- 9 hours ago
Digging For Britain S13E02
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00:06this land we call home has a rich and varied history stretching back thousands of years
00:16but hidden below the surface are some amazing treasures just waiting to be found oh my gosh
00:25so each year across the country archaeologists dig underground and dive underwater searching
00:36for fresh discoveries the most amazing thing in British archaeology uncovering traces of ancient
00:43lives somebody's played enjoy I'm sure and finding fascinating objects such exquisite detail
00:53this year I'll be meeting the archaeologists and looking at some of their most incredible finds
00:59oh I mean that is stunning well Dr. Tori Herridge is traveling the length of the country to some
01:06spectacular locations where I'll be dropping in on some of this year's most fascinating digs
01:15oh my gosh can you see that it's just brilliant oh my goodness every dig provides a new piece in
01:23the puzzle of Britain's forgotten past this is the epic and unfolding story of our islands
01:34welcome to digging for Britain
01:47this week on digging for Britain in Norfolk archaeologists find a mysterious block
01:53containing metal I don't know I mean I like the design of it and a CT scan
02:00look at that reveals a once-in-a-lifetime find the most amazing thing I've ever seen
02:09in British archaeology in Kent Tori investigates an Iron Age settlement on top of the white cliffs this
02:18gold coin is right on that era of Julius Caesar's crossing and discovers a tribe that seemed quite Roman long
02:26before Britain became part of the Empire the Romans haven't conquered but the culture has
02:32and we go behind the scenes morning oh let's do the morning brief then at one of the largest and
02:39most complex archaeological excavations in British history I have never seen anything like this I mean I've got goosebumps
02:59every so often something turns up which is just utterly extraordinary something the archaeologists will
03:06describe as a once-in-a-lifetime find and that is the case for this next discovery which is not
03:15only unique in Britain but the
03:16Britain it's unique in Europe and I just feel so lucky to be getting such an early glimpse of it
03:23and then to be sharing that with you
03:33we're heading to a location which is 20 miles outside Thetford
03:40earlier this year a team from pre-construct archaeology were carrying out a routine excavation in advance of
03:47construction of a new housing development 2,000 years ago this was the territory of the Icane tribe
04:00they lived here during the Iron Age
04:09as the dig got underway there didn't seem to be anything of real significance but dig leader Peter Crawley had
04:18a sneaking suspicion that there was something here
04:22it felt like one of these special sites that you do get every so often I don't know there was
04:27sort of gut feeling something special about this one in particular I just had a good feeling about it
04:34and it wasn't long before archaeologist Richard Thorpe found something out of the ordinary with his metal detector
04:42so you know I'm sort of detecting along and I'd take this ray large signal while I was instantly excited
04:48because I knew we had something special
04:50they dig down in the spot where Richard found his strong signal and film the exciting moment of discovery
04:58this looks like the base of the bowl that looks like a bowl
05:00at first the team believes they have perhaps a pile of metal bowls buried together as a hoard
05:08and the top bit
05:09I don't know I mean I like the design of it
05:14but one of the finds is covered with intriguing decoration
05:17oh wow
05:18oh my god
05:19oh my god
05:19that's obviously going to be a separate thing
05:20I'm not
05:22oh do you think it's one of those
05:24like er
05:25oh I heard carnics
05:26oh
05:26oh my god
05:28best possible
05:30the team are excited about this possibility
05:32if they're right this could be an incredibly rare Iron Age object
05:37a carnics
05:39this is a type of decorated trumpet
05:42Iron Age tribes from Italy to Scotland use them to intimidate enemies and rally warriors on the battlefield
05:51only one carnics has ever been found in Britain and in fact even then it was only part of one
06:01that's about the right size
06:02one
06:05it's only high
06:06yeah as I was thinking
06:07here is heading to the
06:09there is the aisle
06:09nice
06:11I mean if you found a carnics then you
06:14I've won
06:15yeah I just
06:15I've done it
06:17I've done it
06:18yeah
06:21yeah
06:21with such a potentially important find the team makes the decision to block lift the entire
06:27horde at the same time
06:29you get a bit of that
06:30always just lay it across there
06:32they dig around the horde and cover it in plastic wrap to keep it secure
06:36yeah it doesn't have to be all the way down
06:39it is certainly the best thing I've ever found as an archaeologist and probably will be the best thing I
06:44will find as an archaeologist as well
06:47you know it's a dream come true really
06:50they send the block to be x-rayed to see what's hidden inside
06:57but there are so many objects packed closely together it's hard to make sense of the image
07:03at this point project officer Gary Trimble is beginning to wonder if the horde could contain something even rarer than
07:11a carnics
07:11the results weren't conclusive but they give some tantalizing sort of evidence that we may actually have rather than a
07:20carnics it may be a boar standard
07:27standards like this tops with the figurine of a boar were carried into battle by Celtic tribes
07:39we've got a quandary
07:41is it a carnics or could it be another object of INA state a boar standard
07:47if it does turn out to be a carnics
07:49it'll be a really significant find
07:51and these are extraordinarily rare
07:55now if it turns out to be a boar standard that's even rarer
08:00to find out which of these two exceptionally rare objects they're dealing with the team turns to more advanced imaging
08:08taking the block to a local hospital for an out of hours CT scan
08:13and they film the moment as the exciting results emerge
08:20I love modern technology because it's just started working
08:24oh
08:26look at that
08:28that is absolutely exceptional
08:33what is that thing this thing here
08:36just look
08:37we're going to have to dig it out and find out aren't we
08:39wow
08:40that's really outstanding isn't it
08:44it's got cut out decoration on it
08:47that detail is extraordinary
08:51it's beyond
08:52it's absolutely beyond belief this
08:55yeah
08:55I mean this isn't even once a lifetime occurrence is it
08:58this is rarer than a
08:59yes
08:59it's rarer than a
09:01it's rarer than a
09:06it's
09:07the most amazing thing
09:10that's all I've ever seen in
09:13British archaeology
09:20the CT scan reveals the mystery object is a boar standard
09:26the very first one ever found in Britain
09:33but there was more
09:35hidden deeper inside the horde
09:38there is also a carnics
09:43and it's the most complete carnics ever found in the whole of Europe
09:49two of the rarest objects from the Iron Age
09:53found together
09:58conservator Jonathan Clarke is excavating the block under controlled conditions in the lab
10:09so these are the objects that have been removed so far from the block
10:13we've got multiple shield bosses some of which were stacked on top of each other
10:16but then of course we have the boar standard here
10:20which you can see this wonderful looking boar's head
10:25and I don't know whether you can make out a tusk at the end here with this lovely snout here
10:30and wonderful curled designs surrounding the mouth here
10:34and the eye would have had something in there possibly an organic material or a dissimilar metal
10:40so it really would have stood out again on this shiny copper alloy object
10:47Jonathan has carefully extracted the boar standard from the horde
10:53but there's still a lot of work to do on the carnics
10:58what we've got here is the bell of the carnics
11:02which goes from its neck all the way around here with a crest on its back
11:06which has got this open work decoration in it
11:09the carnics itself is kind of in this roaring open mouth state here
11:14and with this the top jaw and the bottom here
11:17and here we've got the wonderful little eye just visible there
11:21which is remarkable survival
11:23and you can even see along here the sort of serrated edge of its open mouth
11:28as soon as you see it you can't help kind of being
11:31not only impressed with it but kind of charmed by it at the same time
11:37the carnics is made from extremely thin sheets of metal
11:41which have become very brittle after 2,000 years in the ground
11:45you can see a large fissure and crack going along the bell of the carnics there
11:51which is a really good way of seeing quite how thin the metal work is
11:57it can be quite a prescient task
12:01you're aware of the risks at all times
12:06this is the most complete carnics ever found
12:10with the pipe, mouthpiece and bell all uniquely intact
12:19you can see the face is really emerging here
12:22you can see a ridge, a sort of brow of its eye here
12:26we're really getting a sense of the carnics' face really
12:33you can't help but kind of stare at its eye when you're working on it
12:36kind of clicking face to face with it
12:42to think that it was a musical instrument
12:47it just adds this layer to it, it really does
12:50it wasn't just decorative, it had life and screamed and made noise
12:57in the first century BCE, the writer Diodorus Siculus
13:01wrote that the carnics produced
13:03a harsh sound which suits the tumult of war
13:08we're in the early days of this excavation
13:11and have so much to discover and find out about it
13:15the works have only just begun really
13:21the micro-excavation will take another four weeks
13:29so in the meantime I've invited archaeologist Gary Trimble
13:33and Carnic's expert Fraser Hunter to the Digging for Britain tent
13:36and they've brought a modern reconstruction of one of these trumpets
13:42Fraser, Gary, I mean this is one of these once in a lifetime discoveries
13:48surely there's not many of these that have turned up
13:50absolutely not, no, we have our fair share of hoards in Norfolk
13:54but this is so, so different and really, really, really special
13:57and this is the most complete one in Europe?
14:00yes
14:00I mean this is astonishing, what a find
14:04and you've got the boar standard
14:06I mean, what does it represent?
14:08what does the boar mean, do we know?
14:10boars, if you think of what boars do in the wild
14:12you know, it's the strength and the ferocity
14:14but also the cunning
14:15so boars are very fierce animals to face it in the hunt
14:18so the symbolism of a boar is a lot about
14:21they say the strength of it
14:23a very appropriate adversary in battle
14:25this is the CT scan
14:28we had of the block
14:30the boar's head standard there
14:32and then the shield bosses
14:34some of them stack within each other
14:36you know, sort of together
14:38and then this is the upper part of the tubing
14:42of the Carnics
14:43just coming round here
14:44yes
14:45and under here
14:46you've got the belly of the Carnics
14:48hidden under there?
14:50yeah
14:51you've got the whole thing
14:53it looks like it
14:54this is the only one where we can be confident
14:58the tube ties into the instrument
14:59you have the complete tube
15:01bent in half
15:02as we can see, this is an instrument standing
15:05about this kind of height, originally
15:06so one time we can really see
15:08this is the height of a Carnics
15:10and it shows the mouthpiece is in line with the tube
15:13you would play this leaning backwards like that
15:15it just confirms that
15:17and do you think these are deliberately placed
15:19or is it just about putting objects in a hole in the ground?
15:21I'll be sure it's a votive deposit
15:23you know, this has been put in the ground
15:25for the deities, for the gods
15:27and we think it's a deliberate placement
15:29of these shield bosses over the bell of the Carnics
15:32in other words, to quiet it down
15:34it really feels like it's shielding the head
15:36it's really protecting the head
15:37it's a very careful deposit
15:38it's just fantastic isn't it
15:40to be able to use these technologies
15:43which, you know, originally medical technologies
15:45were looking inside people's bodies
15:46but you can look inside blocks of earth
15:50and actually see what objects you've got there
15:52and when do you think this dates to?
15:5650 BC, AD 50, it's in that bracket somewhere
15:59yeah, it's such a crucial time isn't it?
16:01because you've got Julius Caesar coming over
16:03having a look at Britain
16:05that's right
16:06yeah, it's a time of change and a time of turmoil
16:09and so much going, especially in the south and east of England
16:11with all this impact to the Roman world
16:13you know, warfare and military prowess is a key part of that
16:17so the drama of something like the Carnics and the Boer Standard
16:20in any battle, in any army
16:22showing off in one of those things
16:24these would have been spectacular objects
16:26yeah, yeah
16:26and this is very much part of that story, isn't it?
16:33both the Carnics and Boer Standard
16:35will soon be fully excavated and cleaned
16:44it's incredible to imagine these fearsome beasts
16:49towering over an Iron Age army
16:50up to two or three metres in the air
16:53with the Carnics blasting across the battlefield
16:58this is by far the most complete and well-preserved Carnics
17:03ever discovered
17:04it adds to our knowledge of these incredible instruments
17:07and provides us with an iconic image of the Iron Age
17:18as for what these trumpets sounded like
17:20it's time to find out
17:22as musician and PhD student Letty Stott
17:26is about to transport us back into the Iron Age
17:44it's more tuneful than I thought it would be
18:06that's how the officialisation is
18:16like the one who passed away
18:16and has a lot of people
18:18I'll hold something radical
18:27You've achieved my love
18:37My new soul
18:40And the story will grow old
18:46That you'll make us from gone
19:00Our next dig is one of the biggest excavations
19:03that's ever been carried out in Britain.
19:06It allows archaeologists to look at a whole landscape
19:09as it changes through time over thousands of years.
19:13Now, there are hundreds of archaeologists working on this site
19:17racing to record thousands of finds and features
19:21and keeping pace with a complex construction project.
19:28We're heading to Suffolk and the village of Syswell
19:3220 miles east of Ipswich.
19:37Here, construction is well underway
19:40on the new Syswell C nuclear power plant.
19:44It's one of Britain's biggest infrastructure projects
19:48but before the construction really gets going
19:51archaeologists are on site
19:53to explore and record the heritage here.
20:04More than 200 archaeologists
20:06from Oxford Cotswold Archaeology
20:08are busy uncovering traces of human activity
20:11stretching back thousands of years.
20:20Across 70 sites
20:22they're excavating more than 2 million square metres
20:29making this one of the largest
20:32and most complex archaeological projects
20:34ever undertaken in Britain.
20:40And working at this scale
20:42offers archaeologists
20:43an unprecedented insight
20:45into Suffolk's long history.
20:51For archaeologist Rosanna Price
20:53it's a job that's close to home.
20:57I was born and raised in Suffolk.
20:59This is where I'm from
21:01and it's quite beautiful to be back actually.
21:06We're joining Rosanna
21:07for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour.
21:12Right guys, morning all.
21:14Let's do the morning brief then.
21:16Every day starts the same way
21:17in the nerve centre.
21:19Make sure the O.C. for the job.
21:20Just end this briefing.
21:22We have to do one of these every day
21:24on every site.
21:25Please ensure you're always wearing
21:26the correct and intact pee-pee
21:27whilst on site.
21:28The team depends on meticulous
21:31coordination and communication.
21:34Housekeeping, walkways need to be kept clear
21:36especially in doorways.
21:37Cleaner supplies are provided
21:39for everyone to use.
21:41We've got a lot of trainings.
21:41If we're under,
21:42the ground number is changed.
21:43Come on all the time.
21:44They need a bit of a little bit of a little bit.
21:47Marvellous.
21:48That's cracking.
21:49Cheers guys.
21:50Everyone's ready to go
21:51and start another day.
21:52And just like that
21:53more than 200 archaeologists
21:55file out and disperse
21:57across the huge site.
21:58So everyone's now just going to go out
22:00get in their trucks
22:02head over to their sites
22:03get digging.
22:07In her role as archaeological engagement manager
22:10Rosanna checks in regularly
22:12with each of the digging teams.
22:14This means she's uniquely positioned
22:17to give us an exclusive glimpse
22:19of the huge range of discoveries
22:21being made here.
22:23We've got sort of 20 places to visit
22:25in a week
22:26and they are spread across
22:28a massive area
22:29in Suffolk County.
22:31I mean this is
22:32the biggest infrastructure project
22:34for a generation.
22:38Rosanna's first stop
22:39is at a site uncovering evidence
22:40of some of the earliest
22:42permanent homes in Suffolk
22:43when people were settling down
22:45swapping hunter-gatherer lifestyles
22:48for farming
22:49during the Neolithic.
22:51Hi Dan.
22:53Archaeologist Dan Pond
22:54is leading this area.
22:56This is looking different.
22:57You finished it?
22:58We have finished
22:59our post hole structure now.
23:00Yeah.
23:00It's all good to go.
23:02These holes would have held
23:03upright posts
23:04supporting the walls
23:06of what was once
23:07a Neolithic building.
23:09This is our second structure.
23:11It's made up of about
23:1120 or so post holes.
23:13You don't get many
23:14of these buildings surviving.
23:15That's fantastic.
23:16Yeah, incredibly rough.
23:18Early Neolithic buildings
23:19tend to be long
23:20and rectangular halls.
23:22A circular building
23:23of this size
23:24at this time
23:25is very unusual
23:27so there aren't
23:28any reconstructions
23:29of what it might have looked like.
23:31But we do know
23:32the occupants
23:33were still relying
23:34on stone tools.
23:36This is absolutely stunning.
23:39It's wonderful.
23:40It's an early Neolithic
23:41polished stone axe head.
23:42But this edge
23:44is just exquisite,
23:45isn't it?
23:46It's perfect.
23:47Quite a high status
23:48presumably object
23:49because it's so
23:50beautifully crafted.
23:51So this is something
23:52pretty fancy.
23:54Have you found
23:54anything more domestic?
23:56We found a lot more pottery.
23:57I've got a couple
23:58of sherds here.
23:58So this is early
23:59Neolithic pottery.
24:01This is 4,000
24:02to 3,500 B.C.
24:03Really, really
24:04elaborate design.
24:05So this piece here
24:08is
24:096,000,
24:115,500 years old.
24:13Yep.
24:13I survived all this time.
24:15That is phenomenal.
24:17This is the earliest pottery,
24:19our earliest finds
24:21we've had on the project.
24:22I mean,
24:23people were living,
24:24creating these things
24:256,000 years ago.
24:26Absolutely stunning.
24:30The Sizor project
24:31is vast
24:32and the team
24:33are uncovering evidence
24:34from many different periods.
24:38Very satisfying
24:39to watch the site
24:39develop over time,
24:41isn't it?
24:41Oh, definitely.
24:41You get quite
24:42emotionally attached to it.
24:43Like most sites
24:44that I've been on,
24:45they've just been
24:46one specific time period,
24:47like either Roman
24:48or medieval.
24:49But with this,
24:49it's a complete landscape
24:50and that landscape
24:51is really the history
24:53of people in East Anglia.
24:56The archaeologists
24:57are spread out
24:58over such a wide area
25:00they keep in touch
25:01using their phones.
25:04And while this team
25:06are busy investigating
25:07traces of the Neolithic,
25:09Rosanna receives
25:10an exciting update
25:11from her colleague
25:12Will Stibley.
25:14Oh, that is fantastic.
25:16They've got a collared urn
25:17and I imagine
25:18there's got to be
25:19presumably a cremation
25:20in there.
25:21Will looks very happy
25:23with himself.
25:24I think we'd better
25:24go and have a look
25:25in person.
25:29It can take more
25:30than 20 minutes
25:31to drive between
25:32the sites.
25:34Yeah, one of those
25:35times when having
25:36to go up 5 to 10
25:38miles an hour
25:38is really tantalising
25:40because you've got
25:41this thing you want
25:41to go and see it.
25:43What can you do,
25:43I guess?
25:44You've got to stick
25:45to the speed limit.
25:48In the Neolithic,
25:49some people were buried
25:50together in large
25:52communal graves
25:53like this chambered
25:55tomb in Orkney.
25:57But as time wore on,
25:59we start to see
26:00graves of individual
26:02people in the Bronze Age.
26:07Yeah, this is fantastic.
26:08So Will only started
26:09here yesterday
26:09and he's immediately
26:10discovered this.
26:11He started on this site
26:11and that's such a
26:12classic manoeuvre
26:13to turn up and get
26:14something.
26:14Wow, look at this.
26:17Oh, you've done a
26:18beautiful job as well.
26:20I mean, it is just
26:21stunning, isn't it?
26:22And it so clearly
26:23is early Bronze Age
26:24from this massive
26:26collar here.
26:27I mean, it's so exciting
26:28just to be the first
26:29person to see something
26:30like this in, what,
26:31three and a half
26:31thousand years.
26:32It's the reason I got
26:33into archaeology
26:33to do things like this.
26:35It looks like there
26:36might be some
26:36impressed twine
26:37decoration around
26:38the rim that's
26:38already peeking
26:39through.
26:40So yeah, it's going
26:40to be really exciting
26:41once we've dug a
26:42little bit more out
26:42to see if there's
26:43any more decoration
26:44and if it's mirrored
26:45on the accessory
26:46vessel as well.
26:48This cremation is
26:49two miles away from
26:51the Neolithic
26:51building found at
26:52the first site
26:53and it's much
26:55later in time.
26:56But so far,
26:57it's the earliest
26:58evidence of human
26:59activity that they're
27:00finding in this part
27:02of the landscape.
27:03It's quite interesting
27:04that here we have
27:05almost no evidence
27:06of early Neolithic
27:07activity.
27:08We have very little
27:09evidence right up
27:10until about two and
27:11a half thousand BC
27:12when we start getting
27:13much more early
27:15Bronze Age activity.
27:16It seems to be a
27:16real gap in the
27:18landscape here.
27:19This is an area that
27:20they just don't seem
27:21to be using or
27:21visiting during the
27:23early Neolithic.
27:24It's not until the
27:25early Bronze Age that
27:26we see any significant
27:27activity here.
27:28So there does seem
27:29to be significant
27:30variation over time
27:31in the parts of the
27:32landscape that people
27:34are exploiting.
27:35This is just an
27:36amazing addition to
27:37the story of Si as
27:38well, the story of
27:40Suffolk people
27:40through time.
27:44Seeing all these
27:45little patches of
27:46excavation coming up
27:47in the landscape,
27:47this is amazing,
27:48this is actually my
27:49history coming to
27:50life in front of me.
27:52We'll rejoin
27:53Rosanna later in the
27:54programme when even
27:56more of Suffolk's
27:57rich history is
27:58revealed.
27:59This is amazing.
28:01Sounds like it might
28:02be something pretty
28:02good.
28:17The east of Britain
28:18has always been the
28:19front line between our
28:21islands and the
28:22continent, sometimes
28:23bearing the brunt in
28:25times of conflict, at
28:27other times benefiting
28:28from peaceful
28:29connections and
28:31commerce.
28:41Throughout the
28:42centuries, this
28:42proximity to Europe
28:44has had a unique
28:45impact on the
28:46communities that
28:47lived here.
28:50as our next dig
28:52shows, Torrey
28:55Herridge is heading
28:55to Folkestone, ten
28:57miles west of Dover.
29:08The white cliffs that
29:09run along the
29:10south-east coast are
29:12one of Britain's most
29:13recognisable landscapes.
29:16they are the first
29:17thing anyone sees when
29:19travelling across the
29:20Channel from France, even
29:24Roman generals.
29:33It was these white cliffs
29:35that Julius Caesar
29:36described when he
29:37tried but failed to
29:39invade the British
29:39Isles in 55 BC.
29:41He described people at
29:43the top there, fiercely
29:44ready and waiting to
29:45throw rocks down the
29:46troops below.
29:49But little is known
29:50about those defiant
29:51people on the
29:52clifftops, who lived
29:54here along the
29:55south coast of
29:56Britain during the
29:59Iron Age.
30:02A team from
30:03Canterbury Archaeological
30:05Trust is in their
30:06third year of
30:06excavations at the
30:07site.
30:10They want to find
30:11evidence of this
30:12Iron Age community
30:13and investigate their
30:14lives and culture
30:15alike before the
30:17Romans invaded.
30:21Geophysical surveys at
30:22the clifftops reveal at
30:23least three Iron Age
30:25roundhouses that once
30:26stood right here.
30:29Archaeologist Andrew
30:30Mackintosh is leading
30:32the dig.
30:33What a view.
30:34It's such an amazing
30:35view.
30:36Often on clear days,
30:38you'll see the white
30:38cliffs over in France
30:40there as well.
30:41Julius Caesar, you know,
30:42sort of remarked on a,
30:44you know, populated Iron
30:45Age settlement here and I
30:46think this is probably the
30:48settlement that he was
30:50talking about when he
30:51was looking at these
30:51cliffs and seeing how
30:52populated it was here.
30:55Since they started
30:56excavating the site, the
30:58team have unearthed
30:59hundreds of quern
31:00stones, heavy circular
31:02stones used to grind
31:03grain into flour.
31:05But here, these quern
31:07stones were used to line
31:08drains, gutters and
31:10post holes.
31:13Even I would recognise
31:14that as a quern
31:15stone.
31:15So, I mean, this is
31:17fairly typical of a late
31:18Iron Age rotary quern
31:20stone.
31:20It's a big, big slab of
31:22rock, isn't it?
31:23It is.
31:23You're turning that
31:24round, the weight of it,
31:25grinding.
31:26Yeah, they're very heavy,
31:27so this is one part of two
31:29stones that would have
31:30turned against one another.
31:31We suspect this might be
31:33the top half of one of the
31:34quern stones.
31:35So this one has had quite a
31:37lot of work on it, hollowing
31:39out this top.
31:40You can see chisel marks
31:42where they've started to
31:43work it.
31:44It's been discarded at some
31:45point.
31:45Something's gone wrong at the
31:47last minute in manufacture.
31:48It may be that on the
31:50underside here that it's
31:53split at some point when
31:55they've tried to shape it.
31:56And then it's no longer
31:57functional for its purpose.
31:59So this wasn't being used
32:00here as part of the daily
32:02milling activity of a
32:03settlement.
32:03You're saying it's being
32:04made here?
32:05Yeah, because there's so
32:06many we find here.
32:09The querns were shaped from
32:11local sandstone, which arose
32:13naturally out of the cliffs
32:15and onto the beach right
32:16below the site.
32:19They've got quern stones
32:21coming out of their ears,
32:22like broken ones.
32:23Yeah.
32:23Which is kind of really
32:24impressive.
32:24But I mean, this raw
32:25material, if it's available,
32:28everything has got here
32:29somehow, it's come up off
32:30the beach.
32:31So you're going to
32:31utilise this raw material.
32:33So exactly, waste not
32:34what not, right?
32:34So yeah, you've got it,
32:35you might as well use it.
32:36Indeed.
32:37And that's more than
32:37anyone's settlement would
32:38need for themselves.
32:39Yeah.
32:39So the people here are
32:40making quern stones to be
32:42traded elsewhere.
32:43Yeah.
32:43They're being traded inland,
32:45possibly overseas.
32:48The Iron Age people
32:50living here had such an
32:51excess of quern stones,
32:52they must have been
32:54trading them.
32:57And small finds from the
32:59site are helping
33:00archaeologist Rich Best
33:01piece together a picture
33:03of cross-channel connections
33:05long before the Romans
33:07invaded Britain.
33:10So pre-conquest,
33:11what have we got from
33:12that period?
33:13Are these stuff here,
33:15should you tell us
33:15something about that time?
33:16So this gold coin is
33:18an import from northern
33:21France and sort of
33:21Flanders area.
33:22and dates to 58 to 54 BC.
33:25Oh, right, wow.
33:25So it's right on the,
33:27sort of the,
33:28that era of Julius Caesar's
33:30crossing.
33:30There's a lot of stuff
33:31going on,
33:32like a lot of fighting
33:33going on between the
33:34Gauls over there
33:35and the Romans, right?
33:36Yeah, yeah.
33:37Do you think news of that
33:38would have been coming
33:38with these coins?
33:39Absolutely, yeah.
33:40I think it's quite easy
33:41to think of Britain in that
33:42period as quite isolated,
33:44when really,
33:45particularly in Kent
33:45and here,
33:46it's a hop across the
33:47channel, which I think
33:48is something that people
33:49do quite regularly.
33:50And then with that,
33:51the stories of what's
33:52happening.
33:52So you've got,
33:53yeah,
33:53what is clearly sort of
33:54ceramics, pottery stuff,
33:55yeah?
33:55Yeah, absolutely.
33:56So here we've got
33:59parts of amphora.
34:01The minute you say that
34:01word, I assume it's
34:02come from far away.
34:04Absolutely.
34:04Yeah, is it Roman?
34:05It is.
34:06So these are used for
34:07importing wine, olive oil
34:10and sort of fish sauce
34:11and we think these were
34:13imported around 150 BC.
34:15Oh, so before,
34:15so it's pre-Roman conquest
34:17Britain?
34:18We think of sort of
34:19olive oil and wine and
34:20fish sauce as a
34:21characteristically Roman
34:22thing, but there is
34:23evidently a demand for it
34:25pre-Conquest, whether
34:27they're using that as a
34:28way to express, you know,
34:29how close they are to
34:30Rome and, you know,
34:32their connection.
34:33Rome is encroaching,
34:34basically.
34:35And what else have we
34:35got in here?
34:36This is quite different
34:37over here, this darker
34:38stuff.
34:38Yeah, so this is
34:40locally made, but it's
34:42imitating Roman styles.
34:44So they go for, rather
34:46than bowls and jars,
34:47it's sort of flatter
34:48dishes and things like
34:49that.
34:49So this is someone over
34:51here basically trying to
34:52make some fancy Roman
34:53plates.
34:54Yeah, and what's so
34:55significant about this,
34:56particularly for this
34:57site, is that here they
35:00are starting to sort of
35:01imitate the Roman wares
35:03quite a while before
35:04anywhere else in Kent.
35:06So here that is occurring
35:08sort of 25, 30 AD,
35:11whereas elsewhere in Kent
35:12you only see it post
35:13conquest, so maybe up to
35:15sort of 60 AD.
35:17That's interesting.
35:18So here they're kind of
35:18ahead of the game.
35:20Right, that's interesting
35:21because, like, the Romans
35:21haven't conquered.
35:23No, but they're adapting
35:24and adopting a lot of what
35:28the Romans would bring.
35:30Ahead of the army comes the
35:31ideas.
35:32Yeah, absolutely.
35:46What's being discovered
35:47here at this site is
35:48quietly rewriting what we
35:50know about Iron Age
35:51Britain.
35:52Yes, there's plenty of
35:53evidence of connection
35:54across the channel to
35:55ancient Gaul, but there's
35:57also something else.
35:58There's a tantalising
36:00connection to Rome.
36:01The people of Kent were
36:03enjoying fine wines, fine
36:05pottery, but also maybe
36:06taking on the ideas of Rome.
36:09This part of Britain was
36:11Romanising before a Roman
36:13soldier even set foot upon
36:15British soil.
36:20And the beach is lifting me
36:23Ashes reaching me
36:25Wind is holding me
36:27Time is folding me
36:29Under the trees
36:31Down through the lean
36:33Onto the path that you came
36:36to that day
36:48Archaeology often involves
36:49recovering tiny fragments
36:51then painstakingly piecing
36:53them together until
36:55something wonderful emerges.
36:57Archaeologist Meg Russell has
36:59been looking into a
37:00particularly delicious puzzle.
37:07I've come to Museum of
37:09London Archaeology's
37:10storage warehouse where
37:11today new discoveries are
37:14being made by examining
37:15old finds.
37:17Back in 2021, a team from
37:20Museum of London Archaeology
37:21unearthed thousands of tiny
37:23fragments of ancient
37:24wool plaster.
37:26They all came from a
37:28commercial building that
37:29once stood on the banks
37:30of the River Thames during
37:34the Roman period.
37:38Now, materials specialist
37:40Han Lee is painstakingly
37:42piecing this puzzle back
37:43together to improve our
37:46understanding of the colours
37:47and patterns used in Romano
37:49British interior design.
37:52Hi Han.
37:53Hi, how are you?
37:54Wow, this looks absolutely
37:57fantastic.
37:58What is it that we're
37:59actually looking at here?
38:00Well, we're looking at a
38:01nearly 2,000-year-old Roman
38:03painting painted during the
38:05early Roman period in London.
38:07It's absolutely beautiful.
38:11Han has more than 10,000
38:13pieces of wool plaster to
38:14arrange.
38:15They make up 20 separate
38:17decorated walls, each with a
38:19different, intricate design.
38:22My eyes do not want to leave
38:24this beautiful detail.
38:26Can you talk me through some of
38:27the things that we're looking
38:28at here?
38:28Absolutely.
38:29So you've got a beautiful
38:30candelabra here with these
38:32two knots, do you see?
38:33Yes.
38:34And of course, the string is
38:35dangling down to little dots
38:37of pearl.
38:38Those are pearls?
38:39They are, yes.
38:39They are, yes.
38:39Oh, wow.
38:40And over here, where we thought
38:42were grapes initially, it's
38:44actually part of a mistletoe,
38:45which is quite a popular thing in
38:48Roman culture itself.
38:50Yeah, that's beautiful.
38:52I'm looking at this, but I'm
38:53side-eyeing this beautiful, is it
38:55a daisy?
38:56It is a daisy, and this daisy is
38:58actually our star piece.
39:00So everyone remembers the daisy during
39:02the period of excavation because this
39:03was one of the most sort of vibrant
39:05pieces found.
39:06And I'm just looking at these
39:07little dots here.
39:09Are they imitation stone?
39:10They are.
39:11It's imitation marble, pink
39:12imitation marble.
39:13It gives you that illusion of a much
39:16more expensive piece of building
39:18material.
39:19By painting this plaster wall to look
39:21like more expensive and higher
39:23status stone, the artist has given
39:26us clues as to what stone buildings
39:28really looked like, as well as the
39:30aspirations of the Romano-British
39:31occupant.
39:33Now this is some beautiful
39:35imitation stonework.
39:36This is actually imitating Egyptian
39:39red porphyry.
39:40It looks almost identical to the
39:42actual stone, doesn't it?
39:43It really does.
39:44Yeah, just see how tiny bits and
39:46pieces of the crystals in the stone
39:48are done so intricately and so
39:51carefully.
39:52It must have taken forever.
39:54By examining each fragment in
39:56minute detail, Han is also
39:58discovering tiny inscriptions which
40:01reveal even more about the artists
40:03themselves.
40:05We're now in your office.
40:07What have we got in front of us?
40:08Well, you see the letters here,
40:10look at the font.
40:12It's beautifully done, isn't it?
40:14Even the T itself has a thin to thick
40:18to thin kind of stroke to it.
40:20And it says, F-E-C-I-T, has made this.
40:25And if you imagine, when I was talking
40:27about the way that it was scored in,
40:29that could only be done when the
40:32plaster was still soft.
40:34Now, who do you think would do that
40:35but the painter?
40:37You're not telling me this is a
40:38painter's mark?
40:39This is a painter's signature mark,
40:41or the group signature mark.
40:43But how brilliant is that?
40:46There's not many of these.
40:47In fact, very few examples can
40:49prove that the painter has scored
40:52it in when the plaster was soft.
40:53That's amazing.
41:03What Han and his team have done here
41:05is more than conservation.
41:07It's transformation.
41:10Finishing this puzzle has given us
41:12a unique window into the taste,
41:14ambition and styles of Romano-British London.
41:24The landscape of Britain's East
41:27has changed many times
41:29through the centuries.
41:31From the draining of marshes
41:33in the fens
41:35to the arrival of Christianity.
41:40But every time a new generation
41:43starts changing the landscape,
41:45there's the potential
41:46that precious traces of the past
41:48may be lost.
41:54It's the job of archaeologists
41:57to record and preserve the past.
42:00And on our next site,
42:02that's happening
42:03on an unprecedented scale.
42:09We're returning to Sizewell,
42:12where Rosanna Price
42:12is giving us
42:13an exclusive glimpse
42:14behind the scenes
42:16of one of the biggest digs
42:18to take place in Britain.
42:22Offering a fascinating insight
42:24into Suffolk's long history.
42:31This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,
42:34isn't it?
42:34To have this vast project
42:37revealing archaeology in Suffolk.
42:40We've got everything,
42:41the full span.
42:44One of the biggest challenges
42:46facing the team
42:48is working around
42:49all the heavy machinery
42:51on the site.
42:55We're surrounded by
42:57bollards and trucks
42:59and plant,
43:00and, I mean,
43:01there's a bloke here
43:01coming towards us
43:02in a massive HGV.
43:04There's dumpers and diggers.
43:06It is incredible
43:07what people can do
43:09when they work together
43:10on a vast construction
43:12like this.
43:22So we're constantly
43:23working alongside
43:24active and moving plant,
43:27one of the main reasons
43:28for the PPE.
43:29But you can never forget
43:30that you've got a schedule,
43:32you are trying to meet
43:33a programme,
43:33and there's also
43:36a great sense of teamwork
43:38and collaboration.
43:42Here, the team has made
43:43an incredible discovery
43:45thanks to waterlogged conditions
43:47and amazing preservation
43:49of timber.
43:51This artefact dates
43:53to the Iron Age.
43:57Hi, Jas.
43:58Hello.
43:59Wow, that is sensational.
44:02I had heard that you had a ladder.
44:04Yeah.
44:04But you really do.
44:05Definitely a real ladder.
44:07Yeah.
44:08Big plank here,
44:10big plank there,
44:10and they've bored through
44:13this sort of circular rung
44:14from one side to the other.
44:16Yeah, I mean,
44:17at the moment,
44:18the idea is that
44:19it would have been
44:19a big waterhole well
44:21kind of thing
44:21and they've put a ladder
44:22in there to get down to it
44:23if the water level
44:24was really low.
44:24I mean, at the moment,
44:25you can see that it's
44:26already starting to fill up.
44:27Yeah, fill up.
44:28This is such a tangible
44:29link to the past, isn't it?
44:30I mean, I have never
44:31seen anything like this.
44:33This is fantastic.
44:34What a wonderful find.
44:37Local production
44:37and manufacture
44:38would have been important
44:39in the Iron Age.
44:41Everyone would have been
44:42involved with craft
44:43in some way.
44:44But there was
44:45some mass production, too.
44:49And that became
44:50supercharged
44:51in the Roman period.
44:56Naomi.
44:57Hi, Lizana.
44:57This is looking
44:58a lot clearer
44:59than it did
45:00when I saw you
45:00a couple of weeks ago.
45:01Yes, I know.
45:02We've revealed
45:03the full floor.
45:04So this lovely
45:05leveled floor,
45:06which is lined
45:07all the way out
45:08both of these flues.
45:10So, really excited.
45:12It's a Roman kiln
45:14and some of the pottery
45:15from the last firing
45:16has survived inside.
45:18So, in a very
45:19small amount of space
45:21right at the bottom
45:21of the chamber,
45:22it was just
45:22chock full of pot,
45:24fragments of pot.
45:25None of them
45:25seem to be in situ
45:26or full vessels.
45:27But as you can see,
45:29in our flue,
45:29we still have some
45:31pot fragments sticking out.
45:32This is bits,
45:33actually,
45:33in context,
45:34in here.
45:34Yeah, there's so much
45:35of it,
45:36which has been amazing
45:36and so lovely.
45:39This is one of our
45:40nicest bits as well.
45:42That's gorgeous.
45:43Lovely decoration.
45:44Stunning, isn't it?
45:45So we've found that
45:46all throughout
45:46the whole future.
45:48So we know
45:48that they've definitely
45:49been making that here.
45:50Very high quality,
45:51probably very expensive.
45:53This is really impressive.
45:54That's the kind of thing
45:55you would have on a table
45:56in a fancy home.
45:58Fancy home.
45:59Yeah.
45:59I mean, that,
46:00I think,
46:00was quite uncommon.
46:01If we do find
46:02other pieces of that
46:03around the country,
46:05it might have been
46:06made in this kiln here.
46:07So that's really
46:08lovely to see.
46:09What a delightful
46:10thing to uncover.
46:13On a vast site
46:15like this,
46:16it's important
46:16to keep track
46:17of where everyone is.
46:21You've got to go
46:21through the security
46:22portal.
46:23You've got to
46:24prove who you are,
46:26get your ID out.
46:27It's a definite feeling
46:28that you're stepping
46:29into the Sizewell world.
46:33So everybody
46:34has to sign in
46:35when they get to site,
46:35everybody.
46:36This is the visitor log,
46:38so we know
46:39who's here.
46:40This is the one
46:41that shows that
46:42everybody knows
46:42what to muster
46:43if there's an emergency.
46:44And then these two
46:45show that you've been
46:46briefed for any
46:47potential hazards,
46:48either in the compound
46:49or on site.
46:53Right.
46:54We're all signed in.
46:55We can go
46:55and see the archaeology.
47:03This excavation
47:05is so large
47:05that the environment
47:07varies hugely
47:08from place to place.
47:11From deep mud
47:13to gravel
47:14and even sand.
47:17And here,
47:18the archaeologists
47:19are excavating
47:19a graveyard
47:22which dates
47:23to the centuries
47:24after the Roman
47:25period in Britain,
47:26known as
47:27the early medieval
47:28period.
47:29It's like being
47:30at the beach,
47:30isn't it?
47:34The sandy soil
47:36here is acidic,
47:38dissolving away
47:39bone mineral.
47:43These haunting
47:44shadows are called
47:45sand skeletons.
47:50Archaeologist
47:51Frankie Wildman
47:52is leading
47:52this excavation.
47:55Ah, so this one's
47:56really clear.
47:57Yes.
47:57You can see the legs
47:58here and the pelvis.
48:00Yes, that's it.
48:01So you've got
48:02the pelvis here,
48:03so you've got
48:04the left side
48:05and the right side.
48:06You've got the right
48:07leg running down here
48:08and you've got
48:09the left leg
48:10running down here.
48:11Ah, that's beautiful.
48:12And of course,
48:13these beautiful beads.
48:15Look at those
48:15in the sunlight as well.
48:17Yeah, they're
48:17absolutely gorgeous.
48:18So these are
48:19Baltic amber beads
48:20which provides us
48:22an indication
48:23that there was
48:24a connection
48:24with the North Atlantic,
48:26so Scandinavia.
48:27This was an
48:28interchangeable point.
48:30So you're looking
48:30at a west-east grave,
48:33which is the
48:34precursor to
48:35Christianity
48:36coming in.
48:37But you're also
48:38keeping the old
48:40ways as well,
48:42so having the
48:42personal effects
48:43with the skeleton
48:45as well.
48:46So this is why
48:47we've got these
48:47beautiful beads
48:48having been found.
48:50Such a poignant
48:51connection to this person,
48:52all that's surviving
48:53in the grave of them
48:54is their
48:54incredible style.
48:56Yes, absolutely.
48:58The team are
48:59unearthing
49:00dozens of
49:01sand skeletons.
49:04But there's one
49:05that dwarfs
49:06them all
49:07a horse burial.
49:10Ah, wow.
49:11That is so much
49:12more defined
49:13than when I last
49:14saw it, isn't it?
49:14It's awesome, isn't it?
49:15Yeah, well done, Josh.
49:16Really cool.
49:16We've got the front
49:17legs here
49:18and the hind legs
49:20coming round here
49:22and you've just
49:23got the shadow
49:23of the spine.
49:25You've got enough
49:25of that surviving
49:27leg to work
49:28out the height
49:28of this, surely?
49:29Yes, so provisionally
49:30there's a height
49:31of around about
49:321.4 metres
49:33which in horse terms
49:35is about 13 hands.
49:36Oh, a little pony!
49:37I mean, these horse
49:38burials certainly
49:39more so than
49:40other animals
49:41are seen as companions
49:42for the afterlife,
49:43so to speak.
49:44So more than likely
49:45you would have had
49:46a grand procession
49:48that would have
49:48happened to
49:49the person next door
49:50and then they would
49:51have had the horse
49:52laid to rest
49:54with that person.
49:56And it isn't long
49:58before the team
49:58discover that the horse
49:59wasn't buried on its own.
50:01There are human
50:02remains here too.
50:04This is a very
50:06high-status
50:07Anglo-Saxon burial.
50:09This is amazing.
50:10So we're in the
50:12big ring ditch feature,
50:14the big grave area
50:15and they've got
50:16something sort of
50:17this size
50:18and we don't know
50:19what material it is yet.
50:20but as they're
50:21uncovering it,
50:22it starts off white
50:24and within sort of
50:2530 seconds
50:26of being oxidised,
50:27it's turning
50:28grey
50:29down into black.
50:31I mean,
50:31immediately on the phone
50:32to the specialist
50:33to see what it is.
50:37Could be silver, guys.
50:38Could be silver.
50:39Could be silver.
50:42Which would be
50:43right next to...
50:44Hank is just speaking
50:44to our specialist
50:46back in the office
50:47to find out
50:48what this might be,
50:49how we might treat it.
50:50immediately.
50:53Sounds like it might be
50:54something pretty good.
50:55Yeah.
50:56What it might mean
50:56about the grave,
50:57but the most important
50:58thing for us right now
50:59is to know how
51:00to look after it
51:01as best we can
51:02immediately
51:03because it's clearly
51:03changing as soon
51:04as it's hitting the air.
51:07That's freaking cool.
51:08Go on, what do they say?
51:09And that sounds like silver.
51:10Oh, wow.
51:11So we've potentially
51:12got a small silver artefact.
51:16Finding something
51:17like this is...
51:18I mean, I've got goosebumps.
51:19Phenomenal.
51:20Wow.
51:21The grave goods
51:22are dissolving
51:24before their eyes,
51:25but the presence of silver
51:27emphasises the status
51:29of this burial.
51:30To find what could be
51:32a princely burial
51:33in such a high-status
51:35Anglo-Saxon cemetery
51:36is nationally significant,
51:38internationally significant.
51:39And the team here
51:41going down
51:41in two and a half
51:42centimetre spits
51:43to try and catch
51:44every bit of information
51:45that they possibly can.
51:48The team has now made
51:50hundreds of discoveries
51:52spanning some 40,000 years
51:54of Suffolk's history
51:55from the Stone Age
51:57to the modern day.
52:03Rosanna's come to the tent
52:04to show me
52:05some of the latest finds.
52:12Rosanna, you've got some bits
52:14from Sizor.
52:15I mean, it's an enormous site.
52:16I can't believe the size of it.
52:18The width of the geography
52:20and the breadth of time
52:23is almost overwhelming,
52:25the amount of information
52:26that we can take from it
52:28and learn and interpret.
52:29It's just amazing
52:30to be able to see
52:31what's happening
52:31across a whole landscape
52:32like that.
52:33I mean, that's the value
52:34of these big digs,
52:35that you're not just
52:36kind of opening up
52:36a small area,
52:37you're actually able to see
52:38what people are doing
52:38right across that landscape.
52:40Yeah, absolutely.
52:41I mean, you would say,
52:42well, if you dig a big enough hole,
52:43then you'll find something.
52:44And we've dug
52:44a massive hole
52:45and we've found everything.
52:46Yeah.
52:47So you've got some objects
52:48to show you
52:50that depth of time.
52:52Yes.
52:52So this is about
52:5340,000 years old.
52:55This is a Neanderthal hand axe.
52:57Isn't that amazing?
52:58It is.
52:59It's absolutely incredible.
53:01I mean, 40,000 years ago
53:03takes us back
53:03way beyond the peak
53:05of the last ice age.
53:06We're into Britain
53:07being a completely
53:08different landscape.
53:09Yeah, absolutely.
53:10There are no modern humans here.
53:11It's just Neanderthals.
53:12When you hold it
53:13in your hand even now,
53:14you can feel
53:15how usable it is,
53:16you know,
53:16for butchery,
53:18for working fibres,
53:20maybe even for woodworking.
53:21It's still a perfectly usable tool.
53:23It's just incredible.
53:23That's amazing.
53:24OK, so 40,000 years ago.
53:26And then actually,
53:27we're getting
53:28relatively close
53:29to the present now.
53:29Yep, a little 4,000 BC
53:31sort of era.
53:32Yeah.
53:32So these leaf-shaped arrowheads,
53:34this one in particular,
53:35I just think it's just
53:35incredible.
53:36It's so fine.
53:38So fine,
53:40so thin
53:41and completely symmetrical.
53:43It's kind of shocking
53:44to look at things like this
53:45and realise that
53:46they were such
53:47violent items.
53:49There's a tension,
53:50isn't there,
53:50between admiring
53:51the beauty of it
53:52and then realising
53:53actually that that is
53:54designed to pierce flesh
53:57and kill something.
53:58Yes.
53:58Yeah, yeah.
54:00These are a little
54:01Iron Age coin hoard.
54:02These are so cool as well.
54:03The detail on these
54:04is exquisite.
54:05Oh, wow.
54:06Yeah.
54:07Yeah.
54:08Don't you love it?
54:08Isn't it lovely?
54:10A little horse.
54:11So I can see
54:12his front legs there
54:13and his back legs there.
54:14And then there are
54:15some other little details on it.
54:18So when does that date to?
54:19I think it's about
54:2020 BC to 50 AD,
54:22sort of that real
54:23transitionary period
54:24as the Romans are
54:25coming over to Britain.
54:28These finds beautifully
54:29illustrate how culture
54:31changes over the centuries.
54:33Iron Age coins
54:34give way to Roman brooches.
54:36And as the Roman Empire
54:38fades from memory,
54:39we find Anglo-Saxon
54:41weapon burials.
54:44And then there are
54:45exquisite medieval finds.
54:49This is so cool.
54:50I have to show you this.
54:51So this looks quite sombre
54:53to look at.
54:53It looks very dark.
54:54Yeah.
54:55It's a pilgrim's badge.
54:57Well, it would have been
54:58a necklace.
54:59And if you now pick that up
55:00and hold it up to the light.
55:03Oh, wow.
55:05OK, so it is glass, isn't it?
55:07It's glass, yep.
55:08And this is amazing.
55:09So we do have
55:10the same iconography,
55:12exactly the same,
55:13but only from
55:14Eastern Europe and Russia.
55:16Really?
55:17And there's, we think,
55:18at the moment,
55:19only about one or two of these
55:20in Western Europe,
55:21including this one.
55:22In the whole of Western Europe,
55:23not just Britain?
55:24So this is, I mean,
55:25this is really special then,
55:27this find.
55:28Yeah.
55:28Almost unique.
55:29I mean, I presume
55:30it's not made locally,
55:31I presume it's come
55:32from elsewhere.
55:33We think imported from Venice,
55:34I think it's Venetian glass.
55:36Yeah, yeah.
55:36And presumably,
55:37very sadly for them,
55:38they've just dropped it.
55:39They've just been annoyed,
55:40wasn't they?
55:41Keeping it as a talisman,
55:42yeah.
55:42It's a beautiful object,
55:43if it was gifted to them,
55:44we can have all kinds
55:45of imaginative interpretations.
55:46That's a really special thing.
55:48Yeah.
55:48Wow.
55:49What's this thing, Rosanna?
55:50Oh, this is a lead seal matrix.
55:52So it would have been
55:53used for impressing into wax,
55:55for sealing letters
55:56and things like that.
55:57Wow.
55:57It's got a flaredly in the middle,
55:59it's got writing
56:00right on the outside.
56:01Yeah, and this is very cool.
56:02So it says,
56:03the seal of Matilda,
56:04daughter of Godwin.
56:06I can see the Matilda there,
56:08I think.
56:08Yeah, in reverse.
56:10Yeah.
56:10And what's awesome about it
56:11is obviously we get
56:12a lot of information
56:13about men
56:14in the record,
56:15but Matilda was obviously
56:17quite an important woman.
56:18She's got her own seal.
56:18Important enough
56:19to have her own seal.
56:20Yeah.
56:20So presumably she's
56:22writing documents
56:23and sealing them.
56:24She'd be elite, yeah.
56:25To have a seal like that.
56:25If she can write letters
56:27and has a seal
56:28in the 13th century,
56:29yeah, she must have been
56:30pretty elite.
56:32So we're coming closer
56:33to the modern days
56:34and then we're
56:35right up to 20th century.
56:37Yeah.
56:38So this is World War II evidence.
56:39This is a bottle of beer,
56:41still with the beer in.
56:41And that's actually the beer
56:42still in it?
56:43Yes.
56:44Yeah, I don't think
56:44I'd like to try that.
56:4685-year-old brew.
56:47I think that can stay in there.
56:49Is that a compass?
56:50Yeah, this is quite beautiful.
56:51That's lovely.
56:52Can I pick it up?
56:53Yes, absolutely.
56:53It's not too fragile.
56:54And it still opens and closes.
56:55Oh.
56:57I think it was
56:57a World War I issue.
56:59OK.
57:00And that someone
57:00has then either
57:01reused it or been gifted it
57:03for World War II
57:04because we found it
57:05in a World War II context.
57:06Yeah.
57:06And it does say
57:08USA Knight.
57:09So it's American?
57:10It's American, yeah.
57:11Yeah.
57:11That's a beautiful object.
57:15Lovely.
57:16So we've got,
57:17wow,
57:18what have we done?
57:1940,000 years of history
57:21on the table.
57:22And all human life
57:24is here.
57:25Yeah, yeah.
57:25You know, from some conflict
57:27and to just domestic issues
57:30to eating
57:31to how you want
57:34to design yourself
57:34and how you want to look.
57:36Self-care.
57:37Yeah.
57:38Death.
57:39It's all there.
57:41All uncovered at Sizewell.
57:57Next time on Digging for Britain,
57:59archaeologists in the Cotswolds
58:01unearth a unique find.
58:04We could see this
58:05carved bone object.
58:06I've never seen
58:07anything like it before.
58:09A dig in Oxford
58:10teaches us a lesson
58:12about students
58:13of the past.
58:14We actually have a pier
58:15and we're calling it
58:16Smoker's Corner
58:16where you would just
58:17chuck your clays
58:18vacuum pipes.
58:19And in Kent.
58:20That is a plated
58:21gold discroach.
58:23Archaeologists uncover
58:24spectacular Anglo-Saxon burials.
58:27It's a child with weapons,
58:28which is extraordinary.
58:29I dig for those
58:40whose stories
58:41live in very past
58:44the future's one
58:46and dig for us
58:48as we have done
58:50to lay the dead
58:52out in the sun
58:54to lay us dead
58:56out in the sun.
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