The Ghost Kingdoms Of England [This Union]

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

East Anglia, Sutton Who?

20210802

20210804 (R4)

In spite of a relatively limited written record, it's a period of history that is being constantly re-written, thanks to the impact of new archeological techniques and the rise of the amateur detectorists. Ian hears from authorities on the early medieval period including Michael Wood, Marc Morris, Janina Ramirez and the British Museums curator of Medieval coinage, Gareth Williams, as well as talking to people with local interests in the Anglo-Saxon story.

In today's programme he begins in Colchester, a Roman stronghold which the arriving Angles and Saxons chose to leave alone. But not far up the coast is the place that revolutionised the study of Anglo-Saxon history when it was excavated just before the 2nd World War - Sutton Hoo. Was this the burial of one of the earliest of the great Kings of the Anglo-Saxon period in East Anglia's golden age.

Northumbria, The Great Divide

20210809

20210811 (R4)

In spite of a relatively limited written record, it's a period of history that is being constantly re-written, thanks to the impact of new archeological techniques and the rise of the amateur detectorists. Ian hears from authorities on the early medieval period including Michael Wood, Marc Morris, Sarah Semple, Nick Higham and the British Museum's curator of Medieval coinage, Gareth Williams, as well as talking to people with local interests in the Anglo-Saxon story.

In today's programme Ian is at the intellectual and scholastic heart of the Anglo-Saxon period, in Jarrow. It was once the home of the Venerable Bede who's history of the Gens Anglorum - the English peoples up to the period he was writing in the early 8th century, championed the importance of his native Kingdom, Northumbria. But as well as visiting the Bede Museum at Jarrow Hall he talks to Sarah Semple, head of archeology at Durham University. Sarah is part of a major l survey of grave goods from across the region, and what they reveal, alongside the very particular nature of Northumbria's brass coinage, is a society that differs markedly from the Kingdoms to the South. But do some of those differences, thrift, the capacity to deal with the vicissitudes of northern weather and a tough diet, hint at qualities espoused by Northerners today?

Ian also talks to the writer Bernard Cornwell, whose series The Last Kingdom, has brought the battles and strife of Anglo-Saxon England to an international audience, and who has himself ancestral roots in the northern reaches of the Northumbrian Kingdom.

Producer: Tom Alban

Mercia, Where Is Mercia?

20210816

20210818 (R4)

In spite of a relatively limited written record, it's a period of history that is being constantly re-written, thanks to the impact of new archeological techniques and the rise of the amateur detectorists. Ian hears from authorities on the early medieval period including Michael Wood, Marc Morris, and the British Museum's curator of Medieval coinage, Gareth Williams, as well as talking to people with local interests in the Anglo-Saxon story.

In today's programme Ian hears the story of the great Mercian Kings, their power, European ambitions and their eventual defeat at the hands of the Vikings. He also talks to members of today's Mercian regiment, formed from a number of county regiments to represent a huge swathe of what was once an Anglo-Saxon Kingdom. But do the squaddies have a sense of regional Mercian identity?

But most important of all, Ian turns his hand to metal detecting, a pastime that has had a dramatic impact on our knowledge and understanding of the Anglo-Saxon period. Will he unearth valuable Anglo-Saxon coins, or bits of white lead and the odd button?

Producer; Tom Alban

04 LAST

Wessex, The Only Way Is Wessex

20210823

20210825 (R4)

In spite of a relatively limited written record, it's a period of history that is being constantly re-written, thanks to the impact of new archeological techniques and the rise of the amateur detectorists. Ian hears from authorities on the early medieval period including Michael Wood, Marc Morris, and the British Museum's curator of Medieval coinage, Gareth Williams, as well as talking to people with local interests in the Anglo-Saxon story.

In this final programme in the series, Ian arrives in Wessex, the Kingdom that held out against the Viking horde and turned the tide against the invaders. But how inevitable was it that Wessex should be the Kingdom that united the Anglo-Saxons to create Anglia? And how stable was that final iteration of the Anglo-Saxon world?

Producer: Tom Alban

Episodes

Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
01	East Anglia, Sutton Who?	20210802	20210804 (R4)	In spite of a relatively limited written record, it's a period of history that is being constantly re-written, thanks to the impact of new archeological techniques and the rise of the amateur detectorists. Ian hears from authorities on the early medieval period including Michael Wood, Marc Morris, Janina Ramirez and the British Museums curator of Medieval coinage, Gareth Williams, as well as talking to people with local interests in the Anglo-Saxon story. In today's programme he begins in Colchester, a Roman stronghold which the arriving Angles and Saxons chose to leave alone. But not far up the coast is the place that revolutionised the study of Anglo-Saxon history when it was excavated just before the 2nd World War - Sutton Hoo. Was this the burial of one of the earliest of the great Kings of the Anglo-Saxon period in East Anglia's golden age.
02	Northumbria, The Great Divide	20210809	20210811 (R4)	In spite of a relatively limited written record, it's a period of history that is being constantly re-written, thanks to the impact of new archeological techniques and the rise of the amateur detectorists. Ian hears from authorities on the early medieval period including Michael Wood, Marc Morris, Sarah Semple, Nick Higham and the British Museum's curator of Medieval coinage, Gareth Williams, as well as talking to people with local interests in the Anglo-Saxon story. In today's programme Ian is at the intellectual and scholastic heart of the Anglo-Saxon period, in Jarrow. It was once the home of the Venerable Bede who's history of the Gens Anglorum - the English peoples up to the period he was writing in the early 8th century, championed the importance of his native Kingdom, Northumbria. But as well as visiting the Bede Museum at Jarrow Hall he talks to Sarah Semple, head of archeology at Durham University. Sarah is part of a major l survey of grave goods from across the region, and what they reveal, alongside the very particular nature of Northumbria's brass coinage, is a society that differs markedly from the Kingdoms to the South. But do some of those differences, thrift, the capacity to deal with the vicissitudes of northern weather and a tough diet, hint at qualities espoused by Northerners today? Ian also talks to the writer Bernard Cornwell, whose series The Last Kingdom, has brought the battles and strife of Anglo-Saxon England to an international audience, and who has himself ancestral roots in the northern reaches of the Northumbrian Kingdom. Producer: Tom Alban
03	Mercia, Where Is Mercia?	20210816	20210818 (R4)	In spite of a relatively limited written record, it's a period of history that is being constantly re-written, thanks to the impact of new archeological techniques and the rise of the amateur detectorists. Ian hears from authorities on the early medieval period including Michael Wood, Marc Morris, and the British Museum's curator of Medieval coinage, Gareth Williams, as well as talking to people with local interests in the Anglo-Saxon story. In today's programme Ian hears the story of the great Mercian Kings, their power, European ambitions and their eventual defeat at the hands of the Vikings. He also talks to members of today's Mercian regiment, formed from a number of county regiments to represent a huge swathe of what was once an Anglo-Saxon Kingdom. But do the squaddies have a sense of regional Mercian identity? But most important of all, Ian turns his hand to metal detecting, a pastime that has had a dramatic impact on our knowledge and understanding of the Anglo-Saxon period. Will he unearth valuable Anglo-Saxon coins, or bits of white lead and the odd button? Producer; Tom Alban
04 LAST	Wessex, The Only Way Is Wessex	20210823	20210825 (R4)	In spite of a relatively limited written record, it's a period of history that is being constantly re-written, thanks to the impact of new archeological techniques and the rise of the amateur detectorists. Ian hears from authorities on the early medieval period including Michael Wood, Marc Morris, and the British Museum's curator of Medieval coinage, Gareth Williams, as well as talking to people with local interests in the Anglo-Saxon story. In this final programme in the series, Ian arrives in Wessex, the Kingdom that held out against the Viking horde and turned the tide against the invaders. But how inevitable was it that Wessex should be the Kingdom that united the Anglo-Saxons to create Anglia? And how stable was that final iteration of the Anglo-Saxon world? Producer: Tom Alban