Sacred Wonders of Britain 1
Sacred Wonders of Britain episode 1: In the first of a three part series, Neil Oliver sets off on in search of the Sacred Wonders of Britain. What was it about Britain's rich and varied landscape that inspired our ancestors to express their beliefs by reshaping the world around them? What did they see in our countryside that led them to deem some places more sacred than others and why are we still drawn back to those places today?
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Last history post on HDclump.com:
https://hdclump.com/bettany-hughes-treasures-of-the-world-episode-1/
https://hdclump.com/blood-of-the-clans-episode-3-the-last-rebels/
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Transcript
00:08This is St Nectan's Glen.
00:11It's a spectacular 60-foot waterfall
00:14just a few miles
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefineda tale that King Arthur came here
00:27with his knights before going
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedhere from all over the world
00:44and for many different reasons.
00:46Some come to worship God or a god,
00:49they might be remembering a lost
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthe centuries and millennia.
01:05The question is though,
01:07why do we regard some places as
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undefined:undefined13,000 years ago,
01:37through to Henry VIII's Reformation
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undefined:undefined29
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedvery first sacred wonders of Britain
01:57to try and reconnect with
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedof the modern world?
02:11And why do these places still
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedshaped and that shaped them
02:37were concerned with understanding
02:39how the world around them worked.
02:42So the stories that they told
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undefined:undefined44
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedwhy the forests grew,
02:56which of the animals were
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedfurthest reaches of Britain.
03:16At the southern
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthat would ensure a successful hunt.
03:34In a time when Britain was still
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undefined:undefinedfrom the modern town of Worksop,
03:51marked the northernmost
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedvisible from miles away.
04:11A beacon for hunting parties,
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedgood to be true.
04:26A kind of Palaeolithic Coronation
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedempty.
04:44Now, that may simply have been
04:46because the caves on the north side
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedChurch Hole Cave
05:08because the cave mouth reminded them
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedarchaeologist Paul Pettitt and
05:27his colleagues discovered something
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedhunting rituals
05:42and religion of our Palaeolithic
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undefined:undefined89
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedand look at it in a certain light,
06:00it's pretty clear. But in order to
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedThey've taken that to represent
06:27an eye indeed and there's this burrow
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undefined:undefined100
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedand shoulders,
06:43its belly and chest
06:45and there's its front leg.
06:47Back to the head again.
06:49If these people are hunters,
06:51is this an animal that
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedto their survival. They are totally
07:06dependent on hunting these
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthat was important.
07:25Probably, it had
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undefined:undefinedanimals,
07:41you can't see them right now,
07:43but you conjure them
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthis world.
07:58You help it and therefore
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedalmost fancifully,
08:19about the idea of the rock
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedunlike our modern religious places,
08:33which are created by their religions,
08:36here, the natural world creates a
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedanother
08:55and things move between it
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedmythological, religious places.
09:16Again, they blur the distinctions
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedanimals was an act
09:36that would be better described as
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedand sacred,
09:57perhaps they deemed it no longer
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undefined:undefined160
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedgeneration,
10:26the daily lives of our ancestors
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedaround Britain.
10:53Slowly, but surely, the new
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedredeveloping it,
11:08rethinking it in a
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedcities like Athens and Rome
11:24would create foundation myths
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedinterred in great mounds and tombs.
11:45They still dominate
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedSaxon god.
12:02How did farming change people's
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedfor altering it in general,
12:18which is why, as soon as the
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undefined:undefinedpresence that you just can't deny.
12:47These stones are personalities,
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undefined:undefined197
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedout of the corner of your eye.
13:02They could be totem animals or
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedand so the bones in the tomb here
13:15would be surrounded by an older
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthat just as later religions
13:35traded in the movement of relics,
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedpart of a person's skeleton,
13:54they form another function, don't
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedimaginatively to other worlds
14:13which these sacred dead now inhabit.
14:16Why do you think they chose
14:18the places they did to build these
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undefined:undefinedin places that marked a special event
14:34like a vision,
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefineddrawn by that small chamber,
14:52but it's this footprint,
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undefined:undefinedWe're good at what we do."
15:06"Look at it!"
15:12But why build these strange
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
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undefined:undefined240
undefined:undefined241
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedof 2013,
15:28Julian Thomas and his team
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedproof of something long suspected,
15:47that some Neolithic tombs started
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undefined:undefined249
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedchambered tomb of Cairn Holy
16:03near Dumfries in Scotland,
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undefined:undefined254
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedcommunity that's
16:18coming together at the beginning
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedcommunity in the landscape.
16:34So, it's a kind of cross between a
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedbecause in the long term,
16:51the memory of the hall becomes more
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedis that this is happening
17:10right at the beginning
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedfoundation is of cardinal importance.
17:28It's then remembered for generations
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedelement of that structure?
17:53I think, in a sense,
17:54you're moving to something that is
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedkind of spiritual force.
18:14And that Herefordshire model that
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedand houses of the dead,
18:28that there's
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedcommunity
18:40as those ancestors become more and
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedinseparable from the world.
19:03Sacred places were everywhere
19:05and sometimes in the most
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedas somewhere quite extraordinary.
19:34This is Grimes Graves.
19:35It's as though a little bit of the
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedof back-filled pits and shafts,
19:48some of them more than 40 feet deep,
19:51left behind by miners as they dug
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedChristianity, Hinduism
20:17and Buddhism would all see
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedpower more than most is John Lord.
20:4140 years ago,
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedif that's not a silly question?
20:56I just... in love with
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedmade at Grimes Graves,
21:09but I found that... that much
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedother uses.
21:27The thing that gets me, though,
21:30I find that if there was
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedapart from anything else.
21:54It makes music,
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedextracting the rubble easier.
22:26Reaching the flint,
22:28they'd chase the seams through a
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedoriginal mine.
22:47When you come here now, you've been
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedlate to see anything going on.
23:04There's a mystery here.
23:06Winning the flint from so deep
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undefined:undefinedpreserved below
23:32in its Neolithic sense?
23:34It is pretty much the only one
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedinto an ancient flint works.
24:16It's one of the few, rare glimpses
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedbig concrete base above us.
24:37There would have been sunlight
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedbut you forget the extent of it.
24:50Yes, you've got a whole network
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undefined:undefined383
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedmuch of that so far.Yes.
25:14All the other
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undefined:undefined387
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthe Earth,
25:24so it's a major investment.
25:26The amount of people necessary to dig
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
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undefined:undefined393
undefined:undefined394
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedin tree roots, in rivers and streams,
25:41you've got so much flint.
25:43In fact most of the flint we find
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undefined:undefined399
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthese galleries and have a look see.
26:04Oh, yeah.
26:15Why else would you dig an enormous
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undefined:undefined405
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedwe're dealing with people who live
26:26on the ground surface, they never...
26:28You know, we've got cellars, subways,
26:30a whole range of subterranean
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undefined:undefined411
undefined:undefined412
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedalien environment.
26:47And why do that, why make your life
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined417
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedmetres,
26:57digging these galleries out
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined421
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefineda spiritual point of view.
27:07It's difficult to get your head
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined425
undefined:undefined426
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedat a lot of the galleries today,
27:26they're really restricted
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
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undefined:undefined432
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedseem to be young females,
27:39so I sort of think whether this might
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedbe a rebirth,
27:58it might be your entering
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined442
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedlevels of society,
28:10but seems to be the younger ones
28:12who were coming down into these
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined448
undefined:undefined449
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedall their sort of tools
28:30in quite large numbers at the end of
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undefined:undefined454
undefined:undefined455
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedeither having worked down there,
28:43those tools are spiritually polluted,
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined460
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedyears, since they were last used.
29:13Everything we think about is
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedset down by a Neolithic hand
29:31and then nothing.
29:35Nobody touches it for 5,000 years.
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedTotally different atmosphere.
29:58Oh, very good.
30:02Fine.
30:26The flint mines of Grimes Graves
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthe final product so valued.
30:50But beliefs change
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined487
undefined:undefined488
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedruling elites,
31:11who claimed descendancy
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedin the whole of Britain.
31:26There are other similar long burial
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined498
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined2600 BC, everything changed.
31:40The great tombs like this one
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined502
undefined:undefined503
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedengineering projects of the age
31:55was under way - the henge
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedaligned on the sky,
32:23somewhere far beyond the reach
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefineddead, their souls, were no longer
32:36among us, but gone to somewhere
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthrow up in a weekend,
32:54but others are vast,
32:57and the biggest of all is Avebury
33:02the largest stone circle
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined522
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedand curving rows, even more stones.
33:21Everywhere you looked,
33:23it seemed great boulders were being
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
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undefined:undefined528
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedlittered, in sarsen boulders.
33:44Sarsen is old English
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined533
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedso troublesome stones.
33:56But for the ancients, for the people
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined537
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedforce and, at Avebury, that energy
34:20was being harnessed in a more
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
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undefined:undefined542
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedmoved between these ritual sites,
34:47archaeologist Nick Snashall
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined547
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedand stone circle.
35:08Do you think we have any
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined551
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedhere, is walk through the monuments,
35:27spend time in them and
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
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undefined:undefined556
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedof the people who put these stones up
35:44and a sense of the physicality
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthrough a built-up landscape,
35:59but theirs is devoid of that.
36:01Yes, it's an extraordinary thing to
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedcome to places
36:14that have these enormous stones that
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined570
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedmotorway straight lines,
36:33it's unnecessary kinks in it?
36:36Yeah. I think what they're doing
36:38is they're taking you on a journey
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedhappening here.
36:55So here in front of us
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedshould have been the first moment,
37:12the only time
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined584
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedlandscape,
37:22and here are the henge banks
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined588
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedfearful by the time they got here.
37:34Uh-huh. Just depends what actually
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined593
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthat set pulses racing.
37:55The ditch that I'm walking along is
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined598
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedwith, in your mind's eye,
38:15this V shape
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined604
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedworld's biggest polo mint lying
38:29in the grass and all of it achieved
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined608
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedfrom the shoulder blades of cattle.
38:45It's simply unbelievable.
38:53The great ditch may bring to mind
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined613
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedan earthwork
39:09that's the inversion of what you'd
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined618
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedinside and a bank on the outside.
39:23So it's almost so the purpose
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined623
undefined:undefined624
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedcattle or people inside,
39:45they're trying to keep the
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined629
undefined:undefined630
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedrest of the landscape.
40:11Archaeologists believe the massive
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined637
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedtoday only two survive.
40:34The Cove formed a box that some
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined642
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedphysical presence.
40:52Even by Avebury standards,
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined646
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedset in the ground.
41:06So we're potentially
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined650
undefined:undefined651
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedmegalith within the British Isles.
41:28It is just a wonder.
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined655
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedfeel its presence,
41:41it almost seems unbelievable that
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined659
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedbut I suspect when it fell in,
41:56they were probably just
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined663
undefined:undefined664
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthe pre-prepared socket,
42:13you know, boom!
42:14This is the kind of thing that
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined669
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedmight have been
42:26so impressed by this single object,
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined673
undefined:undefined674
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedsort of configuration of very large
42:41or very sort of distinctive or
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined678
undefined:undefined679
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedof years to follow.
43:00It seems the whole point of Avebury
43:03was to be involved in a great
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined685
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedof Avebury
43:17or hauling great stones into place
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined689
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedrequired someone to be in charge.
43:35A leader capable of wielding
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined694
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedbeing revealed in new discoveries
43:54at the northernmost tip of Britain.
44:01It's tempting to think of Orkney
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined700
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthey spread out across the islands.
44:19No doubt lives were hard
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined704
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedaround them.
44:36Much of their effort was
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined708
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthe Ring of Brodgar.
44:55These are among the oldest henge
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined713
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedoriginally 60 stones in the circle,
45:11they're very evenly spaced.
45:13In terms of the design and
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined718
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefineddifferent shapes, but best of all,
45:26each has been quarried from
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined722
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedNeolithic village of Skara Brae.
45:48Look at that. Look at this, yes.
45:51That's just a Ring of Brodgar
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined730
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedbut look at these ones.
46:13When you're very used to seeing
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined735
undefined:undefined736
undefined:undefined737
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedaway from where you're building?
46:31Well, we think it was because
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined742
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedstones are all slightly different
46:46depending on where they're quarried
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined746
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedso what you're seeing is something
46:59quite extraordinary that we don't
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined750
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedelse was in play.
47:16Cos what the people would remember
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined755
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedwhat they would remember,
47:30not the monument.
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined759
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedjourney became.
47:44A long time ago, there was a race
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined763
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedwater.
47:59And they danced in a great
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined768
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedso much
48:13that they lost track of time and,
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined772
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedWhose story is that?
48:29Well, we can trace the story
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined776
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedwhen the circles were in use
48:47by the people who'd built them
48:48and those stories would have been
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined781
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedinterpreting it
49:01in a way that they
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined786
undefined:undefined787
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedunderstanding on it.
49:23Maybe at the very least,
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined791
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedsomebody or something. Um,
49:40and I think that that would come
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined796
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedburied beneath sand dunes
50:18for 4,500 to 5,000 years until a
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined800
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedresponse to the Orkney weather,
50:39but it seems to me that if you were
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined805
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedand hauled it to Brodgar
50:57to say this is us, we are here too,
51:00the people and the place of Skara
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined811
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedfaced across Britain.
51:24Massive building projects like
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined816
undefined:undefined817
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedround which a family could gather.
51:45It appears to have been an idea that
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined821
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedcrowds could meet
52:01and think of themselves as part
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined826
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedcommunity took a new direction.
52:24It had long been thought
52:26that the two great stone circles
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined832
undefined:undefined833
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedcircles that everyone thought
52:41was just something left
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined838
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedperhaps even in the whole of Europe.
52:58The so-called Temple of Ness
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined842
undefined:undefined843
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedtemples.
53:19Nick,
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined847
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedamazing natural amphitheatre
53:31created by the
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined851
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedreflect almost
53:44is this kind of microcosm of the
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined855
undefined:undefined856
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedcaught their attention?
54:00I think so. It's quite unique.
54:02Each building at the Ness of Brodgar
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined862
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedacross Orkney
54:13were building their own structures
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined866
undefined:undefined867
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedof some of these buildings,
54:31which align with the
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined872
undefined:undefined873
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedduring particular times of the year,
54:52during rites of passage,
54:54maybe to do with death,
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined878
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedBritain and beyond,
55:14people would
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined884
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedknown elsewhere,
55:26that the Ness would have been almost
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined889
undefined:undefined890
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedsome stage of its life.
55:40So something starts here, I mean, is
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined894
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedpan-British phenomenon,
55:56the earliest dates
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined898
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedway throughout Britain
56:12might have
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined904
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedmust have been
56:29maybe an individual that kind of
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined908
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedhere, you know, 4-5,000 years ago?
56:47It's one interpretation!
56:53Around 2300 BC, the Ness of Brodgar
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined913
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedsacrificed
57:09to the decommissioning feast
57:11in what sounds like the biggest
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined918
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedworld and their place within it.
57:31It found expression, at least
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined922
undefined:undefined923
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedall the way back to the beginning,
57:50it would lead to someone.
57:51Some great visionary and thinker,
57:54and the message that they had to
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined930
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedremain anonymous.
58:12Next week, my journey
undefined:undefined00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,096
undefined:undefined934
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthe power of Rome is rising.