Remarkable Dark Age Treasure Found Beneath An Iron Age Village | Digging for Britain

[@ChristaFree]

The thing I love most about this channel is that they're always proving established mindsets about ancient people's capabilities aren't correct. The more we dig the more we find. Raksha's laugh always makes me smile lol

[@si4632]

Can we really trust the science though 🤣

[@libbysevicke-jones3160]

So true, in another 2500 years when our civilization is dug up, they are going to consider us less than adequate as well.

[@OdeInWessex]

@@si4632 It's the best we have at the moment. I think materials science can't really be compared with arguments over the age of Egypts's Sphynx - which is what immediately sprang to mind when I read your comment. I agree, mainstream Archeology, like all disciplines, is very slow to accept new information if it questions the 'Status Quo' ( also happens to be a terrible rock band but, there you go!)

[@tr33m00nk]

@@si4632 So you're typing your 'question' (with a smiley face??) onto this website, all of which exists and functions only because of "science", and you're distrustful of what? Could a flock of birds or a stampede of gerbils have written and delivered your query with more fidelity? (No disrespect intended toward gerbils or birds. Either probably could have submitted a better comment than si4632.)

[@GailBrenner-vt9ou]

Enjoy all of your shows. Its like a free college course. TY😅

[@annethompson5266]

Incredible Spitfire scenes. My father was the pilot of the Lancaster that bombed the Turpitz. He was a member of the Dambuster Squadron 617.

[@kurthansen866]

Please keep this going! Although, the digging makes my back scream out in pain. Dr. Alice Roberts is a fantastically engaging narrator! Thank you, from Seattle.

[@junestanich7888]

Glad to see Raksha back again!

[@stepstar6187]

Always been my fav

[@ChristaFree]

Right? I want to ask her where you been girl?

[@TheTiffanyAching]

Well, "back again" in 2018 when this was recorded.

[@MrKorky123]

Love Dave! 😅

[@IOSALive]

Unearthed History - Archaeology Documentaries, Your videos always make me happy, so I subscribed!

[@silverlance65]

This channel is a delight to watch, keep up the good work 😊

[@lianefehrle9921]

I enjoy these immensely.

[@dcmackc01]

These programs are so informative and well done. I hope they will be continued.

[@tomrainboro3728]

The turned wood objects are remarkable. Such high quality. Must have had excellent tools. Maybe the spindle is for a bagpipe chanter?

[@robroy5352]

at first glance,,,,,my thoughts,,,,but,,

[@OdeInWessex]

Looks like the crossbars on my Needlework frame to me, so could also be from a Weaver's machine. I love your idea though.

[@oldogre5999]

Part of a Spinning Wheel

[@MONTY-YTNOM]

@@oldogre5999 Thats what I saw

[@jameshargan2786]

It immediately reminded me of a chanter too, and doesn’t it have a row of holes along the centre section, as if …?

[@hughbean6785]

Thanks Alice enjoyed this amazing discoveries and history

[@oldogre5999]

Stopped at 6:40 I think that fancy wooden spindle is part of a Spinning Wheel for making thread and yarns! Lets see if I am right!

[@maryanneslater9675]

I'm afraid that's impossible. The village they were excavating was 2000 years old. The earliest spinning wheel wouldn't be invented for centuries -- in Asia. The spinning wheel wouldn't reach Britain until the 12th or 13th century. (I'm a spinner who has done medieval reenactment. I use a drop spindle/hand spindle.) You're likely thinking of a Saxony wheel like this: americanhistory.si.edu/collections/nmah_1200991 which is relatively modern (16th century) or maybe en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinning_wheel#/media/File:La_derni%C3%A8re_Fileuse_de_mon_village,_Fouace.jpg (similar to the earliest wheels introduced to Europe). I wonder if the woodworker had an idea for an elaborate chair but shelved it, or if he was doing a piece to show off his skill or offer to the gods.

[@RKHageman]

A tempting idea, for sure! But it’s not possible. The time period is +/- 1000 years off. The foot treadled spinning wheel was developed in Germany in the 1500s (hence the name ‘Saxony wheel’). A couple of centuries before that, there was the walking wheel, or great wheel.

[@njs-655]

Nothing like learning about our past , and Dr Alice Roberts makes it so much more interesting 👍

[@leannevandekew1996]

*past

[@njs-655]

@@leannevandekew1996 Thanks should have worn my glasses lol 😂are you looking through everyone’s comments and highlighting there mistakes ?? And actually it was a predictive text mistake . But I don’t see you highlighting anyone else’s mistakes here ??

[@colinkey7094]

@@njs-655 It is "their" mistakes, not "there", and Professor Alice Roberts, not Dr.

[@njs-655]

@@colinkey7094 how interesting who cares you numpty

[@njs-655]

Go and hassle some one else you sad person

[@crazycatlady768]

I love these programmes please keep up the amazing work

[@jonnylumberjack6223]

It's a BBC production, made every year. Six episodes in each season, aired in January about the previous year's work. There were 6 new episodes Jan 24, so still ongoing :)

[@davidwhelan1545]

My Great Uncle Franek, flew recon missions over North Africa, post Battle of Britain. After the stories he told me, he loved the desert environment.

[@davidwhelan1545]

Great episode. Best yet, covering millenia of our fantastic history!

[@TravisBrady-wn8fr]

I watch/listen to Dr. Roberts and crew while I do my art. Pure enjoyment.

[@michiganjems]

This is amazing. Thanks for sharing

[@nb6175]

Thank god they saturated the color grading in this series. You can actually see the colors in the earth and more details in the finds now.

Fascinating stuff, shared by very articulate people. A delight to watch.

[@budbundy364]

Excellent video thank you for sharing loved it ❤

[@Christeky]

Is the title of this episode a mistake? I just watched it through and could see no reference to a "Dark Age treasure" being found beneath an "Iron Age village". This seems to be a practical impossibility. It is generally accepted that the Iron Age in Britain began around 800BC and lasted until the Roman invasion in 43AD. The Dark Ages are usually considered to have begun after the Romans left Britain in around 410AD and continuing until the Norman Conquest in 1066. The only way that the title can make sense (to me), is if someone from the Dark Ages dug a deep hole down through an Iron Age village and deposited a treasure there. As there was no reference to anything like that in this episode, I conclude that the title must be a mistake. I am willing to concede that I may have missed something, and am happy to be corrected.

[@OdeInWessex]

Your definition of 'treasure' is clearly that of valuable items such as gold or silver coins and objects, precious stones etc. To Archeologists and Historians 'Treasure' is defined as new information that will expand our knowledge of our history. Those dark age houses are extraordinary for that reason and very important in respect of our early history in the UK. I hope this helps and answers your question. (Edited to expand the standard definition of 'treasure')

[@philipr1567]

The Romans didn't have much of an impact in Scotland. What historians call Roman Britain really only applies to what is now England and part of Wales. Therefore it is not so simple to put a date on transition between Iron Age and Dark Age in Scotland, because the term 'Dark Age' merely refers to the lack of contemporary written records.

[@7cColin]

I think it could be less of a mistake and more a piece of 'clickbait' branding. It doesn't make any archaeological sense as you have pointed out, and it does not reflect well on the people who run the channel I'm afraid.

[@bertvosburg558]

This pilot is a true warrior willing to go into enemy territory UNARMED for the benefit of winning this war! I like everyone's reverence towards this great YOUNG man and how they handle the remains of his plane.

[@gidimeir]

Amazing! thank you!

[@aframers]

Excellent work and research. These programs are so enriching. Dr. Roberts is a gem of a presenter and a pleasure to listen to. Greetings from the Blue Ridge in North Carolina, populated by the descendants of immigrants from England, Ireland and Scotland.

[@ericashmusic8889]

How wonderful and delightful this is ; I have 3 books showing pages & examples of the most excellent calligraphy by monks from the Famous 'Book of Kells' . The exquisite interlacing gold filigree work +dotted beadwork (at 51':31") found in the Viking grave, is so strikingly similar in artistic style, & matches the wonderful artistic work by Irish monks (scribes) who created amazingly, almost identical colourful & ornate ink/paint calligraphy in the Book of Kells. Particularly the bird head and snake like interlacing motifs plus wolf's head. How do the dates possibly link-up , that is, the grave date with the Kells book.? because from the remarks a few moments later, that the female could have come from Ireland ties in nicely with the many Irish Monasteries, where a number other similar artistic calligraphic treasures have originated.

[@oldogre5999]

I can't get over how shallow much of the artifacts are buried! Just a foot or so, seems like flying over with Lidar might find a lot of this stuff!

[@maryanneslater9675]

The Saxon graves are rescue archaeology, I suspect. Modern agriculture is wearing down the soil built up over centuries so that bones and artifacts are often close to the surface now and are being disturbed by farm equipment.

[@cynicaldodgyknees6248]

Having been to Orkney, Rousay and South Ronaldsay I suggest that anyone with an interest in prehistory really should go. The abundance of sites, many with no one else around, made it an almost spiritual experience. Lying flat on my tummy, sliding alone, into the Tomb of the Eagles, then standing inside to see a chamber of skulls and bones was surreal. Handling actual Stone Age hand tools, and a human skull, in the farmhouse ‘museum’ was unique.

[@gerardhogan3]

Greetings from Australia. I really love these. They are so interesting. How's the prehistoric peat village. Bloody so amazing.

[@johnoryjr4269]

I love the fact you share these findings on KZbin. A suggestion for the producers is to please tell us the composition of ornate items. You do tell some things, like the wood types, but an example of what would have been great here is the female pin broach thing which seems comprised of different metals, perhaps stones?... anyway, just a thought. Keep having fun exploring. Perhaps we could join a raffle or such and "win an excursion to join a team somewhere!" Cheers

[@tr33m00nk]

Yes, agreed. More details about materials found. Maybe divert some of the money wasted on overdone "intro graphics & 'music' " to graphics overlays listing materials/dating of the artifacts when they are shown in the 'discussion'. We all have 'pause /replay buttons' to stop and read details if they are included. Consider how much more "educational" for classrooms these videos would be if such graphics were present.

[@Odonanmarg]

Ancient fingerprints and knee-impressions‼️ Awesome.

[@cindyloomis-torvi3396]

I’ve read so much in the medieval age but had never been able to picture what rushes looked like, how the floor was constructed.

[@rebekahleech5354]

Brilliant vid love history

[@mandyb6088]

My Uncle was a NZ pilot in Stalag Luft III and also a member of the Escape Committee, so would have known Alistair. I was one of the few people he told his story to about his time in the prison.

[@ellenlascola6858]

So fascinating

[@kevinroche3334]

The mystery object looks like a) a chanter from a set of bagpipes, or b) part of the lath machinery.

[@brandoncyoung]

That wood they found is just wild

[@bertplank9892]

The Doc. Is in remarkably good nick for her age!!.

[@a.j.carter8975]

♥️😀🇬🇧 Good stuff. Nice bit of poimgant history in the middle and Raksha..love her unquenchable enthusiasm, always cheers me up

[@margaretjohnson4413]

The turned yew with two holes at the end looks very like a strecher from a stool or chair or maybe from the base of a spinning wheel.

[@leonardo.1024]

I understand that editors' time costs can snowball, but surely you could take the time to actually listen to the sections where the @HistoryHit plug is spliced in; it's really common for the volume to be uncomfortably loud compared to the surrounding video, and I find it hard to believe toning it down 3-5 decibels is prohibitively expensive.

[@carolynmattingly3440]

Lovely to see Raksha again; she was such fun on Time Team.

[@pamjohnson5363]

Would have enjoyed hearing much more about Vindolanda! Love the videos in general.

[@theotherandrew5540]

As a professional turner, I’m truly astonished by the quality of the spindle and the bowel (2500 years ago!). I’d love to see their tools!

[@gregphillips.1312]

Aww, Alice looks great with Red Hair! 😍

[@JamesSmith-fz7qk]

She had red hair when she was first on Time Team years ago.

[@stemid85]

This is THE best program on youtube right now.

[@marcussparticus8380]

Prehistoric isn't two and a half thousand years ago, that's the bronze age.

[@sabbyd1832]

Some comments thinking the wooden object may be part of a flute or bagpipe. I think it's possibly for weaving and I have a few ideas about use

[@marktime9235]

During that first find at Vinsolanda (the shoe), that woman could truly claim to have saved someones sole !!! :)

[@KernowekTim]

And the Romans refered to inhabitants of our land as primitive barbarians. As Rome commited genocide and 'pleasure killings' in colloseums. Hi Raksha! Hi Phil, if you are lookin' in.

[@philipr1567]

I am fascinated by the woman buried in Lincolnshire who came from the south coast. Is this due to migration? Does it suggest a political marriage? Possibly a hostage? (although I always thought that leaders' sons were more likely to be hostages than daughters). Given the amount of 'bling', her being part of a travelling (trading or specialist worker) family seems to me unlikely unless such families had a lot of disposable income. What are your thoughts?

[@frankanddanasnyder3272]

So where are the missing stones in the Viking broach at 51:00? They had to be in the burial...... thrown away with the dirt?

[@maryanneslater9675]

They might have been pearls. Pearls disintegrate over time and wouldn't last 500 years in the ground, let alone 1500. The amber beads are a clue. They would have been polished and beautiful yellow, orange and brown when they were worn, but they had corroded to grey dull things in the ground.

[@MrDaiseymay]

THATS STRANGE---I;VE GOT ONE OF THOSE VASE'S, SAME COLOUR AND PATTERN, BOUGHT JUST BEFORE WOOLWORTHS CLOSED DOWN.

[@kirstinfingland1334]

Could the item at the black loch find be a part of the bagpipes or early instrument

[@madabouthistory4611]

Friend of mine found the scremby buriel ground , land owner soon as notified kicked him off land and made out he found it all 😡 still what a great bit of history being recovered

[@TheTiffanyAching]

Would your friend be Damien Neale?

[@robbyakes8736]

WAR IS EVIL

[@BlaiseBeuche]

Coming to a town near you, soon.

[@Nadia1111]

That unknown artefact looks like a recorder or whistle of some sort

[@judithparker4608]

MERCIA.....THREE CROWNS...KINGDOM....MINING...MANUFACTURING MERCHANT.......MERKAT

[@metricstormtrooper]

This is sort of like when i discovered a flat mates Talking Heads album in the bookcase of our share house.

[@nightwishlover8913]

10.08 That baton looks like a rung from a chair...

[@lutomson3496]

from what I remember visiting history the pole lathe came from the vikings and then to Britain with the ability to turn wood, I built one a long time ago for an experiment...and misinformation about the spitfire camera system it wasnt a 3d system at all but a stereo pairs of cameras..you used a stereoscope to view them which made them appear to be sort of a 3d variation...I worked in the intelligence area with many camera systems and reviewed a lot of pictures in this manner its obvious never have and this is still in use today in some places despite the satellite systems

[@TheDarthSoldier]

Archeology is just a new word for grave robber

[@therub2191]

Either archaeologist or robbing

[@theduppykillah]

That hair tho! It’s so tinted it makes her skin look complimentary green

[@zuzuspetals38]

I wonder what they have found since?!! Is this show still going on in 2024??

[@annbretagne2108]

BBC show. It's still going, as far as I know. They show a short series the year following the digs.

[@Blessings.429]

The turned wood spindle be for making rope?

[@AsFewFalseThingsAsPossible]

Series 7 no 1 2018

[@lnbjr7]

The long dark turned wooden object reminds me of a flute type object…

[@maddiethomas5892]

38:05 That's a coincidence. We were doing family history on one of our ancestors from Brighton just today. 1800s, though. 😂

[@arunigma]

Digging for Britain is really interesting! Incidentally, Dave is pronounced as 'duh-vai' (d uh-v ai).

[@KAT-ew9wz]

Nice seeing Raksha, but did anyone else spot Jackie McKinley on Orkney with those stripy gloves?

[@reneaston3018]

I thought the latest mammoths died out 6500 years ago ???

[@kevinmurphy65]

Would these people be considered "Celtic"?

[@melanierhianna]

2,500 years ago in Dumfries would have Hen Ogledd (The Old North). Back then “Strathclyde was a larger area which went all the way down to the Lake District / Cumbria. It comprises a couple of Kingdoms including Rheged. Strath Clyde is a mutation of Ystrad Clud and Glasgow was Glas Cau. So yes they would be Brethenic Celts. Basically the ancestors of modern Welsh. But not Gaelic Celts like those in the Western Isles or the Irish.

[@gregedmand9939]

My question abouy this mud preserved iron age village is: how did it get buried?

[@melanierhianna]

Basically over time the height of the land rises. Centuries of decaying plant growth, soil deposits and so on. Most UK cities are built on top of their older selves. York is probably about 10 metres above the ground level of Roman York (Eboracum).

[@gregedmand9939]

@@melanierhianna Yes, that is easy to comprehend over time. But the burial of this village seems rather sudden, almost like a Pompeii type of event overcame them. If it took several decades or longer to be covered, how did the wooden floors and goods found, not deteriorate more, by being exposed to the air? Some sudden water level increase must have happened. A "mud flood" as it were.

[@conniegariepy2334]

I always have mixed feelings about graves being disturbed in their contents being put on display. It is interesting to study But I feel that their remains should be left where they were along with the objects that were placed there by their loved ones.

[@vbee75]

In the middle east, in some religions, including Judaism bodies of the dead are considered unclean, something they would do to the sacred sites of other religions was to place cemeteries or bones in or next to their sacred sites, to make the site unclean & un-useable. Finding bones somewhere, doesn't necessarily mean you have a tomb. Maybe it was a religious site. Something else to consider, Christians have the bodies of saints buried in churches, but we don't call those churches tombs.

[@geofflewis8599]

The 'batton thing' is probably part of a weaver's loom

[@eileenlocke7877]

Thank u

[@John-qb8vd]

Oh no, the “ Footwear Police” have arrived to the thread.

[@markperrault5678]

Wait is she going for boudica

[@frick566]

Is Raksha still digging with Time Team??

[@claytoncarson111]

Is the baton a door-pull?

[@myview1875]

@35:15 AT FIRST WE THOUGHT IT WAS JUST A BOG STANDARD ANGLO SAXON CEMETERY BUT IT TURNED OUT TO BE MORE INTERESTING 🤔 How arrogant you archaeologists are. 🙄.

[@judithparker4608]

Mercia....Three Crowns Industrial Iron Kingdom....Merkat

[@Ryan-bn3qk]

When Dr. Alice Roberts calls you to the lab, you know you've done well.

[@thebleepaddict2073]

Still can't believe Alice lied about who found the scremby site. Makes me cringe every time I see it

[@TheTiffanyAching]

Did she lie or did the landowner who tried to steal the actual finder's thunder?

[@jeebusk]

You're making the comment section into a scremby site

[@thebleepaddict2073]

Sorry Jason, i don't understand what you mean ​@@jeebusk

[@thebleepaddict2073]

​@@TheTiffanyAching The landowner shown was using his brand new detector, but I'm sure had nothing to do with the program. The archaeologists knew exactly who found the site and must have told Alice as they were making the program together.

[@IOSALive]

Unearthed History - Archaeology Documentaries, You're awesome! Let's be friends and play together!

[@kittiwhieldon4329]

What’s with all the tweeting birds?

[@rocketamadeus3730]

I DON'T RESPOND POSITIVELY TO BEING YELLED AT!

[@jeebusk]

meh

[@SenorTucano]

A massive amount of work to collect less than an ounce of black gunk.

[@rmg03c]

Dark Age Treasure Found Beneath An Iron Age Village Wait...What?!!!

[@callumclark3358]

“It’s about 3 kilometres and 1000 metre climb… “ You WHAT ?!

[@jeebusk]

you can't conclude they had a wood laithe as the artifacts could have come from other countries.

[@TheSillybilly15]

Did they wood turn 2500 years ago?

[@myview1875]

Oh wowsie are those green W shaped things under the hand @35:24 Girdle Hangers. 🤔. Yes they are how about you pick one up and show us peeps what they were used for. 😗.

[@cherylkurucz8852]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@annbretagne2108]

Latest 6 episode series shown on BBC in Jan 2024. Still on the iplayer. Suggest you sign up to a VPN provider.

[@TheDarthSoldier]

Dodge, dip, duck, dive and... dodge

[@markgb]

20,000 feet is 3.79 miles so not very much, about 8000 steps or an hours easy walk. surely not harsh punishment.

[@myview1875]

Leave the little planks in piece. 😪.

[@robw7676]

"We might be a small island..." Erm... this is the 9th largest island on the planet 😅

[@nickmiller76]

Ten times smaller than the largest one though. This is indeed a small island.

[@MrRennn802009]

Wow yea simple central heating bringing tears to people faced with returning to there own hovel