I think they’re what they call a “bank house,” in the SE US Appalachian Mountains. Essentially, it’s a refrigerator/community pantry. You’d also want to put your natural furs in there so they don’t shed in the summer heat, since the fur can’t grow back in the winter.
I use to think that they were some kind of storage place, something like what they call a root cellar. But of all that I've seen, they just aren't practical for storage, they tend to be too narrow, too space limited. And most don't seem to have had any way to close them up, no door to keep animals from raiding the pantry more or less. I can't see them being defensive shelters for the same reason, too restricting, and some having alcoves off the main tunnel would serve no useful purpose. As much as it tends to be a little too overused as an explanation, I have to think they serve some ritual purpose. Like barrows and chambered tombs seem to have had more than just a mortuary significance. With their designs and shapes I don't see them being practical for anything else like storage or sanctuary.
I've been thinking it's one of two possibilities: 1. It's an entryway for something ritualistic, perhaps with an acoustic system so a holy person somewhere else in the ruin could say something and it would be heard in the fogou. 2. It's an entryway that's so narrow it would prevent anyone from wielding any type of weapon.
X may Mark the Spot in the movies, but in Time Team's World, there's never an X. It's all wonderful. Every hole, every find, every interpretation, every mistake and every rainstorm that washes away a day's work. Every program is amazing. Thank you all for keeping Time Team GOING!
If I remember correctly in the episode where they're looking for the birthplace of Edward the Confessor Stewart and, I believe, Helen are looking at a map of the village and there is an 'X' (technically a cross but one could interpret it as an 'X') marking the spot where the church used to stand. It wasn't actually there, and Stewart explained why it probably wouldn't be when looking at the old map, but I'm sure there have been occasions when 'X' has marked the spot of an old religious building. I have vague memories of old pirate films and cartoons where 'X' has marked the precise spot of buried treasure. Obviously real archaeology is never that simple but, depending on what you're looking for, an 'X' on a map can tell you a great deal. I'm sure the book covers this, I'm just using a 'Time Team' example which sticks in my memory. 🙂
Dear Michael Scott... Just to inform you (politely and respectfully of course) that I personally learnt of the phrase "X marks the spot" many, many, many years ago in the novel by the rernowned Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island... I think many will agree, but I may be wrong!
The talk about the " currency bar " , which turned out to be a saw, mentioned something very close to my father's last job for the U.S. Navy, doing microscopic metallurgy to determine how a particular piece of metal broke
I say that Phil Harding is the real HERO of Archeology. That man's mind never stops working when he's out in the field on a site. Always thinking of what's next!!
I love these updates as I always think we have barely scratched the surface from the dig episodes. It would be great to have some full length episodes compiling updates on previous dig post-excavation analysis - maybe even from historical 'pre-TH-cam' digs. I know it can often take years to get there but there have been some amazing digs and I'd love to know what came up in post-dig analysis.
That iron age saw tooth length and spacing reminds me more of the old time butchers' saws that were used to cut big bones, and avoid the splinter fragments caused by using a cleaver. Makes it much easier to access and eat the marrow without cutting your mouth on the splinters.
P.S. The Fougu was of course a secret underground Pasty Factory to feed the TinMiners who were trading with the Phoenicians and they didn't want the Pasty secrets to be discovered. *grin*
You could well be right and it would have to be where no Devonian could ever find it, so a Fogou all the way Westward near Lands End would make perfect sense. The other thing that occurs to me, now you’ve sparked off an alternative train of thought, is that it could also be the entrance way to something that has long been considered merely fanciful, a treacle mine perhaps?
Currency bars! Hmm, to me, it looks like a weapon maybe an early sword or dagger. I can't imagine that anyone would produce currency in that shape, especially when it could be made in a better shape for storage and ease of production. Great episode.
On mainland Europe, iron was often transported around in billet-form from the place of production to the final destination. Some have claimed that the 'sword'-shape made them more attractive to potential customers, as they could easily imagine a finished sword made out of one. It is more likely that it was a standard size in a shape people could easily recognise. It is therefore unlikely they were 'currency', but they certainly would have had a standard value. Similarly, Norwegian iron was transported in axe-shaped billets in the Viking Age, an example being a row of these strung on a wooden rod found here in Denmark.
it staggers me that archaeology students at uni have almost no experience in the field before starting the course. If I had had the grades to go to uni to do archaeology, I would have started out with more than 8 weeks of digging already under my belt. The recording was not very good back then (this was 1979-1980) and has changed a lot, but trowelling/excavations techniques haven't changed much. Since then I've done months worth of volunteer digging, recording and finds processing
Never mind policemen looking younger. Its when university professors are younger than your children that tells you how time is passing. !! X marks the spot indeed.😅
Why in the world is Time Team not using XRF analysis at a much higher level??? Accurate to less than .5%, it permits collective elemental profiles to be established, and can answer many questions. Hand-held units remain expensive - £10K & up - but UK assay offices are NOT expensive; technicians are happy to be relieved from routine silver & gold tests. Prior to the lemming insanity of "Brexit", I traveled from France to Sheffield to get as many as 10 more copper alloy antiques or antiquities tested, & for more than a decade.
Dani I really love your updates,I particularly loved the Modbury series I was born therel in 1937 long before I came to Canada to live. .I look forward to the New year and wish you and yours a Happy Christmas and a wonderful New year as I just know it will be special just because its Time Team which has such wonderful people from the Specialists who have such knowledge in diverse fields and to the diggers who unveil the treasures to amaze me. Cheers from Canada M
I love these updates, but I always want to know more. It would be good to do some more follow-ups. I feel as though I need to go back to the first one and watch them all again.
Merry Christmas to you Dani and all the team! Looking forward to seeing what 2025 will bring. Maybe you'll can find out more about some of the projects happening here in Cyprus?
I wouldn’t mind seeing a time team special covering archaeological discoveries whose sites/interpretations changed when looked at deeper eg: Jericho, the timeline of Ancient Egyptian history, etc. Also, have you heard about a book called “Where God Came Down” by Joel P. Kramer? It might be a good book to highlight!
I am very interested in the 7 lost kings of England, Id love to see an attempt to find one or some of these..And anything Pictish its a subject only lightly touched on by time team and id love to see more
Perfect timing and one of the many reasons I just renewed my Time Team Patreon Membership for 2025 & for less than .26 cents a day (Canadian), I get to participate in giving a gift to all the You Tube fans worldwide who would, but cannot donate for whatever the reason... And Merry Christmas to ALL the Time Team, the Fans and all the Patreons worldwide and to 2025 & beyond! Another great Episode Dani!!
@@brettwalters-n4u the irony of saying I'm not bright - I'm not the one who wrote .26 cents 😂 That's just over a quarter of a cent. A decimal point has a meaning. You meant .26 dollars, or 26 cents. Imagine not knowing how decimal points work?
Haha, .26 (point two six) cents times 365 days is 94.9 cents. He was poking fun at your use of both a point and saying cents. Is .5 inches half an inch or 5 inches? Is .25 metres 25cm or 25 metres? Maybe look up how numbers work before mocking people.
Is there any possibility that the teeth on the currency bars are meant as a counting method, rather than saw teeth? A bit like notching a stick? It would fit with Roman mention of a currency bar and with previous thinking about the limited use of saws in the iron age.
What actually are the Currency Bars that were mentioned? in the photo where there are 4 or 5 of them side by side with the tapered ends, do we know what those were used for. i could not help but think they looked like sword or knife blades that had not been hammered or processed yet, like blade blanks. but i am unsure why they seem to fold over at the ends.
I think that these underground chambers were made to set the scene for the shamen to make awesome experiences for the people, convince them that their magic man is in contact with spirits or gods. This makes the society easier to control and creates stories to build their culture on. The magician can turn day into night in a tunnel, create impressive sounds in the dark and do tricks to make their leaders seem more than they really were - still goes on 😂
I've only been watching Time Team since the early 1990s but except for Francis Prior claiming all broken metal items to be 'votive offerings' deeper thought prevailed and, especially from Mick Aston, continued consideration of any finds and possible alternatives were explored. I would suggest that the large irregular stone NOW replaced as a lintel, having been found at a distance from the 'door pillars' might more likely have been some form of deity or icon viewed in the gloom from the opposite end of the 'tunnel'/entrance - possibly decorated with colouring or even blood?? The potential theft of a more rectangular lintel from what would be the external ground level strikes me as more plausible.... lest we get back to Victorian imaginary structures. I could of course be very wrong 🤔🥴
I always thought that "Taking things for granted" should be the one premise that archeologists never, ever adhere to. In every field of knowledge theories have been disproven as better methods and technology become available. I'm not demeaning the 'experts' of old. They presented their theories in accordance with their knowledge and methods available at that time. I didn't see anyone applying leeches when the covid pandemic was running amoc.
Ritual! It was ritual. But, seriously. I do think it was for religious-related activity. I've watched your other episodes on this and fogous don't seem to have had any practical defensive structure nor were they just for food storage as they seem too elaborate for that. Rather, they serve as a connection to the underworld, the dark and unknown and therefore realm(s) of the "gods".
What on earth makes you think either ‘gods’ or ‘a connection to the underworld’ are concepts related to the builders - pure projection and of no use at all in the absence of any evidence at all
I think just checking in on as many digs as possible would be amazing, digitally or in person just so we can see exactly what's happening around the nation.
Wonderful as always Dani! It just gets better and better. I'd love to know if Megan is related to Miles. So many little similarities beyond just the surname. Happy Holidays to all!
Probably the worst episode...people talking, not digging. **Shows the best part for literally 2 seconds like most shows. This trend has got to STOP.! 5:36 shows the Roman kiln. Most of us wants to look at the dig and form our own opinions or gather info by looking at it.!
Yeah …. They assume a great deal about their demographic and whilst Dani is a good presenter - great in fact - the production and editing is juvenile and the absence of academic arguements of the past is boring along with the insane 2 minute attention span they dump on us is tragic compared to the past with all its bolshi awkward squad
15:45 - wow, that really made my ears hurt! Re-CAST?! Iron was never cast in Iron Age Britain - infact, it was not cast in Europe until the late Middle Ages! Casting is mentioned again at 16:25 - "how was it cast, was it hammered?". If it is iron and is from before the advent of blast furnaces, it was NOT cast, but it was certainly SMITHED or FORGED (not simply hammered)! Please, please, please learn a little bit about metalworking technology in history and prehistory as well as relevant terminology before doing these types of analyses! Also very puzzling to hear that X-rays aren't used much in the UK to non-destructively analyse metal artifacts - the technique is pretty commonly used by conservators here in Denmark.
I might be daffed, but I think Time Team needs another Tony Robbinson, Mick Aston, and Phil Harding. They had chemistry in spades. And brought the common man an interesting slant on history. Yes, the other presenters/archeologists did a great -no, a fantastic job. Yet, you have lost something in the reboot. It feels stiffer, less entertaining, and, dare I say… rather dull at times. The new and tech-savvy parts are brilliant, but the personalities of the new/old presenters lack charisma. The banter, sometimes being at odds with each other, was great between the old vs. the new cast. I am not saying to bring in James Carr or Jerry Seinfeld, but I would like to find professionals who will meld with the academics and put the ZING back on the show. I will still watch everything you put out.
What do you think the original function of a fogou was? Let us know in the comments!
Could they be related to the underground houses on the coast that were exposed by some storms?
It could have been used as a shelter during cold and windy weather.
I think they’re what they call a “bank house,” in the SE US Appalachian Mountains. Essentially, it’s a refrigerator/community pantry. You’d also want to put your natural furs in there so they don’t shed in the summer heat, since the fur can’t grow back in the winter.
I use to think that they were some kind of storage place, something like what they call a root cellar. But of all that I've seen, they just aren't practical for storage, they tend to be too narrow, too space limited. And most don't seem to have had any way to close them up, no door to keep animals from raiding the pantry more or less. I can't see them being defensive shelters for the same reason, too restricting, and some having alcoves off the main tunnel would serve no useful purpose.
As much as it tends to be a little too overused as an explanation, I have to think they serve some ritual purpose. Like barrows and chambered tombs seem to have had more than just a mortuary significance. With their designs and shapes I don't see them being practical for anything else like storage or sanctuary.
I've been thinking it's one of two possibilities:
1. It's an entryway for something ritualistic, perhaps with an acoustic system so a holy person somewhere else in the ruin could say something and it would be heard in the fogou.
2. It's an entryway that's so narrow it would prevent anyone from wielding any type of weapon.
Dani, you are a great presenter. This is fascinating stuff and you bring more vitality to the story. Thank you so much!
I think I can tell that she's working hard to speak as clearly as possible. It's funny but also very kind. And she does a great job with it all.
Happy Christmas to Dani, and the entire Time Team crew and family. May it be blessed.
X may Mark the Spot in the movies, but in Time Team's World, there's never an X. It's all wonderful. Every hole, every find, every interpretation, every mistake and every rainstorm that washes away a day's work. Every program is amazing. Thank you all for keeping Time Team GOING!
Indiana Jones said X never ever marks the spot, as the man quoted in this news update.
If I remember correctly in the episode where they're looking for the birthplace of Edward the Confessor Stewart and, I believe, Helen are looking at a map of the village and there is an 'X' (technically a cross but one could interpret it as an 'X') marking the spot where the church used to stand. It wasn't actually there, and Stewart explained why it probably wouldn't be when looking at the old map, but I'm sure there have been occasions when 'X' has marked the spot of an old religious building.
I have vague memories of old pirate films and cartoons where 'X' has marked the precise spot of buried treasure. Obviously real archaeology is never that simple but, depending on what you're looking for, an 'X' on a map can tell you a great deal. I'm sure the book covers this, I'm just using a 'Time Team' example which sticks in my memory. 🙂
Dear Michael Scott...
Just to inform you (politely and respectfully of course) that I personally learnt of the phrase "X marks the spot" many, many, many years ago in the novel by the rernowned Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island... I think many will agree, but I may be wrong!
"for those who are Indiana Jones fans.....might well RECOGNISE...."
It's so cool that the new Time Team is everything we had all hoped it would be
and often more
We love a bit of good Fogou-related news!
The talk about the " currency bar " , which turned out to be a saw, mentioned something very close to my father's last job for the U.S. Navy, doing microscopic metallurgy to determine how a particular piece of metal broke
I say that Phil Harding is the real HERO of Archeology. That man's mind never stops working when he's out in the field on a site. Always thinking of what's next!!
Join us tonight at 7pm (GMT) for the final Time Team News episode of the year! See you there...
Really enjoy the monthly news - and recommended books. Thank you for a great year of learning and discovery, Time Team!! Looking forward to 2025!
Thanks for a great time team year! Love the news program especially. I enjoy hear the news of all the different projects going on.
Thank you for another brilliant year of Time Team :)
I love these updates as I always think we have barely scratched the surface from the dig episodes. It would be great to have some full length episodes compiling updates on previous dig post-excavation analysis - maybe even from historical 'pre-TH-cam' digs. I know it can often take years to get there but there have been some amazing digs and I'd love to know what came up in post-dig analysis.
That iron age saw tooth length and spacing reminds me more of the old time butchers' saws that were used to cut big bones, and avoid the splinter fragments caused by using a cleaver. Makes it much easier to access and eat the marrow without cutting your mouth on the splinters.
Thanks for providing proper subtitles!
Lots of excitement and excited people in this visit!
What would you like us to cover in 2025 on Time Team News? Let us know in the comments
Dani, can you tell me anything about Wooton-Basset? My Hunt family is from there.
An update on Swandro please
Phillipa!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness, it's been ages since I have seen her!
Time Team is AWESOME!
Amazing thanks for sharing.
Happy Yuletide to all Time Team staff.
Thank you Dani and Team 😊
I look forward to these each month! Thank you. Always interesting 😊
P.S. The Fougu was of course a secret underground Pasty Factory to feed the TinMiners who were trading with the Phoenicians and they didn't want the Pasty secrets to be discovered. *grin*
You could well be right and it would have to be where no Devonian could ever find it, so a Fogou all the way Westward near Lands End would make perfect sense.
The other thing that occurs to me, now you’ve sparked off an alternative train of thought, is that it could also be the entrance way to something that has long been considered merely fanciful, a treacle mine perhaps?
Currency bars! Hmm, to me, it looks like a weapon maybe an early sword or dagger. I can't imagine that anyone would produce currency in that shape, especially when it could be made in a better shape for storage and ease of production. Great episode.
On mainland Europe, iron was often transported around in billet-form from the place of production to the final destination. Some have claimed that the 'sword'-shape made them more attractive to potential customers, as they could easily imagine a finished sword made out of one. It is more likely that it was a standard size in a shape people could easily recognise. It is therefore unlikely they were 'currency', but they certainly would have had a standard value. Similarly, Norwegian iron was transported in axe-shaped billets in the Viking Age, an example being a row of these strung on a wooden rod found here in Denmark.
Merry Christmas to all the Time Team crew
it staggers me that archaeology students at uni have almost no experience in the field before starting the course. If I had had the grades to go to uni to do archaeology, I would have started out with more than 8 weeks of digging already under my belt. The recording was not very good back then (this was 1979-1980) and has changed a lot, but trowelling/excavations techniques haven't changed much. Since then I've done months worth of volunteer digging, recording and finds processing
Never mind policemen looking younger. Its when university professors are younger than your children that tells you how time is passing. !!
X marks the spot indeed.😅
Why in the world is Time Team not using XRF analysis at a much higher level??? Accurate to less than .5%, it permits collective elemental profiles to be established, and can answer many questions. Hand-held units remain expensive - £10K & up - but UK assay offices are NOT expensive; technicians are happy to be relieved from routine silver & gold tests. Prior to the lemming insanity of "Brexit", I traveled from France to Sheffield to get as many as 10 more copper alloy antiques or antiquities tested, & for more than a decade.
I love this show
Dani I really love your updates,I particularly loved the Modbury series I was born therel in 1937 long before I came to Canada to live.
.I look forward to the New year and wish you and yours a Happy Christmas and a wonderful New year as I just know it will be special just because its Time Team which has such wonderful people from the Specialists who have such knowledge in diverse fields and to the diggers who unveil the treasures to amaze me.
Cheers from Canada
M
Have we had an update on any sites discovered years ago that were expanded after Time Team left?
I love these updates, but I always want to know more. It would be good to do some more follow-ups. I feel as though I need to go back to the first one and watch them all again.
Always a great show !
Merry Christmas to you Dani and all the team! Looking forward to seeing what 2025 will bring. Maybe you'll can find out more about some of the projects happening here in Cyprus?
I wouldn’t mind seeing a time team special covering archaeological discoveries whose sites/interpretations changed when looked at deeper eg: Jericho, the timeline of Ancient Egyptian history, etc.
Also, have you heard about a book called “Where God Came Down” by Joel P. Kramer? It might be a good book to highlight!
Can't wait. Love these
I enjoy this news and update program every month. Thank you!
When I think of archeology, I think of Time Team AND Indiana Jones. It's a world of choice! 👍😁
I am very interested in the 7 lost kings of England, Id love to see an attempt to find one or some of these..And anything Pictish its a subject only lightly touched on by time team and id love to see more
Perfect timing and one of the many reasons I just renewed my Time Team Patreon Membership for 2025 & for less than .26 cents a day (Canadian), I get to participate in giving a gift to all the You Tube fans worldwide who would, but cannot donate for whatever the reason...
And Merry Christmas to ALL the Time Team, the Fans and all the Patreons worldwide and to 2025 & beyond!
Another great Episode Dani!!
Thank you for your generous gift!
Signed: broke-azz Time eam fan :)
It only costs 96 cents a year? Bargain!
@@thecommissaruk not the brightest of💡s are you, there are 365 days in a year and at .26 cents a day, you can read right?!
@@brettwalters-n4u the irony of saying I'm not bright - I'm not the one who wrote .26 cents 😂 That's just over a quarter of a cent. A decimal point has a meaning. You meant .26 dollars, or 26 cents. Imagine not knowing how decimal points work?
Haha, .26 (point two six) cents times 365 days is 94.9 cents. He was poking fun at your use of both a point and saying cents.
Is .5 inches half an inch or 5 inches? Is .25 metres 25cm or 25 metres?
Maybe look up how numbers work before mocking people.
Thanks Dani 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
👍🏻👍🏻
Two Tums Fresh? 😁
Is there any possibility that the teeth on the currency bars are meant as a counting method, rather than saw teeth? A bit like notching a stick? It would fit with Roman mention of a currency bar and with previous thinking about the limited use of saws in the iron age.
What actually are the Currency Bars that were mentioned? in the photo where there are 4 or 5 of them side by side with the tapered ends, do we know what those were used for. i could not help but think they looked like sword or knife blades that had not been hammered or processed yet, like blade blanks. but i am unsure why they seem to fold over at the ends.
How about an episode at Pontefract Castle
3:44 I thought this was a taboo in archeology, to guess at where things went (like at Stonehenge)? Also nightmare for the team now having to duck 😂
I wonder what made them think it was a currency bar ?
Over active lack of imagination
That saw must have been quite a time consuming
thing to make.
How might the fogous in Cornwall compare/relate to the construction style of Skara Brae?
Boden ...initiation ritual ..😊
Merry Christmas and a very Happy 2025 - travel safely to visit family in Germany. Look forward to you sharing your vlogs in 2025. From Australia.
I think that these underground chambers were made to set the scene for the shamen to make awesome experiences for the people, convince them that their magic man is in contact with spirits or gods. This makes the society easier to control and creates stories to build their culture on. The magician can turn day into night in a tunnel, create impressive sounds in the dark and do tricks to make their leaders seem more than they really were - still goes on 😂
Keep the updates coming Dani and Merry Christmas 😊
I've only been watching Time Team since the early 1990s but except for Francis Prior claiming all broken metal items to be 'votive offerings' deeper thought prevailed and, especially from Mick Aston, continued consideration of any finds and possible alternatives were explored. I would suggest that the large irregular stone NOW replaced as a lintel, having been found at a distance from the 'door pillars' might more likely have been some form of deity or icon viewed in the gloom from the opposite end of the 'tunnel'/entrance - possibly decorated with colouring or even blood?? The potential theft of a more rectangular lintel from what would be the external ground level strikes me as more plausible.... lest we get back to Victorian imaginary structures. I could of course be very wrong 🤔🥴
Thank you Dani, I really enjoyed that . Merry Christmas to you all
I'm sure the saw's were also a handy form of currency
Thank you.
Is it possible to remove the text? Following what they say, isn't difficult.
Hi, yes you can click the 'CC' button to turn them on/off or go into the settings by clicking on the cog icon.
@TimeTeamOfficial Tthank you!
Um, Yank here .. maybe it’s my old ears, but I need the CC! I did t really have that problem itch old TT, so maybe it is my age.
@@amazinggrace5692 iim sorry to hear your point of view. I personally found the text, and the speech to be overbearing. Must my viewpoint!
These are too short! It is so hard for laypeople to get archeological news in a digestible fashion.
This is really what Time Team is all about.
I always thought that "Taking things for granted" should be the one premise that archeologists never, ever adhere to. In every field of knowledge theories have been disproven as better methods and technology become available. I'm not demeaning the 'experts' of old. They presented their theories in accordance with their knowledge and methods available at that time. I didn't see anyone applying leeches when the covid pandemic was running amoc.
💖🌟💖🌟💖🌟💖🌟💖🌟💖🌟💖🌟💖🌟💖🙏
Ritual! It was ritual.
But, seriously. I do think it was for religious-related activity. I've watched your other episodes on this and fogous don't seem to have had any practical defensive structure nor were they just for food storage as they seem too elaborate for that. Rather, they serve as a connection to the underworld, the dark and unknown and therefore realm(s) of the "gods".
But was it high status? 😂
What on earth makes you think either ‘gods’ or ‘a connection to the underworld’ are concepts related to the builders - pure projection and of no use at all in the absence of any evidence at all
I think just checking in on as many digs as possible would be amazing, digitally or in person just so we can see exactly what's happening around the nation.
Wonderful as always Dani! It just gets better and better.
I'd love to know if Megan is related to Miles. So many little similarities beyond just the surname. Happy Holidays to all!
😀
I just. Bought X marks the spot,sounds to good to pass up
No volume no noise only lips moving
Probably the worst episode...people talking, not digging.
**Shows the best part for literally 2 seconds like most shows. This trend has got to STOP.!
5:36 shows the Roman kiln.
Most of us wants to look at the dig and form our own opinions or gather info by looking at it.!
Yeah …. They assume a great deal about their demographic
and whilst Dani is a good presenter - great in fact -
the production and editing is juvenile and the absence of academic arguements of the past is boring
along with the insane 2 minute attention span they dump on us is tragic compared to the past with all its bolshi awkward squad
Please give publicity to Hopwood hall (1400s) that Rochdale council has confiscated from Hopwood Depree and the restorers!!
Book feature suggestion:
Life in the Viking Great Army; Hadley, Richards
15:45 - wow, that really made my ears hurt! Re-CAST?! Iron was never cast in Iron Age Britain - infact, it was not cast in Europe until the late Middle Ages! Casting is mentioned again at 16:25 - "how was it cast, was it hammered?". If it is iron and is from before the advent of blast furnaces, it was NOT cast, but it was certainly SMITHED or FORGED (not simply hammered)! Please, please, please learn a little bit about metalworking technology in history and prehistory as well as relevant terminology before doing these types of analyses! Also very puzzling to hear that X-rays aren't used much in the UK to non-destructively analyse metal artifacts - the technique is pretty commonly used by conservators here in Denmark.
I might be daffed, but I think Time Team needs another Tony Robbinson, Mick Aston, and Phil Harding. They had chemistry in spades. And brought the common man an interesting slant on history. Yes, the other presenters/archeologists did a great -no, a fantastic job. Yet, you have lost something in the reboot. It feels stiffer, less entertaining, and, dare I say… rather dull at times. The new and tech-savvy parts are brilliant, but the personalities of the new/old presenters lack charisma. The banter, sometimes being at odds with each other, was great between the old vs. the new cast.
I am not saying to bring in James Carr or Jerry Seinfeld, but I would like to find professionals who will meld with the academics and put the ZING back on the show. I will still watch everything you put out.
Time Team without Tony Robinson is just Odd.
Where’s sir tony ☹️
We'll be seeing more of Tony in 2025 with the latest developments from Sutton Hoo. Watch this space...
@ excellent 👌