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00:00Britain-ings. This is Butzer, a wonderful reconstruction of an ancient farm in Hampshire.
00:07And here I'm going to go back through the British Ages, through the Iron Age, the Bronze Age and the
00:14Stone Age.
00:16I'm setting out to show that the early Brits were well organised, spiritual and technologically advanced Europeans,
00:23long before the Romans came and changed everything.
00:31Marty Jopson is here with me at Butzer to explore some of the early British inventions,
00:38while Jamie Darling is out and about all over the country, finding out what it was like to be an
00:44ancient Briton.
01:18This is an Iron Age roundhouse. Come and have a look inside.
01:24Wow, it's really comfortable. Look, with beds all the way around the outside, animal skins on the floor, fire in
01:30the middle.
01:31I suppose you could call it central heating, really, couldn't you?
01:34Oh, great, those should burn well.
01:36The Iron Age was the culmination of early human development on these islands.
01:42So just how ancient can you get?
01:46Did you know that a recent discovery takes us much further back than anyone had believed possible?
01:52700,000 years to the windy coast of Norfolk.
02:07While out walking on his local beach, Mike Chambers spotted what turned out to be a hugely significant object from
02:14earliest prehistoric times,
02:15something that you or I might just have passed by.
02:19Well, I saw this straight line, and to be honest, straight lines in nature are so rare that it drew
02:25my attention to it.
02:26This is exactly the way I found it.
02:29Mike has buried a replica to show us how he made his discovery.
02:34I'll tell you what, why don't you have a go?
02:36I'd love to have a go.
02:37Tell me if I'm doing it horribly wrong.
02:39I'm just amazed that your eyesight is this good, because that to me doesn't look like much at all, until
02:45you do that.
02:46And it is an absolutely beautiful object.
02:55Mike had found a complete flint hand axe.
02:59It was between six and seven hundred thousand years old, and it's the earliest man-made tool ever found in
03:05northwest Europe.
03:07The original is now a precious and much-studied museum piece.
03:13Did your heart start to beat faster as you gradually realised what you found?
03:17Well, it did really, but I mean, I didn't realise the significance of it at the time.
03:21Basically, at that stage, I didn't realise how old it was.
03:23It was only later that I realised that the last guy to have touched this probably died 700,000 years
03:28ago.
03:29Can you actually comprehend that kind of a number?
03:32How does that number sort of go into your head?
03:35Well, it doesn't really, but don't stop me on the great-granddad, great-great-great-granddad story.
03:40But, I mean, it could take half an hour to get through that before you realise how old that guy
03:44was.
03:46This beautiful early tool is so sharp you could carve your Sunday lunch with it.
03:58Sunday lunch in the Stone Age could well have been a deer.
04:03John Lord is a master flint napper, a maker of flint tools, and he knows exactly what this material can
04:11do.
04:18That is amazingly sharp, isn't it?
04:21Like a razor. It really is like a razor.
04:24Just going straight through that skin.
04:26Now, is this knife designed just for skinning?
04:30No.
04:30This will dismember this animal and disjoint it.
04:35It will even soar into the bone.
04:37That is pretty terrifying, that edge, isn't it?
04:39It is.
04:39It's the Stone Age Swiss army knife, in fact, isn't it?
04:42Now, you can't buy those in your hardware store.
04:44No.
04:45OK, so how do you come by them?
04:46Well, they'd have to go select a good raw material.
04:49Right.
04:49And sit down and make one.
04:51OK, show me.
04:53Now, there's going to be a lot of sharp bits coming off, aren't there?
04:56That's right.
04:56Go on, then, show me what you do.
04:58Flint napping looks easy, but isn't.
05:01It took John years to master, and it still takes a good long time to craft something as intricate as
05:07a hand axe.
05:08So you're just striking at the edge.
05:09That's right.
05:10And gradually reducing it.
05:16The Norfolk hand axe would have been made by our Stone Age ancestor, Homo heidelbergensis.
05:23At that time, Britain was joined to the continent and half covered in ice sheets, so these ancestors would have
05:30been moving across the whole of Europe.
05:33Over hundreds of thousands of years, as ice ages came and went, our species evolved, and so did our skills,
05:42until eventually we had a versatile Stone Age toolkit.
05:47For instance, sharp, elegant knives, made from the offcuts from the flint napping.
05:53Useful drills, made from the tiniest pieces of flint.
05:58Other pointed pieces could be used to scrape antler and bone, to make harpoons and sewing needles for clothes, even
06:05to carve pictures on stones and in caves.
06:09And bigger pieces, like our hand axe, could be mounted in a half.
06:13Well, you'd certainly get a good wallop out of that one, wouldn't you?
06:16You can really swing on that.
06:19What's really extraordinary is that if you could pack the whole of human toolmaking into one hour, then for the
06:26first 59 minutes, all the tools would be stone and flint.
06:32These early tools, were what our ancestors used, not only to stay alive, but to change the face of Britain.
06:41The last ice age ended here about 8000 BC, and that was when Britain became an island.
06:52As the climate warmed up, vast forests grew and covered every part of the land.
06:59Slowly, our ancestors, who up to then had been hunter-gatherers, began to settle.
07:05They used their intelligence and their tools to clear the forests and make space to live, to make homes.
07:16They settled all over the British Isles.
07:20Hardly any houses remain, but on an island off Scotland are some of the earliest surviving homes in the world.
07:42This is the mainland of Orkney, a group of islands off the northeast tip of Scotland, easily visible from John
07:50O'Groats.
07:51About 150 years ago, there was a terrific storm, and the wind was so violent that it ripped the turf
07:58off the sand dunes right here on the western edge of the island,
08:01and exposed one of the most extraordinary archaeological sites in the entire United Kingdom.
08:09It's called Skara Brae, and it's one of the oldest collections of dwellings ever found in Northern Europe.
08:16People started settling here 5000 years ago.
08:20That's before Stonehenge, before even the Egyptian pyramids.
08:23And what's more, all the houses are the same.
08:26I reckon it may be the first ever housing estate.
08:31There could have been many settlements like this all over Britain.
08:34But we find very little evidence, as they would mostly have been made of wood, which doesn't survive in our
08:40climate.
08:41We're tremendously lucky to have these houses.
08:43They help us to realise how advanced these early settlers were.
08:51They must have been narrower than me, those Stonehenge people.
08:57Wow, well here it is.
08:59A stone house.
09:00A fireplace in the middle of the floor.
09:02And opposite the door, a wonderful dresser for showing off all their prized bits and pieces.
09:10And what's rather nice is it's built with basic woodworking techniques.
09:14So it looks as if the people who came here had known woodworking in the past.
09:18Came here there was no wood and they had to use stone, which is why everything is so beautifully preserved.
09:23And this is a seat for a really important person, because it's next to the fire and away from the
09:28door, where the draught would be, and also next to the dresser.
09:32Over here, a bed.
09:35A wonderful box bed with a bedside shelf.
09:38And interestingly, this bed is just a little bit smaller than this one on this side.
09:43It's the same in every house.
09:45As you come in the door, the one on the right is the bigger bed, and it's thought that probably
09:48Dad slept here and Mum over there.
10:00Now here is something really exciting.
10:03This is a modern manhole cover, but at the bottom there is a stone age drain.
10:07It's got stone walls on either side and clay at the bottom, so it's completely waterproof.
10:12And it's arranged so that whenever the rain falls, it goes sluishing down here and washes away anything.
10:18It goes all the way under all these houses, and it goes down towards the sea.
10:22Absolutely amazing.
10:23And this was 3,000 years before Julius Caesar came to the country.
10:34Now, come over here, because this, for me, is the most fabulous thing on the whole site.
10:39Here, in the corner of every house, there is a little cubicle, if you like, and in the middle of
10:44the floor, there's a hole, which goes straight down into that drain.
10:48This is a lavatory.
10:51These lavatories at Scarabray are almost certainly the oldest lavatories in the world.
11:04The ancient Scots were not just great practical home builders.
11:09They must also have had a rich spiritual life, judging by the marvellously constructed monuments on Orkney and elsewhere.
11:19The Ring of Brodgar is just one of hundreds of stone circles that have been discovered all around Britain, ranging
11:27in date from about 3000 to 1600 BC.
11:33It's generally agreed that these monuments were centres of gathering and ritual, where the people worshipped the two great heavenly
11:41bodies, the sun and the moon.
11:56The Ring of Brodgar is just one of the most famous, the most famous and the most visited of all
11:59stone circles, is Stonehenge.
12:02Every year, thousands of people go there to see the sun rise on the summer solstice.
12:07But there's another ancient circle just near Stonehenge.
12:13This is the wee small hours on the 21st of June, and it's the summer solstice.
12:19But I'm not heading to join the druids and the other worshippers watching the sun go up.
12:24No, I'm heading away from the crowds to watch the sun come up over a different henge that not many
12:30people know about.
12:30And it's just down the road from here.
12:32What is it?
12:59Woodhenge, just a couple of miles down the road from Stonehenge,
13:02but it's a lot more peaceful.
13:06And this is where I've elected to watch the sun come up.
13:10It's cold, though.
13:14The short concrete posts here are markers for the original wooden posts
13:18that formed six concentric circles.
13:22The sun should come up directly behind me,
13:25marked by these two posts.
13:28And this that I'm running along should be the line of axes for the summer solstice.
13:35So, as long as we're not too late, I'm going to watch the sun come up from here.
13:45It's now about 4 o'clock.
13:47It's about 10 minutes before the sun comes up.
13:50And you can already see the sea of concrete posts.
13:54Back 4,000 years ago, they would all have been tree trunks towering over my head.
14:01Can you just imagine what that must have looked like?
14:06Some people believe that the whole site was roofed and that the wooden posts were supports.
14:11Others speculate that it was almost a collection of totem poles festooned with animal bones and skulls.
14:17What we do know is that Woodhenge was a very important centre for worship and feasting.
14:32The sun has come out in between those two pillars.
14:51That is the spot and that is this.
14:53The central axis of the summer solstice.
15:03Sites like Woodhenge and Stonehenge had huge significance for generations of ancient Britons.
15:09But understanding how they worked with the movements of the sun is not a completely simple matter.
15:17I'm here to explore the sunrise and sunset.
15:21And as usual, when I'm doing anything with the sun, it's pouring with rain.
15:24Anyway, in order to try and demonstrate how it works, we've built our own wooden circle.
15:29And Marty, who's almost like a sun to me, is the sun over there.
15:33And he's exactly east of me, which is where most people think the sun rises.
15:38But actually, most of the time, it doesn't.
15:41First of all, let's look at the midsummer sunrise.
15:44Marty, that way, that way, further north, further north.
15:48Go on, go on, go on.
15:51Stop! Right, stop there.
15:52Quinton, can you come in and plant a flag, a red flag for midsummer sunrise?
15:57So, midsummer sunrise is almost northeast.
16:01It's not east at all, almost northeast.
16:04Okay, flag in.
16:05Now, round you go.
16:07The sun goes round that way.
16:08It rises and goes diagonally up into the sky.
16:12Go on, round, go on, get a move on.
16:14Oh, the wind's blowing.
16:15No, it's due south midday.
16:17It's going to be a long afternoon, this.
16:19That's west, but it's going further than that.
16:21Further, further, further.
16:25Stop!
16:25That is midsummer sunset.
16:28Another flag, please, Quinton.
16:29The other red flag.
16:30And you see that the sun has gone almost three quarters of a circle.
16:35It's a very long way round the horizon.
16:38Now we'll have a look at midwinter.
16:40Marty, if you could go midwinter sunrise.
16:42And then on to the sunset, please, for you.
16:47Steady, steady.
16:49Stop.
16:49Flag, please, Quinton.
16:51And you'll see the sun actually does a very different path through the sky in summer and in winter.
16:57And this may have led to a fascinating misunderstanding.
17:00In the past, people have believed that the most obvious alignment at Stonehenge, and indeed Woodhenge, is towards midsummer sunrise.
17:11That's why thousands of people go to Stonehenge in June to watch the sun climbing over the horizon.
17:20But what's very interesting is that that is exactly opposite midwinter sunset.
17:25Look, midsummer sunrise, the lion goes straight through me to midwinter sunset.
17:33And it seems to me equally likely that those ancient people were interested in the midwinter sunset than in the
17:40midsummer sunrise.
17:41There are two reasons for that.
17:43First, a religious reason.
17:44They were praying to the gods that the new year would come and the days would get warmer again.
17:49And second, an agricultural reason.
17:51They wanted to know when the shortest day was, and therefore when they could think about planting the crops for
17:57the new year.
17:58People have always had a celebration at the end of the year, and most of us now call it Christmas.
18:03So I reckon that all the people who come and look at the midsummer sunrise are actually pointing in exactly
18:09the wrong direction.
18:09And at the wrong time of the year.
18:12They should be looking at the midwinter sunset instead.
18:20These circles are a sign that the ancient Britons who made them were thoroughly settled.
18:25You don't invest that amount of effort in something unless you're planning to stick around.
18:30Long before they built Stonehenge, Britons had learned how to cultivate the land and to create the great British staple,
18:38a loaf of bread.
18:40Marty's going to make one. Step one, get a plough!
18:45Right, there you go. One plough. Ard.
18:48Now, this is the business end. That's the bit that goes in the ground.
18:51That's the bit I'm going to steer with, that end.
18:53And this end, I'm going to need some help with.
18:56So you guys over there. Just hold it there.
19:01The plough must have had a revolutionary effect on farming, dramatically increasing productivity.
19:07It's hard to know when the first plough appeared.
19:09The earliest so far found has been dated to around 800 or 900 BC, but plough marks in the land
19:15have been estimated to be as early as 4000 BC.
19:21Doing really well, these guys. Might get a sugar lump when we're finished or something like that.
19:31It's thought that early ploughs were pulled by humans, but you can see why they quickly moved on to using
19:37oxen.
19:40Oh, slow down a little bit. Oh, they're too frisky, these guys.
19:45OK, so the seeds are sown. Just a few months to wait.
19:54The earliest crop to mature is autumn sown barley, but the ancients liked wheat best because it was more nutritious,
20:02made good bread and could be grown in most areas of Britain.
20:08Once they'd harvested the wheat, they thrashed it to break up the corn from its stalks.
20:14Hey, look, I think it's starting to work. See all this stuff? This is all the chaff.
20:19And in here, see, there's loads of seeds, loads of grain working.
20:28Then winnowing, sorting the wheat from the chaff.
20:31The idea, you throw this up in the air, chaff blows away, it's going that way, and all we're left
20:37with is the grain, which I then can go off and make bread with.
20:53Now, the next stage is to grind up the grain to make flour, and Marty's using a rotary quern.
20:59You see, the grain goes in the top there, and as it goes around, it comes out the sides of
21:05flour.
21:05Before that, we used to use one of these. It's a saddle quern, because it's a bit like a saddle,
21:10and you grind with a stone like this, but it's very inefficient, and most of the flour goes on the
21:15floor.
21:16So that was a huge step forward in technology.
21:19Marty, get back to the grind stand, will you?
21:32Mix a little yeasty water, they must have discovered yeast from finding something fermenting by accident.
21:42Allow your bread to rise, prepare your prehistoric clay oven, and when it's risen, pop it in.
21:51Straight in the oven.
21:59Here you go.
22:00Ah, the bread, about time two.
22:02It looks all right.
22:04Let's, ah, just take a bit and see what it tastes like.
22:12Not bad, there's a bit of grit in there, do you think you could get it a bit cleaner next
22:16time?
22:16I have to please.
22:16Yeah.
22:18Of course, once they had ovens to bake bread, they could bake other things too, like pots, plates to eat
22:25off, mugs to drink out of.
22:31Around four and a half thousand years ago, a new style of pottery appeared in Britain.
22:36There was immigration and emigration throughout prehistory, but this indicated the arrival of a particular group of settlers.
22:43They were known as the beaker people, after the special shaped beakers they made.
22:59When the grave of one of the beaker people was investigated in 2002, it yielded not only beaker pots, but
23:07something far more significant.
23:10The skeleton was buried with copper spearheads and a particular stone we now know was used in metalworking.
23:18This was a man who knew how to work a magical metal, copper.
23:24Some believe that the beaker people triggered a whole new age in Britain, which would last for around 2,000
23:31years.
23:31The Bronze Age.
23:47Prehistoric people must already have been familiar with mining the ingredients for bronze, copper and tin.
23:54But it was a clever step forward to melt them together in the right proportions to make bronze, the world's
24:01first man-made alloy.
24:05Here in my left hand is some malachite, which is a good copper ore, and in my right hand I've
24:11got some tinstone or tin oxide, which is a tin ore.
24:15And what you need to do to both of them is heat them up in a furnace with charcoal to
24:19get rid of the oxygen and reduce them to the metals, copper and tin.
24:24Then you mix them together, 90% copper, 10% tin, to make bronze.
24:28And that's what we've got in the crucible in the middle of this furnace.
24:39Once they're melted together, the copper and tin mix completely to make an alloy, which will be harder than either
24:46tin or copper on their own.
24:48And we're going to use it to make a leaf-shaped bronze sword.
24:55The molten metals are poured into the prepared stone mould.
25:00All right, I'm going to lower it down now.
25:03These days, bronze is used a little in engineering, but mostly for sculpture and bell-making.
25:09Four and a half thousand years ago, though, it was a revolutionary material with enormous potential.
25:14You can imagine the finished sword as an ancient Britain's prized possession.
25:19And this is what it's going to look like when it's finished. Isn't that fantastic?
25:29The discovery of how to make bronze led to dramatic leaps forward in British technology, not only in weapons, but
25:36also in tools.
25:39The Bronze Age brought all the advantages of metal.
25:42With bronze tools, people found it much easier to make and build things, like this beautiful roundhouse.
25:48And do you know, we've lived in roundhouses for far longer than we've lived in square or rectangular ones.
25:54We're virtually the only people in Europe who made our houses round.
25:59A lot more design and engineering goes into making a roundhouse than you might imagine.
26:07I'm here in Somerset at the Pete Moores Centre near Glastonbury.
26:12And this is where people used to live in prehistoric times on what were known as the Somerset Levels.
26:18Now, why am I here? Well, I'm here because they are building a roundhouse from scratch.
26:22So it's a wonderful opportunity to see one of these structures going up from the ground up.
26:35They tell me that this takes a total of about 100 trees to build one of these.
26:53Eddie Wills is director of the Pete Moores Centre.
26:57What we're doing at the moment is starting off by putting these wall posts in.
27:02And then having done that and infilled afterwards, we're going to start working on the wattling.
27:07So this is hazel rods that we'll be weaving in and out between the upright posts.
27:13And that's what gives the wall its strength and rigidity.
27:25Well, as you can see, the roundhouse is starting to look round.
27:29All the posts are in.
27:30We've got this distinct circular structure and another process is beginning.
27:36And, Keith, I reckon this is the wattling process. Am I right?
27:40Yes, you're right.
27:40Well, can I give you a hand doing this?
27:42Yes, of course you can.
27:43Is it purely a process of just weaving it basket-like?
27:45Yes, just alternately.
27:46OK.
27:47If you start on this side with this one.
27:49Yep.
27:50Over there we go to alternate sides.
27:52So in there.
27:52And then in there.
27:53And out there.
27:54Gotcha.
27:54So roundly.
27:56So roundly.
27:58So roundly.
28:11Although there's good archaeological evidence for the foundations of the roundhouses, there's
28:15not a lot to go on when it comes to the roofs.
28:18Thatch is the obvious roofing material, but what sort of angle would have been right?
28:22Marty's experimenting with two roofs at different angles,
28:26both tied up with fine string.
28:29Now, the thing is, if you have a shallow angle of roof,
28:32like this house here,
28:33you obviously get, for a given length of timber,
28:35a much bigger house, which you'd think was a great thing.
28:39But the problem comes when you start loading the roof.
28:42And what I've got here is just a way of loading these roofs.
28:46I start putting these washers on, like this.
28:50Gradually add them.
28:51I'm not sure how many it's going to take.
28:53And these represent, obviously, the weight of the roof,
28:56the snow, any sort of birds nesting in the roof.
28:59Add a few more.
29:01I mean, that's not many washers.
29:04And if I put them on here,
29:08well, this roundhouse takes it easily.
29:10In fact, this roundhouse will take loads more washers.
29:13And the reason it takes so many washers
29:16is simply because of the angle.
29:19Put a few more on, see if it'll take this many.
29:22It's pretty impressive, really, compared to that one.
29:25And the thing is, with this house,
29:27because it's got a steeper angle,
29:28that weight is being distributed more efficiently to the ground.
29:32Whereas on this one,
29:34all that weight is just being pushed sideways,
29:36and it collapses.
29:37And it turns out that 45 degrees
29:40is about the best angle you can get for a roundhouse,
29:43because it optimises the size of the roundhouse
29:46for a given length of timber.
29:47It optimises the weight-bearing abilities of the roundhouse.
29:51And it also is really great at shedding the rain.
29:54So, all in all, a great British invention.
30:04So, the roof at Pete Moores is at exactly 45 degrees.
30:08The battens are tied onto the rafters.
30:11And the wood skeleton will support a top layer of thatch.
30:23Three months after starting,
30:25the roundhouse is almost finished.
30:31There's just the fun part of slapping mud onto the wattle.
30:35It's called daubing,
30:37to make the walls secure and free from draughts.
30:48There's an interesting thing about this house.
30:50It doesn't have a chimney.
30:52Given that there was always a fire in the middle,
30:55for warmth and for cooking,
30:57you'd have expected a hole in the top of the roof.
31:00Marty's with Christine Shaw, director of Butser,
31:03and they're going to see what would happen
31:04if you did have a chimney.
31:06So, Christine, now, I've been doing some experiments
31:08with roofs of roundhouses,
31:11and I've been wondering about chimneys.
31:13Well, what I've got here,
31:14which I thought we could maybe test this,
31:16is that it's just a ring wall,
31:17which is kind of, imagine this is the wall here of the roundhouse.
31:19There's a little entrance here, that's your porch,
31:21and I've got just a gas burner here.
31:25I'll try it like that.
31:25We can always turn it up a little bit more if you need.
31:27Can you pop that over?
31:30Oh, that's right.
31:32Oh, well, you can see the...
31:33Well, it's immediately starting to char.
31:34I mean, the temperature at the top there,
31:36according to this, you can see,
31:38what we're getting?
31:39300 degrees?
31:40Yes, but you can see from here
31:41the amount of air that's coming up
31:43and absolutely whistling through that hole.
31:45So you're getting a sort of a draft, aren't you?
31:47It's sucking air in at the bottom
31:48and you're blowing it at the top.
31:50Yes, yes.
31:51And presumably, so you're talking sparks then?
31:53Oh, yes, you would.
31:54Would be a problem.
31:54You've got a little bit of thatch here.
31:57Yes, so the temperature in that vent
31:59is hot enough to burn very, very readily.
32:01And, um...
32:02Oh, there it goes.
32:03That's it.
32:04Excellent.
32:05OK.
32:06And that's not what you want to happen, really, is it?
32:08Hang on.
32:08No.
32:09I've got some water here.
32:12We did set fire to a roundhouse once
32:14just to see how quickly it would burn.
32:16Really?
32:16And you have about four minutes to get out of there.
32:19Oh, yes, there it goes.
32:21Disastrous.
32:22Hold on.
32:23Tip that on the floor.
32:24Wow.
32:25If having a chimney was too dangerous,
32:28what did happen to the smoke?
32:29The smoke just gathers up in the top of the cone.
32:34It gradually filters out through the individual straw stems.
32:38But in doing so, it creates a layer of carbon dioxide,
32:42which actually has the effect of dampening the sparks.
32:45So as the sparks fly up, they hit that layer...
32:48There's not enough oxygen.
32:49That's so clever.
32:51So, not much call for chimneys in prehistoric Britain.
33:01Once we had functional, safe homes in settled communities,
33:05we had time to think about decorating.
33:07Not just our homes, but ourselves.
33:10And the most powerful did it with gold.
33:16Gold could be found in various parts of Britain,
33:18but the richest source of the raw material
33:21and of skilled craftsmanship was Ireland.
33:23Some really extraordinary finds have been made there.
33:29In the Bronze Age, these were not worn just to impress the neighbours.
33:33These were worn as a status symbol.
33:35The guy or the girl that wore these was rich,
33:38or at least very, very important.
33:40We're talking a somebody.
33:44Much of the prehistoric gold in this collection
33:46at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin
33:48might well have been made by one of my direct ancestors
33:52and with Irish gold found in the hills and streams of the country.
34:15You see that up there?
34:16That is Croke Patrick.
34:18And this whole mountainside is littered with quartz.
34:21And where you find quartz,
34:23you often find gold.
34:26And most of the Bronze Age gold that we've seen,
34:28we suspect, has come from these hills.
34:30But to be honest,
34:31it's very unlikely that we're going to find any gold on the surface
34:35if this place has been extensively mined over the last 4,000 years.
34:39But there is a better way.
34:42Let the mountain streams do the mining for you.
35:04Needless to say,
35:05I don't have the faintest idea how to do gold panning,
35:07but I'm lucky enough to have Vince Thurkettle,
35:10who is the president of the World Gold Panning Association,
35:13right here in this stream.
35:15Vince, how are you?
35:16Hello.
35:17You look wet.
35:19You're just in time.
35:21Those buckets have got to go just above that waterfall.
35:23What, just empty the...
35:25Yeah, there should be gold in those.
35:26Okay.
35:27I want to get rich,
35:28but I don't want to do too much hard work.
35:30So what are we doing?
35:32We're replicating the most likely technique
35:35that the ancients would have used
35:36sheepskins to recover the gold.
35:38If you get those sheepskins...
35:39Right.
35:40Okay.
35:41So, our resourceful ancestors
35:43would probably have used sheepskins
35:44to catch the gold.
35:46Let's have the neck.
35:47The sheep's wool is coated
35:48in a sticky substance called lanolin,
35:50which will trap the fine particles.
35:52It's a beauty.
35:55Look at that.
35:57Okay.
35:58We're going to put the gravel in
35:59up at the top end of the sluice,
36:01and it will shoot down.
36:03As it shoots down,
36:04the particles of gold
36:05will go down through the gravel,
36:07bounce along the sheepskin,
36:08and then get trapped in the sheepskin.
36:10And then the gravel
36:10will just wash off the surface.
36:12And these are beautiful.
36:14You know,
36:14this will catch the gold wonderfully.
36:16This may look primitive,
36:18but it's another example
36:20of just how technically advanced
36:22and efficient
36:23the ancient Britons were.
36:24Yeah, it is.
36:25As you say,
36:27it doesn't look a lot,
36:28but I tested this in Scotland once
36:30and found that over 99%
36:32of the gold had been trapped.
36:34So it's a very, very efficient system
36:36of recovering gold
36:37from a stream bed.
36:40Having literally fleeced
36:42the stream of any gold
36:43there might be,
36:44we now have to extract it.
36:46That involves vigorous shaking.
36:50Yeah, deeper if you would.
36:52Yeah.
36:53Followed by a spot of panic.
36:56So swirl it round and round and round.
36:59Get the gold near the bottom,
37:00then zigzag it a bit
37:01to sort of flatten it.
37:02And now like a wave coming up a beach,
37:05just wash the surface off.
37:06That's it.
37:07That's it.
37:09You're trying to make the gold
37:10be trapped right up in those corners.
37:12Against this little rim.
37:13That's it.
37:14And now the moment of truth.
37:17Whoa, there's some.
37:19Jamie, look.
37:19It's infinitesimal,
37:21but it's gold
37:22and we just caught it
37:24in those sheepskins.
37:26And likely we'd just start
37:28a gold rush here.
37:30I don't think so.
37:31I didn't think we would find any gold.
37:34Yeah.
37:34In prehistory,
37:35how much gold would have been here?
37:37Oh, I think,
37:39I think lots.
37:41Like really lots.
37:42Like kilos.
37:46The gold artefacts on display
37:48in Dublin
37:48aren't all made from Irish gold.
37:52Some of the gold was imported
37:54and some of the finished pieces
37:56were exported.
37:58Throughout the Bronze Age
37:59we were trading
38:00across Ireland
38:01and Britain
38:02and all over the continent.
38:04And all over the continent.
38:16So,
38:17how do we trade
38:18with the rest of the continent?
38:19How do we get ourselves
38:20and our goods,
38:21sheep,
38:22cattle,
38:22wool,
38:23metal,
38:23from here
38:24to there?
38:27Well,
38:28believe it or not,
38:29it was much easier
38:30to get to the continent
38:31than it would have been
38:32to get to London
38:32because there were no roads.
38:34You'd have to travel
38:35across really rough country
38:36through forests
38:37whereas this way
38:39all you needed
38:40was a boat.
38:46Britain's oldest known
38:48cross-channel ferry
38:49was found here in Dover
38:50right beneath my feet.
38:52It was found during excavations
38:54for this busy bypass
38:56and a day and night
38:57rescue operation
38:58was mounted
38:58to get it out.
39:00Now,
39:00this was a hugely
39:01significant find
39:02because hardly any boats
39:03have been found in Britain
39:04because wood doesn't usually
39:06survive in our soil conditions.
39:13And here it is,
39:15the Dover Bronze Age boat.
39:18It's not made out of bronze,
39:19it's sink.
39:20It's made out of oak
39:21and it's been carbon dated
39:23at 1,550 years BC.
39:28That's just over
39:29three and a half thousand years old.
39:33It's amazing to think
39:35that this was found
39:36almost entirely intact.
39:38It's just missing one end.
39:40It would have been
39:41between 11 and 13 metres long.
39:44It's called a sewn plank boat
39:46and that's because
39:47it's all sewn together
39:49with plant withies,
39:50bendable twigs from the yew tree
39:52and not a nail in sight.
39:54Nails didn't come in
39:55until the Iron Age.
40:00Even though not all of the Dover boat
40:02has been recovered,
40:03it's been worked out
40:04that a boat made in this way
40:06could have crossed
40:07the English Channel.
40:08Given a calm day,
40:10a strong crew
40:11and enough bailers,
40:12it could have carried
40:13up to three tons of cargo.
40:15That's 12 cows
40:16or 120 lambs
40:18or literally thousands
40:19of bronze axe heads.
40:24This is an artist's impression
40:26of what the boat
40:27might have looked like
40:28setting out across the Channel.
40:34But without a compass,
40:36how would they have navigated?
40:38Now, Peter Clark,
40:39you have written a book
40:40on the Dover boat
40:40and you've also looked
40:41into Bronze Age navigation.
40:43How exactly did
40:45Bronze Age boatmen navigate?
40:47Well, I think to a Bronze Age sailor,
40:50he would have been able
40:51to read the sea
40:52a bit like we read
40:53the map of the land.
40:54And the signs
40:55that he would be looking out for
40:56would be things like
40:57different species of seaweed
40:59or different animals
41:00living in different places
41:01in the sea,
41:02different colour of water,
41:04the rivers bringing sediment
41:05out from the interior.
41:07We could have talked
41:07about all that on land.
41:09Now, you've brought me
41:09out to sea for a reason
41:11and I spotted this.
41:13in the bottom.
41:14So, what is that?
41:16Well, one of the earliest things
41:18I think that people use
41:19to help them in navigation
41:20is what's called
41:21a lead and line.
41:22It's basically a very heavy weight
41:24on the end of a long rope
41:25that you can drop over
41:27the side of the boat
41:28and it goes to the bottom
41:29and you can work out
41:30from the length of the rope
41:31how deep the sea is
41:32and at the bottom here
41:33you can see
41:34you put a blob of wax
41:35and when you pull it up
41:37sticking to the bottom of it
41:40will be what's on the sea bottom.
41:42Very important to know this
41:43I think.
41:44Different parts of the sea
41:45have got sandy bottoms
41:46some have stony bottoms
41:47and by using the lead and line
41:49we can actually find out
41:51and get a pretty good idea
41:52where we are.
41:53Well, give it a whirl.
41:54Okay.
41:57We've never done this before
41:58so we're at the cutting edge
41:59of archaeological research today.
42:02That's it.
42:02Let's hit the bottom.
42:03Okay.
42:03So, is it just a matter
42:04of pulling it up now?
42:05Yep.
42:07This is the hard bit.
42:09We should be counting out
42:11markers to work out
42:12how deep it is.
42:17So, where are we?
42:19Well, there's sand
42:20on the bottom of our lead
42:20so I think we're just
42:21off the coast of Dover.
42:23And that really
42:23pinpoints our position
42:24does it?
42:25The sand at Folkestone
42:27for example
42:27a couple of miles
42:28down the coast
42:28is completely different
42:29to the sand here in Dover.
42:32The ancient Britons
42:34seem to have had
42:35a surprising knowledge
42:36of the sea.
42:37Certainly the channel
42:38wasn't much of a barrier
42:40as they traded
42:41with mainland Europe.
42:45The Bronze Age
42:46in Britain
42:46lasted over 1500 years.
42:50Then,
42:50through the wider
42:51contacts with the continent
42:52came a new technology
42:54that would transform
42:55all aspects of life
42:56including war.
43:03By the early centuries
43:04of the first millennium BC
43:05we were no longer
43:07all living
43:07in individual roundhouses.
43:09There were also communities
43:11living in large
43:12fortified settlements.
43:14and at the same time
43:16a new metal
43:17made the possibility
43:19of real
43:20organised warfare
43:21ever more lethal.
43:23That was
43:23iron.
43:28Hector Cole
43:29is a specialist
43:30in archaeological ironwork.
43:32He's making a replica
43:33of an Iron Age sword.
43:35Hello.
43:37What are you actually doing?
43:38Well,
43:38I'm selecting pieces
43:40of what we call
43:41trade bar
43:43to forge
43:44into an Iron Age
43:46sword blade.
43:47And I need to select
43:48the metal
43:49to make
43:50a good blade.
43:50I want some hard metal
43:52and I want some soft.
43:53How do you do that?
43:54I do that
43:55by dropping
43:55these trade bars.
43:56This is what
43:57the Smith
43:57would start with.
43:58So let's
43:59just listen.
44:01quite dull.
44:03Ah.
44:05Well,
44:05that sounds
44:05harder to me.
44:06Yeah,
44:07that sounds
44:07harder to me too.
44:09Dull.
44:10Okay.
44:11So what I would do,
44:12I'd say,
44:12right,
44:13these three,
44:15put them together
44:16with the hard one
44:17inside
44:19and then
44:20I'm going to
44:20weld them
44:21into one
44:22piece of bar.
44:24So it's a sandwich
44:25basically
44:25with the hard metal
44:26in between.
44:26Yeah.
44:27So you're looking
44:28to have iron
44:29in the middle
44:30of the blade
44:31that will give
44:31hard cutting edges
44:32and take a good
44:33sharp edge.
44:34But you need
44:35to support it
44:36with soft iron
44:36so that
44:37it won't break
44:39when you strike
44:40someone.
44:45Coming out now.
44:51Hector's furnace
44:52looks fiercely hot
44:53but actually
44:54it's not quite
44:55hot enough.
44:58This wasn't
44:59iron as we know
45:00it from the
45:00industrial revolution
45:01because they couldn't
45:02actually raise
45:03the temperatures
45:03high enough
45:04to make cast iron
45:05but what they
45:06could do
45:07was make iron
45:08that was perfect
45:09for making swords.
45:11This is
45:12wrought iron.
45:15So that is
45:16starting to look
45:17very much like
45:18sword blades.
45:18That's right.
45:19This is the beginning
45:20of the actual blade
45:21itself.
45:21By the time I
45:22finished forging this
45:23it will be then
45:24ready for grinding
45:25up and polishing.
45:31The Iron Age
45:32began around
45:33800 BC
45:34and went through
45:35to the invasion
45:36of the Romans
45:36in 43 AD.
45:43For a while
45:44the use of bronze
45:45and iron ran
45:45in parallel
45:46and it wasn't
45:47clear at first
45:47which was superior.
45:51How effective
45:52will Hector's
45:53iron blade be
45:53in real life?
45:55We've got two
45:55stunt fighters
45:56warming up
45:57to pit one
45:58metal against
45:59the other.
45:59Bronze
46:00against iron.
46:04The question is
46:05how will they
46:05fare in a
46:06sword fight?
46:07What do you
46:07think?
46:08I think the
46:08iron sword
46:08will win easily.
46:09It's much lighter,
46:10quicker, easier
46:10to handle.
46:11How does the
46:12bronze one feel?
46:13It feels very
46:13heavy and
46:14clumpsome.
46:15Right.
46:15Probably
46:15lose its edge
46:16quickly I think.
46:17So you think
46:18he might be
46:19onto a winner
46:19here?
46:19I think he's
46:20on a winner.
46:20Well I'm going
46:21to go a long
46:22way back because
46:22if it breaks
46:23there's going
46:23to be bits
46:24of sharp metal
46:24scything across
46:25the ground.
46:26Are you ready?
46:26Just hold it
46:27until I give
46:27you the word.
46:31Okay are you
46:32ready?
46:32Edge to edge.
46:34Okay both on
46:34the edge.
46:35One, two, three
46:36go.
46:41Stop.
46:42Let me come
46:42and have a look.
46:44Now let's have
46:45a look at the
46:45iron first.
46:46Oh we've got
46:47some quite
46:48significant dents
46:49in the edge
46:49of the iron
46:50sword there.
46:52One, two, three
46:52dents.
46:53And what about
46:53the bronze?
46:54Ha ha!
46:55The bronze is
46:56actually doing
46:56rather better
46:57than the iron.
46:57There are little
46:58dents but they're
46:59much smaller
47:00than the ones
47:00in the iron.
47:01Mind you the
47:01iron sword is
47:02sharper isn't
47:02it?
47:03So the edge
47:04is narrower.
47:05But it's rather
47:05remarkable that.
47:06It may be tougher
47:07but it's not got
47:08such a hard edge.
47:10Well I'm afraid
47:11the only hope
47:12is for you to
47:12fight to the
47:12death.
47:13Are you ready?
47:14Good luck
47:14and may the best
47:15sword win.
47:26So Hector's
47:27iron sword
47:27didn't perform
47:28as well as
47:28expected.
47:31It hasn't
47:32fared very well
47:33against the bronze
47:34age sword
47:34but remember
47:35that this
47:35is an early
47:36iron age blade
47:37and at that time
47:38the iron was
47:39quite soft.
47:40as they learned
47:42how to control
47:43the material
47:44they could make
47:45much longer
47:46blades than
47:48the bronze age
47:49swords which
47:50gave you that
47:51advantage when
47:52you were fighting
47:53and they would
47:54have hard cutting
47:55edges, they would
47:56be light and
47:57they would be
47:57flexible and in
47:58that way you
47:59would be far
47:59superior.
48:01Iron swords
48:02and tools could
48:03also be repaired
48:04much more easily
48:05than bronze.
48:06On an iron blade
48:07the edge can be
48:08restored with a
48:09few blows of the
48:10hammer.
48:11Another advantage
48:12of iron was that
48:13iron ore was in
48:15abundance across the
48:16country.
48:20Hector based his
48:21sword on a weapon
48:23found in a grave in
48:24Yorkshire in 1987.
48:26It's the weapon of a
48:27leader and it's a sign
48:29of the powerful tribal
48:30kingdoms that were
48:31emerging in the Iron
48:32Age.
48:33And soon there was
48:34another way for
48:35metal work to help
48:36reinforce the power
48:37of kings.
48:39In the first century
48:41BC coins were not
48:43just a means of
48:43trading, they were an
48:45important status
48:46symbol.
48:47Trade across the
48:48channel had first
48:49brought the tribes of
48:50Britain into contact
48:51with coinage.
48:53Soon we were
48:54creating gold and
48:55silver coins of our
48:56own.
48:57Intriguingly some of
48:59them carry the first
49:00ever examples of
49:01writing in Britain in
49:03the names of our
49:04kings.
49:08Now we're going to
49:09make a coin of our
49:09own.
49:10I've got here a
49:11little piece of gold
49:12flat sort of coin
49:13shape but with no
49:13impression on it, no
49:14picture.
49:15And Marty I gather
49:16you've been dyeing
49:16for me.
49:17Not personally but
49:18I've had an expert
49:19dye for you and made
49:21these up.
49:21So this is a dye?
49:22These are dyes, two
49:23dyes.
49:24Right.
49:24Pop the bit of
49:24gold on.
49:25Okay.
49:26Right in the middle?
49:26Right in the middle,
49:27nice and central.
49:28Right.
49:28And then the collar
49:29goes on just to line
49:31everything up and keep
49:31everything in place.
49:33And then we pop this
49:33dye on here.
49:34Another picture.
49:35And there's a picture
49:35on there so we do both
49:36sides at the same time.
49:37Gotcha.
49:37It goes on there like
49:38that.
49:39And then when you're
49:39ready.
49:40I'm going to get
49:40rolled back.
49:41Don't hit your hand.
49:42I did once.
49:43I'll try not to.
49:49Well, we've certainly got a
49:49picture.
49:50It's not exactly in the
49:51middle, is it?
49:52No, it's a bit wonky
49:52that one.
49:53But it's quite nice.
49:54There's some sort of
49:55sticking thing out there.
49:55Oh, there's some wheels
49:56there too.
49:57It's quite nice.
49:57And you'll like what's
49:58on the other side.
49:58A king among men,
49:59shall we say.
50:00Oh, it's a bloke's face
50:03with a lot of curly hair
50:04and it says Ard.
50:07Oh, look, that's my
50:08initials.
50:09Marty, I'm dead chuffed
50:10with this picture of me.
50:11It's really nice.
50:11But you know, on the back
50:12it's also quite an
50:13interesting picture
50:14because there, there is
50:15a chariot with two
50:16horses.
50:18The chariot was one of
50:20the finest expressions
50:21of the craft skills of
50:23Iron Age Britons.
50:25The evidence for British
50:27chariots comes largely
50:28from East Yorkshire, where
50:30a series of burials has
50:32been excavated.
50:34Each contained a skeleton
50:36buried with a chariot,
50:38the treasured
50:39possession.
50:41By the time Julius Caesar
50:43arrived in Britain in
50:4454 BC, chariot making
50:46had become a high art,
50:47combining a whole range
50:49of craft skills.
50:51So, what did the
50:53process involve?
50:59This is the home of
51:01Robert Hereford,
51:02master wheelwright.
51:03Besides making wheels,
51:05he also makes chariots
51:06and he's going to make
51:06an Iron Age chariot
51:08for us.
51:11Even today, it takes
51:12months to make a chariot.
51:14In the Iron Age, it must
51:15have taken the best part
51:16of a year.
51:20Lots of different
51:21techniques come together
51:22in the process.
51:23There's metalwork, carpentry
51:25and elaborate strapping and
51:27knot tying.
51:30Rawhide holds the whole thing
51:32together.
51:32That's raw cow skin
51:34with its hair removed.
51:36It's cut into long strips
51:37and used for lashing.
51:39Put on wet, it dries and
51:41shrinks to a really bone-hard
51:43tight fit.
51:44That was why I was coming up
51:45over the third time.
51:46We don't need that.
51:47The toughest job
51:48is making the wheels.
51:52Once spokes have been
51:53shaped and driven
51:54into the hub or nave,
51:56a rim has to be made.
51:58Robert Hereford is going
51:59to try the original
52:00Iron Age method
52:02of bending a single piece
52:03of wood into one circle.
52:05There's the jig
52:06that we're going to use
52:08and we're going to bend
52:10those bits of wood.
52:11But how do you turn
52:12three metres straight
52:13ash poles
52:14into circular wheel rims?
52:16No one knows
52:17how it would have been
52:18done 2,000 years ago,
52:19but Robert has put together
52:21his own homemade equipment.
52:25Now, what exactly
52:26does this box do?
52:28We're going to fill it
52:29with steam
52:30and we're going to cook...
52:32Gosh, that's good night,
52:33isn't it?
52:33We're going to cook...
52:34Curls in here.
52:35...those until they reach
52:37a high enough temperature,
52:39which is supposed
52:40to be 100 centigrade,
52:41for the wood
52:42to become bendy.
52:44He's using a pressure cooker
52:46to generate steam
52:47which fills the sealed box
52:48and heats the poles.
52:50We're going to have
52:51to cook this for...
52:54two and a half hours.
52:55OK, two and a half hours.
52:56And at that point,
52:57that's when the wood
52:58will become bendable.
53:08Time to see if the steam
53:10has done the trick.
53:15The poles must be bent
53:17while still hot,
53:18so there's only minutes
53:19to play with.
53:25Wood has tubular fibres
53:27which contain a substance
53:28called lignin.
53:30When lignin is heated
53:31to 100 degrees Celsius,
53:33it becomes flexible,
53:34though it still takes
53:35some brute force
53:36to bend it enough
53:36to make a wheel.
53:42It's all ready
53:43far enough, actually.
53:45As the wood cools,
53:47it should set
53:48in its new position.
53:49And it's a success.
53:51It fits almost perfectly
53:52around the spokes
53:53and just needs
53:54a little encouragement.
53:57Pressure on that.
54:05What Robert is doing here
54:07is heating up the tyres,
54:09which are made of iron,
54:11in a roasting hot fire.
54:13And he will then put it
54:15onto the rim of the wheel
54:17and cool it suddenly
54:19so it will contract
54:20and hold everything together.
54:23The continuous iron band
54:25holds or ties
54:26the wooden wheel together,
54:27which is probably
54:28the origin of the word tyre.
54:34We were using
54:35metal-rimmed wheels
54:36like this
54:36right up to the 20th century.
54:40Does it begin
54:40to answer questions
54:42as to how advanced
54:43the ancient Britons
54:44were technologically?
54:46Yes, it certainly does.
54:47I mean, I think
54:48what it really shows
54:49is just how far
54:50advanced they were.
54:51The fact that these vehicles
54:52are so complicated,
54:54they require
54:54so many different skills,
54:56I think it really does show
54:58that we're not dealing
54:59with a primitive people.
55:00We're dealing with people
55:01who've got a complete grasp
55:02of a whole range
55:03of different skills
55:04and different techniques,
55:05different crafts,
55:06bringing it all together
55:06to make superb objects.
55:14All the chariot needs
55:16now is a pair of ponies.
55:25Absolutely fantastic contraption.
55:27Suspension is so good.
55:29Reasonably scary,
55:30but brilliant.
55:37In the Iron Age,
55:38this ingenious vehicle
55:39served both
55:40as a status symbol
55:41and as a deadly war machine.
56:02When Julius Caesar
56:03and his troops
56:04landed on these shores,
56:05it was the fighting chariots
56:07that really rattled them.
56:12Imagine,
56:13Julius Caesar
56:14has advanced
56:15into southern England.
56:16He's been driven
56:17onto a hilltop
56:18to watch the impending battle
56:20between his troops
56:21and the defending Britons.
56:25His troops
56:26are marching along
56:27in orderly fashion
56:28when suddenly
56:29they're surrounded
56:30by little chariots
56:31running rings around them.
56:35This is what
56:36Julius Caesar wrote.
56:38In chariot fighting,
56:40the Britons begin
56:40by driving all over the field,
56:42hurling javelins.
56:48And generally,
56:50the terror
56:50inspired by the horses
56:52and the noise
56:54of the wheels
56:54are sufficient
56:55to throw the opponent's ranks
56:56into disorder.
56:57They combine
56:58the mobility of cavalry
57:00and the staying power
57:02of the infantry.
57:06their battle tactics
57:07were completely different
57:09because, you see,
57:10the Romans marched along
57:11in a tight formation
57:12all in one piece
57:13and the general
57:14stood back
57:15on the top of the hill
57:16and simply watched the action.
57:18Whereas the Britons
57:19would use their chariots
57:20to deliver them
57:21right into the middle
57:22of a battle
57:22where they could pick
57:23an opponent
57:24for one-to-one combat.
57:27The British tactics worked.
57:30Caesar was defeated
57:31and fled
57:31and the Romans
57:32didn't reappear
57:33for another hundred years.
57:39Who knows
57:40what would have happened
57:41if the Romans
57:42hadn't invaded?
57:43We had comfortable houses,
57:44good technology,
57:46beautiful and effective weapons,
57:48fine jewellery
57:49and competent transport.
57:51What do we need
57:52the Romans for?
57:53Well,
57:54the rest is history.
58:07To receive a free
58:09Open University leaflet
58:10which accompanies this series
58:11and details of
58:13Open University programmes,
58:14telephone 0870 900 0352
58:18or go to
58:19bbc.co.uk
58:20slash history.
58:24She can talk for Britain
58:25but can she talk her way
58:27out of the firing line?
58:28Syrah,
58:29the talkative contender
58:30in The Apprentice,
58:31next.
58:47Adam Hart-Davis has written
58:49a brief history
58:50of ancient inventions
58:51in this BBC book
58:52to accompany the series.
59:16Do you see the world differently?
59:19Because we're looking for filmmakers
59:20and animators
59:21for BBC3.