The Greatest Archaeological Finds in Recent Years | Full History Hit Series

A full series of History Hit videos on the most fascinating archaeological discoveries over the past year. Join presenters Tristan Hughes, Luke Tomes, Dan Snow and James Rogers as they join some of the most exciting historical excavations across Europe.

We start of at the British Museum, where host of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is given special access to the 'World of Stonehenge exhibition' to speak to the team responsible for the discovery of an elaborately decorated 5,000-year-old chalk cylinder, buried with three child skeletons in Yorkshire, and as old as the first phase of Stonehenge - described as the "most important piece of prehistoric art to be found in Britain in the last 100 years".

Next, Dan Snow catches up with a team of archaeologists uncovering a large Anglo-Saxon burial site in Wendover, Buckinghamshire - found whilst working on the HS2 high speed railway project. Almost three quarters of the graves found contain high quality grave goods, suggesting the site was the final resting place of a wealthy Anglo-Saxon community.

Luke Tomes then travels to Aldbourne in Wiltshire, which hosted thousands of American servicemen and paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division before they departed for Normandy on 6 June, 1944, gaining particular fame for being the village in which Easy Company, portrayed in the iconic TV series, 'Band of Brothers', was stationed from late 1943. Archaeologist Richard Osgood reveals to Luke a haul of remarkable finds discovered throughout the week at Operation Nightingale, including two dog tags belonging to real members of Easy Company.

Later, Tristan Hughes gains special access to the Ryedale Hoard: A Roman Mystery exhibition at the Yorkshire Museum featuring the remarkable 1,800 year old bust of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

Finally, war historian James Rogers is onsite at the Mont-Saint-Jean farm Waterloo excavation, a field hospital, where the skeletons of combatants and horses (as well as amputated limbs) of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 have been found. These are incredibly rare discoveries on a Napoleonic battlefield and bring us closer to the harsh realities of the bitter fighting. James also visits the site of the famous ‘reverse slope’ where metal-detectorists are discovering musket balls and parts of uniforms.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free exclusive podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsely, Mary Beard and more. Watch, listen and read history wherever you are, whenever you want it. Available on all devices: Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Roku, Xbox, Chromecast, and iOs & Android.

#historyhit #archaeology #discoveries

00:00:00 Pre-historic Chalk Drum
00:16:25 HS2 Anglo-Saxon discoveries
00:27:10 Easy Company WW2 Dog tags
00:48:08 Ryedale Hoard: Roman Treasure
01:10:30 Battle of Waterloo Skeletons

[brucejr.]

History hit went from just getting started to top notch documentary source, amazingly quick. Well done!

[Juliobrem]

I love this format of British documentaries. I grew up watching all type of documentaries but this is one of my favorites. Greetings from Mexico 🇲🇽

[dawndh]

I went to this exhibition last year, and the most exciting part of it was Seahenge. So amazing to see trees that have been preserved for soooo long

[j.dunlop]

Cheddar man, was the wildest UK find to me! Some 25 years ago, in an amazing piece of DNA detective work, using genetic material taken from the cavity of one of Cheddar Man’s molar teeth from 9, 000 year's ago, , scientists were able to identify Mr. Targett, 62, as a direct descendant, living half a mile away!

[resh..]

An hour and a half of " The Greatest Archaeological Finds in Recent Years " by History Hit... Hell Yes!!
You have just saved my Friday evening!! Thank you 🤩

[thomasbell]

This was an hour-and-a-half very well spent. Thank you, History Hit.

[deborahbaker]

When I see a show like this I try and picture what the people way back then looked like and what they did everyday especially when they say how long ago they lived it’s so fascinating 👍🏻

[DalBBN]

1:13:49 man to the left, The Great Phil Harding. In my opinion, the world's best archeologists. Legend.

[TheMikesylv]

The UK is such a amazing place in the history of humanity

[liamguitars]

I am just so glad its not an AI narrator.

[dtqcuvm]

I had EIGHT uncles in WWII, four from each side Uncles Kenneth, Sammy, Bobby, William, Joe, Herman, L.C. and Elmer. My Dad, Korea, me Vietnam. Proud of my family and all that have served.

[ericastier]

To the curators you seem oblivious to the fact that this chalk drum was rolled on clay wet ground to produce the pattern. This is the only reason is was not carved into the drum but protubering from it.

[sharonkaczorowski]

My father became a USA TBM pilot at 18…joined at 17. My grandfather signed for him which really angered my grandmother. His 16 yr old radioman pulled my father out of a burning plane before it was pushed off the Jeep carrier into the ocean. We forget how very young many of the soldiers were and are to this day. The military was so desperate for soldiers they didn’t look that closely at birth certificates.

[OgYokYok]

“Buried with Children” would be a great sitcom name

[laurieallen]

As an archaeologist (specifically an Egyptologist), I have always felt incredibly divided on whether or not items found in burials should be taken away and displayed. Case in point: these jars; they were buried with these children, obviously as a sign of love, or hope or care. To take them away and display them seems counterintuitive to the right thing to do. I understand that things need to be preserved. I don’t know if they dug up the bones as well or they left them. I have always felt that it’s wrong. I do understand it in archaeology it’s done so that we can grasp an idea of how our ancestors lived and loved and existed in the world but at the same time this is grave robbing and it’s very hard to reconcile. that.

[Cyfsh]

Nice, finally a video like this where its not some computerized voice talking

[reubenmosman]

Truely fascinating . . . and something actually worth watching

[tedtimmis]

Great video. The segment on the dog tags was very moving.

[janeknight]

This Stonehenge exhibition was fantastic. I wish I could have seen it more than once. Far too much to take in.

[EarthScienceTV]

The Waterloo excavation is particularly thrilling. Uncovering the grim evidence of battle really brings historic events to life in a way that books simply can't.