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NEIL OLIVER: This is the story
of how Britain came to be,
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of how our land and its people
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were forged over thousands of years
of ancient history.
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This Britain is a strange
and alien world,
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a world that contains the hidden story
of our distant, prehistoric past.
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After more than 1,000 years,
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the international world
of the Bronze Age had collapsed.
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A horde like this is a snapshot
of the time
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when bronze was no longer working
as the glue of society.
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A new Britain began to emerge,
a whole new era,
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the Iron Age.
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There's nothing different about it
from the tools we use today.
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And et it's 2,500 ears old.
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A Britain of powerful
regional identities,
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where land and grain had replaced bronze
as a source of prestige.
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Now, the journey continues
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with the next chapter in our epic story.
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He was laid in his grave
and, soon thereafter,
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three spears were thrust in.
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This would've been a moment
of huge drama.
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A time of Iron Age warriors
and Celtic glory,
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a tipping point in our history,
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when tribal leaders began to believe
they were more than chieftains.
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They were kings.
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Ripped By mstoll
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I'm going back 2,500 years
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to 500 BC.
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This is Britain, right in the heart
of the Iron Age,
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a time of huge transformation
for our land and its people.
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Ever since the end of the Bronze Age,
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a few hundred years earlier,
a new Britain had begun to emerge.
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And it was a more insular Britain,
with strong regional identities.
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This was a world of tall broch towers
in the north
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and communal hill forts in the south.
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Both responses to the importance
of controlling the land.
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What was common across Britain
was that trade was focused locally
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and wealth was no longer centred
around bronze, as it had been.
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It was now centred around grain.
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Britain was entering a new era,
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in which the people who controlled land
would gain wealth and power,
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the like of which
had never been seen before.
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At the top of this hill are the remains
of an Iron Age hill fort
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that holds evidence of the beginning
of this new age.
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This isn't just any old hill fort.
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This is Danebury.
This is a completely different beast.
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A mega hill fort.
And it's one of the first of its type.
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Farmers here were cultivating
ever greater tracts of land,
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harvesting more and more grain.
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This wasn't subsistence farming.
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This was about creating
a surplus to trade.
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But there was a problem
with all of that.
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And you can see it over there,
just on the horizon.
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That bump into the sky there
is another hill fort.
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Woolbury hill fort.
And it's not the only one.
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On a clear day, from up here,
you can see another three hill forts
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and they were all equally prosperous.
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And, crucially, they were all beginning
to want more and more land.
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For the first time in our history,
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Britain, or parts of it,
were actually starting to fill up.
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After all those millennia of hunting
and then the early farming,
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the physical size of our island
was actually beginning to tell.
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And where the territories
of those hill fort communities
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were starting to rub
against one another,
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there was one consequence
and one consequence only.
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And that was friction.
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What's happening is that the land
is being used more and more and more.
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It's good land, it's rich land.
It encourages the population to grow.
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But you can only grow
to a certain extent
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and the population will continue to grow
beyond the holding capacity of the land.
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And when you get to that point,
you get tension.
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And how does the instability,
the pressure, manifest itself?
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Normally, in terms
of aggression and warfare.
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Resources are rare.
You fight for resources.
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You can have long, long periods
of peace, I think,
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and then, perhaps in a confrontation,
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some young man would be hurt,
everyone would be angry
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and it would escalate into outright,
really violent warfare.
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NARRATOR: Sir Barry has studied
the archaeology of Danebury
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for over three decades.
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SIR BARRY CUNLIFFE:
These are iron spear heads.
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- Now look at that one.
- OLIVER: That's a mean thing.
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CUNLIFFE: A long shank.
OLIVER: Uh-huh.
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- Very sharp point.
- Gosh.
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And that's been done
with the intention to kill.
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Everything about it is violent.
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CUNLIFFE: Yes, it is absolutely redolent
of violence.
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And this is all coming from in here?
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Everything here is from within Danebury,
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- yes.
- Okay.
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We've also got evidence
from the human bones themselves.
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This is the real hard evidence.
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- Here we are. We've got the skull.
- Oh!
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- You can see the eye sockets there.
- Mmm-hmm.
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- And you see that hole there?
- And that's got the same section...
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CUNLIFFE: It's exactly the same section
as that spear.
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He would have copped a spear directly
through the top of his head there.
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But the fascinating thing about this guy
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is he also had a pretty hefty bash
on the head,
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- which has caved a bit of the skull in.
- And that's not been enough to kill?
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No, no, because if you turn inside,
you see the damage
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- that it's done inside...
- (EXCLAIMS)
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But it's all healed over.
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- So, he must have had a headache...
- That's so graphic.
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And possibly brain damage,
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but was still fit enough, presumably,
to go into battle
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some months, perhaps some years later,
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to end up with that spear in his head.
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Gosh! So he went into battle
already knowing
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what it was like to face these weapons?
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He'd probably been into battle
many times, this guy.
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As indeed had many of them.
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- See, we've got many more skulls here.
- Goodness! There's no end of it up here.
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No, no, no. Again, just close
to where we're standing
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was a very large pit into which
they'd thrown body parts.
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Cleaning up after a battle, presumably.
A large number of body parts
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and some of these skulls
came from there.
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So, people are dying
in significant numbers
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that they're not even
being accorded burial?
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- They are just being cleared away?
- Cleared away.
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You see here, a whole series of slivers
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taken off his skull there,
with glancing blows.
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OLIVER: Someone coming in, yeah.
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He wouldn't have needed
a haircut after that.
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But the coup de grāce was that.
A great sword slash.
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OLIVER: Goodness me! That has
not been... That's not healed over.
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- No, that was the end of him.
- Oh!
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And, altogether, this shows what
an incredibly violent life people lived.
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What a world they inhabited with
the threat of this hanging over them.
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Yes, and I think they would have been
aware of it the whole time.
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You can imagine, here in Danebury,
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these young guys coming back from battle
with all their scars
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and living in the community
with noses cut off, ears cut off.
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Horrendous injuries.
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They must have been aware
every moment of their day
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of just how violent life was.
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OLIVER: What's unfolding now
is something quite new.
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The time of the peaceful,
local farming collective is over.
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By 400 BC, in southern Britain at least,
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the area is descending
into bloody conflict.
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And what's interesting
about that conflict
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is the kind of personality
that it encourages.
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As the need to fight and defend
became more important,
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so the status of those who could
do the fighting and defending increased.
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You can't know these things for certain,
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but it's tempting to imagine
that, in peaceful times,
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these communities were controlled
by councils of elders
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or the heads of important families.
But not any more.
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Now, now that the fighting had started,
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was the time of heroes, champions,
men who could wield swords.
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These were the type
who could expand territories,
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defend territories,
bring upstarts to heel.
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Britain was entering a period
we call the Middle Iron Age,
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a time when local power bases
fought it out for power and prestige
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and where a man's status
had to be earned in battle.
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But, out of bloody conflict,
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something was about to emerge
that was sublime.
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This is one of the finest,
most astonishing
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pieces of early art
ever produced in Britain.
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It is from 350 years BC
and it's called the Battersea Shield.
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It's too small
to have been used in warfare.
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It's completely wrong for combat.
It's too elaborate.
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This is ceremonial.
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Owned by a war lord
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and perhaps carried
at the head of a victory parade.
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This is an object that demonstrates
technical perfection
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and also artistic genius.
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This is the beginning of something
utterly new in our history.
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A sudden blossoming of art and design.
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NARRATOR: The great continental rivers
were trade routes,
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bringing art from the classical world
to the south.
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As northern tribes controlling
these routes
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developed a taste for luxury goods,
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they also began to invent
a new, decorative style.
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OLIVER: This was the birth
of Celtic art.
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And around 350 BC,
when it came to Britain,
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local craftsmen took it
to completely new heights.
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It's said that the innovation
and sophistication
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of British Celtic art
is the single greatest contribution
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by these islands
to the world of art ever.
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And the proof of that statement
is here in my hands.
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This is the magnificent Kirkburn Sword.
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And it was excavated from a grave
in east Yorkshire.
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Unlike earlier swords,
this is a composite item.
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It required the meticulous
design and fabrication
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of 70 separate pieces,
which were then assembled.
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There's iron here, in the blade.
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There's bronze on the scabbard.
There's horn.
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It's also been a working sword.
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Unlike the shield,
this actually saw battle.
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And we know that because
analysis of the metal indicates
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that it was repaired
on at least one occasion, possibly more.
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These red enamel additions
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are said to represent
freshly spilled blood.
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But it's the delicate nature
of the perfection of this art
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that's new in Britain.
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And what's most fascinating of all
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is that it's embodied, not in jewellery,
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but in the objects that could be
afforded by that class of people
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that deserved things like this,
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warriors, the most powerful warriors.
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But finely decorated swords
were not the only symbol of elite power,
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as the skeleton of a horse
buried at Danebury hill fort reveals.
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The lifetime activities of a horse
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will leave different markers
in the skeleton.
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And we're looking for clues as to what
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that animal was used for
during its life.
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OLIVER: Throughout prehistory,
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horses were uncommon in Britain,
even on farms.
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And forensic studies of this one
found something unprecedented.
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If you look here,
at the front of the tooth
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there's a small, white,
parallel-sided band of enamel.
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This is evidence
that the horse was bitted.
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And if you look on this vertebrae,
there's a fracture
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running through the epiphysis
of the vertebrae.
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And this is evidence
that this horse was ridden.
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And this is the first time
we have evidence
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for riding in prehistoric Britain.
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OLIVER: These bones reveal
the very beginning of the ridden horse,
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a symbol of power.
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Use of horses would have
revolutionised warfare.
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It would have changed raiding.
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People could raid further distances
and faster.
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You could attack
a neighbouring settlement,
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take control of their cattle.
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A man on horseback would have had
major advantages over a man on foot.
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OLIVER: By 300 BC,
Britain was becoming the land
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that resonates in ancient myths
and folk memory.
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A land of warrior heroes,
wielding power from horseback,
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armed with glinting,
decorated Celtic swords.
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Incredibly, the remains of a warrior
from this time still survive.
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The very man who once owned and wielded
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the finest Iron Age sword
ever found in Britain.
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The Kirkburn Warrior.
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When he died, he was aged
somewhere between 20 and 35 years,
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powerfully built, you would have thought
in the prime of his life.
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And there's nothing on the skeleton
to indicate why he died.
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There's no great catastrophic injury,
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no caved-in skull, no massive
sword wounds to the long bones.
239
00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:27,033
It is still possible though
that he died in battle.
240
00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:30,914
If he suffered a wound
that severed a major artery
241
00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:33,276
or punctured a vital organ,
242
00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:36,439
he could have bled to death
and there'd be no sign
243
00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:39,876
on the skeleton to reveal that
as the cause of death.
244
00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:44,950
The circumstances of his burial
are fascinating.
245
00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:49,838
He was laid in his grave
and, soon thereafter,
246
00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:52,070
three spears were thrust in,
247
00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:55,748
possibly penetrating the dead body.
248
00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:59,629
Now, this would have been
a moment of huge drama
249
00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:03,076
for those witnessing
the funerary ritual.
250
00:17:04,360 --> 00:17:08,558
Here was a man whose martial prowess
251
00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:11,956
was being marked out very blatantly.
252
00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:15,551
Then the grave was
completely backfilled,
253
00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:18,074
leaving the shafts sticking out
of the ground,
254
00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:20,196
bristling out of the mound.
255
00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:23,158
So, they would have been visible
from some distance.
256
00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:25,879
They would have marked out
that grave as that of a warrior
257
00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:28,520
and it could have become
a place of homage,
258
00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:32,195
so that warriors who remembered him
from life could have grown
259
00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:35,272
old and grey, regaling their children
and grandchildren
260
00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:37,510
with stories about this man,
261
00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:41,389
remembering what a great
and powerful warrior
262
00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:44,313
now lay buried in that special grave.
263
00:17:54,520 --> 00:17:57,034
The world of the Kirkburn Warrior
is the beginning
264
00:17:57,120 --> 00:18:00,590
of a new era in the history
of our land and its people.
265
00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:05,708
This is the time of Celtic Britain,
266
00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:12,111
a world of magic, mystery
and spiritual destiny.
267
00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:18,194
And clues to the birth of this new age
268
00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:21,078
can be found
in the northeast of England.
269
00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:30,838
I've come to Yorkshire, because
20 or so miles away in that direction
270
00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:33,036
is where the Kirkburn Warrior
was buried,
271
00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:36,396
around 300 years BC,
along with his splendid sword.
272
00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:39,473
And what's more, he wasn't the only one.
273
00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:54,517
In the Iron Age, formal burial was rare.
274
00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:59,039
In most cases, when people died,
their bodies were simply laid out
275
00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:02,795
and the bones gradually picked clean
by animals and birds.
276
00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:05,713
If you were lucky,
you might have got a cremation.
277
00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:09,156
But, up here, in the chalk uplands
of east Yorkshire,
278
00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:11,390
something a bit different was going on.
279
00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:17,316
Melanie Giles has been studying
the Iron Age of east Yorkshire
280
00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:19,038
for more than a decade.
281
00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:22,193
So, what exactly is in this field?
282
00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:25,076
This is an Iron Age cemetery.
283
00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:27,833
And what you're looking at
is small barrows.
284
00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:29,751
Each one of those is somebody's grave.
285
00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:33,037
So, all these bumps
of different sizes and heights
286
00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:36,552
- contain a person?
- Indeed, yes.
287
00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:40,159
Is this the only cemetery of its kind?
288
00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:44,518
No, there are many more like it
across east and into north Yorkshire.
289
00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:47,194
And when you say east
and north Yorkshire,
290
00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:50,113
is that the limit
of cemeteries like these?
291
00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:52,994
Yes, they're really unique in Britain.
292
00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:56,516
But there are cemeteries like this
in modern-day France,
293
00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:58,318
in the Marne/Moselle region.
294
00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:00,914
So, what is going on then?
295
00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:04,879
If this is a French cemetery,
what is it doing here?
296
00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:06,712
Well, I don't know that
it's a French cemetery.
297
00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:10,395
There's lots of different ideas
about this, lots of different debates.
298
00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:13,392
Some people thought
it was a massive invasion,
299
00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:16,199
a kind of war band coming across.
300
00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:19,312
But, in fact, most of these people
look as if they're local,
301
00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:21,277
they were born and brought up here.
302
00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:23,994
So, we might be looking
at just a small group
303
00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:27,959
of important or powerful people
coming across from the Continent.
304
00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:31,316
And some of the grave goods
we find in those barrows
305
00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:35,359
reinforce that sense that there
are contacts with the Continent.
306
00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:40,790
OLIVER: The Celtic culture
that came to represent an entire era
307
00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:43,269
might have had its genesis right here,
308
00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:47,319
in the continentally connected
warrior elites of east Yorkshire.
309
00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:52,312
So, a warrior of the status,
say, of the Kirkburn Warrior,
310
00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:54,914
someone of that style and demeanour?
311
00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:58,237
Absolutely, and he was buried
just about 10 miles from here.
312
00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:01,676
Okay. So he's part of this fashion?
313
00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:05,829
Yes, and figures like that,
who maybe were skilled at fighting
314
00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:07,911
or had achieved something in their life,
315
00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:10,912
or maybe even through
the manner of their death,
316
00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:13,753
were treated to special kinds
of burials.
317
00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:20,668
OLIVER: But the Yorkshire burials
have revealed something else
318
00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,638
that was remarkable
about this new culture.
319
00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:25,392
Because here, it seems,
320
00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,597
it was not only great warriors
who were revered.
321
00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:33,590
Our picture of ancient Britain
will always be incomplete
322
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:37,150
because often the evidence
we find is of important men.
323
00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:40,676
The artefacts are often
symbols of marital prowess.
324
00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:45,158
What's remarkable, here in Yorkshire,
is that around 300 BC,
325
00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:46,872
we start to find evidence of something
326
00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:48,951
that's been missing
from the story so far.
327
00:21:49,040 --> 00:21:50,712
And that is important women.
328
00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:58,952
This is the skeleton of a woman who died
329
00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:03,235
at least in her late 40s,
possibly even older than that.
330
00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:06,876
But for all that she was an older,
mature woman,
331
00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:09,953
her teeth are in remarkably good shape,
332
00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:15,596
which suggests she had access
to a good, even privileged diet.
333
00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:21,030
But, much more revealing and fascinating
334
00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:22,872
than her mere bones,
335
00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:26,392
are the circumstances
in which she was buried.
336
00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:30,712
This woman was buried lying on
337
00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:33,032
or inside a chariot.
338
00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:36,996
And around her were also placed
339
00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:40,678
all the furniture for horse driving.
340
00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:45,753
Quite hard to describe these. I suppose
they're the equivalent of hub caps.
341
00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:48,195
Decoration that would have gone around
342
00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:51,238
the knobbly bit that sticks out
from the wheel.
343
00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:56,553
These are parts of the bit
that the horse would have in its mouth,
344
00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:58,358
through which the reins passed,
345
00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:01,671
which give the driver control
over the horse's head.
346
00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:06,799
But also, in this woman's grave,
are items
347
00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:10,510
altogether more mysterious,
even magical.
348
00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:13,350
This metal cylinder,
349
00:23:15,360 --> 00:23:19,239
beautifully decorated
with Celtic art work.
350
00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:22,757
Now, it's completely sealed.
351
00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:24,910
You can't get into it,
you can't open it.
352
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,833
If it ever did contain anything,
it must have been organic
353
00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:31,071
and very small so that
with the passage of millennia
354
00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:32,912
that has decayed and disappeared.
355
00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,639
Maybe it was some beans or seeds,
356
00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:38,957
so that it could be used
as a ceremonial rattle.
357
00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:44,716
Perhaps even more powerful is this.
358
00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:47,916
It's been called a mirror.
359
00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:50,077
I suspect because,
in terms of its shape,
360
00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:51,878
that's exactly what it looks like.
361
00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:56,556
But, for me, the word mirror
downgrades this object.
362
00:23:56,800 --> 00:24:00,236
It makes it seem trivial
and to do with vanity.
363
00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:05,878
This, in its heyday,
would have been highly-polished iron.
364
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,434
But, even at its best,
the reflection that it offered
365
00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:10,795
would always have been blurred.
366
00:24:12,360 --> 00:24:17,150
It's now suggested that items
such as these were used
367
00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:20,678
not to reflect back our world,
368
00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:24,674
but to open a portal
into a world beyond,
369
00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:26,830
the world of the ancestors.
370
00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:30,475
That, by owning this,
and having access to it,
371
00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:34,189
you were able to communicate
directly with the dead.
372
00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:39,153
So, with these items here,
373
00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:44,878
it is easy to understand
that whoever this woman was,
374
00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:49,390
once upon a time, she really mattered.
375
00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:51,710
She was a woman of substance.
376
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,197
She was revered, she was wise
377
00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:59,398
and, in her community,
she was someone of real power.
378
00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:09,432
By 200 BC,
379
00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:12,876
Celtic culture had spread
right across our land
380
00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:17,078
and power was increasingly
becoming concentrated
381
00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:20,596
in the hands of fewer,
bigger, regional leaders.
382
00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:25,229
The chieftains of the
emerging Celtic tribes of Britain.
383
00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:30,909
The big question, though,
is just who were these Celts?
384
00:25:38,120 --> 00:25:41,829
Here in Britain, especially
along the so-called Celtic fringe
385
00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:44,229
of Cornwall, Wales and Scotland,
386
00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:47,029
Celticness is an emotive subject.
387
00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:50,837
There are people who believe
that it connects them
388
00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:52,797
to their sense of their own history,
389
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:57,396
that it underpins their sense of self
and of inheritance.
390
00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:02,072
There are even those who believe
in an entirely separate Celtic race.
391
00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:05,791
And how do I feel about that?
392
00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:10,112
Well, as a Scot, I feel a sense
of belonging to my country.
393
00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:13,038
I feel in a sense that my homeland
belongs to me.
394
00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:14,678
But whether or not that's the same
395
00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:17,718
as the sense of a separate
ethnic identity,
396
00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:19,597
I'd need help to answer that one.
397
00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:29,272
I'm sending a sample
of my DNA for analysis
398
00:26:29,360 --> 00:26:33,751
in an attempt to try and find out
where my Scottish ancestors came from.
399
00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:37,956
And, in particular, to find out
whether they were living in Britain
400
00:26:38,040 --> 00:26:40,349
during the height
of the Celtic Iron Age.
401
00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:46,798
Using statistical
genetic dating methods,
402
00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:50,509
Peter Forster believes
he can work out the detailed prehistory
403
00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:52,431
of living individuals.
404
00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:55,156
I know it's very complicated science
that's involved,
405
00:26:55,240 --> 00:27:00,394
but can you tell me, in simple terms,
who I am and where I come from?
406
00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:03,798
I'll give it a try.
So, what we've done, in a nutshell,
407
00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:06,758
is to take a look
at two stretches of DNA, of your DNA,
408
00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:09,274
which allow us to separately trace
409
00:27:09,360 --> 00:27:11,669
your mother's line
back into deep prehistory
410
00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:13,990
and your father's line
back into deep prehistory.
411
00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:15,195
Okay.
412
00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:19,950
So, to start with we've looked
at your mother's DNA, where her female
413
00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:22,395
- ancestry traces back to.
- Mmm-hmm.
414
00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:24,311
In theory, you could have matches
from all over the world,
415
00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:26,675
but let's take a look
what they are in fact.
416
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:27,994
- Right.
- So, this...
417
00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:30,310
Oh! Big red spot on Scotland.
418
00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:34,154
FORSTER: Yeah, let me zoom in...
OLIVER: That's fascinating.
419
00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:38,312
- And it's the Western Isles of Scotland.
- Yes.
420
00:27:39,160 --> 00:27:43,517
We've got no recent historical
connection to the islands.
421
00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:45,631
- Well, it is not only Western Isles.
- Mmm-hmm.
422
00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:48,320
We've some more matches
in mainland Scotland.
423
00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:53,474
In simple terms, everything about my mum
is pointing in the direction of Scotland
424
00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:55,994
and having been in Scotland
for a long, long time.
425
00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:58,389
That's right because, as you can see,
it's all over Scotland.
426
00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:00,948
It's not just one particular island
or location.
427
00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:04,794
So, that argues for a presence
of your mother's line in Scotland
428
00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:06,871
way back into prehistory,
thousands of years ago.
429
00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:09,030
So, what about my dad then?
430
00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:13,439
Yes, your father's line
was a bit of a surprise.
431
00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:19,509
So, let's see. That's the result
for the father's line.
432
00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:20,828
OLIVER: Right.
433
00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:23,593
Your particular paternal lineage
434
00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:28,037
is more common in southern Europe
and eastern Europe.
435
00:28:28,120 --> 00:28:31,430
There's nothing from my dad's DNA
in Britain at all.
436
00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:34,554
Well, it's more than that in fact.
437
00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:36,835
There is nothing in Scandinavia,
in northern Europe.
438
00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:40,276
So, it is a southern
and eastern European profile.
439
00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:45,753
So, the individuals or individual
in my father's line
440
00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:50,595
only came to Britain,
in DNA terms, relatively recently?
441
00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:52,511
Yes, that is correct.
442
00:28:52,600 --> 00:28:54,431
Wait until I tell him.
443
00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:58,756
Wait until I tell my Scottish dad
that he's not from Scotland.
444
00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:11,231
Experts have tried again and again
to identify a Celtic bloodline,
445
00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:13,670
but the most they can really agree on,
446
00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:17,469
is that, just as in my case,
ancestry is complicated.
447
00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,318
Many people today
believe that, "Celtic,"
448
00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:26,672
is no more than a collective term
to describe a whole host of peoples
449
00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:29,718
who lived in Europe
around 2,000 years ago
450
00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:31,836
and shared common cultural values.
451
00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:37,675
It's possible, it's even likely,
that there never was
452
00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:40,797
a separate ethnic Celtic identity.
453
00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:45,558
There is certainly no absolute evidence
for a separate Celtic race,
454
00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:49,235
however disappointing
some people might find that fact.
455
00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:53,675
But what we do have
and what we do have evidence for
456
00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:56,600
is a common Celtic heritage.
457
00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:03,757
The Celts appreciated
similar art and design
458
00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:07,590
and they held shared values
of status and hierarchy.
459
00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:13,275
And linguists also believe
they shared a common language,
460
00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:17,156
a language we can decipher,
461
00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:19,551
even after 2,000 years.
462
00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:23,750
Paul, how much do we know about what
the Iron Age would have sounded like
463
00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:25,910
in terms of the spoken word?
464
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:29,549
Well, we know something about it
in the sense
465
00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:33,952
that the descendent languages
from this period in Britain
466
00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:37,829
do survive in the form of Welsh
and Cornish and Breton,
467
00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:40,992
and, slightly more distantly,
with Irish and Scots Gaelic.
468
00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:43,953
So that, if we were to take
a particular word,
469
00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:49,319
we would know that
the ancient British word for a boar
470
00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:54,674
would be turcos,
because we have Welsh turc, and so on.
471
00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:57,633
And, to take another example,
472
00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:01,156
maglos would be the word
for a prince or a lord
473
00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:05,313
on the basis of Welsh mael
and Irish morl.
474
00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:11,232
And these forms one can reconstruct
to produce those forms.
475
00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:15,918
If you were to take
a modern-day English speaker
476
00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:19,436
and plunk them down
in an Iron Age marketplace,
477
00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:23,476
what would be most striking
about the voices around them?
478
00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:25,511
I think the most striking thing probably
479
00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:28,068
is that they wouldn't
understand a word of it,
480
00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:32,153
because this is a language group
that is unrelated,
481
00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:34,959
or only distantly related, to English.
482
00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:38,590
So, you'd be in the market
and you'd say,
483
00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:42,958
"Mai tarme turcon,"sell me a boar.
484
00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:47,793
And there's nothing there,
apart, perhaps, from the "me"
485
00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:50,678
which an English speaker
would understand.
486
00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:55,870
If a traveller was to go
from the southwest of England
487
00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:59,271
to the northeast of Scotland,
would they hear the language
488
00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:01,749
changing as though with dialects?
489
00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:03,791
Yes, almost certainly.
490
00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:07,071
That's probably definitely the case,
by virtue of the fact
491
00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:10,556
that these are languages that
develop into different languages.
492
00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:14,110
So, Welsh as separate from Cornish,
and so on and so forth.
493
00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:16,794
So, there probably
was that kind of variation,
494
00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:22,637
but the kind of variation where, from
mile on mile, neighbour to neighbour,
495
00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:25,314
they perfectly well
would understand each other.
496
00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:29,473
But, if you moved them all the way
from the southwest to the northeast,
497
00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:32,028
they would probably struggle,
I would have thought.
498
00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:35,999
Can you construct a sentence for me,
so that I can get a sense
499
00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:40,513
of the rhythm and the cadence
of that ancient British language?
500
00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:42,830
Well, okay. Um...
501
00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:47,437
Think of a lord, a prince,
like you, for example,
502
00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:50,512
coming into the feasting hall.
503
00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:53,718
And people would rise
and would say to you...
504
00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:55,119
I certainly hope so.
505
00:32:55,200 --> 00:33:00,149
"Arut regami magleh mutakeh,"
506
00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:06,035
which would mean basically something
like, "I honour you, long-haired lord."
507
00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:08,949
Did you just call me a hippy in Celtic?
508
00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:10,758
- Possibly.
- (CHUCKLING)
509
00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:22,317
OLIVER: I'm used to seeing
and handling artefacts.
510
00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:25,472
Things made of metal, stone and pottery.
511
00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:32,238
So, it's quite a strange feeling to get
the sounds of the Iron Age as well.
512
00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:35,593
It almost sounds crass to say it,
513
00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:39,753
but it brings that time back to life.
514
00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:42,911
If you take the language,
515
00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:48,468
if you had a Gaelic speaker from
the Western Isles or a Welsh speaker,
516
00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:54,155
while they perhaps couldn't have
a conversation with an Iron Age warrior,
517
00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:58,632
there's every possibility that
they could make themselves understood.
518
00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:04,511
So the world of the past and the modern
world would collide at that point.
519
00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:07,513
The past is very close,
if you approach it in the right way.
520
00:34:28,200 --> 00:34:31,237
Less than 200 years
after the Kirkburn Warrior,
521
00:34:31,640 --> 00:34:34,712
the tribes of Britain
might still have been rivals,
522
00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:38,793
but they were also bound
by a common Celtic culture.
523
00:34:41,240 --> 00:34:45,392
In the Southern Highlands of Scotland,
using experimental archaeology,
524
00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:48,756
it's even possible to get close
to the reality of life
525
00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:50,353
at the time of the Celtic Iron Age.
526
00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:57,430
Look at that.
It's a modern reconstruction
527
00:34:57,520 --> 00:34:59,715
of a building called a crannog,
528
00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:02,837
which is a large house
built on a platform
529
00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:05,593
that sits above the waters of the loch.
530
00:35:05,720 --> 00:35:09,429
This would have been the home,
2,000 ears ago, of a local chieftain.
531
00:35:11,080 --> 00:35:14,197
A building like that
is about status and prestige.
532
00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:16,555
It's visible for miles around.
533
00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:18,710
You're essentially saying to people,
534
00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:23,316
"Here I am. And if you think you can
take this from me, do your best."
535
00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:29,190
In this world of Celtic tribes,
536
00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:32,431
leaders needed to be
more than powerful warriors.
537
00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:36,349
They needed diplomatic skills
and political nous, too.
538
00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:41,558
And artefacts found here, in Loch Tay,
539
00:35:41,760 --> 00:35:45,309
bear testament to how
Iron Age politics were conducted.
540
00:35:47,240 --> 00:35:52,075
This is a small, circular, wooden plate
541
00:35:52,240 --> 00:35:54,276
recovered from the loch.
542
00:35:55,440 --> 00:35:59,479
In Iron Age Britain,
status wasn't just about
543
00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:03,112
items of jewellery
and personal adornment.
544
00:36:03,920 --> 00:36:07,879
It was about your ability
to draw people to you.
545
00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:13,312
Men, fighting men, who were loyal
to you, who would do your bidding.
546
00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:17,236
And a key way of getting to them
547
00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:20,398
was, as they say,
through their stomachs.
548
00:36:20,520 --> 00:36:22,556
The way to a man's heart.
549
00:36:22,720 --> 00:36:27,430
And so you have to picture a chieftain,
perhaps the chieftain of the area
550
00:36:28,360 --> 00:36:30,351
gathering men to him,
551
00:36:31,080 --> 00:36:35,517
and they would be fed by him
to show that he was a big man.
552
00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:39,349
The story here,
from this little wooden plate,
553
00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:43,595
is that feasting was a key part
554
00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:46,672
of power broking
in late Iron Age Britain.
555
00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:53,312
Barrie Andrian,
who helped create the crannog,
556
00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:55,591
is an expert in feasting.
557
00:36:56,640 --> 00:36:58,392
And many of the same wild plants
558
00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:00,630
that would have been
eaten 2,000 years ago
559
00:37:00,720 --> 00:37:03,188
still grow around the area today.
560
00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:04,833
ANDRIAN: They didn't have access
561
00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:07,150
to the kinds of vegetables
that we have today.
562
00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:10,909
Nothing like onions and potatoes,
and our kind of staples.
563
00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:15,596
So, foraging would have been a very,
very important source of food for them.
564
00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:18,069
There are lots of edible greens here.
565
00:37:18,160 --> 00:37:22,711
Things like chickweed and sorrel,
which has a lemony taste.
566
00:37:26,640 --> 00:37:28,358
See what you think.
567
00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:41,714
It has got a very...
It's got a very... definite flavour.
568
00:37:41,800 --> 00:37:43,791
- This is sorrel.
- Mmm-hmm.
569
00:37:44,240 --> 00:37:48,119
I'm going to put that in the stew.
Just to give it a kick.
570
00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:53,513
Yeah, there's a real acidy, citrusy...
That's a strong flavour.
571
00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:58,392
The scale and variety of food
offered by a chieftain
572
00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:02,553
would have been a mark of his status
and, by extension, his power.
573
00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:07,431
We have a fantastic amount
of organic material
574
00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:10,313
that we've uncovered and discovered
underwater here in Loch Tay
575
00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:14,752
at one of the crannog sites.
More than 160 different types
576
00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:19,118
of edible plants.
So this is a mere representative sample.
577
00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:22,591
Just a handful, literally,
of some of those.
578
00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:26,434
- Let me just try that one.
- Wild mushroom and barley.
579
00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:31,435
Oh, that is delicious.
The barley is very strong there.
580
00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:35,556
- There is an echo of Scotch broth.
- Yeah, I think it would be.
581
00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:41,948
OLIVER: Over the hearth, a masterpiece
of decorative wrought ironwork
582
00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:44,270
would have supported a spit-roast
583
00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:46,595
and proclaimed the standing
of its owner.
584
00:38:48,040 --> 00:38:51,635
ANDRIAN: This is an example
or representation of a firedog.
585
00:38:51,720 --> 00:38:54,473
The firedog would have been
a high status,
586
00:38:54,560 --> 00:38:56,915
really classy piece of art.
587
00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:59,514
And ou can see the curve
of the back of the head.
588
00:38:59,600 --> 00:39:01,750
It's maybe a horse or a bull
589
00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:04,832
with the horns sticking out,
or maybe even a wild boar.
590
00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:07,957
But, obviously something important,
something symbolic.
591
00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:09,991
And if you look at the craftsmanship,
592
00:39:10,080 --> 00:39:14,153
these are meant to represent
wealth and power.
593
00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:16,476
So, it's another symbol of status.
594
00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:19,028
It's food for show, isn't it?
It's food as a performance.
595
00:39:19,120 --> 00:39:22,556
Absolutely.
They definitely weren't hiding.
596
00:39:27,240 --> 00:39:30,994
A feast was a hugely
important social exercise.
597
00:39:31,200 --> 00:39:33,953
It was almost a ritual in its own right.
598
00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:40,310
Everyone attending the event
would have understood the etiquette.
599
00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:45,750
They would have been able to read
every nuance, every sign, every gesture.
600
00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:52,189
The leader had to be
a skilled politician to pull it off,
601
00:39:53,480 --> 00:39:57,632
to read people correctly
and make accurate assessments
602
00:39:57,720 --> 00:39:59,915
of his followers,
or his would-be followers.
603
00:40:01,360 --> 00:40:04,079
Who would be served first?
604
00:40:04,960 --> 00:40:07,713
Who would get the choicest cuts of meat?
605
00:40:07,800 --> 00:40:10,553
Who would be left
with the cold shoulder?
606
00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:13,279
And because it was happening publicly,
607
00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:15,951
it was open to dispute.
608
00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:20,392
Because, after all, it is a room
full of fiery hot-blooded Celts.
609
00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:23,590
And if one of them felt
that he was being slighted
610
00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:27,514
when he should have been praised,
then, if he felt strong enough,
611
00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:31,195
he would have the opportunity
to make his feelings clear.
612
00:40:33,520 --> 00:40:37,195
But, by the end of the night,
everyone would have understood
613
00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:41,078
where they were,
how they related to one another,
614
00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:43,993
who was top dog
and who was at the bottom.
615
00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:55,235
Over just a few hundred years,
616
00:40:55,320 --> 00:40:58,676
the structure of power
had reshaped Iron Age Britain,
617
00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:01,835
from an age of elite local warriors
618
00:41:01,920 --> 00:41:04,753
to increasingly powerful
Celtic chieftains.
619
00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:11,232
By around 100 BC, power had
become concentrated in the hands
620
00:41:11,320 --> 00:41:13,311
of a narrow, social elite.
621
00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:17,429
People who controlled
such an extent of trade and territory
622
00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:19,795
that they became something new.
623
00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:22,190
The first of the mega rich.
624
00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:25,633
And some of the evidence for that
625
00:41:25,720 --> 00:41:28,598
can be seen back here
at the British Museum.
626
00:41:40,360 --> 00:41:45,070
This is a late Iron Age gold torc,
627
00:41:46,160 --> 00:41:50,438
an elaborate, lavish piece of jewellery
worn around the neck.
628
00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:53,390
It is absolutely breathtaking.
629
00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:57,634
The weight of gold,
just the lustre of it.
630
00:41:57,960 --> 00:42:01,157
It's been compared,
in terms of its significance,
631
00:42:01,240 --> 00:42:04,835
as being right up there
with the British crown jewels.
632
00:42:05,320 --> 00:42:07,390
And ou can surely see why.
633
00:42:08,440 --> 00:42:09,998
It's been made
634
00:42:10,360 --> 00:42:13,750
by twisting individual strands of gold
635
00:42:14,200 --> 00:42:16,919
to create these corkscrewing spirals.
636
00:42:18,360 --> 00:42:22,194
And then the ends have been fitted
into these round terminals.
637
00:42:22,880 --> 00:42:26,316
The goldsmith, the artist
has really gone to town
638
00:42:27,120 --> 00:42:31,511
on adding decoration
to give it texture and depth.
639
00:42:32,240 --> 00:42:35,789
It dates to around 75 years BC.
640
00:42:36,520 --> 00:42:39,239
And it's quite different in form
641
00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:42,638
from the earlier military art,
642
00:42:42,760 --> 00:42:45,832
like the Battersea Shield,
the Kirkburn Sword.
643
00:42:46,720 --> 00:42:50,269
This is the advent of something
quite new in Britain.
644
00:42:50,440 --> 00:42:53,830
This is extreme wealth,
extreme showing off.
645
00:42:54,480 --> 00:42:57,199
And what you have here,
646
00:42:57,960 --> 00:43:00,155
in the owner of this,
647
00:43:01,480 --> 00:43:04,358
is a man who is seeing himself
648
00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:08,155
and, perhaps more importantly,
being seen by his followers,
649
00:43:08,720 --> 00:43:10,870
as nothing less than a king.
650
00:43:15,880 --> 00:43:18,394
Some of the tribal territories
of Britain were now ruled
651
00:43:18,480 --> 00:43:19,674
by men so powerful,
652
00:43:19,760 --> 00:43:22,149
they even began
to issue their own coins.
653
00:43:27,800 --> 00:43:29,279
Look at these.
654
00:43:30,200 --> 00:43:34,352
These are some of the earliest coins
ever found in England.
655
00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:40,875
The Celtic coin makers are making coins
in their own image, if you like.
656
00:43:41,320 --> 00:43:43,515
They're using Celtic art.
657
00:43:43,600 --> 00:43:47,878
Rather than straightforward
representations of heads,
658
00:43:48,400 --> 00:43:50,914
they're going for something abstract.
659
00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:54,470
Just like today, coins have always been
660
00:43:55,440 --> 00:43:59,513
representations of the state,
often the head of state.
661
00:43:59,920 --> 00:44:02,753
And the same thing is happening here.
662
00:44:04,240 --> 00:44:08,597
This torc, which dates from the same
period as these three gold coins,
663
00:44:09,120 --> 00:44:12,954
is a...
It's obviously a symbol of authority.
664
00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:18,314
But this is where you start to get
the authority of the state
665
00:44:18,400 --> 00:44:20,994
becoming something that's transferable.
666
00:44:21,080 --> 00:44:24,868
Coins are in circulation,
they're distributed.
667
00:44:26,120 --> 00:44:30,079
This is about society
being permeated by the portable,
668
00:44:30,280 --> 00:44:34,671
transferable symbols of the state
and of the king.
669
00:44:45,600 --> 00:44:49,718
But if there were people at the top
with almost unimaginable wealth,
670
00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:52,394
there were also people at the bottom.
671
00:44:54,160 --> 00:44:58,278
And evidence for that can be found
at the National Museum of Wales.
672
00:45:00,800 --> 00:45:04,349
As well as gold,
every important Celtic leader wanted
673
00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:06,755
prestige goods from mainland Europe,
674
00:45:06,840 --> 00:45:11,789
olive oil, wine, exotic tableware,
all the accoutrements of civilisation.
675
00:45:12,720 --> 00:45:17,316
To pay for it, they exported wool,
animal hides, hunting dogs.
676
00:45:17,560 --> 00:45:21,997
But there was also a darker price
to be paid for all that luxury.
677
00:45:31,080 --> 00:45:36,074
In European markets, one commodity
above all else was in great demand.
678
00:45:36,480 --> 00:45:39,278
Tall, strong, British manpower.
679
00:45:40,800 --> 00:45:42,233
Look at this.
680
00:45:42,800 --> 00:45:45,678
It's an iron slave chain.
681
00:45:46,040 --> 00:45:48,076
It's over 2,000 years old.
682
00:45:50,520 --> 00:45:57,039
Now, this obviously was the part
made to go round the slave's neck.
683
00:45:57,520 --> 00:45:59,192
(RING CLICKS SHUT)
684
00:46:00,640 --> 00:46:04,394
It would fit tightly.
Might even make it hard to breathe.
685
00:46:05,600 --> 00:46:10,515
And just half a metre,
a foot and a half, say, of iron chain
686
00:46:10,720 --> 00:46:14,838
separates each slave in the line
as they shuffle along
687
00:46:15,120 --> 00:46:17,156
to wherever they're going.
688
00:46:18,720 --> 00:46:20,676
It's fantastically heavy
689
00:46:21,400 --> 00:46:24,312
and so well preserved,
you get a real sense
690
00:46:24,400 --> 00:46:27,870
of what it would have felt like
to be burdened with this
691
00:46:27,960 --> 00:46:32,476
and to feel the way that these
would have chafed at the neck.
692
00:46:35,640 --> 00:46:39,235
For every king or queen in the Iron Age,
693
00:46:39,440 --> 00:46:43,115
there would have to have been
countless, countless slaves.
694
00:46:43,840 --> 00:46:46,035
Gold jewellery, works of art,
695
00:46:46,480 --> 00:46:51,554
they give a glimpse of life for people
at the top end of society.
696
00:46:51,800 --> 00:46:53,756
But it's items like this
697
00:46:54,240 --> 00:46:58,313
that brings you face to face
with what Iron Age reality
698
00:46:58,520 --> 00:47:02,399
must have been like for those thousands
and thousands of people
699
00:47:02,480 --> 00:47:05,358
who inhabited the bottom of society.
700
00:47:16,400 --> 00:47:19,153
Just a few hundred years earlier,
many people in Britain
701
00:47:19,240 --> 00:47:22,198
had lived in egalitarian
farming communities.
702
00:47:24,400 --> 00:47:28,598
But now, in the late Celtic Iron Age,
all that had changed.
703
00:47:30,800 --> 00:47:35,590
By 75 BC, Britain was a land
of hard, social divides.
704
00:47:37,840 --> 00:47:40,877
Kings at the top, slaves at the bottom.
705
00:47:40,960 --> 00:47:44,999
The rest of us, presumably
the vast majority, somewhere in between.
706
00:47:45,080 --> 00:47:47,674
But there was another class of people.
707
00:47:47,760 --> 00:47:51,878
They were the spiritual leaders,
the wise men of Celtic society.
708
00:47:52,520 --> 00:47:53,873
The Druids.
709
00:47:57,640 --> 00:48:02,270
Miranda Green is an Iron Age
archaeologist and Druid specialist.
710
00:48:03,600 --> 00:48:07,354
Within the whole mix of society, you
know, you've got kings and aristocrats,
711
00:48:07,440 --> 00:48:10,352
you've got ordinary people,
you've got slaves at the bottom.
712
00:48:10,440 --> 00:48:13,671
- Where are the Druids in that picture?
- Right up at the top.
713
00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:17,355
I would think more important
than the kings or the tribal leaders.
714
00:48:17,440 --> 00:48:19,635
We know that the kings
listened to their advice.
715
00:48:19,720 --> 00:48:21,631
They were like
the Old Testament prophets.
716
00:48:21,720 --> 00:48:25,998
And one of the things that make them
important is that they overarch society.
717
00:48:26,080 --> 00:48:28,071
So that you might have kings of tribes,
718
00:48:28,160 --> 00:48:32,676
but the Druids would connect with
each other through huge areas of Europe,
719
00:48:32,760 --> 00:48:35,115
so they acted
like a kind of Celtic glue.
720
00:48:35,200 --> 00:48:39,079
So, really crucial
to the working of society?
721
00:48:39,160 --> 00:48:41,833
Crucial and they even intervened
in cases of warfare.
722
00:48:41,920 --> 00:48:45,595
They could actually walk into the middle
of a battlefield and stop the war.
723
00:48:45,680 --> 00:48:48,069
- Right. Okay.
- So, they were that important.
724
00:48:48,160 --> 00:48:50,355
Even though they didn't
actually fight themselves.
725
00:48:50,440 --> 00:48:54,194
So, they were absolutely
to be taken seriously?
726
00:48:54,400 --> 00:48:57,915
They were. And, indeed,
to go against a Druid would be
727
00:48:58,080 --> 00:49:01,277
almost be as bad as being dead,
because you would be exiled.
728
00:49:01,360 --> 00:49:05,114
Nobody would speak to you
and you were then beyond society,
729
00:49:05,200 --> 00:49:06,952
because of the word of a Druid.
730
00:49:13,240 --> 00:49:17,597
OLIVER: Little evidence remains of these
powerful priests of Celtic society,
731
00:49:17,680 --> 00:49:22,151
beyond legends of oaks,
mistletoe and golden sickles.
732
00:49:24,240 --> 00:49:27,437
But discoveries of unusual
and mysterious spoons
733
00:49:27,920 --> 00:49:32,436
are thought to be connected
to the indispensable art of divination.
734
00:49:33,760 --> 00:49:36,354
What is this collection of weirdness?
735
00:49:37,120 --> 00:49:41,238
Well, we have got here,
a pair of replica spoons.
736
00:49:41,600 --> 00:49:45,275
And they are called divination spoons.
Divination means telling the future.
737
00:49:45,360 --> 00:49:47,271
And they were used by Druids
in the Iron Age.
738
00:49:47,360 --> 00:49:50,193
One of the spoons
has got a hole drilled into it.
739
00:49:50,280 --> 00:49:53,192
The other spoon is divided
in its inner surface
740
00:49:53,280 --> 00:49:55,032
- into four quadrants.
- All right.
741
00:49:55,120 --> 00:49:58,237
GREEN: And I think they were used
together, placed like that,
742
00:49:58,320 --> 00:50:02,108
and then something blown
or dripped through the hole.
743
00:50:02,200 --> 00:50:07,035
And then, the spoons will be opened
to see where on the quartered surface
744
00:50:07,120 --> 00:50:08,917
- it would fall.
- Okay.
745
00:50:09,160 --> 00:50:11,310
If you want your ancestors
to speak to you about,
746
00:50:11,400 --> 00:50:14,198
perhaps, where you should go next
or where your herds should go,
747
00:50:14,280 --> 00:50:16,669
to do that you'd use their bones.
748
00:50:21,040 --> 00:50:22,792
(SUCKING THROUGH STRAW)
749
00:50:22,920 --> 00:50:24,638
Rather you than me.
750
00:50:25,280 --> 00:50:26,872
(BLOWING)
751
00:50:28,160 --> 00:50:31,675
So, we can see that the powder
that I blew through this hole
752
00:50:31,760 --> 00:50:34,957
has not landed, as you might think,
exactly opposite the hole,
753
00:50:35,040 --> 00:50:37,713
but down in this left hand corner here.
754
00:50:37,840 --> 00:50:41,389
So, we could try a little liquid now,
couldn't we? This is where you come in.
755
00:50:41,480 --> 00:50:43,038
OLIVER: I am guessing
that's not ketchup.
756
00:50:43,120 --> 00:50:46,510
GREEN: Er, no, it's not
tomato juice, it's blood.
757
00:50:46,600 --> 00:50:47,715
Okay.
758
00:50:58,400 --> 00:51:00,630
GREEN: You've got actually
quite a nice patterning there.
759
00:51:00,760 --> 00:51:02,398
But it is like telling the tea leaves.
760
00:51:02,480 --> 00:51:04,994
You're getting this definite shape.
761
00:51:05,080 --> 00:51:06,229
So, you would come to the Druids
762
00:51:06,320 --> 00:51:09,198
or the Druids would be
consulted by someone
763
00:51:10,000 --> 00:51:11,319
- in a position of power
- Mmm.
764
00:51:11,400 --> 00:51:13,755
- Who would ask specific questions.
- Yes.
765
00:51:13,840 --> 00:51:15,717
"Why are the flocks afflicted
766
00:51:15,800 --> 00:51:16,915
- "with this disease?"
- That's right.
767
00:51:17,000 --> 00:51:18,035
"Should we go to war
768
00:51:18,120 --> 00:51:19,348
- "with the neighbours?"
- That's right.
769
00:51:19,440 --> 00:51:22,876
And it would be in the gift
of the Druid to interpret this
770
00:51:22,960 --> 00:51:24,598
- any way he wanted?
- Of course.
771
00:51:24,680 --> 00:51:28,639
So, if the Druid wants to go to war,
the Druid can make that happen?
772
00:51:28,720 --> 00:51:31,314
Absolutely. And the Druids
would know perfectly well
773
00:51:31,400 --> 00:51:33,709
both the questions and the answers
that they were after.
774
00:51:33,840 --> 00:51:38,231
So, I think what you've got here is
a means of manipulating the future
775
00:51:38,320 --> 00:51:40,231
and manipulating power.
776
00:51:47,720 --> 00:51:50,029
OLIVER: The Druids were men so powerful
777
00:51:50,120 --> 00:51:53,237
that even the Celtic kings
danced to their tune.
778
00:51:54,200 --> 00:51:58,398
But, despite their huge influence,
apart from divination spoons,
779
00:51:58,960 --> 00:52:01,997
definite evidence of Druids
has never been found.
780
00:52:03,880 --> 00:52:06,075
But there is one possibility.
781
00:52:22,720 --> 00:52:25,188
This is the skull of a man who died
782
00:52:25,720 --> 00:52:30,919
around 200 years BC,
aged between 30 and 35 years old.
783
00:52:32,200 --> 00:52:36,478
He was buried in an Iron Age cemetery
in Deal, in Kent.
784
00:52:38,000 --> 00:52:40,798
He has been known as the Deal Warrior
785
00:52:40,880 --> 00:52:44,668
because with him, in his grave,
there was a sword.
786
00:52:45,640 --> 00:52:48,108
But there's something more interesting
787
00:52:48,200 --> 00:52:52,079
and more mysterious
about this character.
788
00:52:53,360 --> 00:52:56,830
When the skeleton was being excavated,
back in the 80s,
789
00:52:57,240 --> 00:53:01,358
the people working on it noticed
that, while he was definitely male,
790
00:53:02,080 --> 00:53:04,640
the bones were slight, slender.
791
00:53:05,120 --> 00:53:08,476
In fact, somebody said of him
that the bones
792
00:53:08,640 --> 00:53:11,108
were of a slightly feminine nature.
793
00:53:11,720 --> 00:53:15,793
So, something definitely un-warriorlike.
794
00:53:17,280 --> 00:53:20,113
So, what is going on?
What else do we know?
795
00:53:20,880 --> 00:53:26,512
He was buried wearing this
elaborate, enigmatic headgear.
796
00:53:29,000 --> 00:53:32,709
It wasn't padded or lined in leather.
797
00:53:33,360 --> 00:53:36,477
It was worn directly on the head.
798
00:53:37,080 --> 00:53:39,071
And we know that because traces
799
00:53:39,160 --> 00:53:42,470
of this individual's hair
were found trapped in the rim.
800
00:53:42,560 --> 00:53:45,916
For that reason,
and because it is so slight,
801
00:53:46,280 --> 00:53:49,078
it is highly unlikely that it was ever
worn as a military helmet
802
00:53:49,160 --> 00:53:52,550
to give protection
to a man's head in combat.
803
00:53:54,200 --> 00:53:56,998
The only other artefacts like it
804
00:53:57,560 --> 00:54:02,714
are the headgear
worn by religious leaders
805
00:54:03,040 --> 00:54:05,679
in Roman Britain 200 years later.
806
00:54:06,480 --> 00:54:08,755
So, was he something like that?
807
00:54:10,520 --> 00:54:14,513
The fascinating possibility,
and it's only a possibility,
808
00:54:15,280 --> 00:54:19,432
is that this individual, in life,
809
00:54:20,600 --> 00:54:26,311
was of that most mysterious
caste of people, a Druid,
810
00:54:27,800 --> 00:54:32,590
who walked this land 200 years
before the birth of Christ.
811
00:54:33,360 --> 00:54:37,433
And, if so, what events did he witness
812
00:54:37,520 --> 00:54:39,988
and what power did he wield?
813
00:54:52,680 --> 00:54:54,671
By the time of the Celtic kings,
814
00:54:54,800 --> 00:54:57,837
the age of the hill forts
was coming to an end.
815
00:54:58,600 --> 00:55:03,390
Even the greatest of them, the mega hill
forts like Danebury, were in decline.
816
00:55:06,520 --> 00:55:10,354
Trade with mainland Europe
had brought wealth and power,
817
00:55:10,440 --> 00:55:12,192
at least to the few.
818
00:55:15,360 --> 00:55:17,954
But those contacts
were bringing Britain to the brink
819
00:55:18,040 --> 00:55:20,031
of another new age.
820
00:55:26,880 --> 00:55:30,714
Look at this.
It's a fragment of a storage vessel.
821
00:55:31,720 --> 00:55:35,190
It was found 40 odd miles
from here, on the coast,
822
00:55:35,440 --> 00:55:39,149
and it was made, maybe, 75 years BC.
823
00:55:42,920 --> 00:55:46,356
This vessel didn't
contain local produce.
824
00:55:46,640 --> 00:55:48,232
Rather, it held something
825
00:55:48,360 --> 00:55:52,672
from many hundreds of miles away
to the south on mainland Europe.
826
00:55:54,240 --> 00:55:59,155
This contained wine, possibly
from the vineyards of Rome itself.
827
00:56:02,680 --> 00:56:06,070
Now, this speaks
of a remarkable transformation.
828
00:56:07,160 --> 00:56:11,915
From a land 400, maybe 300, years BC,
829
00:56:12,680 --> 00:56:15,513
with tribal chieftains
fighting over booty,
830
00:56:16,640 --> 00:56:19,359
to a land of proto-kingdoms,
831
00:56:19,600 --> 00:56:23,991
whose leaders had acquired
a taste for and had access to
832
00:56:24,400 --> 00:56:27,995
the finest luxuries
that the classical world could offer.
833
00:56:28,320 --> 00:56:32,711
It was the height of the Celtic
Iron Age, with all its feasting,
834
00:56:32,800 --> 00:56:36,588
and Druids,
and the full glory of Celtic art.
835
00:56:38,400 --> 00:56:41,915
But this represents something
much more powerful as well
836
00:56:42,720 --> 00:56:47,919
because, by now, the Roman Empire
was fully on the move,
837
00:56:48,240 --> 00:56:51,550
had already placed the shadow
of its hand over Gaul.
838
00:56:52,040 --> 00:56:56,397
Soon the leaders here would be
tasting more than Roman wine.
839
00:56:56,960 --> 00:56:59,918
They'd be tasting Roman swords, as well,
840
00:57:00,120 --> 00:57:04,671
and that would mark the beginning
of a whole new era in our history.
841
00:57:09,880 --> 00:57:12,348
Next time, my journey continues.
842
00:57:12,920 --> 00:57:14,876
The lesson there is don't stand still
843
00:57:14,960 --> 00:57:16,951
if a man on a horse
is coming at you with a sword.
844
00:57:20,120 --> 00:57:22,350
As I encounter a whole new age
845
00:57:23,600 --> 00:57:25,272
of invasion.
846
00:57:25,720 --> 00:57:29,030
These beaches were lined
with thousands of British warriors.
847
00:57:29,440 --> 00:57:32,273
And out there,
two legions of Roman infantry
848
00:57:32,680 --> 00:57:37,037
and, at their head, Julius Caesar,
Roman general and budding emperor.
849
00:57:38,120 --> 00:57:39,951
A time of bloody conflict.
850
00:57:41,160 --> 00:57:45,472
These men were executed,
their heads were cut off their bodies
851
00:57:45,560 --> 00:57:47,551
and their heads were stuck on spikes.
852
00:57:48,240 --> 00:57:51,073
This is what would happen to you
if you got in the way of Rome.
853
00:57:53,640 --> 00:57:58,555
A moment in our history that would
change the face of Britain forever.
854
00:58:01,740 --> 00:58:09,740
Ripped By mstoll