The First Britons
Digging up History
•
27m
If the words British history conjure up images of Elizabeth I, Shakespeare, Boudica, Mary Seacole, The Beatles and the Blitz, you’re squinting at a small spec of the history of humanity of these Isles. Even if you go back to the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD, or even further to the Iron Age or the Bronze Age, you’re still only looking at 1% of humankind’s story in this land.
This is a 900,000 year old story of ice ages, glaciers and hunter gatherers. Of lions, hyenas, hippos, rhinos and woolly mammoths. Of archaeological discoveries like Cheddar Man, who was once thought to be the oldest Englishman who ever lived.
The story of the First Britons is a story of a species that would come and go many times before calling this land home. A story that has travel, and the movement of people, at its heart.
So what do we know about these early migrants to Britain’s shores? Travel writer Noo Saro-Wiwa talks us through the story of the First Britons, while Dr Selina Brace explains how her team at the Natural History Museum were able to extract DNA from Cheddar Man. Produced by Mark Bowsher.
Up Next in Digging up History
-
George Washington: The First Battle
Dan Snow goes to Pittsburgh to explore the extraordinary story of how an over-ambitious young George Washington fought for the British and helped to fire the shots that started the Seven Years War, the world’s first global conflict.
-
American Revolution - Commemorating t...
History Hit has been up close to a remarkable story from the American War of Independence, exploring the history and attending the commemorations for the dead of the bloody battle of Camden, 1780.
Travelling to South Carolina for this special film, Dan Snow investigates some exceptional histo...
-
Waterloo Uncovered: The Bones of the ...
A major breaking story filmed by History Hit.
Incredibly rare bones of men and horses have been discovered in July 2022 at the Waterloo Battlefield - and History Hit has been there to record the excavations as they unfold.
The veterans support charity 'Waterloo Uncovered' returned to the Water...
