Meet The Ancestors (BBC, 1998) S01&S02 complete (960*540p, soft English subtitles)
E01 The Wolf Den
Archaelogical programme unearthing past secrets. Potholers in the Yorkshire Dales stumble upon the remains of human burials as well as prehistoric footprints in a cave. Julian Richards joins the experts to discover more.
E02 The Lady of the Sands
Archaeologist Julian Richards visits the site in Donegal where the bodies of several women were discovered on a remote beach under the sand dunes. Among them is evidence of cremations nearly 2,000 years ago, giving an extraordinary picture of the lives and deaths of the first Christians in Ireland. Julian helps Dr Betty O'Brien as various tests are done on the finds and the site itself.
E03 Friends, Romans or Countrymen?
Julian Richards joins a team excavating a massive stone coffin from a building site in Bristol, which could shed light on the Romans' lifestyle.
E04 The Rose Garden Mystery
Julian Richards investigates a coffin from Malmesbury Abbey. The body inside could have been a Saxon king or a monk who attempted to fly off a tower.
E05 Bones in the Barnyard
Archaeologist Julian Richards visits the village of Bleadon near Weston-Super-Mare, where a property developer purchased a piece of land from a local farmer, but an archaeological survey turned up more than he bargained for. Several crouch burials were revealed which have to be excavated before building can begin. Julian joins a team examining the remains and their modern DNA testing reveals a picture of the arduous life of Iron Age farmers.
S02
E01 Warrior
Archaeologist Julian Richards visits a team working on one of the most impressive Anglo-Saxon graveyards ever discovered, on a US air force base in Suffolk. A warrior is discovered buried beside his horse, encircled by graves holding children, some buried with full-size weapons. As the bones and grave goods are removed and analysed, Julian takes a journey back 1,400 years to find out about the warrior's life.
E02 At the Sign of the Eagle
Archaeologist Julian Richards joins an excavation team as they uncover a rare find from a fourth-century Roman cemetery: a lead coffin, only the second ever to be found in Roman Winchester. Unexpected clues found inside the coffin bring to light the pagan beliefs of a wealthy Roman buried in a Christian cemetery.
E03 The Ultimate Sacrifice
Archaeologist Julian Richards follows the scientific trail of the skeletons of a woman and three young children uncovered at a Stone Age temple in Dorset. He finds that the bones and teeth reveal the extraordinary and dark tale of a group of Neolithic wanderers, who may have made the ultimate sacrifice over 5,000 years ago.
E04 The Tomb That Time Forgot
In the summer of 1998 a mysterious hole appeared in a barley field in distant Orkney. The cause - a burial chamber sunk into the ground - untouched for 5,000 years. Julian Richards joins a team of investigative police officers and archaeologists as they gradually remove the skeletons from the tomb to look for clues about our Stone Age ancestors. He reveals a bizarre tale of their lives and deaths.
E05 Living with the Ancestors
Julian Richards travels to the home of a couple in Winterbourne Gunner, near Salisbury, who wanted to build a garage next to their bungalow - unaware that it was built over a 5th-century graveyard, and would soon be invaded by a team of archaeologists. The programme follows the excavation of the skeleton of a 30-year-old man, and the quest to resolve whether the man was a Saxon or a native Briton.
E06 The Black Hand
In the early 1960s a Cheshire farmer discovered a human jaw bone in his fields. It remained a mysterious find until the secret beneath the field was revealed. Julian Richards joins archaeologists as they excavate a long-lost chapel and the undisturbed burials of medieval landowners. Using science, genealogy and some good old-fashioned detective work, the team are able to bring a Hampshire teacher face to face with his ancestors.
First broadcast: January 1998 – February 1999
Duration: 30 minutes per episode
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