The Mystery of the Headless Man
Digging up History
•
48m
This story has everything: war, politics, betrayal, scandal, murder and at its heart a cracking forensic science mystery. This is the story of Simon Fraser, the 11th Lord Lovat of the Highland, also known as the Fox. In the late 1660s, Simon Fraser was born in a house on the banks of a burn in the Highlands of Scotland. Although he was initially not intended to become Chief of Clan Fraser, by luck and by guile in his early twenties, he discovered he had the best claim to this title. For decades his claim remained unstable, leading him into a wild career of political intrigue, violence, blood feuds and tested loyalties – all events that epitomised the Highlands during this tumultuous period. In 1745, Lovat made the most important decisions of his life when he decided to support Bonnie Prince Charlie’s claim for the British crown. His clan partook at the Battle of Culloden the following year, where the Jacobite rising was decisively defeated. It was the last pitched battle ever to be fought on British soil. After the Jacobite defeat at Culloden, Lovat was led to London in chains, convicted of treason and subsequently beheaded in 1747 - the last person in history to be beheaded by the British state for treason. Simon Fraser’s life was a fascinating one; yet his story becomes even more interesting following his death. After his execution it was claimed he was buried in London. His family, however, have always maintained that he was brought up to his native Highlands and buried in the family mausoleum. In this History Hit TV Original documentary Dan joins Professor Sue Black, one of the world’s most respected forensic anthropologists, and her team from Dundee University, as they open the tomb and discover the truth.
Up Next in Digging up History
-
The Ryedale Hoard: Yorkshire's Roman ...
History Hit's Tristan Hughes has special access to the Ryedale Hoard: A Roman Mystery exhibition at the Yorkshire Museum to speak to the people responsible for its discovery and investigate these incredible artefacts.
Featuring the remarkable 1,800 year old bust of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, ...
-
Lost City of Gaul: Unearthing Bibracte
In the heart of the French region of Burgundy, deep in a forest, lies a hidden city that had been dormant for 2,000 years. It’s called Bibracte, the most important oppidum in all of Gaul. That is where the Aedui, a Gallic tribe allied to the Romans, once built a fortified city on top of a mountai...
-
Pompeii: The Discovery
Dan Snow tells the incredible story of how Pompeii was discovered.