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Private Notes
Helen Skelton and Alex Langlands head to Lindisfarne and the Isle of Man to uncover the secrets of Viking burial grounds. Presenters Helen Skelton and Alex Langlands, along with a team of archeologists, explore fascinating periods in British history through a current archaeological dig. In the first episode, Helen and Alex head for the island of Lindisfarne, where archaeologists are trying to locate the site of an eighth-century monastery. Among their finds is a graveyard and a number of skeletons, which may be those of both monks and pilgrims.
Helen Skelton and Alex Langlands join a new dig at Elsyng Palace, one of nearly 60 royal residences owned by Henry Vlll and one of his favourite homes during his last decade. The dig unearths more clues to the palace's architecture and splendour, and of Henry's life and times, with finds including the remnants of a working oven and a 16th-century groat - worth about four pence in Tudor times - featuring a portrait of Henry's face.
Helen Skelton and Alex Langlands explore the history of Stonehenge, examining the stones that make up the structure, their acoustic properties, and how they were transported 120 miles from their origins in Salisbury Plain to form the circle. Helen also visits a village where builders were believed to have lived during the site's construction and meets scientists who have analysed the bodies buried beneath the monument.
Helen Skelton and Alex Langlands head to the village of Poulton in Cheshire to see a location where archaeologists have dug up nearly 1,000 human skeletons. The remains have revealed secrets about life during the Black Death, including signs of backbreaking agricultural work, poor nutrition and battles.
A recent dig found evidence of the King's lavish lifestyle.
Can a site on the Lancashire-Yorkshire border shed more light on the Pendle Witch trials of 1612? Helen Skelton and Alex Langlands investigate the Pendle Witch trials of 1612. The presenters visit Lancaster Castle, where the suspects were held, read James I's infamous book on demons, and talk to archaeologists who claim to have found the site of the supposed coven's meeting place. Plus, a look at the role a nine-year-old girl played in sealing the fates of the accused women and how the trial influenced British legal history.
Archaeologists and presenters Raksha Dave and Alex Langlands return to explore more fascinating periods in British history through archaeological digs. In the first episode, the pair join a team from Reading University at a site in Silchester, near Reading, as they examine one of the best-preserved Roman sites in Britain.
Raksha Dave and Alex Langlands examine the history of HMS Invincible, which was captured from the French in 1747 and helped transform the Royal Navy with the lessons it taught about organisation and ship design. For more than 260 years, HMS Invincible lay at the bottom of the Solent, but archaeologists are now diving beneath the waves in a ú2m excavation to discover more about this game-changing ship.
Archaeologists conduct a dig at Auckland Castle in Co Durham, which 700 years ago was home to a group of power-crazed bishops who behaved more like warriors than religious leaders. The experts head to Dirleton Castle in East Lothian to reveal the role one of the men played in defending England from William Wallace's army, and also try their hands at the art of stained glass-making, and fire a working trebuchet - the ultimate medieval weapon of war.
Centuries ago, canals were the liquid highways of Britain, transporting raw materials and finished goods all over the country. Their arrival kick-started the Industrial Revolution, which was to turn Britain into a superpower. The very first water superhighway was the Bridgewater Canal, completed in 1761 to carry coal to Manchester from the mines in Worsley. Here, a team of archaeologists from Salford University roots out this industrial past, working with volunteers to excavate the very coal mine that inspired the creation of the canal.
Raksha Dave and Alex Langlands search for the remains of a First World War stable at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire, where thousands of horses would have been housed and trained for the front line. They join a team comprised of archaeologists and the military attempting to uncover the role this building played in the war effort. They also visit Britain's oldest cavalry regiment, examining tools that soldiers would have used to look after their steeds, and hear the story of Warrior, known as the horse the German's could not kill.
Archaeologists hunt for a lost garden fit for a Queen.
