Why Did Iron Age Man Settle On This Cold, Remote Island? | Extreme Archaeology | Unearthed History

Extreme Archeology returns to the Shetland Islands, this time to investigate an iron age fortress known as Burgi Geos. Just getting to the site proves a nightmare as the crew crosses some of the deepest peat bogs in Europe to reach the remote site. As the team begins investigations it becomes more apparent that the site was far more than a simple fort. But why would an Iron Age community choose to settle somewhere so remote?
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[@lorenwilson8128]

Depending on when this fort was established, it would have been warmer than today by 1-2°C. While this does not sound like much, grapes were cultivated in England during the Roman warming period.

[@alanflint7732]

Peat bogs may be tricky to navigate safely. I think the stones are way markers. Something to go by in bad weather. I got a bit lost on top of Wild Boar Fell in the dales once. The cloud came down, hiding the holes and bogs. I was relieved to find the top wall and follow it off the Fell.

[@margomoore4527]

The stones are so bright and shiny, could they be reflectors? If you put a fire in front, it could be seen a long way, from out on the water. They could guide boats into harbor to avoid rocks….even a torch held in front of them would work, without an actual fire.

[@user-McGiver]

I can think of many reasons why people want to live away from other people... ''other people'' are always something to avoid... unless you command an army!... as for the ''conditions'' modern people are not able to understand, living in today's comfort... back then life was hard everywhere... so the safety and isolation the island offered was godsent!...

[@tekay44]

life was harder alone, we are a social creature.

[@dragonladyfink4685]

They weren't "alone". There was obviously a community.

[@dinarusso3320]

Exactly, back then was dangerous...I was thinking if they're hard to find less chance of people trying to raid them.

[@DerPatientHatSenkrecht]

Keeping sheep was a good busines in former times. Doing this where the climate is cold leads to more whool in a better quality. this could be the answer, why people startet to settle so far in the north. Another answer may be fishing, you habve more fish, where it is colder.

[@whiskeytango9769]

There could also be less competition, and conflict, in these locations as well.

[@dinarusso3320]

That's what I was thinking, but difficult rural landscape means less chance of people trying to raid their village.

[@lisawilson2912]

That rectangular hearth was amazing 👏

[@dcmackc01]

Dr. Alice Roberts seems to be the only member of the team with the depth of knowledge to understand the site.

[@harrybruijs2614]

The have geofys with them and a regional archeolog, so there are certainly more people who know their stuff.

[@Andy_Babb]

Possibly. I would imagine they all have their own specific disciplines. Alice Roberts is definitely on another level though, genuinely a brilliant person.

[@barryansell5981]

Full Kudos to the team for a very difficult dig.If indeed that was a "post" they uncovered where did it come from? Pottery pieces that were found, presumably warmth came from the burning of the peat, plus the firing of clay? or perhaps the pottery came with the then settlers. Did the "stone built buildings have peat roofing? how did they make the roofing to accept the peat as both insulator/covering

[@margarettaft2944]

That group probably moved to the remote island to avoid attacks and raids by other Iron Age tribes

[@dinarusso3320]

That's exactly what I thought, if it's difficult terrain, less conflict with other people

[@longtabsigo]

I love the accents (to my ear) when they say Burgi.

[@myriamverstappen3311]

Oh, Val has a Mick sweater on 😊

[@brondavis1601]

I recognize Alice Roberts from Digging For Britain!

[@HollyMoore-wo2mh]

It’s not that they’ll be lost it’s that we’ll know MORE about … well US. Where we came from and how we survived.

[@harrybruijs2614]

They have found charcoal, so they can determine the age of that with C14

[@BRUSHYSURFING]

should have dug where you camped...much more likely as a spot to live...up there on that exposed place was a duty or a ritual or a time to spend in good weather... not a place to live...

[@margomoore4527]

If they can find some lower areas that used to be marshes, I would want to look for bog mummies in that 10’ of peat.

[@dennisfaulkner5470]

Quartz...are there any metals present in it.?? Looks like they were burning quartz in kilns.. using the north winds for natural flumes of oxygen..

[@margomoore4527]

Quartz quarry-for whatever purpose-does provide a reasonable motivation to live there, if only briefly, as a camp. There could have been a small vein of gold; once exhausted, they would have no reason to remain.

[@margomoore4527]

What crops? Barley, rye, oats. Especially if the climate was just a little warmer. It would have also supported the sheep flocks-not like you could import hay! Grow your own fodder and dry it for winter. And you can eat it, too.

[@dragonladyfink4685]

That lady is a mick fan.❤

[@barryansell5981]

😁how could these excited archaeologists ever explain themselves with their hands tied behind their backs

[@lisawilson2912]

Could the fires be beacons to boats coming and going?

[@andrewfuller8440]

Could the quartz pebbles be ammo for slings?

[@BRUSHYSURFING]

there is a very significant and obvious path observable from the air here (20.49) , that would also have been visible on the landscape on foot? were you guys having a bit of a lend of us when talking about getting lost?

[@souloftheteacher9427]

Umm... Crash helmets to walk across a bog?

[@dinarusso3320]

They're in the middle of nowhere, so it's best to avoid any type of injury. Someone could just slip and fall and hit their head on something

[@haroldgardiner1966]

Pardon my humour, but maybe those stone markers suggest places for ancient golfers to tee off!

[@willisbarth]

😃 That’s a good one!

[@haroldgardiner1966]

What if those stone markers were grave monuments, or trail blazes?

[@KosmiekAltertainment]

Them little standing stones remind a bit of native American Inukchuk dont they?

[@margomoore4527]

Acidic peat? Peat PRESERVES bodies, what are you saying?

[@williamhiller3988]

Those are costal signal fires.

[@williamhiller3988]

Archeology lite

[@williscopeland7114]

Good guess but… maintaining signal fires is only worth it if there is a lot of nautical traffic. It would use up a lot of wood, something that tha Shetlands aren’t known for.

[@williamhiller3988]

Unless of course they were used intermittently to guide expected vessels into one or the other harbor. Oh - the climate was a great deal warmer at that point in time, and forests grew on the northern isles. The former trees were mostly sacrificed during the Iron age to keep the forges forging.

[@danbrownellfuzzy3010]

My first thought is these are not multi generational family areas, but the obvious draw to the area would be fish. I could see people going to this area to stay long enough to load up and process their catch. With such a dangerous set of conditions, and medicine in its infancy, maybe these are simple fisherman's graves with a central stone area for funerals. Just a first try could be wrong.....

[@margomoore4527]

I just don’t see them as graves. I also think people who are trying to get away from enemies, who are desperate to find their own place, must seek to set up a farm here, with sheep and also the fish.

[@RedStretchLimo]

Isn't this doc about twenty some years old? What could they reveal that hasn't been covered more thoroughly in the years since?

[@insipidcynic]

A number of history channels on KZbin do the same thing. Seems that the commercial license for these episodes (originally owned by whatever cable company) have expired, and thus they enter the free use domain, and subsequently get posted to KZbin. I'm all for it!

[@kenwilson3549]

N😂🎉

[@naikrovek]

@RedStretchLimo@@insipidcynic you're both failing to use your brain. Go watch sports and stay gone.

[@semperfidelis2970]

And? I haven't seen it yet.

[@harrybruijs2614]

In that 20 years it has probably fallen into the ocean

[@MamaKitty-rs7kp]

You don't like the show or what theyre saying shut up and turn it off

[@Ubique2927]

1. It wasn’t an island. 2. It wasn’t cold. 3. It was fertile. 4 it was full of game animals. Utterly incorrect assumptions about Britain being a horrible place to live.

[@Ubique2927]

@ConontheBinarian … probably not. Remember Britain was connected to the continent, Dogger Bank was an island etc. Sea level was much lower, even in the Iron Age.

[@Ubique2927]

@ConontheBinarian … I used Dogger Bank only of an example of sea that used to be land. Also Homo Sapiens were walking the land, including Dogger Bank when it was land.

[@Ubique2927]

@ConontheBinarian … They and you don’t know that. It is a guess. Sea level was lower then.

[@Ubique2927]

@ConontheBinarian… No. the water level has been much lower through time. Homo Sapiens have been around for a long time. These people are ASSUMING an awful lot here. As they say it could be much older than the ‘iron age’ which spanned a very long time.

[@margomoore4527]

Sure wouldn’t want to live there now. Sun doesn’t shine enough, windier than Chicago, hardly ever a temp above 70 degrees F…nope, nope, and nope!

[@John-zx7vk]

Are you sure. Do you have definitive proof? J. W.

[@OublietteTight]

Man? Just males only? Or was this migration about humans? 😮

[@THINKincessantly]

I bet he wasnt from Africa OR the Meddle east

[@travellingwithjeff]

Sad, this is is a repeat from years and years ago........replys on different channels under different names, is actually pretty lame

[@brucemackinnon-k3x]

Seafood.

[@tightlines106]

I know the reason they moved there it was full of Iron Age woman

[@haroldgardiner1966]

Seeing that trees are non existent there, these people may have made peat soddies for homes, and everything eventually settled back into the peat fields, and seeing this gradually occur, these ancients would use stone to try to stave off time destroying history through using stone for special structures and the like!

[@bikramjeetgoswami6523]

Why are there no trees? Too windy?

[@haroldgardiner1966]

@@bikramjeetgoswami6523 either too boggy thus too wet and probably too acidic, plus too rocky in other places!

[@BRUSHYSURFING]

possibly a good place to defend but no means of escape. not really a viable occupation site. so exposed to the weather ans elements...you didnt camp there ! you camped in the hollow! why? rhetoric...we all know.

[@josiahbradley1638]

First!

[@pauloboyle477]

Second

[@gregh5665]

This series was a contrived dud when it came out in 2004. The "extreme" elements were contrived, at the expense of the archeology. No need to resurrect it.

[@oscarwalton1188]

Are you sure about iron age if they were using quartz and flint for tools they probably didn't even have bronze or copper it might be earlier if they were norse or Celtics there would be metal it might be beaker.

[@harrybruijs2614]

Maybe they did find gold

[@scottemery4737]

Flint or Quarts tools were still used during the Bronze and Iron Ages.

[@oscarwalton1188]

@scottemery4737 I know but you would think that they would find something copper or gold something 🤔

[@robroy6804]

as usual,,,,,not a fkn tree in site

[@matildamarmaduke1096]

And you point?

[@etemytradel4509]

Hahaha a,bunch of women experts . Ill pass

[@derekflessner4615]

We wear these silly haircuts and say this could be early bronze age but we really don't know any more than you silly silly us

[@gern7535]

👍

[@derekflessner4615]

We wear these silly haircuts and tell you this could be early bronze age but we really don't know any more than you we are so silly

[@JamesWalters-s3u]

They young socialist

[@harrybruijs2614]

They can use c14 to determine the age of the charcoal

[@maeve4686]

@derekflessner4615 Why so hateful? These are educated women, 2 with PhD's & one a M.D. Are you threatened? At least have an educated opinion or reason other than silly hair.. geez...

[@thomasbell7033]

​@@maeve4686Yes, that left-field hostility is simply bizarre. Mommie problems, perhaps.

[@John-qb8vd]

@@JamesWalters-s3uAs opposed to being ignorant as yourself?

[@fcukyou2_]

Time team > this show

[@fcukyou2_]

Never seen this show before but half way thru i can see why it lasted only 1 season, while "time team" is still going 30yrs later.

[@beanzieobeanz2955]

a supposedly qualified archaeologist uses the presence of moss as evidence of great age? i should have read the comments before I tossed away 11 minutes

[@John-qb8vd]

Tata then, adios, goodbye.

[@666Buzzsaw]

And where’s your archeological qualifications?? Back in your box boy.

[@lisbethsalander8921]

Why does the guy in charge seem to know nothing? Have seen several episodes of this show and he really sticks out as being a dum dum.

[@johnnyallen5736]

Totally agree with you!

[@maeve4686]

Complaining about an old video? Well, it's not as old as the history they're trying to discover with just a few people & a few days. If you can do better, do so. I double, DOUBLE dog dare you...

[@dinarusso3320]

Exactly, I hate when people complain about free KZbin videos. If you don't like, just watch something else

[@haroldgardiner1966]

Could the use of lidar give a picture of what is under the overburden of peat?

[@EduardoMusasa]

No

[@haroldgardiner1966]

@@EduardoMusasa i suppose it could not do as well as GEOPHIS devices, and the peat us hard to reveal what is beneath anyway!

[@EduardoMusasa]

@@haroldgardiner1966lidar either reflexes 100% or 0% on watery surfaces. Maybe some sort of sonar would be preferable

[@margomoore4527]

“Not in the budget”….

[@darkhorseman8263]

Because they wanted to get away from all your B.S

[@Cutter-jx3xj]

Why not just use a helicopter, no drama??

[@margomoore4527]

Too windy.

[@kkquikB1]

Sheep, fish, and rocks….I will kiss my cell phone tonight and not complain.

[@haroldgardiner1966]

Any possibility of gold being associated with that quartz?

[@tonyjohnson8752]

With the state of the world today I can see why people live there.