The oldest known evidence of the use of the bow comes from South Africa, where microliths, believed to be arrowheads dating from around 70,000 years ago, have been found.
Evidence of humans' use of the bow can be found all over the world, from cave art in Algeria that shows a man shooting a slightly curved bow to the mummified body of Ötzi the iceman - a 4,000 year old murder victim discovered in the Alps with an arrow embedded in his shoulder and a collection of his personal possessions including an unfinished long bow along with a quiver containing 14 arrows.
But it's here in Britain, where the oldest complete bow ever was discovered, at a place called Star Carr.
Join Ray Mears as he goes on a personal journey to uncover the origins of the bow, from its early use in hunting to it's development as the first true weapon of mass destruction.
Part one sees Ray begin his journey into the story of the bow with the team at the Yorkshire Museum where he is given special access to the world's oldest complete bow, an 11,000 year old artefact from the mesolithic discovered at nearby archaeological site Star Carr.
Inspired by what he's seen, Ray takes us from the mesolithic via some experimental archaeology right through to the middle ages when he visits the most famous Battlefield in Britain, Hastings, to discover the true impact the bow would have on British history.
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