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Last month I looked at the wealth of recent BBC history and archaeology programming on offer during the summer. As the autumn leaves start to fall, the history continues with both new shows and repeats.
I left my previous review by looking at the first episode of BBC 2’s Digging For Britain, fronted by Doctor Alice Roberts and focusing on the Romans. The following three episodes concentrated on Prehistory, the Saxons and the Tudors, each fascinating in their own right. However, what was initially billed at a series of six was cut down to a series of four. What has become of the missing two shows?
On a similar theme BBC 4 has just begun a new series, Story of England, presented by one of their favourites, Michael Wood. The series traces the history of these isles through the archaeology and documentation associated with one village, Kibworth in Leicestershire. An interesting premise, with Wood ably supported by Carenza Lewis (formerly of Time Team) as the villagers are encouraged to dig one metre square test pits in their gardens and experts then analyse the resulting finds.
Also from the BBC 4 stable comes Churches: How to Read Them, hosted by Richard Taylor. He claims at the beginning to be a writer who wants to decode the ancient carvings and symbolism of churches through the ages, but he is much more than that. He is an enthusiast, something which shines through in his descriptions of mouldings, arches and towers, Richard Taylor is a man who clearly enjoys his work.
A couple of repeats bulk out the rest of BBC 4’s history output. One of these is 2008’s In Search of Medieval Britain, with American historian Doctor Alixe Bovey following the Gough Map, which dates from the mid 1300s, and taking in many of the places marked on it. The other is more recent, Seven Ages of Britain with David Dimbleby, previously shown on BBC 1 during spring this year.
One feature I mentioned in my previous review was the amount of walking history presenters have to do. Certainly Wood, Taylor, Bovey and Dimbleby fit into the category of champion history walkers, but the final programme on my list features someone who has found a new and novel way of looking at buildings and their history.
Dr Jonathan Foyle brings us Climbing Great Buildings (BBC 2), in which he spends his time hanging from wires and using ropes to climb the outsides and insides of some of Britain’s most iconic structures. The architectural historian is joined on this quest by seven times British champion climber Lucy Creamer and a team of ‘riggers’. This gives him and the viewer a unique perspective on how architecture has developed over the course of a thousand years, from Norman times to the present day.
All in all, 2010 has been a pretty special year so far across the BBC for anybody with an interest in history, archaeology or a bit of both. Long may it continue!
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