Hidden Dark Age Burial Ground Uncovered by Archaeologists
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- Опубліковано 9 лип 2023
- While working on the HS2 high speed railway project in the UK, archaeologists made discoveries of national significance, uncovering a large Anglo-Saxon burial site in Wendover, Buckinghamshire. Almost three quarters of the graves found contain high quality grave goods, suggesting the site was the final resting place of a wealthy Anglo-Saxon community.
History Hit has been at the heart of this discovery, with an exclusive documentary exploring the magnificent finds. Intriguingly, the items uncovered are dated to the 5th and 6th century, a period with significant gaps in the historical and archaeological record. The site contained 138 graves, with 141 inhumation burials and 5 cremation burials - one of the largest Anglo-Saxon burial grounds ever uncovered in Britain.
The discoveries made by HS2 archaeologists will contribute a significant amount to understanding how people in Anglo-Saxon Britain lived their lives, and what culture and society was like at that time.
Join Dan Snow as he explores this stunning set of discoveries in our brand new documentary ‘Digging Up the Dark Ages’.
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#historyhit #archaeology #darkages #dansnow
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This is great! What an informative show. Thanks! I’d love to learn more as you do!
All Fake. Proof of all Claims Required.
Still think it’s wrong to dig out body that had a proper burial I just think it’s wrong like would you want to be dugout of your final resting place kinda like Native American burials just go around them
Why is it that you english almost always 'forget' the frisians? The closest neighbour and drowning at that time.
Old english and old frisian is the most close languages.
The frisians already knew england by working for the romans and by trading before the 'invasion'.
Amazing to think the HS2 project started in the dark ages yet shows no signs of ever being completed.
Is it a huge waste of taxpayer money? Home working and video conferencing means people dont need it. Usual question, was anyone ever consulted?
@@11abrook Instead consider just how many people are employed in its construction. Construction represents around 10% of the UK workforce, a workforce that needs work to carry out. HS2 is a huge project that will keep many people employed for many years and I am sure will still see plenty of use once completed. Travel has no simply stopped and we should never stop pushing to improve society through these kinds of projects.
@@tc9694 improve society by destroying the environment and compulsory purchasing peoples homes to build it. Got it.
Yes disturbing the dead for no reason 👍
@@sarahperks8226 sorry Steven, we will just concrete straight over them next time
There are insufficient superlatives to cover this extraordinary and fascinating documentary. Utterly astonishing in every way. As a now retired academic - Early Medieval History - modern forensic archeology, osto-archeology together with some fabulous social research, and indeed a raft of highly talented specialists are requiring our understanding of this period of history to undergo some radical re-thinking and re-evaluation.
This episode has all of this, and more, beautifully presented and filmed, everything carefully explained in presenting this extraordinary burial site, where we can participate in the excitement as each new discovery is made.
Thank you so very much for uploading - it has been a genuine pleasure to watch :)
This is amazing! Time team has single handedly made me obsessed with history and archeology!
I’m from the U.S. but keep coming back because England and it’s history never loses it’s fascination for me. I was just there hiking through Winchcombe, checking out Belas Knapp and other equally historical sites. England is my happy place!
@@MsTom916I was born in London, I still miss the UK although I love it here in Australia, I fall in love with wherever I live dammit, this entire planet is so facinating 😂 but the UK and Europe are bewitching
Like many people I absolutely loved Time team I grew up in London too and also lived in Aylesbury for almost ten years until 2010. I remember the stop HS2 campaign. thankfully because of HS2 this archeological dig has found parts of the puzzle that have given us so much more insight into a part of this countries history that may never have been found. It does make you wonder what may lay underground along the rest of the route that's now been scrapped? I'm a New sub now as I love hearing about our rich history in the UK ❤️👍
@@MsTom916do u mean Britain ? Lots more history all over our island not just England in fact us in wales have the most castles.
I'm glad the HS2 Project is giving archeologists this unique opportunity to reassess the past.
We are too!
I thought they'd stopped that project. Goes to show how much attention I've been paying.
Don't give HS2 any credit with all the damage it has done and will continue to do.
@@Arkantos117 and it wont even connect north and south now,which was the whole point of the project!! They only got permission for that reason,to connect the country up.
@@pheart2381only in the U.K. would people complain about updating part of our rail system
I love things like this. These people were born, grew up, lived, loved and laughed and then died, be it peaceful or violent and then 1500 years later their remains get found and the same could happen to us.
Sadly we aren’t interesting enough compared to these people.
Not me. I'm being cremated
Yeah, no, I guarantee that your remains will definitely not be excavated by archeologists & analysed to learn about how you lived. You suck, dude, nobody cares, 21st century life is wank. At best your remains will be cleared & binned to make way for a Tesco.
@@sorrysirmygunisonebaof course we are. Skeletons can tell s lot about how we are cared for. What stresses were put on our bodies. Medicsl advances such as joint replacements. Dna will show migrations not just between countries but also continents.
We are just as interesting. If not more so.
I've been working on sites in France for the last 30+ years (Inrap) and have seen a lot of stuff. This site is a real beauty. I'm looking forward to publication.
Thank goodness this amazing site was discovered Before the HS2 tracks were laid.
Imagine the amount of history that must be hidden, lost, forgotten and yet to be discovered in the English countryside. Mind boggling.
Thank you for this informative and interesting video.
Lost once, found again, preserved but assumedly, lost to the railroad? Progress in history. Nothing remains static.
Well that’s it HS2 cancelled. Archaeologists will find it in a million years and wonder why is was never finished and conclude Covid killed most of the workers.
It is indeed a fascinating discovery. I can remember another Saxon burial ground discovered in recent years when the Aston Clinton bypass was being built. That was up on a hillside too. As for Wendover, I've walked across that field many times on my way up to Coombe Hill and had no idea all of that was beneath my feet. It makes me wonder what else lies in the ground. The Vale appears to have been a very busy place in the distant past.
What kind of surprised me most was that, for the age of burials, the skeletal remains were quite well left intact. Throughout much of Britain, the soil is so acidic as to dissolve most of the remains away, leaving only the most durable grave goods remaining. So, to me, this is what makes the site extra special in that so much more knowledge can be acquired from the humans who made this hill their home.
I mean of you stop and think about it, I mean really think about it, Great Britain is an island as is Ireland but that being the case it only makes sense that so much of the island would hold archeological significance.
Love Dan and Eleanor and Lucy Worsely and dear Mary Beard most of all, love all your presenters!! History Hit should really consider hiring Dr. Kat though. I'd beyond LOVE to see Dr. Kat's work brought to life in full documentaries.
Yess! Dr. Kat would be a beautiful fit!
So glad that these were found before they were lost forever.
Same here as gruesome as they are it needs to be documented and preserved. I'm wondering how many of these have been lost to so called "progress".
Remarkable. Makes you wonder what else is left to be found.
Would love to see a forensic reconstruction on one of the better preserved skulls, to put some sort of face on this discovery. Is there somewhere where this work is on display now?
Yes please.
I love this series. Easy to see why it pervails.
The camera work on this documentary is really exceptional . Thank you !
I love this. I'm 4th gen in the US & I always wonder if my ancestors might be in one of these fields, or did they see this area ect. So so cool, yet must be so tedious for the road builders who have to wait. lol
Y’all red-lined my geek-o-meter. Thank you. This is an awesome video for history nerds.
Couldn't have said it better myself.
American, and a Southerner? You used “y’all” correctly.
Many years ago whilst working on the West Coast Mainline near Carlisle I saw numerous mosaic tiles which had been dug out by the rabbits that are in abundance in the trackside bankings
This is fascinating! Just imagining the people and how they lived , what they looked like, what was important to them is so amazing.
Love seeing the young PhDs who interact so well with HS2 directors. Exciting finds.
Ohh whoa what an amazing discovery, Im fascinated by this era! More and more comes to light with each find.
They all had good teeth! I loved seeing all of the interesting things they were buried with.
No sugar.
No junk food back then.☠️💀☠️
Thanks to your content and the YEARS ive spent watching Time Team I know 200% more about mesolithic through to WW2 era British archaeology than I know of any New World archaeology. It SEEMS like there are more job opportunities for archaeologists there than here in the US (maybe its a UA-cam algo bias?). Thanks for sharing this excellent work today!
Thats probably because there has been people hear for thousands of years . Ive got a pub 2 minutes walk from my house and its 700 750 years old . Romans, viking GOD only knows what is Buried under it all ..
As the other person said it’s down to how long our islands have been inhabited
@joshuawelsh4540 no i never said that did i
The Americans had millions of natives at least 10,000 years ago. There is still a staggering amount of archeology to be done and the history of clans and tribes spread from all the way down from Canada through the Us, down throughout Mexico and South America. Aboriginals have always suffered here after European countries assume that they have a right to arrive and claim land for themselves.
@@conemadam yeah but there are only so many arrow heads u can look at
DNA tests to see if they are related would be fascinating. Fantastic video 2x👍
I agree. Please work the dna, so we have an idea who these people might have been.
I remember hearing about a body found in a cave from like the ice age or something & through DNA they found he had a relative who lived in that immediate area.
We're so lucky to live in Britain as far as history and archiology goes I'm so proud of our history and ancestors. Great documentary ♥️👍
Now that's HISTORY ! Enjoyed the video very much well done !
This is such an excellent, substantial channel! I don’t know how you folk turn them out at such a rate either!
Glad you like them!
Great discovery, an amazing archaeological dig, well narrated and filmed.
Engrossing, so glad I’ve discovered this channel
Beautiful preservation of the treasures especially the glass work.
5:00 A shield boss is for protecting the hand holding the shield and the nipple on dark age British shields was for controlling the enemies weapon. Instead of a flat shield with a dome boss the boss had a nipple with a disk on the end to catch the enemies blade and use the shield to shove it aside opening up an attack vector. It was an experiment that ultimately failed, the amount of control gained from the nipple wasn't enough to justify the forging time and was not likely to be used in a fight due to the rare circumstances it could be employed. Center grip shields went back to a plain and simple domed boss just to protect the hand for another 1k+ years.
As far as shield bashing goes... Dark Age Europe was not Skyrim. If you are punching someone in the face with the edge of your shield you are doing it right, if you are so close that you can fling out your shield arm and bash them with the boss then you are a dead man walking.
awesome! exiting to have been included in that project! Good job!
Love watching documentaries like this
What a fantastic documentary. Thank you.
Great documentary! would've been fun to see some drawings or photos of similar replicas of the various objects you talked about. As an example, I never heard of a seax before so I could'nt exactly picture how it would have looked like in its prime.
Superb. Thank you, to everyone involved in the excavation, the analysis work, and the televised documentary.
I live not far from here and the HS2 is a pain in the neck and on the roads. But these funds are very interesting.
Very interesting. I'm currently reading "The Ecclesiastical History of the English People," by The Venerable Bede, ca. 731. It is primarily about the bringing of the Catholic faith to England, Ireland, and Scotland. I would be very interested in seeing you tie some of this archaeology in with the history as written by Bede. The book was translated into modern English and is very easy reading, albeit with a lot of the confusing genealogy of the kings and queens.
Most interesting, so when in your opinion did Christianity hit the shores ?
@@chaffcutter58. We know that Christianity was brought to England much earler. It was certainly there during Roman times. After the Romans pulled out, we started seeing the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, etc. coming in. They were all pagan. How much Christianity remained after the Romans I have no idea. In Bede's history, we see a lot of clerics coming in. Bede really talks mostly about the Bishops, very little about priests. It's really a good read and I highly recommend it.
@@chaffcutter58.Christianity was present in Britain in Roman times. The Anglo Saxons were pagan.
John, Beware of Bede’s narrative. His agenda was record the church in a certain light.
@@chaffcutter58.Introduced under the rule of Constantine.
It will be very interesting to finally see what dna reveals. As previously, in many other sites, archeologist presumed they were looking at Anglosaxon skeleton, only to find out that they were actually Britons.
Exactly. It's very odd that finds in Britain are usually assumed to be something other than British. The Britons were never eradicated, or completely displaced, however much the populations mixed over time. Britons were here long before Romans or Saxons, and never went away.
@@kayew5492 Yma o Hyd!
Unless DNA suggests otherwise, it is reasonable to suppose they are Anglo-Saxon remains. There are no signs of Christian belief in these inhumations.
If burials were found with British artefacts, no-one would start saying that they were 'really' Anglo-Saxons.
@@ConradAinger It's too early to assume who they were until DNA and also carbon has been done, as well as a proper study of any artefacts. At this stage, we don't know anything for certain. In order to understand the rather fluid, overlapping histories of the country properly, it seems to me that a multi-discipline approach is necessary. And that is why jumping to the conclusion that any remains and artefacts are more likely to belong to an invader than a local is puzzling to me.
@@ConradAinger
As I said in my previous comment, Archeologist tend to describe these skeletons by their grave good as Anglo Saxons. However, later DNA testing showed that in many cases they were actually Britons. In fact, many of the historical figures who founded the Royal house of Wesses and Mercia who we assumed were Anglo Saxons are now thought to be Britons. Also Paganism survived the Roman period right though to modern times.
Very interesting! I love learning about new archeological discoveries!
Loved this info. Congrats to the team. (I find the adverts tiresome and off topic, but understand the revenue value). Despite the advert distractions, I am pleased to subscribe to this channel. This content should be compulsory in our British schools.
I truly enjoy these historical documentaries. Thank you.
Oh my word! The agony of that poor man, being stabbed in the stomach and having the knife embedded in his spine. It must have been an excruchiating death. It touched me more than any of the other skeletons, for some reason.
He deserved it.
Wonderful video. The Lady at the end with the Boston/English accent was good value.
Nothing short of sensational! It is so exciting!
Wow what a find!!!
Great find! You never know what or who you are standing on.😊
I just love the dark ages! What an extraordinary discovery.✌️💗
I have Anglo Saxon AND Celt. I am a child of these islands and these truly are my ancestors. I know in many ways it is not as dark as people may think. We still had links with Rome and the continent though any or most writing was by the churches or very elite. We still had contact with Constantinople and the east and many Saxons went on to serve in the Varangian Guard. Most other folk had contact via trading textiles; pottery; metal work and whatever. I am so proud of my country and its history including Scotland and Wales.
Do we know if any of these people were related? If It's a high status site over a couple of hundred years you might have thought there was a possibility. I know I'm talking into the void here with low expectations of an answer. Call it thinking out loud to a fashion.
This was Such A well made Documentary 👏😊 Thank you so very much 😀🤠😎
Here from @FOTF! Great share, Ron!
This dig is so important, digs like that keep giving or 20 to 50 plus years. I hope the government take notice of all the petitions and either stop the train route or postpone it
Amazing stuff iv been wanting to see more about this site
That was an outstanding video, im blown away. 😊
This was amazing Ty
Awesome travel to that fascinating ages.. beautiful archeology..!
Just fantastic…
I can see wonderful things...Simply great!!!
Fascinating Dan. Every coud....
Like many people I absolutely loved Time team I grew up in London too and also lived in Aylesbury for almost ten years until 2010. I remember the stop HS2 campaign. thankfully because of HS2 this archeological dig has found parts of the puzzle that have given us so much more insight into a part of this countries history that may never have been found. It does make you wonder what may lay underground along the rest of the route that's now been scrapped? I'm a New sub now as I love hearing about our rich history in the UK ❤️👍
Is there an official cut off for when it’s acceptable to dig up a grave?
I really enjoyed this Ron from faces of the forgotten recommended this video
This looks so fascinating and exciting!!
I think the American withdrawal from Afghanistan or the British withdrawal from the colonies post the American revolution can be plausible examples of how the Romans probably pulled out. There would probably have been Roman civilians who refused to leave their homes behind. The Roman army would have had to leave in groups due to the logistical nightmare of such an endeavor. Partial redeployments back to mainland Europe. Civilian evacuations. Armistices with local tribes that may have been hostile, in order to allow the legions to leave without issues.
That’s probably how it would have happened realistically.
Excellent video..👍👍
This is the kind of content I like! Now subscribed.
Dr. Helena Hamerow never fails to fascinate me. I especially look forward to her appearances on "Time Team."
It’s called the dark ages because nothing was written down and therefore very little known .John Morris spent a lifetime uncovering and interpreting the evidence found in grave goods also using what sparse writings there were ranging from Irish monks to continental records.
Was nothing written down at the time, or is it a case that so little of it remains? Given the Viking destruction of monastical institutions and their libraries (e'g Peterborough), I would contend that it was the Vikings which made it the Dark Ages.
@@BigMrFirebird The Viking age didn’t start until 793 , only people who could write Latin could write anything. Brythonic was not written.
@@raysargent4055 And the Vikings were in a position to erase the records of what had been written previously when they ransacked the libraries of monastic institutions.
Much was written down, but has been lost. Not ‘dark’ because unenlightened and brutish, but because we don’t have the writing.
Faces of the forgotten sent me but I was already a subscriber!
A cool idea for the 3D modeling they did would be to upload the models to an online portal and allow game developers to download and use them in games to create a more realistic feel.
Oh how I love to get one of these uploads.
Fantastic
I love the Archeology videos Best!
Thank You Sir!
The way the body holes are aligned give me the idea it's a battlefield
This burial site could redefine what we know about the Anglo-Saxon era. I hope the grave goods are displayed in a museum soon so we can all appreciate our shared heritage.
X rays (or similar) could have added an extra wow factor to the encrusted blades. But it is still awesome to see these artifacts as found. 👍
Here’s a question. In 1000s of years time wen we are being dug up by archaeologists, will the fact we are buried in a box help or hinder their attempts to understand our skeletons?
I would think that since wood deteriorates, a wooden casket would make no difference at all
was wondering that as well. also some modern caskets are made of metal & some people go to great lengths to preserve the bodies.
The type of casket will likely help in the dating of the burial.
Thats IF they cant just look at a grain of dirt in our casket with a new machine that'll date it to the exact day. I mean, technology.
I used to help at our local cemetery at the church and we found caskets from the 1800s to 1900s which really leaves not much more than very worn planks that are rounded off because of that process. Oak that was, the better preserving kind.
I don't think so. Archaeologists are not having problems with coffin or kist buriels now, there is no reason why in the future.
You assume we’ll be dug up by archeologists 😂 the banal idiocy & degeneracy of 21st century life is already well documented. Nobody will give a sh!t, of anything I hope they write us out of history 😂
quality kidd 💯💪
It actually really excites me that this is all happening a 10 minute walk from where I work
another great show depicting our growing knowledge of post roman Britian
Very interesting
The “pokey out bit” on the shield boss as it was referred to, is more likely for catching an enemy’s weapon like a sword blade so they momentarily unable to defend themselves
A lot of disruption and fuss was made over HS2 when it started. This shows that construction can bring archaeological rewards. There is generally no reason to dig the countryside and this project has uncovered some incredible archaeology
The strange thing is that there already is a similar line from the Beeching cuts, no consideration of re-opening that though.
@@pcka12 it's possible that the old line would have to be significantly reengineered anyway to handle the new high speed trains
@@nicolawebb6025 it is entirely derelict with the track removed, but a curiosity.
If they are finding so many archaeological sites with HS 2 then how many must have been dug through with previous railway lines?
@@pcka12 totally. Time Team did a dig next to a de-commitioned rail line and came to the conclusion the navies had demolished a huge chunk of Roman stuff.
Wow!
As someone from the States, I have always found it difficult to conceptualize this level of history. Unless you're in the midwest and looking at remnants left behind in stone, going back 1500, 1000, even 500 years is difficult, if not impossible. Time Team, however, has become a favorite for making history relatable by telling human stories, rather than distant tales of cultures or epochs.
I wonder if any of these people were my ancestors? Similarly with other archeological sites.
I want to see a video on all the other things found at other locations
great video on past history. Will the remains be placed back where they had been taken once all the studies are done
I hope part of the research that they are doing will include genealogical dna gathering and profiling. It would be fascinating to find who they were related to. Though individual identity may not be able to be ascertained, it would be interesting to say the person was working for so and so.
Really well done. You’ve earned my subscription!
Awesome, thank you!
There's a Time Team episode with 23:17 a Saxon site cemetery. Thhree of those buckets were found in three different Graves, all about a centimeter in diameter. It was suggested they may have nestled in one another....
Got to love some good old grave robbing.
Out of curiosity, was there any sign of grave markers found?
I wonder how this has affected the cursed HS2 project?
Even in death people only give a shit about the value of our stuff
Nice to know HS2 has been some use !
Cool
I've often thought, while watching these excavations, this could be the remains of my 25th great grand mother or father. It makes me kind of unsettled.
"Pokey out bit" 😂😊
I always thought it was funny that the Roman’s brought Britain aquaducts clean running drinking water. Sewers, for waste. And when the Roman’s left the Britain’s were like “meh let’s go back to crapping in our water and not bathing.”
Really?
@@margaretflounders8510
Really
Yeah I find that interesting too. But if you think about it, the knowledge probably got lost over just a couple of generations. If it's not kept up due to a cultural shift, it's easy to forget.
Can you provide any information on the burial featured in the thumbnail? It does not specifically appear to be among those quickly reviewed in the video.
This is silly, but I find Dr. Hamerow’s Briticized American accent lovely