♥️

[@TravisBrady-wn8fr]

This show really helped me get through a rough patch. I never dreamed I'd ever find a show I would love so much. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about where we come from.

[@benediktmorak4409]

Tony Robinson and his Time Team had made the impossible possible, of course!

[@karphin1]

These Time Team shows are so fascinating and wonderful. I love seeing all the usual gang, too. Thanks for doing this!

[@yourcommander3412]

time team is my favorite - great banter.

[@granthurlburt4062]

Yes. That's why no subsequent archaeology shows can equal its popularity or enjoyability. Alice Roberts has a sense of humour but must be careful because often she's dealing with a variety of people, often strangers, often exhausted dig directors who've been slogging through their projects for months or years, and the excitement draining away months ago. Others have some "professional" presenter, who when male has conventional good looks and seems more interested in presenting himself and who seems to be trying too hard to convey the same enthusiasm for a diversty of subjects he'd just encountered that day. Others are tediously earnest and concerned with social justice.

[@juju-xx5xn]

I love this show! I am a history nerd, and I am big on English history. What I find particularly interesting is how did these Bronze Age peoples figure out how to make the tripod and the pile driver? How did they figure this all out? Their thought processes?

[@ironcladranchandforge7292]

Well, they knew how to extract ore from rock and smelt bronze, along with how to cast bronze into tools afterwards. Pile driving seems simple by comparison. Anatomically they were no different than us and just as smart in an IQ sort of way, just not as advanced technically. Technology usually advances by improving an idea or existing invention, which in turn leads to more ideas and inventions. Obviously the rate of technological advances was slower during this time period because most of their time was taken up just trying to survive. I would imagine the average life span was much, much lower as well. Just image the daily work load of a bronze age farmer, especially considering the primitive tools they had to use compared to what we have today. It must have been brutal.......

[@jtclark2077]

I may be able to offer a guess as to their thought process - a guess only, mind you, but I am going to assume our ancestors used a somewhat similar thought process approach to engineering this as I do with computers: at some point they (or their ancestors) probably had a need to place small wood posts or stakes in the ground; somebody figured out that it was easier to place them in the ground if you sharpened one end, and then beat on the other end with a rock. When it came to building this bridge, they decided to take the same approach, just appropriately scaled up. While scaling up the sharpened stakes into posts pointed on the bottom was fairly straightforward, the difficulty became how to scale up that rock to a size suited to beating the larger post into the ground; the "rock" part of the equation was straightforward stonework which they were quite capable of doing (this was not long after the "Stone Age" after all), so the question became how to raise and lower the weight - the involvement of a rope would have been a given, most likely. The application of the tripod was fairly obvious, if it hadn't already been developed (perhaps for use in handling large stones as part of Megalithic architecture), and if not, simple trial and error and logic would have been applied to figure it out - one leg won't enable you to hang the weight over the post, two legs won't stand on their own, but the addition of a third leg is just the ticket. The use of additional wooden beams for use as a guide was probably the final addition - someone may have thought of it after a brief trial without them, or may have looked at it beforehand and figured they would be helpful - but were likely added to control the fall of the weight. And suddenly they invented the pile driver (and possibly the tripod). At least, that is how I think they figured it out: something basic on a small scale was applied as a basic principle to a larger problem, and the application was developed by breaking the problem down into smaller pieces and solving each in turn. We still do it all the time in engineering.

[@Ken_Scaletta]

They had the same brains that we do. They figured things out through the same cognitive responses. It's surreal for me to ponder that the Bronze Age people who built it were my literal ancestors.

[@ginnysnyder9703]

RIGHT !!!!!

[@spymaine89]

have you ever done anything ? how do you do it? have you ever watched a crow use made devices to get at food.? no animal starts from the start. we have ''instinctive wit. and learned wit.

[@Kimmy-pw8tm]

Tony Robinson is a classic. The whole team work well together.

[@hellagood67]

An episode I had not seen before. What a great endeavour and 👏👏👏👏 to the Bronze Age people for their workmanship, millennia ago.

[@polehenge8237]

That was a very interesting and informative episode.😁

[@georgelong9957]

Phil’s Bronze Age tackle ,had to laugh 😁

[@martinmarsola6477]

An interesting video today. Thanks for sharing it! ❤😊

[@travellerstoryteller]

It would be interesting with some subaquatic archeology, to find if on river there are still more posts

[@juju-xx5xn]

Could they use sonar or something like that to "see" what is under the water?

[@layalabi1667]

Absolutely brilliant!!!

[@jonathaneffemey944]

Thanks for posting.

[@zonabrown9241]

One word AWESOME

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Thank you.

[@rhettoracle9679]

A Dock seems like the most beneficial and simple thing to build, yet not mentioned. Cheers from New Orleans

[@patricktracy1966]

They said it could be a jetty. Same thing.

[@rhettoracle9679]

@@patricktracy1966 I live on a boat. A jetty is a water control structure, not a dock.

[@esthersmith2708]

@@rhettoracle9679 a jetty (at least in British English) is a wooden or stone structure built into the water at the edge of the sea, a lake or a river and is used by people getting on and off boats (Cambridge Dictionary). You are right in that it also has the meaning as a structure to protect from waves.

[@catzkeet4860]

​@@rhettoracle9679not in the UK. Please stop assuming American usage is the only option.

[@rhettoracle9679]

@@catzkeet4860 My comments are based on 60+ years of boating around 4 continents and through hundreds of rivers in more than 40 countries , so I'm limited to those observations and experiences.

[@paulhoskin5353]

How is Phil's Bronze Age tackle 😉

[@PtolemyJones]

Rather surprised the river was in the same place that long ago. You would think they could put up short-term walls, and pump out the water. Wonder why they didn't seem to check the opposite shore.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

The river might be rather stable over thousands of years, or just happen to be roughly in the same position now as it was then, moving elsewhere and back in the meantime.

[@PtolemyJones]

@@HappyBeezerStudios 'rather surprised' does not imply that I think they are lying, it just means that I am surprised.

[@nicolawebb6025]

The river is radically different in some places, where there are buildings, it really varies. And it would be enourmously difficult to damn and pump out the area, partly because the Thames is tidal so high tide varies from day to day, and because of the environmental impact that would have. Archaeology isn't always the priority

[@PtolemyJones]

@@nicolawebb6025 I wasn't talking about damming up the entire Thames, just a small area, maybe 15' X 15'

[@nicolawebb6025]

@@PtolemyJones I realise that, it would still be called a damn even for a small area.

[@nancyM1313]

❤

[@richardwallace133]

What’s that distance “well about two fingers” hah hah !

[@MarkRenn]

You know, you COULD build coffer dam and spend a lot more time doing the research.

[@paulfisher8226]

They could, if this wasn't filmed 15+ years ago.

[@robwilliams287]

@@paulfisher8226 coffer dams are very old themselves. but they also could have brought in floodlights and had a second half of dig time each day also. this is some made for tv drama I think

[@robwilliams287]

I don't think the environmental types would go for that.

[@catzkeet4860]

​@@robwilliams287😂 frustrated soap writer are you? I'd imagine it was much simpler than that. Try, money. Time Team was already a hugely expensive show to produce..... Given that they only have the tagline "3 days" they weren't going to be able to do much more than scratch the surface(the idea was always that TT would focus attention onto a site, so that the ball could be picked up by others to do the in depth investigations) the huge expense of a coffer dam and associated pumps etc, was probably never going to be a possibility.

[@robwilliams287]

@@catzkeet4860 frustrated soap writer ? Idk where you get that from. Everyone knows that the whole 3day concept was for dramatic impact I was replying to the idea of building a coder dam, which by itself would have taken much more than three days to build

[@truthwithtea1111]

🌟🦋💖💚💜

[@AK-xu5sj]

I'm surprised they didn't mention a salmon fishing platform or trap as they would have had runs of salmon then.

[@alexhayden2303]

I'm surprised that they didn't use anti-tamper screws.

[@andiweinbender50415]

❤️👨‍👩‍👧‍👦🙏🦋🌏Love from Kempten

[@alexc6324]

Its interesting that archaeologists never find ancient weapons that were not deposited as offerings or grave goods. Seems no-one ever accidentally dropped a spear into a river or threw one at a guy on a boat in those days.

There are millions of them lying around, but if the area is otherwise unremarkable, nobody will organize and finance a dig to look for them. Some of them are found by accident, most of them will never be found.

[@DOTTYTIME]

Why didn’t they dam off that area.?

[@RatelHBadger]

Probably didn't get permission. Much easier to get dig permissions for a weekend, than it would be to get permission to dam off a section of the bank. Especially when they said they had limited digging space due to environmental restrictions.

[@206stonner]

Looks like city workers here in the US. 2 people working 10 standing watching

[@MagdaleneDivine]

Why do they only have 3 days?

[@shlby69m]

maybe official permit last only for that long

[@MagdaleneDivine]

@@shlby69m I can't enjoy the premise of the show without knowing that answer definitely you know?

[@philinator71]

I feel like it's a self imposed time limit they put on themselves for the TV show, but honestly have no idea. Either way it sucks that only do/show 3 days for their excavations. Sometimes they are just getting to the good parts on day 3 and I want to see more 😢

[@MagdaleneDivine]

@@philinator71 yeah it seems a waste of time and our interest to take it to day 3 only to leave us hanging. Like a guy that almost gets you to orgasm only to leave a mess and we'll you know, no bang for our efforts

[@BishopsDoom]

Mick and co pitched the series to the TV execs as a three day dig. They figured they couldn't convince anyone that a live archeology show would be interesting enough to gain a following, and giving themselves three days added a sense of urgency and suspense. If they couldn't crack it in 3 days they would either encourage other archeologists to continue the work, or possibly return to it in a later episode/special.

[@annberlin5811]

Couldnt pay me to dig in that water.

[@206stonner]

Seattle has a big a$$ wheel on the water front just like the big white wheel in London. Im so jealous of all the great archology that the Brits have.

[@Aroyaldmd]

Why does each dig have to be done in 3 days?

[@matismf]

Good grief! You teased us with Hilde van der Heul, and she hasn't been back since! It's not like she's pulled a Clarkson, has she?

[@scribebat]

The bronze age spear heads 'were sacrificial offerings'... Lol, why is it when they don't know what was going on, 'it was likely ritual', like people in those days had nothing better to do with their lives than hang out throwing perfectly good tools into wells, ponds or rivers. Brought back a past life memory, know exactly what those spear heads were doing there cause i'd been out nipping eels (easier to catch with me' hands than the fishes) in the pools off the rich lord's favorite fishing pier 'cause i was sore hungry, when they caught me. i tried to run but it was all muddy there and they must have seen the reeds moving as i pushed through them trying to get away. They stood on the pier because they didn't want to get all muddy chasin' the likes of me, just threw those things. They found the spear heads but not me' poor bones, nothing left of poor Squee (not me' name but that's what people called me, no ken to why but they'd call me that and laugh). There might be a pair of leather foot covers near by 'cause they pulled off in the muck while trying to run. And i was just a lad, no more than 14 at the time. So, that's my story of the bronze age spear heads and how they came to be there in the banks of that river; i was stuck with it then, i'm sticking with it now. Love the Time Team but won't say why. 🙂

[@juju-xx5xn]

I read that in Phil's voice. It sounds like Phil. Lol

[@ironcladranchandforge7292]

I agree wholeheartedly. Not only that, bronze was a valuable commodity not to be thrown away.

[@BobbieSmith46]

If you listen to that guy everything was ritual/offering/religious based. Basically it sounds according to him that the people back then had nothing else to do. Not like they would have been just trying to survive most the time! The last bit with him on it, he was going on about religious aspects and it was like the other people in the discussion were ignoring him.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

@@BobbieSmith46 That is the default when we don't know the purpose of something. Can't get any "practical" reason together? Might be a spiritual thing then.

[@BobbieSmith46]

@HappyBeezerStudios if you can, check out a book called "Motel of The Mysteries" for a comedic take on everything has religious connotations.

[@andrewthornley5172]

Am I missing something obvious? If you suspected it was abridge, why not just go to the opposite side of the river to try to find evidence of similar poles?

[@bilbobaggins5752]

Basically they spend three days failing to extract a log from a river bank.

[@wewenang5167]

THEY DID EXTRACT IT, NO NEED TO TAKE THEM ALL JUST NEED HALF OF IT TO STUDY IT.

[@jrmckim]

Some stone age guy with sharp flint tools must feel hurt after what phil said. I dont understand how they know no one in thousands of stone age years ever made nive tools like they did in the bronze age. There had to be one... right?

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

There probably was someone, but when the new technique is so much more useful, it would spread.

[@tgbluewolf]

The bronze age flint wasn't as good as the stone age pieces though, since they'd adapted to working with bronze they lost the techniques of working with flint.

[@richrobertson9457]

He actually said exactly the opposite. 36:05 "No Bronze Age person was capable of making regular blades like that. No way."

[@graceamerican3558]

The two spearheads found: they could have been holding a raft in place for the people that are building the bridge. Not everything is religion. Just a thought.

[@williamfindspeople4341]

2001...old episode

[@thomashernandez8700]

Why is there the date stamp of "2001" on the new replacement piling?

[@forensics1]

Because that is when it was filmed.

[@michael7324]

Pink Floyd's Animail factory!!!

[@krisbest6405]

Don,t disturb the sensitive wildlife, the rats!

[@whosaidthat5236]

I miss this show but it always annoyed me how much they try to be super careful. Sometimes you need speed and strength. After you notice the post is broken why be extra careful? Just dig man dig get it out keep the dirt from around it to look at later.

[@dotcassilles1488]

Time team started at a time when the general public had some pretty nasty attitudes towards archaeologists. Modern archaeology was becoming a science rather than being referred to as relic hunters or antiquarians (those who simply remove artifacts without recording where it was found) . The environment in which the artifacts or other evidence is found in is just as important as, sometimes more important than, removing an artifact. Also any archaeological survey will be required to record the results of the survey before removing any found items. The English Heritage authorities are in charge.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

@@dotcassilles1488 yup, the context of artifacts is important

[@wewenang5167]

PEOPLE LIKE YOU WHY ARMATURE ARCHAEOLOGIST ARE HATED BY SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY. THIS IS A SCIENTIFIC EN DEVOUR, NOT A TOMB ROBBER THAT JUST DIG EVERYTHING UP. CONTEXT ARE EVERYTHING IN ARCHAEOLOGY, IF THERE IS NO CONTEXT THEN YOU CANT DATE THE STUFF THAT YOU DIG, IT CAN JUST BE SOMEONE PUTTING AN OLD LOG YESTERDAY TO TRICK PEOPLE. ALL THE MUD, GRAVEL, SILT AND EVERY ORGANIC STUFF AROUND THAT LOG GAVE THE CONTEXT FOR THE ARTIFACT. AMATEUR ARCHAEOLOGIST LIKE THE ONE THAT DUG ALL THE STUFF IN ANCIENT EGYPT IN 19 AND EARLY 20TH CENTURY ARE THESE TYPES OF CRIMINAL WHO JUST BLASTED OPEN ANCIENT COFFIN AND TOMBS AND TOOK EVERYTHING OUT WITHOUT ANY CONTEXT. THEY DID NOT CAREFULLY STUDY EVERY SINGLE PEACE OF STUFF AROUND THE ARTIFACT AND JUST CHUCKED THEM AWAY WHEN IN REALITY WE CAN KNOW A LOT ABOUT THE ARTIFACT FROM THESE CONTEXT ESPECIALLY THE ORGANIC MATTER. BECAUSE WE CAN ONLY DATE STUFF WITH RADIOCARBON BY TAKING SAMPLE FROM ORGANIC MATTERS.

[@Ulfhednir9]

Sigh the old archeology adage where everything is ritual and religious. they know battles have been fought for over a thousand years at london and near a bridge being an obvious defensive position those spear tips at different angles are more likely to be lost off the bridge during a battle. it is ritual or religious is Archeology speak for "I dont know but i want to look like i do"

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

or fishing, there is water after all

[@Ulfhednir9]

@@HappyBeezerStudios idk maybe fishing was a religious practice. Something something it was a religious site lol

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

@@Ulfhednir9 when in doubt, it's ceremonial :)

[@tgbluewolf]

They sound like they were pushed straight down after being broken though, not like they were at angles and had been complete when placed.

[@theitchywitch]

Good show but that Francis Pryor drives me nuts. Everything the ancients did was religious according to him. Offerings to the water. Religious site. Sacred site. I can predict what his conclusions are before he opens his mouth. There are many other explanations for finding broken pottery or tools or stone structures or post holes. He insults our ancestors by making them out to be simpletons.

[@thisisrenren3657]

free palestine

[@uptoolate2793]

It's so very sensitive environmentally that the post has to be replaced? Oh, brother. And our tail pipe emissions are destroying the universe. Ffs.

[@spymaine89]

the presumed pounding method ? maybe. try doing it on the places they would have done. . then remember what manpower is. and how with manpower it could have been done. i could never tolerate ''fransis'', speculation is fine. but Francis speaks as if he just talked to them yesterday. i beleive religin had no more relevance then than now........they mastered the natural would more then we do. . with less to fear in their knowledge.............i beleive their off time theater was more humor then religion.....

[@TechGorilla1987]

@5:45 ' "Seems an awful lot of hassle for very little hole..." You've met my ex wife then. I really shouldn't be surprised. She got around.

[@noeraldinkabam]

🤮