Romans, Vikings, Peasants: Who Had The Worst Job In History? | Timeline

Tony Robinson presents a series examining some of history's least pleasant employment opportunities. He begins in the first millennium, trying his hand at everyday tasks including back-breaking mining by ancient Roman methods, and Saxon ploughing using wooden implements and oxen. He also enters the world of the Viking egg collector, which involved scaling cliff faces in search of guillemot eggs.

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[wessexfox]

I’ve watched them a thousand times but I always come back to these Tony Robinsons documentaries. His enthusiasm is just marvellous, he’s truly a national treasure.

[bierdlll]

4:18

Q: How do you get the stuff out?
A: You use a pick.
Q: Pretty difficult to swing in here.
A: It's a small pick
Q: How do you use it?
A: You just chip away.

A nice and informative exchange!

[ethanpatrick]

Kudos to all the people keeping this history alive as well! They’re the real heroes of this documentary.

[YochevedDesigns]

Tony is the history teacher we all wish we had in high school. We'd have paid better attention, and all gotten better grades.

[cmsfvsh]

Can't beat a good old Tony Robinson documentary, his historic enthusiasm is great!

[GeneralKenobiSIYE]

I do love when those presenting history seem to be genuinely excited and passionate about history and teaching others said history. I love history.

[owaissaaltheadickey]

Whenever I read history books about Presidents, wars, Emperors and Kings I would always wondered what life was like for everyone else.They have never had a voice until now & I love this "Living History" documentary series that features all of those extraordinary ordinary folks. I love that Tony Robinson is doing this series..
I have always loved his work. It was the common man and woman that created civilizations and history.

[AGMundy]

Tony Robinson has been wonderful at bringing history to life either in this series or in Time Team. He successfully takes the role of the viewer and brings a sense of curiosity, amusement and disgust whilst maintaining the general quality of the stories told and without trivialising or without sensationalising.

[EagleOneM]

If you ever feel like complaining about something you're struggling with in life or having a bad day look at one of Tony's videos and praise yourself lucky you don't have to try to survive in those days....
As a history buff I just love Tony's videos and the enthusiasm with which he dives into it...
How did we ever get to where we are, having put a man on the moon and flying around the world in metal tubes in less than a day... It took months for them to travel half the distance...
We can't thank you enough Mr. Robinson for this look into history.
I often wonder who were my ancestors in the Middle Ages and before that, all the way to the time of the Roman Empire and where they were living. Being from Belgium I wonder if they were part of the tribe of Ambiorix, the famous Gaul who fought Julius Caesar.
I was very surprised to learn there was gold in the region there and that was what the Romans came to look for when they invaded England. How did they found out there was gold to find there? So much we still don't know...

[smkl]

When he's complaining how much work there is to do and time it takes I can't help not to think all those times customers demand something to be in stock even if its are tailored by hand for you.
I think back then people knew the value of things, now it's only about money.

[spiritualanarchist]

Imagine telling a treadmill worker that people in the future would do it because they ate too much. He would think you'r mental . 😅

[NorthTexasEagle]

I keep imagining that guy in every era that says "Yeah it's not so bad!"

[captain_context]

The word ACRE was actually an old Norwegian word that came over with the vikings. We still call it ÅKER. Which is indeed the amount of land one person would be expected to plow a day.

[johnbee]

One of the best 'reality shows around. Thank you Tony. This is a brilliant series.

[koriw]

This was great. I just love Tony Robinson, the faces he makes are priceless, and I nearly fell off my chair when he was looking down the cliff face. Now THAT'S a dedicated presenter! Poor Tony looking down at the surf!

[theflym]

"Why wouldn't they steal even a little silver?"
*Punishment is castration*
"That makes sense"

[RyllenKriel]

Modern day: "Don't play with fire kids!"
Dark Ages: "Tend the fire or we'll die kids!"

[lydiaart]

I really enjoyed watching this. It's really well done. When I did some research on my Norfolk, England ancestors I learned that one of the siblings of a 2nd great grandfather, a little girl burnt to death as an infant. No details in the death record. After seeing this video it's easy to imagine a bunch of different ways this could have happened. Mom is grinding barley for 3 hours just to get some flour to make some bread, Dad is burning charcoal or something else that involves working with fire (my ancestor was a thatcher in some records and shoemaker in others), or a pot of water is bubbling away for use in a meal. A child wanders off while the parents are both working. The parents already lost 2 other children as infants. Amazing two of their children lived to adulthood when you think of it. Thanks for this series.

[robotnik]

My Great-Granduncle was killed around the turn of the century when he was using an ox-drawn hand plow. It hit a large stone, and flipped, and he was struck on the head. Milnor, North Dakota.

[Raz.C]

re: 2:48
"Yeah, but apart from the aquaduct, sanitation, the roads, irrigation, medicine, education, wine, public baths and public order, what have the Romans ever done for us!!??"

- The Life Of Brian