A Team Of Archaeologists Uncover Scotland’s Oldest Pictish Fort | Digging For Britain

[@MrTorleon]

Another outstanding and highly informative episode in what must be considered a landmark series, one in which not only the extremely knowledgeable experts, but the large army of enthusiastic volunteers can be appreciated. The series continues to be presented by the ever capable and equally knowledgeable Prof, Alice Roberts, adding, whenever necessary her own specialty in osto-archeology to the mix - absolutely splendid in every way :)

[@brootham9979]

I have to agree about Matt. More recognition is deserved!

[@adriennewalker1715]

Yep! Much as I love Alice’s input, more of Matt would have made this series so much better!

[@nicohutcheon]

Extremely interesting, I made a video on this site after watching the Findings from the University of Aberdeen during the dig in 2015, amazing work to all involved 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@alanconnors8881]

The discoveries are all so intriguing. I'd binge watch episode after episode if I could. Thank you Alice and all.

[@paulmaddison2025]

i hated history at school..it was only several years after i left that i realised i actually love history .

[@Kusoka1]

As well as

[@tomnicholson2115]

Same here.

[@deanagallatin6974]

I hated history most of my life...LOL. I love it now.

[@dinarusso3320]

😊 history in school was boring, I was never shown any ancient history like this! That's the difference

[@stevem7868-y4l]

same, here, but was it more that the history Teachers were dull and boring, and just reading from text books? I excelled in Metalwork, a great Teacher, and Physics, and Maths, (taught same teacher) yet other subjects were a poor result, due to bad teaching

[@simonartley1645]

The Picts and their history seems fascinating and while much may be unknown that can make it all the more interesting . Im originally from North Yorkshire and also studied about the Picts and earlier history while at Aberdeen University.

[@jont8707]

Alice is the best hands down love everything she does 👍🏻

[@JDrumnavy]

Dr. Bones… lol ok. It’s enjoyable to watch and learn from people passionate about their work.

[@nickharmer3049]

Me too mate. 👍. I've followed her work for over 20 years. First class.!

[@miken891]

Not too good at geography. She says the Dunnicaer site is on the edge of the North Atlantic. It's actually the North Sea.

[@michaelglynn2638]

High quality, fascinating and educational, entertaining too. Thank you all.

[@PhilipCallicoat-k9z]

A very different narrator!!! Lovely 🌹.... Thank you, Professor Alice 😇🌹!!!

[@jodyknight]

Thank you thank you thank you!! I eagerly await each one of these episodes!!

[@erinobrien8408]

So good to see Matt!!!

[@JDrumnavy]

Alice is my favorite history person/teacher! Sorry this seems like I only speak in Iron Age….

[@lianefehrle9921]

I just love these adventures

[@Squarepeg57]

Absolutely fascinating! Great programme thanks!

[@nickharmer3049]

Brilliant upload. Thank you. 👍

[@belwynne1386]

Love seeing Matt but he deserves a role worthy of his experience, imo.

[@RepublicTX]

I agree. Matt is more than mere eye candy, and that's all they're using him for. These sites are fascinating, but presented in such a way that puts me to sleep. I give up.

[@brootham9979]

And his sense of humour to engage the viewer!

[@larryzigler6812]

@@RepublicTX Most from Texas put's me asleep unless it's from Austin perhaps.

[@larryzigler6812]

Get a room, please 💘💘

[@teriwood9657]

Definitely!

[@ant-1382]

Love this stuff.

[@fester73666]

Excellent episode, very interesting to watch 👍👍

[@TravisBrady-wn8fr]

History is my spirit animal

[@TheDevice9]

A common ritual--- "Mum.... I broke the antler off my deer skull again" "Well dear, just toss it in the rubbish with the other broken skulls and I'll get you a new one tomorrow".

[@pollyb.4648]

But the dance is tonight! I can't go without antlers!

[@sheilajudd588]

Fasinating as I am currently reading Buried (a Christmas gift) and Arras and other locations connect with this book. Thank you.

[@scienceraven1200]

If only they had found some evidence of Gikings. Gikings are like the vikings but they are relatively unkown, because they used to kill the women and shag the men, and so they made less little Gikings, although they were a considerable force at the time.

[@skoolzone]

ADHD and dyslexia had to read your comment several times to get it right I thought they were burying you for Christmas present. Life is hard when your brains are scrambled.

[@DeanStrautins]

The necklace looks like a good representation of lineage record keeping.

[@scottmcfarland2149]

Gorgeous and brilliant!! Absolutely love this series. Well done. Slàinte Mhath 🥃🙏🏻✌🏻

[@malcolmscott9582]

Scotland is a country and should be

[@richardcutt727]

Agreed. But let's have a Christian monarchy as we used to and eschew the satanic Marxism. Low taxes and high inward investment. Educate our young to be engineers, scientists, and yes, archaeologists. No men in women's private spaces.

[@dougallee7066]

Well. It wasn't then. A few hundred years in the last ten or twelve thousand. Bring back Alt Clud!

[@Garwfechan-ry5lk]

@@dougallee7066 Alt Clut is a Saxon name ( Old English) for the Cymric ystrad Clwyd, the name Clyde is from Clwyd it was a Brythonic Celtic Kingdom from the Roman Period and before, Scots came over in the late 7th Century from Ireland with Saxons first and then Vikings to oust the Britons and comit Ethic Cleansing. That is why most place names that are ancient are in Fact Brythonic ( Cymric) Rivers as well Aberdu ( Aberdeen ) Glasgwyr ( Glasgow) Llanarch ( Lanark )Caereddynt ( Edinburgh) Firth Forth Clyde Dee and many others are Celtic, Fal ( Kirk) Arbryth ( Arbroath) Raith ( Raith) Caledon ( Caledonia) in old Cymric the area that is now Scotland was in pre Roman times " yr hen ogledd " the OLD North , Ystrad Clwyd Rheged and Caledon that is why you call an aged person HEN today, the earliest known Celtic poetry of Taliesin and Nennius from the 6th and 4th Centuries in Cymric and Latin ( Roman) talk of the Kings of the Hen ogleddwyr or Ogwillian,. To be Scottish you must be Irish and the Scotti were a Tribe of mixtures, your lands were on the West facing coasts around Dublin, that is why many Irish and Scottish have Red Hair the Norse inflluence, it is in your DNA,, you were ruled as part of Norway for over 200 Years Rollo was Norse, whilst the Bruce was British and not a Gael, family name Brewys, Breton Le Breos, his Family came back to cclaim Lands in the North and in the South in Powys and Gwent,, his Cymric ancestry is a lot older than Scotland England or Wales he was a Briton. so to was William Wallace William the Welshman has the Saxons named is Ancestors they were from Morgannwg and Powys also, with the Bruce and Tudor Dynasties in their Genes, British Blood not Saxon Germanic or Frankish. Alt Clut is a name to be rid of it is Germanic trying too talk Cymric! Pob Hwyl Prynhawn da. ( British)

[@derekporter7658]

We never went away, we're still here 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👍

[@deckiedeckie]

Diggin' for Britain......Great series!!

[@davidlloyd150]

MATT ROCKS!!!!

[@lynleygilchrist7703]

29:37 Gordon Noble is a bit of a handsome bloke! Smart, seems like a lovely chap with a really sweet smile, bit of a brogue & good looking as the icing on the cake? My favourite (Phil Harding-less) Digging For Britain episode to date 😉❤ Oh, and the Pictish archaeology is pretty fab, too 😂

[@StuartAnderson-xl4bo]

😅😅😅 in snooker he goes for the brown not the pink if u get my meaning you won't get near his balls unless your cue us stiff wood

[@johnjunge6989]

Your husband should be very proud of you. I watch a girl by the name of Alexis Dahl, she talks about Michigan the way you talk about these areas you explore. Both of you make it very interesting. Great stuff!

[@brightphoebesays]

I love the way British people say "Extrooordn'ry". : D

[@richardcutt727]

Great stuff. I recently visited Dunnottar Castle. I recommend it. Also Scone Palace and Stirling Castle.

[@digdoon]

Looking at the pendant it looks a little bit like Ogam on some of the lines, could this be the earliest form of writing?

[@kevinroche3334]

I thought the same.

[@puppy2haley]

Awesome!! 👍👍👍👍❤️

[@maureentupaea4205]

Well done you!

[@JoJo-11of11]

Just love Alice, I’m hoping she will come and tell me a bedtime story some day !

[@arthurprentice7110]

Great episode, cheers, but where did the soil that covers the Pictish fort on the seastack come from ? You'd think it would lose soil volume and not accumulate it.

[@trikepilot101]

The erosion must be slower than the gains that come from the cycle of plant growth, death and regrowth. It is surprising.

[@forbesmeek6304]

Birds & worms👍🐦

[@pauloboyle477]

As I understand. EVERY Viking family had a silver hoard. Supposedly if they buried it it would b there when they die. The hoards are always added to over time but never taken from

[@kevinmurphy65]

Great stuff!! A question for me is Star Carr considered an actual settlement in the "hamlet" or early town sense? Or more like a Hunter-Gatherer permanent encampment and if so, would someone who knows explain to this non-archaeologist the difference?

[@dennishill2030]

very good episode.

[@jamesmonoghan1281]

Scotland's oldest Pictish fort so far!

[@jkellner3]

Dig dig dig!

[@Kusoka1]

Alice could recite the phone book and I’d be glued to the screen.

[@belindawalker3120]

The "scribbles" on the "stone age"" pendant look like it could be a form of Ogham writing. Is that a possibility in the stone age time that this form of writing was used?

[@dinarusso3320]

It looks exactly like it, very possible

[@lnbjr7]

Wish they would have been able to show the cleaned up Cross and it’s chain….

[@tirol10643]

the content is very interesting

[@wandapease-gi8yo]

Since the area is getting more acidic due to a lower water table are they watering the area to try and hold things until they can get to them?

[@kevinfoster1138]

I believe that it's highly probable that they wore those antlers while hunting as well as rituals.

[@quesoestbonne]

The pendant could be a map of field workings, long rectangular fields being common for crops,, maybe counting crops from them. A hole through to attach a cord so it doesn't get lost. It would be useful to have records of crops year to year.

[@johnjacobs1625]

Nice !

[@LawrenceMclean]

It is possible that those in the Arras mass grave were (or decedents of) people who had fought the Romans in Gaul and lost, and escaped the Roman genocide to Britain.

[@joestitz239]

Blows me away just to wonder exactly where the souls are today.

[@drew2324]

Some of them walk amongst us.

[@danyellejorgensen4970]

Excuse me...but don't the markings on the pendant look like Ogham? It might be worth a shoofty by a a translator.

[@hagvaktok]

Pendant at 10:39 showing the detail of the little lines coming off the longer ones. A tree? Or counting?

[@matthoward7645]

Ogam

[@giovanni5063]

Sweet Marie, the amount of bone, human or otherwise, that resides inside vaults in the UK must comprise the greatest Ossuary in Europe. Every bone that emerges from the dirt is caressed and cared for. What would the ancients think of that? Perhaps 23 centuries from now archeologists may come across my remains and what would they make of them? Is it right that we disturb the bones of the ancestors just to satisfy our curiosity? When is it right to start digging in the graves of the 20th century?

[@harbourdogNL]

"Is it right that we disturb the bones of the ancestors just to satisfy our curiosity?" Yes, of course. It's not just idle curiosity, it's pursuit of knowledge. And any time is a good time to "disturb" bones. As far as I'm concerned, the graves of Elizabeth I, and Henry the VIII, and all those kings and queens should be opened an analysed. Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's are untouched sources of archaeology that's is just being neglected. Even Nelson's tomb should be opened and documented.

[@mikeokeefe2014]

Silly fellow had a treasure...but good on him for handing it over

[@drew2324]

He sold the treasure and came to a deal of halving the money with the church who owned the field. He's a very rich man because of that find.

[@jaym528]

I remember digging holes 🕳 in our backyard where we used to live

[@nforne]

That’s absolutely fascinating, thank you.

[@richardbriggs1593]

The pattern on the pendent is a map!! A field map.

[@neatchipops3428]

@36:00 ...bloke doesn't want to say Pictish LION... hahaha

[@drew2324]

The mane he mentions could actually be describing a wolf rather than a lion.

[@Alesya81]

Can imagine realizing that you live right next an ancient burial? 😮

[@KernowekTim]

As a long-time metal detectorist I find it hard to equate with the fact that a large silver ingot hoard came back as an Fe "grunt": At the excavated depth show. I'd say the machine was set up wrong. Luckily, Derek is a 'dig 'em all' detectorist. That much silver, at that depth, should return a strident non Fe tone. Big Fe does the same; sometimes with an 'over-load' "scream".

[@jamesmay6035]

Surely any image on the pendant should most likely be interpreted with the mount hole oriented to the top? Or maybe with it at the bottom, so as to be viewed by the wearer? (The "tree", as described, would be sideways when in use.)

[@TwdlD]

The smaller markings on the pendant almost look like Ogham.

[@anaryl]

Oo aye, love me some Alice on a Thoorsdey

[@daveparnell3886]

Just a small quarie, why are the archeologists meeting by candle light to discuss this amazing find ? Lol

[@MarshalRevan]

At 18:25 you guys say Coenwulf is a viking king of Mercia, he was an Anglo Saxon so that's a bit of an error there! Vikings likely raided his kingdom and either stole that horde or were bribed so they'd bugger off!

[@feralfae-qh6vi]

I wonder if the material in the new trench was what People left behind when they had to move. And deer skulls and hides were often worn during hunting, as camouflage, and highly effective. Some early cultures used horns, hides and other camouflage to move more easily toward prey. Especially in the ages of clubs, spears and perhaps atlatls, closer was better in hunting. All the local deer herds might have been decimated and the group may have moved on. I wonder....

[@jlgordey]

trimmed antlers do not necessarily mean ritual...they could have been trimmed so the pieces taken off could become tools. The rest may have been placed, not as "offerings" but simply to supply better footing along the lakes edge. So many reasons, we don't really know. Think practically, not always ritually...

[@maramé.r]

They may be some people who would be a bit unsettled if they knew their new home and neighbourhood was built over a cemetery, though in reality this is probably very common given the numbers buried over time

[@angussoutter7824]

3-4 Ad wow Alba been a thing a lot longer than they thought first time

[@drew2324]

Crazy to think that there are ppl in the metal detecting community ( yes, there is one) that are jealous of the guy who found the viking silver then when u realise it made him a very rich man ( he halved the profit with the church that owned the field) then maybe not so hard to understand !

[@ktulurob]

the pendant really looks like there's a good bit of Ogham script or maybe a proto ogham. 11000yo writing would be unique.

[@RotGoblin]

I love these videos, but the Galloway Hoard is from Balmaghie near Castle Douglas, in Galloway (hence the Galloway Hoard) not Dumfries, which is NOT in Galloway.

[@GaryNoone-jz3mq]

Each time I see evidence of ancient religion, I am convinced that these people believed in their religion every bit as much as those who believe in religion today. Personally, I don't believe in any religion. But I am amazed at how modern religions have no respect for those who came before.

[@stephanieyee9784]

I think these ancient people had a greater belief in their gods as they were so tightly tied to nature.

[@pollyb.4648]

I think ancient peoples didn't understand nature and invented "gods" to explain it. Now that we do understand natural phenomena gods aren't needed anymore. Time for our species to Grow Up and stop the artificial divisions these beliefs create!!

[@Irisdlv]

​@stephanieyee9784 speak for yourself. I have a very strong belief in my God and a very personal relationship with Him. I know many people who do. I'm sorry that you don't have that experience in your life but maybe that is because your god is your modern life and that is who you are trusting in. Just something to consider.

[@mattliamjack3293]

Ahreed, not much difference between popes hat and antler cap, symbol of important individual..

[@Simon-xc6iy]

​@@Irisdlvyou are jumping to conclusions, don't worry about those that don't believe stories in books

[@johnmcnulty4425]

What a lovely and charming accent she has!

[@gittarollke3102]

From what part of Britain doesAlice come from?

[@navveteran9944]

Or it could have been an hunting camp, with the deer skull cap used to draw in rutting animals into spear range.

[@dinarusso3320]

😊 possible

[@gregedmand9939]

Anyone know where all 11+ seasons of Digging for Britain can be found?

[@jont8707]

Just click the channel and go to play list it's there

[@gregedmand9939]

@jont8707 You must have a different YT than I do.

[@jont8707]

No it's the channel this episode is on just got to there main page it has a playlist for digging for Britain

[@gregedmand9939]

@@jont8707 There are just 11 EPISODES listed there. But there are more than 10 SEASONS of Digging for Britain out there somewhere! These 11 episodes have just whetted my appetite. I want to see all of them. Don't you? 🤔 I can only watch old Time Team episodes so many times.

[@jont8707]

@@gregedmand9939 oh shit didn't know that ok my bad and yes I'd love to see them all lol

[@DavidHoodEdinburgh]

A lot of references to 'Britain' when such an entity dint exist. Eg. 'The discovery of Britain's earliest Pictish fort', should be 'Scotland's earliest'.

[@comanchio1976]

Yes we should use the word that the Mesolithic people used for the island. I'll jest send an email back in time 11,000 years and get back to you...

[@robcall5182]

Your new house is on top of an ancient iron age burial ground, I'm sure it will be fine. I bet that's not advertised in the brochure.

[@dinarusso3320]

😮. I would imagine there are plenty of haunted houses due to the energy holding onto these ancient sites with modern houses over top of them

[@robcall5182]

@@dinarusso3320 I'm pretty sure I'm currently living on top of one, well there's a 15th century church in front of the building I'm in, no graveyard. The building I am in is behind the church. Hmmmmm, or should I say whoooo hoooooo:)

[@dinarusso3320]

@@robcall5182 be careful buddy. Try lighting sage and walking around telling whatever might be there, it's your home and they're not welcome.

[@delinquentinparadise]

Archaeology should be split into two parts. The first part should deal with Pre Flood history and the second part should deal with Post flood history. The fact that there was a great flood is now proven to be beyond any doubt, yet we know little of history prior to that flood. And the reason for that is that Archaeologists refuse to accept evidence that points to civilisations that existed prior to those timelines as set out by Amateur Archaeologists in the 1800’s.

[@daleswart6953]

It's either a map or a chart a star chart

[@PaulBlake-x6s]

So . . . maybe Arras France to Arras Yorkshire? . . . and also Rhynie in Tain, Scotland, could be another Pictish clan leader site?

[@dennisfraser6896]

Rhynie is a small village near Huntly Aberdeenshire.Tain is aTown north of Inverness.

[@MrBazzabee]

101......Hey, 101....that's a big number is that....101.

[@theotherandrew5540]

How are these artefacts cleaned?

[@phil.southafrica8295]

The antlers? Maybe a stag party that got out of hand.

[@Garwfechan-ry5lk]

Arras is a Brythonic name and the French people there were still speaking Welsh in the 16th Century the French called it Gallois, Ypres Calais Paris Morlais Falaise Caen Amiens Rennes , as a person who has many French friends I can tell you they know they were British!

[@darrylwatson-wl4fc]

Why do i see that pendant with lines in it as showing where someone resided at that site? Just my thoughts

[@MareePennells]

My first thought was map

[@peterbuckley1794]

That's why a thistle grows in my yard every summer

[@robinmabbott7334]

29:52 Where are the symbol stones ? Why were they removed . Dunnotter Castle . We used to play there as kids before it was taken over by know it all wise men . We always knew that Dunnotter was a Pictish Kings castle We didn't need a team of archaeologists to tell us

[@linjoy9627]

The Pictish site beside Dunottor Castle just outside of Stonehaven and 16 miles from Aberdeen is in NOT in the Northern Alantic, It's in The North Sea. If they can get such a simple fact wrong, it makes me wonder what else they've gotten wrong?

[@drew2324]

They get facts wrong and they also make up that which they don't know. It's all purely speculation and the only thing that is factual about it is that they do not know !!!

[@jimplummer4879]

The Pics are the big unknown

[@Dishfire101]

Picts

[@StuartAnderson-xl4bo]

Not in rural Aberdeenshire the CE are present lol Dun Echt an Abra Aber du Dee.

[@derekporter7658]

We're still around! We never went away! This is our flag 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 and the Scottii merged with us.

[@johnpurcell7525]

Starr Carr iron AGE

[@Garwfechan-ry5lk]

The Celtic word for king is Brenyn and would have been the same with the Picts.

[@sillybollox2244]

Most of the old Celtic words for king begin with 'ri', so 'rhynie man' follows that pattern. Brenyn derives from 'outstanding person', but is also used to mean king. The Welsh use it, but also have alternatives beginning with 'ri'. Pictish is believed to be similar to Gaulish and old southern Brittonic. Gaulish for king is rix. Latin, rex. Proto Indo European: hregs. Sanskrit: Rājan (quite similar to rhynie!).

[@garymcatear822]

There is not a single piece of evidence that says the Picts were Celts, researchers are only speculating by saying they must have been Celts. The Picts ancestors were the builders of the first stone circles, and those pre-date the Celts arriving in Scotland by thousands of years.

[@sillybollox2244]

@garymcatear822 Pictish place names reflect Brittonic 'Celtic' language. Genetics show that the current Scots (including subsumed Picts), Irish, Welsh and Cornish are not that distinct from each other. We're talking about a small geographical area that contains people made up from various waves of incomers - you can't say the Picts had one ancestral group who built stone circles. The term 'Celtic' was over applied by the Victorians, and it stuck, but it's not exactly accurate - 'Celtic' may apply to languages and cultural styles more accurately than it applies to genetics and origins.

[@garymcatear822]

@@sillybollox2244 Like i said there is not a shred of real evidence that proves the Picts were Celtic...only speculation and assumption.

[@sillybollox2244]

@garymcatear822 Who knows what the oldest Pictish language was - it might have been an isolate, but they spoke a 'Celtic' language at the time that the Rhynie Man was carved, so the post you responded to was logical, it's just that there are a few different words that can be used for 'King'...

[@joestitz239]

Find that kings burial, find that crown-i bet is there

[@pcka12]

Yet more building on greenfield sites! There is the usual endless expression of surprise that women were not treated as downtrodden & disregard people in ancient cultures!

[@johnadey9464]

Perhaps the antlers and deer skins were used to impersonate deer allowing them sneak up close while hunting.

[@matthewc4590]

The headdresses could possibly have been used by people to disguise themselves whilst hunting deer.

[@justdoingitjim7095]

Pets (mostly dogs) of our family have been buried on our property for decades. I'm sure that sometime in the distant future when some archaeologists discover the foundations of our homes, they will declare that it was some kind of holy shrine or temple and that we offered ritual animal sacrifices to the gods! LOL, archaeologists will attribute anything to religion!

[@StuartAnderson-xl4bo]

That's because burials are religious unless by inundation and those are obvious. If it wasn't for religion people would be thrown out like rubbish or eaten its religion that determines how your corpse is dealt with

[@justdoingitjim7095]

@@StuartAnderson-xl4bo Your whole post is about burying people. My post didn't say a thing about burying people. Pet and animal burials aren't religious. In ancient times animals that were sacrificed weren't buried with religion in mind. Dog and cats were buried as companions in the afterlife. Horses were buried to be used in the afterlife. Livestock was buried to provide food in the afterlife. Any animals that were sacrificed that weren't buried were eaten!

[@gumshoe2273]

I have daughters. If they excavate my house in a thousand years, they will be convinced we worshiped a goddess represented by all the 13" slim, disproportionate, blonde plastic statues dressed in revealing sequenced gowns they find.

[@ava.artemis]

@@StuartAnderson-xl4boThat’s not necessarily true at all. I suppose you think only religious people love their families or place meaning on either life or death.

[@gumshoe2273]

I keep wondering if they will ever find a pile of skeletons from that missing Roman Legion.

[@cg256y9]

Referring to the final dig I think it is fantastic that in UK they do an archaeological dig before construction of a housing subdivision begins. Here in USA they just rape the land with bulldozers to throw up strip malls and suburban sprall. 😢

[@trikepilot101]

I am sure if they found human remains construction would be halted. Funerary practices (excarnation) on this side of the pond didn't often lead to preservation.

[@moemuggy4971]

How long should you wait before you did up a cemetery, and it not be considered grave robbing?

[@tomnicholson2115]

5 minutes after everyone has forgotten it was there! If you then send the goods found to museums or other information studying places it's not grave robbing, if you take stuff to the nearest pawn shop though, you are a grave robber!