MEDiA: Ancient Britain, with Ray Mears

Wow! I love this. I stumbled upon it today. And I’ve watched three episodes. I don’t know if that’s the whole lot?

In the first episode he marches along Happisburgh beach in Norfolk. He also sets out the overall timeline. It’s a little evolution in miniature.

In the second episode we encounter the revolution that is farming. I want to make a bow like the one he uses in the picture above.

The Iron Age arrives, with a sudden acceleration of technology, and increases in the complexity of society.

Fascinating stuff, in that old school BBC style, think Reith or Attenborough; intelligent, educational. Happy to take its time.

Here are some of the plants he talks about in episode one: Golden saxifrage, the Poly Poly fern (Polystichum Polyblepharum), and the Linden or lime tree.

A brilliant program. Simple, modest, unpretentious. Not earth-shattering. But deeply fascinating. And conducive to promoting further fascination.

‘It’s so mysterious. I just wish we knew more,’ he says. Agreed!

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