People complain plenty about the modern world but the fact that you can get documentaries of this quality from a seasoned presenter like Ray Mears, for free, is pretty awesome.
That’s not all,to me! Give me my life today in this time out of any other! I feel so grateful not to live in turbulent times of long ago. Not that I don’t love history and respect all those who came before. What they lived through to enable us to be at the place we are today! I respect the hardships and struggles… we all want better for our children.
also the fact that we experience a good quality of life without much to really worry about - thats pretty good too! we all need history to get some real perspective
Um, we used to get plenty of great documentaries, frankly A LOT of far better tv and infinitely better movies AND music before the whole internet circus. You're not getting this for "free" either, that's an illusion. You're paying for internet, you're giving your personal information out to just anyone (including criminals as well as profoundly corrupt tech corporations and the governments and advertising companies they hand your info over to), and we're also supporting global domination by a new corporate technocracy who now control the entire internet and have absolutely filled it with endless propaganda and manipulation of society... Yeah, frankly I'd much rather go back to regular TV, videos and cinemas. It was better. People being desperately addicted to binging constant and mostly junk "content" 24/7 (mostly on their own now too), compared with what entertainment used to be, is the equivalent of alcoholism vs occasionally having a sensible drink with friends/family. There's a global psychosis developing from all this. This is an illusion of progress now luring us into a global dictatorship and a global society of deeply misinformed, confused and divided populations. Worth it? No, not even slightly. Great documentaries were readily available on tv, VHS, DVD and in libraries, so this isn't in fact helping the world one iota more than it used to. All these good ones are also buried in vast quantities of propaganda and manipulative documentaries too.
@@glenw1740 And yet mental health problems are at an all time high...hmm, I wonder if we really do have nothing much to worry about, or are we not supposed to be sitting indoors on computers all day every day? Could be that, just maybe. We also THINK we know all about ancient history, but we just don't. We know almost nothing about what life was really like in the past, we basically just guess and then act like we know. The reality of life is, whatever you grow up knowing is normal...and you adapt to that idea of normality and get on with things. Maybe people even tens of thousands of years ago were, ultimately, just the same as now...maybe it is all just relative, even when it comes to experiencing life. If you have no idea of the possibility of sitting in a modern house on the internet watching videos, for example, then you don't compare your life to that, do you. You know what you know and that's it. This is why people consider those from the past "tougher", simply because they got on with what WE now consider a harder life when us today would be complaining constantly because we would be comparing such a life to now...
Its sad that Ray doesn't get prime time TV anymore. Before Bear Grylls he was the ultimate survival expert. Sad times that Bear kicked this legend off the the pinnacle because one thing Ray wasn't was fake. I love that I can get some 'Ray Mears' actual beneficial information. This man will keep you alive. I'm hoping this legend produces his own stuff under his own label and makes an actual bank with his name and brand. He deserves it.
He still is the ultimate survival expert, he still trains the SAS post selection. Bear Grylls couldn’t start a fire with a lighter ... he’s just paid to eat bugs before sleeping in a hotel at night - truth
TV Execs think we want to watch all the fake drama and nonesense but really what most people want is good quality information presented by knowledgeable professionals in a straightforward way
No one makes programmes celebrating our ancestors and our history quite like our Ray does. I remember watching Ray when i was a younger man and being in awe of what he was teaching us about our ancestors and our traditions. He invoked in me a great sense of wonder in who we are and who our ancestors were. If you're reading this Ray thank you so much for making these programmes for us. I enjoy them so much.
Ray is a rare breed. He's one of only a handful of people/subjects that can appear on youtube and everyone just gets along with each other in the comments section.
You've got to be joking...it doesn't take a genius to separate stone from flour....try breathing smoke in for a few hours....do you really think your ancestors were stupid enough to do that for long....let alone a master fire maker wouldn't have a 'smoky' fire unless they wanted it to be smokey.....many other holes in her thinking. To be fair the other 'experts' weren't much cop either.....
she was dull, even Ray had no respect for what she was saying lol his body language shows it. always folding his arms and wandering off, or cutting her sentences short. she clearly has the knowledge but yeah pretty boring
It is a luxury to have Ray Mears on TH-cam. With all his years of experience in survival, and as a communicator, he makes ancient history tangible and relatable.
My late husband was an avid follower of Ray and was very similar in his outlook towards nature and wood in particular, often coming up with ridiculous ideas but enjoying every moment of his life and making people laugh at the things he got up to
Been watching ray since those early days of country tracks. All the survival series, wild food, wild Britain, walkabout and many more. living legend of traditional knowledge. Great to see another series with ray!
Same here, as a kid I watched country tracks just to see Rays section. Remained a huge fan of his and have his books and went to see him talk when he toured. He’s always been underrated despite being a truly brilliant man!
Brilliant Ray Mears, a true enthusiast, no need for showmanship and celebrity. Just a modest and very sincere human being. Sadly a rare thing that adds so much programmes such as these.
Ray was a stalwart of tv when t.v.was informative and enjoyable. His knowledge in survival is second to none. But he knows about metallurgy too. His knives are legendary, I unfortunately could not afford one. I did buy his 5.11 shirt though !! This guy trained our forces in survival etc I'm just glad to see his stuff again. When I was in the TA, he was held in such high regard, and on exercise he was referenced many, many times. Legend.
What I love about these documentaries; is that they're as long as the need to be, not constrained by TV schedules, with subjects that are a quite niche.
Ray Mears inspired me here across the pond and I learned so much. I can’t get enough and am always ready to learn more. He inspired me to eventually get land in the bush and build my off grid home. This is where I can practice some skills learned, I couldn’t practice before. He truly has been and is a treasure. Thank you Ray Mears.
Brilliant i have watched and read Rays work for years, purchased things from his Website. Purely for the reason people have given, trust in him, his knowledge and experience that he has always given in everything he has done. Honest and passionate about the natural world, not the glamour of fame.
Honestly if this was like a 10 hour series going into depth on all the different bits of ancient Britain into more detail with Ray, I'd subscribe to HistoryHit Just to watch it. This was good, excellent even, I just want more. More stoneage, the Bronze age!
And more presenters with the quality Ray has. I did subscribe to HistoryHit for a while in part because of a Ray's series on archery which was excellent. But some of the other presenters annoyed me - stating stuff as absolute facts that are not and can never be without time travel, presentation styles that grated, targeting folks that don't know anything at all so there was nothing new to get me thinking even though I'm no expert at that period, and just not enough focus IMO across the breadth of history available on it at that time. Still worth a subscribe for a month or two when you have some weekend free to browse and skip the stuff you don't like, so I'll probably cough up again at some point in a year or two.
I live in the US and I have talked to several others who are jealous of the history, and exciting finds you have in Britain. We do have some nice fossil sites in tiny areas.
Ray strikes again! A real cultural insight. From the timeline, the forge to the reconstructed village, as ever the presenter manages to pack a whole lot of stuff into a short film. Nice one Ray and team! ⭐👍
Love listening to and watching Ray. I went to watch him give a presentation in a Cardiff theatre some years ago, he was very good,we don’t see enough of him.
I have so much time and respect for Ray. A fountain of knowledge on so many topics. He appears to truly love what he does and it shines through in his work. And that to me, is why he is so watchable and engaging. Very professional and very talented!
Ray Mears is a real survivalist, he is also a man who can teach us and keep us enthralled with history with his enthusiasm and knowledge , Bear Grylls is just a showman, his ott and (in my humble opinion) flashy behaviour just puts me off . Give me Ray’s understated approach any day.
As a kid I used to love watching Ray Mears. At first I didn’t even realise it was him presenting, but I was really enjoying his knowledge. It’s rare to see a presenter understanding things so clearly, and putting forward their own ideas.
Ray has been and always will be THE ultimate survival expert 😎👏🏾 P.S. Les Hiddins (The Bush Tucker Man) was in a different league, but just as awesome as Ray
As an archaeologist, it's great to hear Ray talk of his modern day experiences of cultures using similar buildings. By nature, it's easy for an archaeologist to get stuck on interpreting the archaeological evidence alone. Ray's examples can really add flesh back to the bones.
Great job putting this series together. Lots of nostalgia for me with ray. I remember as a young boy sat watching him with my dad. Always checking the tele book to see when he was next on
One set of my Grandparents lived in a log cabin (that Grandpa built) in the wilderness. They heated that one room home by burning wood in an iron stove. Grandpa's lungs were "ruined". And I always guessed it was from spending his whole life making and tending wood fires... It was a constant job. He was born in 1895 and lived to be 70. I feel so very privileged to have participated in that life.
Chimneys are a relatively modern invention, so chronic bronchitis must have been very common among ancient people, especially the women if they were cooking indoors as would have been necessary in the British climate. British houses had open fires until the late middle ages, when they started building chimneys and upper floors, so there was a breathing space of a few centuries until tobacco was introduced and long-term exposure to smoke came back, affecting more men this time. However, smokers are not breathing the stuff all the time, unlike those living and sleeping in it. In the third world, a lot of rural or mountain folk live in huts without chimneys so respiratory problems were commoner among women until smoking was introduced. Given their exposure to smoke, I wonder how long and how effectively the ancient Britons could fight. The Roman army had the advantage that they did not all fight at the same time: the front rank dropped back after a while to recover while the second rank took over, and so on. Only trained and disciplined fighters could do that in hand-to-hand combat. Meanwhile the barbarians were running out of steam.
Ray is a National Treasure and up there in my opinion with David Attenborough. I just wish the youth of today got to see more of him rather than the celebrity rubbish they get feed
Thank you for sharing. Could you please post the date the program was made in the description? It helps to see how our understanding of the past has developed and increased over time.
So interesting. The Brythonic tribe (Wealas, or Welsh as the Anglo-Saxons called them) who lived at the hillfort had such an interesting material and anthropological culture. Even the name of the hill ‘Malvern’ derived from Old Welsh ‘Moelfryn’ (Moel + bryn) meaning bald or bare-crested hill is evocative and perfectly describes the site
Ray Mears is still one of the best and most watchable survival experts. Bear Grylls is great but if most of us followed his adventures we would not survive
They slept sitting up for the same reason even just 100 years ago Norwegians, Swedes, and even Russians slept in small cabinet beds. It's enclosed, small, and easier to warm so you don't freeze to death at night.
Interesting...I've seen a documentary with tibetan monk who was sleeping sat up in a cloak. I'm particularly taken with this as I also sleep sitting up due to health problems!
When in my father's village in Pakistan we had wooden frame on 4 legs with woven thin rope to create A very pliable support in between. Thus was light and moveable. It acted as a couch...and wirk area ...w9menbwoukd sit on it and peel vegetables and chat and at night with blankets placed on top a bed. It is called a manjee.i see them using something similar ..furniture that was multi purpose and moveable and lifted up and pushed to the side if not needed or to be dragged outside when the weather was good.
"As every good woodsman knows..." Ray is the Dog's Bollocks. I'm guessing there were more episodes prior to this covering the paleo to neo lithic and the bronze age? Are these available anywhere?
I like Most of the survival shows but nobody will touch Ray, he's informative, gives historical evidence, isn't all about himself, He'll always be numero Uno IMO.
Appreciate the discussion on color in clothing/furnishings. I have never believed in the past the "peasants" wore drab. Embroidery, macrame, patching would make gorgeous things. I read sometime ago the pigments in the American Williamsburg painted walls was analyzed and assembled and applied to see the original color. Boom... A shock. What we call Federal blue a grayed color was anything but. It was nearly peacock blue. Walls were salmon orange and pinks yellows were nearly incandescent.
Ahah. The bloke that time forgot. Survivalist/ Bushcraft, presenter of programs regarding the great outdoors. Watchin this video now, I got the impression, that Ray has become the David Attenborough of the Historical Period. And he appears to be enjoyin every moment. Nice to see Ray still willin to present, well written shows of great interest. Keep up the good work.
I loved what you said about being able to re-shape the iron, if it wasn't just quite right. I'd never really considered that, but it makes perfect sense. I've worked with lost wax casting, and that IS challenging as all hell to modify if you don't get it right the first time.
What a nice little documentary! As I develop RPG scenarios for friends and write lore for a friend, these are gems. They are introductory snippets that allow for more detailed spurces to be found.
It's fascinating to get a glimpse into the lives our ancestors lived. And every human culture and race has had a similar ascent from stone age living to the modern day of mathematics and engineering and digital technology. And yet now most of us couldn't fix our plumbing if it went wrong. We've become siloed into a narrow set of skills outside of which most of us are totally incompetent.
I wonder if in heavy Winter a thick layer of snow on the roof of the roundhouse may have kept the smoke from filtering out, probably not enough heat to keep the roof snow free.
Probably because in the early 00's TV became about reality competition and conflict. Some producers used the outside world and 'survival' as a backdrop to those things, but it became about people and not actual subjects, sadly. Ray had worked on and presented many fine programmes but I suppose TV producers didn't see much of a future in his style. An interest in such things and making informative programmes about them became niche, the mainstream wanted reality and drama and characters to love and hate.
Utterly fascinating, great experts joining Ray and superb perspective on the timeline of our history. What a pity if we eventually waste all that progress in greed and conflict but hopefully there is enough sense to not let that happen one day soon. A great watch regardless - five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
24:30 - I remember going to a place in Iceland where families had lived in a cave. They'd brought in someone's family bed from about 100 years ago, to show how they'd have slept; their beds were also small like this, and from talking to the family, it was done because they believed if they slept laying down they'd stop breathing in the night and die. It wouldn't surprise me if people did die in the night due to the smoke, and so it became some sort of myth as opposed to them knowing it's due to the smoke/bad lungs, but it's well known in multiple countries that that's how people slept.
" they believed if they slept laying down they'd stop breathing in the night and die." I wonder how many times the fire went low during the night and CO2 mixed with CO crept along the floor killing anyone lying down.
People complain plenty about the modern world but the fact that you can get documentaries of this quality from a seasoned presenter like Ray Mears, for free, is pretty awesome.
Well said.
That’s not all,to me! Give me my life today in this time out of any other! I feel so grateful not to live in turbulent times of long ago. Not that I don’t love history and respect all those who came before. What they lived through to enable us to be at the place we are today! I respect the hardships and struggles… we all want better for our children.
also the fact that we experience a good quality of life without much to really worry about - thats pretty good too! we all need history to get some real perspective
Um, we used to get plenty of great documentaries, frankly A LOT of far better tv and infinitely better movies AND music before the whole internet circus. You're not getting this for "free" either, that's an illusion. You're paying for internet, you're giving your personal information out to just anyone (including criminals as well as profoundly corrupt tech corporations and the governments and advertising companies they hand your info over to), and we're also supporting global domination by a new corporate technocracy who now control the entire internet and have absolutely filled it with endless propaganda and manipulation of society... Yeah, frankly I'd much rather go back to regular TV, videos and cinemas. It was better.
People being desperately addicted to binging constant and mostly junk "content" 24/7 (mostly on their own now too), compared with what entertainment used to be, is the equivalent of alcoholism vs occasionally having a sensible drink with friends/family. There's a global psychosis developing from all this. This is an illusion of progress now luring us into a global dictatorship and a global society of deeply misinformed, confused and divided populations. Worth it? No, not even slightly. Great documentaries were readily available on tv, VHS, DVD and in libraries, so this isn't in fact helping the world one iota more than it used to. All these good ones are also buried in vast quantities of propaganda and manipulative documentaries too.
@@glenw1740 And yet mental health problems are at an all time high...hmm, I wonder if we really do have nothing much to worry about, or are we not supposed to be sitting indoors on computers all day every day? Could be that, just maybe. We also THINK we know all about ancient history, but we just don't. We know almost nothing about what life was really like in the past, we basically just guess and then act like we know. The reality of life is, whatever you grow up knowing is normal...and you adapt to that idea of normality and get on with things. Maybe people even tens of thousands of years ago were, ultimately, just the same as now...maybe it is all just relative, even when it comes to experiencing life. If you have no idea of the possibility of sitting in a modern house on the internet watching videos, for example, then you don't compare your life to that, do you. You know what you know and that's it. This is why people consider those from the past "tougher", simply because they got on with what WE now consider a harder life when us today would be complaining constantly because we would be comparing such a life to now...
Love Ray Mears. Long before any current youtube 'survivalist' channel there was this man, Ray Mears. He's been a big inspiration for decades.
Ray is one of Britain's national treasures.
Indeed - have followed his programs for many years!
He is a F.R.A.U.D!
@@brettcurtis5710 Get a life!
@@jaydunstan1618 says who?
@@alexhale6582 William G. MONKTOWN
Gimme Ray Mears videos any day, every day. I love the man ever since his earliest productions in the 1990-ties.
'Love the man' GET A LIFE!
Its sad that Ray doesn't get prime time TV anymore. Before Bear Grylls he was the ultimate survival expert. Sad times that Bear kicked this legend off the the pinnacle because one thing Ray wasn't was fake. I love that I can get some 'Ray Mears' actual beneficial information. This man will keep you alive. I'm hoping this legend produces his own stuff under his own label and makes an actual bank with his name and brand. He deserves it.
He still is the ultimate survival expert, he still trains the SAS post selection. Bear Grylls couldn’t start a fire with a lighter ... he’s just paid to eat bugs before sleeping in a hotel at night - truth
@@DallingerM 100% agree.
TV Execs think we want to watch all the fake drama and nonesense but really what most people want is good quality information presented by knowledgeable professionals in a straightforward way
I think even Ray would say 'Bush tucker man' Les hiddins is the godfather of survival telly...
Ray is the real deal, and doesn't sleep in a hotel inbetween 'roughing it for telly'.....
No one makes programmes celebrating our ancestors and our history quite like our Ray does. I remember watching Ray when i was a younger man and being in awe of what he was teaching us about our ancestors and our traditions. He invoked in me a great sense of wonder in who we are and who our ancestors were.
If you're reading this Ray thank you so much for making these programmes for us. I enjoy them so much.
Your ancestors started life in a test-tube!
Ray is a rare breed. He's one of only a handful of people/subjects that can appear on youtube and everyone just gets along with each other in the comments section.
Ray Mears is fantastic. Find him relaxing as well as supremely knowledgeable. Hope he's featured more on this channel.
The archaeologist who showed Ray around the buildings should get her own program as she explained everything very concisely
Yes, she had excellent common sense too with the idea about sleeping upright due to lung problems. Very intelligent.
You've got to be joking...it doesn't take a genius to separate stone from flour....try breathing smoke in for a few hours....do you really think your ancestors were stupid enough to do that for long....let alone a master fire maker wouldn't have a 'smoky' fire unless they wanted it to be smokey.....many other holes in her thinking. To be fair the other 'experts' weren't much cop either.....
Na, I had to skip her never ending rambling monotone
she was dull, even Ray had no respect for what she was saying lol his body language shows it. always folding his arms and wandering off, or cutting her sentences short.
she clearly has the knowledge but yeah pretty boring
@@manfrombritain6816 Well, her topic is not very exciting. The "Hunting" is more exciting that the "Gathering" (and housekeeping)
It is a luxury to have Ray Mears on TH-cam. With all his years of experience in survival, and as a communicator, he makes ancient history tangible and relatable.
My late husband was an avid follower of Ray and was very similar in his outlook towards nature and wood in particular, often coming up with ridiculous ideas but enjoying every moment of his life and making people laugh at the things he got up to
He sounds a great guy Pam, sorry for your loss ❤❤
Sending hugs 🙏 sorry for your loss 🙏
@@lovedaybebe5881 Thank you so much ❤️
@@tbrowniscool Thank you so much ❤️
❤
Been watching ray since those early days of country tracks. All the survival series, wild food, wild Britain, walkabout and many more. living legend of traditional knowledge. Great to see another series with ray!
Same here, as a kid I watched country tracks just to see Rays section. Remained a huge fan of his and have his books and went to see him talk when he toured. He’s always been underrated despite being a truly brilliant man!
I loved those series...Lifelong fan...
Brilliant Ray Mears, a true enthusiast, no need for showmanship and celebrity. Just a modest and very sincere human being. Sadly a rare thing that adds so much programmes such as these.
More Ray please! He’s a national treasure
Ray was a stalwart of tv when t.v.was informative and enjoyable. His knowledge in survival is second to none.
But he knows about metallurgy too. His knives are legendary, I unfortunately could not afford one.
I did buy his 5.11 shirt though !!
This guy trained our forces in survival etc I'm just glad to see his stuff again.
When I was in the TA, he was held in such high regard, and on exercise he was referenced many, many times. Legend.
I met Ray at a book signing years back and I've been to a few of his lectures. Really fab.
Lucky to have met him🎉🎉🎉
Me too! I had to get there on a lunch break and bought a disposable camera on the way there so I could get a photo with him. What a guy.
Fascinating stuff. I've been a huge fan of Ray Mears for decades. It's great to see him back on our screens.
What I love about these documentaries; is that they're as long as the need to be, not constrained by TV schedules, with subjects that are a quite niche.
Half a world away Ray inspired my wilderness skill journey. Changed My life for the better and We will probably never meet. Thank You Sir!
Ray Mears inspired me here across the pond and I learned so much. I can’t get enough and am always ready to learn more. He inspired me to eventually get land in the bush and build my off grid home. This is where I can practice some skills learned, I couldn’t practice before. He truly has been and is a treasure. Thank you Ray Mears.
Brilliant i have watched and read Rays work for years, purchased things from his Website. Purely for the reason people have given, trust in him, his knowledge and experience that he has always given in everything he has done. Honest and passionate about the natural world, not the glamour of fame.
More of Ray please, we can all agree on that.
Honestly if this was like a 10 hour series going into depth on all the different bits of ancient Britain into more detail with Ray, I'd subscribe to HistoryHit Just to watch it. This was good, excellent even, I just want more. More stoneage, the Bronze age!
Absolutely I need more!
And more presenters with the quality Ray has.
I did subscribe to HistoryHit for a while in part because of a Ray's series on archery which was excellent. But some of the other presenters annoyed me - stating stuff as absolute facts that are not and can never be without time travel, presentation styles that grated, targeting folks that don't know anything at all so there was nothing new to get me thinking even though I'm no expert at that period, and just not enough focus IMO across the breadth of history available on it at that time. Still worth a subscribe for a month or two when you have some weekend free to browse and skip the stuff you don't like, so I'll probably cough up again at some point in a year or two.
I live in the US and I have talked to several others who are jealous of the history, and exciting finds you have in Britain. We do have some nice fossil sites in tiny areas.
I hope that Ray is going to start making more programmes...he is by far the best.
Please can we see more of Ray Mears. I love his khaki clothes, great hair and his incredible knowledge he really is a national treasure
Thank you! Ray is the man. Thoughtful, articulate, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, empathetic and modest. Great stuff.
This series has been absolutely fantastic, so many insights into a fascinating period in our history.
Fond memories of watching Ray Mears on tv with my dad when I was still a child, this guy is a real legend.
Ray strikes again! A real cultural insight. From the timeline, the forge to the reconstructed village, as ever the presenter manages to pack a whole lot of stuff into a short film. Nice one Ray and team! ⭐👍
Ray is such a lovely man, and the depth of his knowledge and experience is off the scale.
Love listening to and watching Ray. I went to watch him give a presentation in a Cardiff theatre some years ago, he was very good,we don’t see enough of him.
I have so much time and respect for Ray. A fountain of knowledge on so many topics.
He appears to truly love what he does and it shines through in his work. And that to me, is why he is so watchable and engaging.
Very professional and very talented!
Used to love watching Ray after school. Proper English original.
Ray Mears is a real survivalist, he is also a man who can teach us and keep us enthralled with history with his enthusiasm and knowledge , Bear Grylls is just a showman, his ott and (in my humble opinion) flashy behaviour just puts me off . Give me Ray’s understated approach any day.
As a kid I used to love watching Ray Mears. At first I didn’t even realise it was him presenting, but I was really enjoying his knowledge. It’s rare to see a presenter understanding things so clearly, and putting forward their own ideas.
Ray has been and always will be THE ultimate survival expert 😎👏🏾
P.S. Les Hiddins (The Bush Tucker Man) was in a different league, but just as awesome as Ray
or Les's father
More Ray Meares episodes please ….so informative …without pretention…thanks v much
As an archaeologist, it's great to hear Ray talk of his modern day experiences of cultures using similar buildings. By nature, it's easy for an archaeologist to get stuck on interpreting the archaeological evidence alone. Ray's examples can really add flesh back to the bones.
My granddad used to say that people who wanted to go back and live in the "good old days" never experienced the "good old days"...
I suppose we have the luxury of romanticising the past.
Ray Mears is an absolute legend!
I really enjoyed that. I've walked over British Camp a number of times. It really gets the imagination going. Also, Ray is a legend!
Great job putting this series together. Lots of nostalgia for me with ray. I remember as a young boy sat watching him with my dad. Always checking the tele book to see when he was next on
I'd take Ray in my camp / army / squadron any day .... this man is a fountain of knowledge 🎉🎉
To spend a day with Ray in the countryside would be a day id treasure 😎
Ray Mears the BEST ,ORIGINAL AND GENUINE ultimate survival expert. ❤❤
He is a man that does not even do his own ironing.
The depth of knowledge and skills Ray Mears has is stuff of legends. Modern survivalists should take the knee to him
Ask Google?
Ray Mears!❤❤ If it has Ray, I will watch it. And I will love it
Ok ray, this is pure quality!
One set of my Grandparents lived in a log cabin (that Grandpa built) in the wilderness. They heated that one room home by burning wood in an iron stove. Grandpa's lungs were "ruined". And I always guessed it was from spending his whole life making and tending wood fires... It was a constant job. He was born in 1895 and lived to be 70. I feel so very privileged to have participated in that life.
Chimneys are a relatively modern invention, so chronic bronchitis must have been very common among ancient people, especially the women if they were cooking indoors as would have been necessary in the British climate.
British houses had open fires until the late middle ages, when they started building chimneys and upper floors, so there was a breathing space of a few centuries until tobacco was introduced and long-term exposure to smoke came back, affecting more men this time. However, smokers are not breathing the stuff all the time, unlike those living and sleeping in it.
In the third world, a lot of rural or mountain folk live in huts without chimneys so respiratory problems were commoner among women until smoking was introduced.
Given their exposure to smoke, I wonder how long and how effectively the ancient Britons could fight. The Roman army had the advantage that they did not all fight at the same time: the front rank dropped back after a while to recover while the second rank took over, and so on. Only trained and disciplined fighters could do that in hand-to-hand combat. Meanwhile the barbarians were running out of steam.
Ray is a National Treasure and up there in my opinion with David Attenborough. I just wish the youth of today got to see more of him rather than the celebrity rubbish they get feed
People in the pre-historic times were just like us. It’s wonderful.
One of the best documentaries I have seen in a long time. Thanks so much for sharing this. Excellent video!
Ray Mears, Total Legend.
Thank you for sharing. Could you please post the date the program was made in the description? It helps to see how our understanding of the past has developed and increased over time.
Ray is a absolute legend of knowledge, the best on tv
Ray is the best documentary presenter.
So interesting. The Brythonic tribe (Wealas, or Welsh as the Anglo-Saxons called them) who lived at the hillfort had such an interesting material and anthropological culture. Even the name of the hill ‘Malvern’ derived from Old Welsh ‘Moelfryn’ (Moel + bryn) meaning bald or bare-crested hill is evocative and perfectly describes the site
Absolutely fantastic video from one of my most watched childhood heroes! Thank you 🤘😀
Without doubt, Ray is a straight up, no messing about master in what he does!
He could probably light a fire by rubbing 2 ice cubes together.
Only Chuck Norris can do that 🤣
For myself, Ray is a minor Deity. This is excellent!!! [going a little grey? VERY distinguished!]. Loved this. Thank You.
Ray Mears is still one of the best and most watchable survival experts.
Bear Grylls is great but if most of us followed his adventures we would not survive
The pre-history age is so intriguing. So much we don't know about the distant past.
History started with Adam & Eve.
@@jaydunstan1618 ...Human history yes, but the history of the earth and universe goes back much much further than six thousand years.
Brilliant programme. Well worth watching. Think Ray is a Brilliant narrator & guide. Going to watch the others.
100%.......Disagree.
They slept sitting up for the same reason even just 100 years ago Norwegians, Swedes, and even Russians slept in small cabinet beds. It's enclosed, small, and easier to warm so you don't freeze to death at night.
I have an oak sideboard made from a cabinet bed from my great grandfather's farm in North West Germany, near Osnabruck.
Interesting...I've seen a documentary with tibetan monk who was sleeping sat up in a cloak. I'm particularly taken with this as I also sleep sitting up due to health problems!
@@susanwestern6434 wow, that's great. 👍
It's speculation though. The enclosed beds may have been for children and the adults got their beds out and slept by the fire.
When in my father's village in Pakistan we had wooden frame on 4 legs with woven thin rope to create
A very pliable support in between. Thus was light and moveable. It acted as a couch...and wirk area ...w9menbwoukd sit on it and peel vegetables and chat and at night with blankets placed on top a bed. It is called a manjee.i see them using something similar ..furniture that was multi purpose and moveable and lifted up and pushed to the side if not needed or to be dragged outside when the weather was good.
Great production Thankyou 😊
Good episode, would have loved to see a simulated reconstruction of the hill fort!
Come visit us at Butser Ancient Farm, we don't have a hill fort but we do have a banjo enclosure :)
Ray shows us the past and the way forward
Love this information. Keep up the good work.
"As every good woodsman knows..." Ray is the Dog's Bollocks. I'm guessing there were more episodes prior to this covering the paleo to neo lithic and the bronze age? Are these available anywhere?
I like Most of the survival shows but nobody will touch Ray, he's informative, gives historical evidence, isn't all about himself, He'll always be numero Uno IMO.
Appreciate the discussion on color in clothing/furnishings. I have never believed in the past the "peasants" wore drab. Embroidery, macrame, patching would make gorgeous things.
I read sometime ago the pigments in the American Williamsburg painted walls was analyzed and assembled and applied to see the original color. Boom... A shock. What we call Federal blue a grayed color was anything but. It was nearly peacock blue. Walls were salmon orange and pinks yellows were nearly incandescent.
I haven't seen Ray in a while. I would love a video where he 'survived' off the land for a week in the spirit of a woodland rogue a la Robin Hood.
Ahah. The bloke that time forgot. Survivalist/ Bushcraft, presenter of programs regarding the great outdoors.
Watchin this video now, I got the impression, that Ray has become the David Attenborough of the Historical Period. And he appears to be enjoyin every moment. Nice to see Ray still willin to present, well written shows of great interest. Keep up the good work.
Nice Ray, thanks.
I loved what you said about being able to re-shape the iron, if it wasn't just quite right. I'd never really considered that, but it makes perfect sense. I've worked with lost wax casting, and that IS challenging as all hell to modify if you don't get it right the first time.
What a nice little documentary! As I develop RPG scenarios for friends and write lore for a friend, these are gems. They are introductory snippets that allow for more detailed spurces to be found.
Nice to see Ray back. Country Track was good too, His first TV ones.
wow ray mears! i havent seen him in decades. thanks for posting this!
Bring back Ray!!!!...There is only one !!!!❤
What a cool program. This guy has some very interesting information.
Our Ray! Gem of a bloke.
Thanks for sharing this, fascinating and great to see Ray presenting…👍
what a pity ray aint on tv anymore,he is the real deal,,
Ray , best stuff on tv! And has highest respect, from Australian bushmen!!! And they are, people, very hard to impress.
It's fascinating to get a glimpse into the lives our ancestors lived.
And every human culture and race has had a similar ascent from stone age living to the modern day of mathematics and engineering and digital technology. And yet now most of us couldn't fix our plumbing if it went wrong. We've become siloed into a narrow set of skills outside of which most of us are totally incompetent.
Great video (of course) - I look forward to more.
Ray Mears Doc yes plz!
I wonder if in heavy Winter a thick layer of snow on the roof of the roundhouse may have kept the smoke from filtering out, probably not enough heat to keep the roof snow free.
If you read this Ray you are a top bloke.
Why has Ray Mears not been seen on TV for so long?
Probably because in the early 00's TV became about reality competition and conflict. Some producers used the outside world and 'survival' as a backdrop to those things, but it became about people and not actual subjects, sadly. Ray had worked on and presented many fine programmes but I suppose TV producers didn't see much of a future in his style. An interest in such things and making informative programmes about them became niche, the mainstream wanted reality and drama and characters to love and hate.
@@oneandonlyjaybee that is such a good analysis. It makes perfect sense (sadly). What a loss we have sustained! Education has taken such a back seat
We love Ray Mears don't we folks?
Good to see Ray again
Utterly fascinating, great experts joining Ray and superb perspective on the timeline of our history. What a pity if we eventually waste all that progress in greed and conflict but hopefully there is enough sense to not let that happen one day soon. A great watch regardless - five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
24:30 - I remember going to a place in Iceland where families had lived in a cave. They'd brought in someone's family bed from about 100 years ago, to show how they'd have slept; their beds were also small like this, and from talking to the family, it was done because they believed if they slept laying down they'd stop breathing in the night and die.
It wouldn't surprise me if people did die in the night due to the smoke, and so it became some sort of myth as opposed to them knowing it's due to the smoke/bad lungs, but it's well known in multiple countries that that's how people slept.
" they believed if they slept laying down they'd stop breathing in the night and die."
I wonder how many times the fire went low during the night and CO2 mixed with CO crept along the floor killing anyone lying down.
This series was amazing!
A new series with Ray Mears!?, sign me up!
Get this man back on TV in the netherlands please.
I just moved from London to Ramsgate It's the best thing I ever did like going back in time
Ray is the man
Sir Ray Mears = thumbs up, awesome educator, and so passionate about our past !