1 00:00:19,333 --> 00:00:21,609 We might be a small island, 2 00:00:21,633 --> 00:00:24,243 but we've got a big history. 3 00:00:24,267 --> 00:00:25,443 Everywhere you stand, 4 00:00:25,467 --> 00:00:28,009 there are worlds beneath your feet. 5 00:00:28,033 --> 00:00:29,443 And so every year, 6 00:00:29,467 --> 00:00:32,209 hundreds of archaeologists across Britain 7 00:00:32,233 --> 00:00:34,209 go looking for more clues. 8 00:00:34,233 --> 00:00:37,509 Who lived here, when, and how? 9 00:00:37,533 --> 00:00:39,843 You can even see the architecture of the bone 10 00:00:39,867 --> 00:00:41,209 inside the jaw there. 11 00:00:41,233 --> 00:00:45,276 Archaeology is a complex jigsaw puzzle 12 00:00:45,300 --> 00:00:49,176 drawing together everything from skeletons to swords, 13 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:51,376 temples to treasure. 14 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:53,730 She's got a very cartoonlike face, hasn't she? 15 00:00:55,467 --> 00:00:59,376 From Orkney to Devon, were joining this year's quest 16 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:03,076 on sea, land, and air. 17 00:01:03,100 --> 00:01:04,676 We'll share all of the questions 18 00:01:04,700 --> 00:01:07,309 and find some of the answers 19 00:01:07,333 --> 00:01:10,409 as we join the teams in the field 20 00:01:10,433 --> 00:01:12,733 digging for Britain. 21 00:01:17,233 --> 00:01:20,509 For me, the Tudor Age conjures up images 22 00:01:20,533 --> 00:01:25,309 of magnificent kings and queens, daring adventurers, 23 00:01:25,333 --> 00:01:27,776 and an explosion of literature 24 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,309 under writers like William Shakespeare. 25 00:01:30,333 --> 00:01:32,276 But this period was about much more 26 00:01:32,300 --> 00:01:34,209 than just those personalities. 27 00:01:34,233 --> 00:01:36,676 It was a time of enormous political, 28 00:01:36,700 --> 00:01:38,709 social, and economic change, 29 00:01:38,733 --> 00:01:42,509 which heralded the beginning of modern Britain. 30 00:01:42,533 --> 00:01:46,909 And I'm hoping that archaeology can offer us fresh insights 31 00:01:46,933 --> 00:01:48,676 into the Tudor world 32 00:01:48,700 --> 00:01:52,476 and even provide us with glimpses of the everyday lives 33 00:01:52,500 --> 00:01:55,900 of those who witnessed that momentous era. 34 00:01:59,700 --> 00:02:03,676 I'm searching for the vanished world of Tudor Britain. 35 00:02:03,700 --> 00:02:05,176 Just beautiful. 36 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:08,543 I get hands on with discoveries at Shakespeare's house... 37 00:02:08,567 --> 00:02:10,043 I want to find Shakespeare's sock. 38 00:02:10,067 --> 00:02:12,476 I so want to find Shakespeare's socks. 39 00:02:12,500 --> 00:02:14,870 ...learn about the popcorn of Tudor theater... 40 00:02:16,933 --> 00:02:19,743 ...and investigate a mysterious wreck 41 00:02:19,767 --> 00:02:22,767 from this age of exploration and trade. 42 00:02:27,633 --> 00:02:31,343 My journey begins in the heart of London 43 00:02:31,367 --> 00:02:34,927 with a love story and the birth of British theater. 44 00:02:36,067 --> 00:02:40,043 Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo? 45 00:02:40,067 --> 00:02:41,609 Perhaps the most famous line 46 00:02:41,633 --> 00:02:44,076 from the greatest love story ever written. 47 00:02:44,100 --> 00:02:46,343 And I'm sure, like me, you can remember 48 00:02:46,367 --> 00:02:51,043 the first time you read or watched "Romeo and Juliet." 49 00:02:51,067 --> 00:02:56,376 But the very first time those words were spoken was here 50 00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:01,100 at the newly discovered Tudor theater in London's Shoreditch. 51 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:05,176 By a remarkable coincidence, 52 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:08,843 as this site was being cleared to make way for a new theater, 53 00:03:08,867 --> 00:03:12,109 the remains of a much older theater were discovered. 54 00:03:12,133 --> 00:03:14,209 It wasn't just any old theater, 55 00:03:14,233 --> 00:03:17,043 but London's original Tudor playhouse 56 00:03:17,067 --> 00:03:19,676 where Shakespeare first became an actor 57 00:03:19,700 --> 00:03:21,430 and began his career. 58 00:03:25,300 --> 00:03:26,476 Morning, Jo. 59 00:03:26,500 --> 00:03:28,043 Oh, good morning. 60 00:03:28,067 --> 00:03:30,876 Jo Lyon of the Museum of London Archaeology Service 61 00:03:30,900 --> 00:03:32,643 is supervising the dig. 62 00:03:32,667 --> 00:03:36,043 Her team have just six weeks left to excavate the site 63 00:03:36,067 --> 00:03:39,467 and learn all they can before it's covered over. 64 00:03:40,633 --> 00:03:42,076 So this is the very first place 65 00:03:42,100 --> 00:03:44,609 where Shakespeare worked as a playwright? 66 00:03:44,633 --> 00:03:47,076 Yeah, absolutely, and there's so much here. 67 00:03:47,100 --> 00:03:48,943 There's literally meters of Tudor archaeology. 68 00:03:48,967 --> 00:03:50,376 Really? 69 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:52,676 Actually, it is the most important site 70 00:03:52,700 --> 00:03:54,270 I have ever done in my life. 71 00:03:55,567 --> 00:03:59,076 The dig is a real jumble of medieval, Tudor, 72 00:03:59,100 --> 00:04:01,043 and later archaeology. 73 00:04:01,067 --> 00:04:03,043 A few bits of glass and pot coming out. 74 00:04:03,067 --> 00:04:04,509 And they think they've discovered 75 00:04:04,533 --> 00:04:06,076 the remains of a pub, 76 00:04:06,100 --> 00:04:08,476 which may have been part of the theater complex. 77 00:04:08,500 --> 00:04:09,843 Supporting the chimney... 78 00:04:09,867 --> 00:04:12,043 But what's really exciting the archaeologists 79 00:04:12,067 --> 00:04:14,409 lies in the far corner... 80 00:04:14,433 --> 00:04:18,376 the remains of one small but significant section 81 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:20,230 of the theater's floor. 82 00:04:20,933 --> 00:04:23,209 Now were standing exactly as an audience member 83 00:04:23,233 --> 00:04:25,909 would have stood back in the day. 84 00:04:25,933 --> 00:04:28,143 We're standing at the back of the yard. 85 00:04:28,167 --> 00:04:29,409 You can buy a cheap ticket 86 00:04:29,433 --> 00:04:31,576 and go and stand in the yard and watch the play, 87 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:33,243 or you can sit in the galleries. 88 00:04:33,267 --> 00:04:34,476 And you'll see that the floor 89 00:04:34,500 --> 00:04:36,643 slopes slightly in that direction, 90 00:04:36,667 --> 00:04:40,843 and that's on purpose so that you can have a better view. 91 00:04:40,867 --> 00:04:42,509 So the people at the back can still see 92 00:04:42,533 --> 00:04:43,876 over the heads of the people in front? 93 00:04:43,900 --> 00:04:45,843 And what about this wall here? 94 00:04:45,867 --> 00:04:47,843 Is this the foundations of a wall? 95 00:04:47,867 --> 00:04:50,176 So this is the edge of the galleries. 96 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:52,276 The galleries would be coming up behind us 97 00:04:52,300 --> 00:04:55,243 off of this foundation wall, and we'd be stood at the back. 98 00:04:55,267 --> 00:04:58,343 And that means the stage would have been sort of over there, 99 00:04:58,367 --> 00:05:00,576 perhaps 10 meters away from here. 100 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:02,076 Isn't that amazing? 101 00:05:02,100 --> 00:05:04,043 400 years ago, there were people 102 00:05:04,067 --> 00:05:07,576 standing exactly where we are watching Shakespeare. 103 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:09,243 Looking at a young William Shakespeare 104 00:05:09,267 --> 00:05:12,197 performing "Romeo and Juliet." 105 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:14,243 You know, for me, that's amazing. 106 00:05:14,267 --> 00:05:16,476 It does send a bit of a shiver down the spine, doesn't it? 107 00:05:16,500 --> 00:05:18,100 Yeah, absolutely. 108 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:23,043 They're discovering fragments of pottery all the time, 109 00:05:23,067 --> 00:05:27,143 but amongst them are some really interesting objects, 110 00:05:27,167 --> 00:05:30,443 including this almost-intact wine goblet, 111 00:05:30,467 --> 00:05:33,109 which dates to exactly the time of the theater. 112 00:05:33,133 --> 00:05:37,276 That's really lovely and such a gorgeous color. 113 00:05:37,300 --> 00:05:39,076 It could perhaps have been a stage prop 114 00:05:39,100 --> 00:05:41,130 or belonged to a theatergoer. 115 00:05:42,133 --> 00:05:45,743 Just a couple of days ago, we had this amazing find, 116 00:05:45,767 --> 00:05:50,109 which is an absolutely complete jug. 117 00:05:50,133 --> 00:05:51,809 There's not a flaw in it. 118 00:05:51,833 --> 00:05:53,876 There is no chip out of it, nothing. 119 00:05:53,900 --> 00:05:56,876 So, they're called bellarmine or Bartmann jugs, 120 00:05:56,900 --> 00:06:00,343 and they all have this bearded male face on them. 121 00:06:00,367 --> 00:06:02,476 It's really distinctive. 122 00:06:02,500 --> 00:06:03,943 Isn't that amazing? 123 00:06:03,967 --> 00:06:07,743 I mean, it's just fantastic to have a piece of that intact. 124 00:06:07,767 --> 00:06:08,943 So what would this have been used for? 125 00:06:08,967 --> 00:06:10,943 What would have been in it, do you suspect? 126 00:06:10,967 --> 00:06:12,443 - Beer. - Beer. 127 00:06:12,467 --> 00:06:14,143 So possibly someone buying their beer, 128 00:06:14,167 --> 00:06:15,676 making their way to the theater? 129 00:06:15,700 --> 00:06:18,770 Yeah, why not? It could work. 130 00:06:24,300 --> 00:06:26,576 Well, the digging that's going on all around me 131 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:28,643 will finish in just a few weeks' time, 132 00:06:28,667 --> 00:06:31,409 and then the site will be handed over to the developers, 133 00:06:31,433 --> 00:06:34,909 and very fittingly, a new theater will be built here. 134 00:06:34,933 --> 00:06:37,143 We're just so privileged to get this glimpse 135 00:06:37,167 --> 00:06:38,809 into Shakespeare's world, 136 00:06:38,833 --> 00:06:42,443 because, despite the fact the Tudors were so influential 137 00:06:42,467 --> 00:06:44,143 in shaping modern Britain, 138 00:06:44,167 --> 00:06:46,597 they're not an easy bunch to track down. 139 00:06:55,733 --> 00:06:57,343 In later centuries, 140 00:06:57,367 --> 00:06:59,643 many of the old Tudor buildings fell out of fashion 141 00:06:59,667 --> 00:07:02,909 and were either completely renovated or pulled down, 142 00:07:02,933 --> 00:07:05,743 erasing much of our Tudor past. 143 00:07:05,767 --> 00:07:09,443 And since Victorian times, the fashion for deep cellars 144 00:07:09,467 --> 00:07:12,776 has obliterated many traces from earlier periods 145 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:14,876 beneath the ground, as well. 146 00:07:14,900 --> 00:07:18,043 So, today there are only fragments 147 00:07:18,067 --> 00:07:19,909 of Tudor Britain left behind, 148 00:07:19,933 --> 00:07:24,203 even in this, the capital of their kingdom, London. 149 00:07:26,133 --> 00:07:28,876 The river Thames was of vital importance 150 00:07:28,900 --> 00:07:31,209 to the Tudor kings and queens. 151 00:07:31,233 --> 00:07:35,243 London was firmly placed at the center of their political power, 152 00:07:35,267 --> 00:07:36,909 and they ruled their kingdom 153 00:07:36,933 --> 00:07:40,543 from a series of palaces dotted along the river. 154 00:07:40,567 --> 00:07:44,943 Westminster, however, was not the real seat of Tudor power. 155 00:07:44,967 --> 00:07:48,727 That was several miles downriver at Greenwich. 156 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:56,309 This palace was located on the riverfront 157 00:07:56,333 --> 00:07:57,876 at the site of what is now 158 00:07:57,900 --> 00:08:01,676 Christopher Wren's iconic Old Royal Naval College. 159 00:08:01,700 --> 00:08:04,143 If I asked you to name a Tudor palace, 160 00:08:04,167 --> 00:08:06,476 chances are you'd say Hampton Court. 161 00:08:06,500 --> 00:08:09,209 But the palace that once stood here 162 00:08:09,233 --> 00:08:13,043 was much more important and much more interesting. 163 00:08:13,067 --> 00:08:16,576 But it's been largely erased from public consciousness. 164 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:18,843 We've only just begun to understand 165 00:08:18,867 --> 00:08:21,043 the grand scale of the palace here, 166 00:08:21,067 --> 00:08:24,909 thanks to a series of digs over the last 30 years. 167 00:08:24,933 --> 00:08:27,776 Julian Bowsher has been closely involved 168 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:30,870 with revealing this forgotten Tudor world. 169 00:08:31,567 --> 00:08:34,043 The Tudor palace built by Henry VII 170 00:08:34,067 --> 00:08:36,876 was one of the greatest of the new palaces of the time 171 00:08:36,900 --> 00:08:39,776 because of Henry VIII himself, who was, in fact, born here. 172 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:41,809 He was born probably over in this corner here. 173 00:08:41,833 --> 00:08:43,409 Right. 174 00:08:43,433 --> 00:08:45,209 He married his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, 175 00:08:45,233 --> 00:08:48,309 in the church of the friary just over here. 176 00:08:48,333 --> 00:08:49,776 He married Anne of Cleves 177 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:52,443 right over at the other end at the private chapel. 178 00:08:52,467 --> 00:08:54,943 His daughter Elizabeth was born over here. 179 00:08:54,967 --> 00:08:57,343 It's very connected with Henry VII, 180 00:08:57,367 --> 00:08:58,776 Henry VIII, Elizabeth. 181 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:00,376 They're all here. 182 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:02,170 You can almost feel them around you. 183 00:09:03,067 --> 00:09:05,509 Archaeological finds made at the palace 184 00:09:05,533 --> 00:09:07,409 can tell us more about the lives 185 00:09:07,433 --> 00:09:10,476 of the Tudor kings and queens who lived here. 186 00:09:10,500 --> 00:09:12,643 We've got a Tudor tile here 187 00:09:12,667 --> 00:09:17,376 that came from the Chapel Royal that we excavated in 2005, 188 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:20,070 and it's the private chapel of the palace. 189 00:09:20,667 --> 00:09:22,676 It's on this floor, if you like, 190 00:09:22,700 --> 00:09:25,176 that Henry married Anne of Cleves. 191 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:27,443 The Tudors used a potent new symbol 192 00:09:27,467 --> 00:09:31,609 to stamp their authority on Britain, the Tudor rose. 193 00:09:31,633 --> 00:09:34,043 That looks very Tudor to me, this rose. 194 00:09:34,067 --> 00:09:35,276 What is it? 195 00:09:35,300 --> 00:09:39,376 It's lead-cast decoration Tudor rose 196 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:42,176 with even traces of gilt around the side, 197 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:45,576 and there would actually have been these all over the ceiling. 198 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:47,076 So these would have been colorful? 199 00:09:47,100 --> 00:09:48,809 Yes, yes, indeed, yes. 200 00:09:48,833 --> 00:09:50,909 It's a real stamp of Tudor identity, isn't it? 201 00:09:50,933 --> 00:09:53,509 Absolutely, saying, "This is our palace, 202 00:09:53,533 --> 00:09:55,576 Greenwich Palace, the center of England. 203 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:58,109 We're here to stay. This is Tudor. This is us." 204 00:09:58,133 --> 00:10:01,576 There's nothing of those buildings remaining up here now, 205 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:03,809 but down amongst the shifting mud 206 00:10:03,833 --> 00:10:05,843 and gravel of the Thames foreshore, 207 00:10:05,867 --> 00:10:10,097 there are tantalizing traces of Greenwich's Tudor past. 208 00:10:15,100 --> 00:10:19,076 On the foreshore, in front of where the palace once stood, 209 00:10:19,100 --> 00:10:21,409 a team from the Thames Discovery Programme 210 00:10:21,433 --> 00:10:23,443 think they may have found a structure 211 00:10:23,467 --> 00:10:25,867 that linked the palace to the river. 212 00:10:27,300 --> 00:10:29,909 Leading the team is Nathalie Cohen. 213 00:10:29,933 --> 00:10:32,109 - Nathalie, hi. - Hello. 214 00:10:32,133 --> 00:10:34,109 - How are you doing? - Good, thank you. 215 00:10:34,133 --> 00:10:36,743 So what have you got here down on the shore? 216 00:10:36,767 --> 00:10:39,376 We've picked up a whole series of timbers 217 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:42,109 running along the front of this wall here. 218 00:10:42,133 --> 00:10:44,609 We think it's part of a jetty structure 219 00:10:44,633 --> 00:10:47,009 that may have related to the Royal Palace, 220 00:10:47,033 --> 00:10:49,403 sort of immediately behind us here. 221 00:10:50,667 --> 00:10:52,309 So what would this have been in the jetty? 222 00:10:52,333 --> 00:10:54,109 It appears to have been part of the baseplate, 223 00:10:54,133 --> 00:10:56,376 I would think, pegged to the foreshore 224 00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:58,409 or pegged to another piece of baseplate 225 00:10:58,433 --> 00:10:59,773 through those peg holes there. 226 00:11:03,500 --> 00:11:06,609 You can just imagine the royal barge landing here 227 00:11:06,633 --> 00:11:10,309 and Henry VIII or Elizabeth disembarking with a fanfare, 228 00:11:10,333 --> 00:11:12,573 surrounded by courtiers. 229 00:11:16,067 --> 00:11:18,676 This now mundane stretch of the river 230 00:11:18,700 --> 00:11:21,470 was once the most exclusive in London. 231 00:11:26,567 --> 00:11:29,209 It's not just structures like piers and jetties 232 00:11:29,233 --> 00:11:31,576 that can be found here on the Thames foreshore. 233 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:33,943 There's archaeology literally everywhere you look. 234 00:11:33,967 --> 00:11:38,376 There's pottery, bones, shell, fragments of clay pipe. 235 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:40,043 It's probably one of the richest veins 236 00:11:40,067 --> 00:11:42,427 of archaeology anywhere in Britain. 237 00:11:48,433 --> 00:11:50,543 There are other people looking for clues 238 00:11:50,567 --> 00:11:53,427 here on the foreshore... the mudlarks. 239 00:11:55,267 --> 00:11:58,176 They have a special license that allows them to dig 240 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:01,530 for the historical objects that litter the Thames beaches. 241 00:12:02,300 --> 00:12:06,109 Over the years, they've made some remarkable discoveries. 242 00:12:06,133 --> 00:12:08,743 You might think they'd be using metal detectors, 243 00:12:08,767 --> 00:12:10,809 but, in fact, they work by hand, 244 00:12:10,833 --> 00:12:12,709 because the sheer quantity of metal here 245 00:12:12,733 --> 00:12:14,776 makes detectors useless. 246 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:16,743 We've got an Elizabethan fastener there, 247 00:12:16,767 --> 00:12:18,209 and you can imagine on your jacket, 248 00:12:18,233 --> 00:12:19,509 this would actually fasten like that. 249 00:12:19,533 --> 00:12:20,943 Oh, like hooks and eyes? 250 00:12:20,967 --> 00:12:22,143 Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's a fastener. 251 00:12:22,167 --> 00:12:24,776 - So that's Elizabethan. - It's Elizabethan. 252 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:27,076 And then on top of that, these are in abundance down here. 253 00:12:27,100 --> 00:12:28,476 These are Tudor pins. 254 00:12:28,500 --> 00:12:30,709 A woman of distinction would have had a thousand pins on her. 255 00:12:30,733 --> 00:12:33,909 I think Elizabeth I had 2,000 pins on her. 256 00:12:33,933 --> 00:12:35,209 Doing what? 257 00:12:35,233 --> 00:12:37,743 Well, for hair, for clothing. 258 00:12:37,767 --> 00:12:41,109 An Elizabethan ruff had 150 pins-plus on it. 259 00:12:41,133 --> 00:12:43,109 And these are Tudor lace ties, 260 00:12:43,133 --> 00:12:44,843 so exactly the same as you get on your shoelaces. 261 00:12:44,867 --> 00:12:46,043 Oh, yeah. 262 00:12:46,067 --> 00:12:48,676 Like on jackets, on shirts and stuff, 263 00:12:48,700 --> 00:12:49,943 where you'd have crisscrosses 264 00:12:49,967 --> 00:12:51,409 of, like, leather thongs and stuff, 265 00:12:51,433 --> 00:12:53,433 these would be on the end so they could be treaded. 266 00:12:57,733 --> 00:12:59,543 Well, the tide has come in now 267 00:12:59,567 --> 00:13:02,076 and covered up all of that archaeology 268 00:13:02,100 --> 00:13:04,076 on the Thames foreshore. 269 00:13:04,100 --> 00:13:07,043 It's disappeared very much like Greenwich Palace itself 270 00:13:07,067 --> 00:13:09,743 has disappeared from public consciousness. 271 00:13:09,767 --> 00:13:12,143 But we know now not just from history, 272 00:13:12,167 --> 00:13:13,943 but archaeology, too, 273 00:13:13,967 --> 00:13:17,427 that this was the spiritual home of the Tudors. 274 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:24,343 The raising of the Mary Rose in 1982 275 00:13:24,367 --> 00:13:25,843 was one of those rare events 276 00:13:25,867 --> 00:13:28,543 that's etched into the national consciousness. 277 00:13:28,567 --> 00:13:30,043 But the recovery of the hull, 278 00:13:30,067 --> 00:13:32,909 along with thousands of artifacts and hundreds of bones, 279 00:13:32,933 --> 00:13:35,943 was just the beginning of a 30-year project 280 00:13:35,967 --> 00:13:37,567 that's still going on today. 281 00:13:37,633 --> 00:13:40,043 Well, if you'd like to come in here, Alice, 282 00:13:40,067 --> 00:13:44,643 this is going into our holiest of holies, our holy grail. 283 00:13:44,667 --> 00:13:46,843 Christopher Dobbs has been closely involved 284 00:13:46,867 --> 00:13:49,643 in planning the new Mary Rose Museum, 285 00:13:49,667 --> 00:13:51,209 which for the first time 286 00:13:51,233 --> 00:13:53,876 will display the objects and the hull together. 287 00:13:53,900 --> 00:13:58,909 Baskets and barrels and chests and fantastic bowls and plates, 288 00:13:58,933 --> 00:14:02,043 but this one, this absolutely superb bowl here, 289 00:14:02,067 --> 00:14:04,343 I think that this is probably a mess bowl. 290 00:14:04,367 --> 00:14:06,443 And to actually serve individually 291 00:14:06,467 --> 00:14:09,643 into plates or bowls to 500 down in the ovens 292 00:14:09,667 --> 00:14:11,376 would have been just too difficult. 293 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:14,276 So they almost certainly transferred the food 294 00:14:14,300 --> 00:14:17,476 from one whole mess into a bowl like this. 295 00:14:17,500 --> 00:14:20,576 And that then led us to possibly identify this. 296 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:23,476 I mean, it might look like a very minor object, 297 00:14:23,500 --> 00:14:25,509 but it could well be a mess tag, 298 00:14:25,533 --> 00:14:27,443 so you'd almost have like a luggage label, 299 00:14:27,467 --> 00:14:30,909 because they may have cooked actually in cloth bags 300 00:14:30,933 --> 00:14:32,909 in the cauldron, because that would mean 301 00:14:32,933 --> 00:14:35,543 you could keep all the food for 8 or 10 people together. 302 00:14:35,567 --> 00:14:37,543 And you could tie like a luggage label onto this, 303 00:14:37,567 --> 00:14:38,943 and that's what they were used in later wrecks. 304 00:14:38,967 --> 00:14:40,409 It does look as though something's been tied onto that. 305 00:14:40,433 --> 00:14:42,909 Yes, it was definitely a tag of some sort. 306 00:14:42,933 --> 00:14:44,276 Yeah. 307 00:14:44,300 --> 00:14:46,409 It's almost overwhelming 308 00:14:46,433 --> 00:14:50,043 being surrounded by the worldly goods of 500 men, 309 00:14:50,067 --> 00:14:53,467 all interred in one catastrophic moment. 310 00:14:54,433 --> 00:14:58,109 There's everything from dice to musical instruments. 311 00:14:58,133 --> 00:15:00,743 Look at that one. That's absolutely perfect. 312 00:15:00,767 --> 00:15:04,376 And even the combs they used to get rid of their lice. 313 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:05,576 I mean, look at that. 314 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:09,476 I can't believe that's a Tudor dagger handle, 315 00:15:09,500 --> 00:15:10,830 knife handle. 316 00:15:11,733 --> 00:15:14,433 It's just beautiful. 317 00:15:15,667 --> 00:15:18,276 Even mundane objects like grindstones 318 00:15:18,300 --> 00:15:20,209 used to make flour on board 319 00:15:20,233 --> 00:15:22,576 have a haunting quality to them. 320 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:25,043 Many people think that the Mary Rose is something... 321 00:15:25,067 --> 00:15:26,876 the project is something that finished 20 years ago 322 00:15:26,900 --> 00:15:28,309 or something, but it doesn't. 323 00:15:28,333 --> 00:15:31,309 Daily we're finding out new things and new stories 324 00:15:31,333 --> 00:15:33,676 and being able to tell things in new ways. 325 00:15:33,700 --> 00:15:36,309 There's just a phenomenal number of objects 326 00:15:36,333 --> 00:15:38,176 recovered from the Mary Rose. 327 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:40,209 Look at these beautiful longbows. 328 00:15:40,233 --> 00:15:42,543 There are hundreds of them. 329 00:15:42,567 --> 00:15:45,643 And, of course, we don't just have the personal objects 330 00:15:45,667 --> 00:15:47,876 that these people carried around with them. 331 00:15:47,900 --> 00:15:50,376 We do actually have the skeletons 332 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:52,276 of the people themselves. 333 00:15:52,300 --> 00:15:54,143 During the excavations, 334 00:15:54,167 --> 00:15:58,967 the remains of 179 individuals were carefully recovered. 335 00:16:01,633 --> 00:16:04,043 As an anatomist, these bones provide me 336 00:16:04,067 --> 00:16:07,176 with a unique insight into the lives of these men. 337 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:09,109 I can see some interesting things. 338 00:16:09,133 --> 00:16:11,076 I'm meeting Dr. Alex Hildred, 339 00:16:11,100 --> 00:16:13,409 who's a curator at the Mary Rose Trust, 340 00:16:13,433 --> 00:16:16,276 to uncover the stories of these men. 341 00:16:16,300 --> 00:16:18,676 There were particular places which must relate 342 00:16:18,700 --> 00:16:22,676 to blocking access routes to getting off the ship, 343 00:16:22,700 --> 00:16:25,376 where you've got 20 or 30 individuals 344 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:27,043 and far more bones 345 00:16:27,067 --> 00:16:29,343 than you can actually put into those individuals. 346 00:16:29,367 --> 00:16:31,609 People fighting to get off the sinking ship. 347 00:16:31,633 --> 00:16:32,943 Especially as there was netting 348 00:16:32,967 --> 00:16:34,909 across the only really open bits of the ship, 349 00:16:34,933 --> 00:16:36,176 had anti-boarding netting. 350 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:37,243 I think it would have been horrendous 351 00:16:37,267 --> 00:16:38,843 trying to get off the ship. 352 00:16:38,867 --> 00:16:41,609 The gun ports were so tightly fitted to their guns 353 00:16:41,633 --> 00:16:44,109 that you wouldn't have been able to get through those easily. 354 00:16:44,133 --> 00:16:46,043 Did anybody manage to get off? 355 00:16:46,067 --> 00:16:49,776 About 35 survivors, but then people didn't swim naturally. 356 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:51,376 It was quite rare to be a swimmer. 357 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:53,843 So 35 survivors. 358 00:16:53,867 --> 00:16:55,443 35 out of how many? 359 00:16:55,467 --> 00:16:57,943 415 listed. 360 00:16:57,967 --> 00:17:00,209 The men on board were there to fight. 361 00:17:00,233 --> 00:17:02,709 And many of them would have wielded longbows, 362 00:17:02,733 --> 00:17:04,643 which were amongst the most feared weapons 363 00:17:04,667 --> 00:17:06,509 in the medieval world. 364 00:17:06,533 --> 00:17:10,143 One skeleton in particular provides a direct link 365 00:17:10,167 --> 00:17:12,376 to these devastating bows. 366 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:14,709 This chap was found pretty much by himself 367 00:17:14,733 --> 00:17:16,543 in the hold of the ship in the bow, 368 00:17:16,567 --> 00:17:20,909 but just literally above him was a wrist guard 369 00:17:20,933 --> 00:17:22,643 with the arms of England on it. 370 00:17:22,667 --> 00:17:26,109 So it's interesting to suggest with one of tallest individuals, 371 00:17:26,133 --> 00:17:29,243 who's very robust, that he may well have been an archer, 372 00:17:29,267 --> 00:17:31,309 and that's what's been suggested in the past. 373 00:17:31,333 --> 00:17:33,043 He's incredibly well-built. 374 00:17:33,067 --> 00:17:34,443 Now, some of that's going to be genetic, 375 00:17:34,467 --> 00:17:36,709 but some of it might be what he's actually doing 376 00:17:36,733 --> 00:17:38,543 with his body, as well. 377 00:17:38,567 --> 00:17:43,543 But this skeleton has got this rather interesting condition 378 00:17:43,567 --> 00:17:47,043 at the shoulder where the tip of his shoulder has failed to fuse. 379 00:17:47,067 --> 00:17:49,543 I mean, what we're looking at is the end of the scapula, 380 00:17:49,567 --> 00:17:52,243 which starts off as a separate little bone like this 381 00:17:52,267 --> 00:17:54,343 but should fuse during development, 382 00:17:54,367 --> 00:17:59,143 but here in an adult skeleton, it has stayed separate. 383 00:17:59,167 --> 00:18:01,543 And there's been a suggestion 384 00:18:01,567 --> 00:18:04,843 that this is to do with heavy use of the shoulder. 385 00:18:04,867 --> 00:18:08,276 Well, archers... Well, anybody, any male in England at the time 386 00:18:08,300 --> 00:18:11,109 would have to shoot a bow at least once a week 387 00:18:11,133 --> 00:18:12,376 from the age of about 7. 388 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:14,176 So if somebody was good, 389 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:15,743 needless to say, they probably would have been encouraged 390 00:18:15,767 --> 00:18:17,143 to do it more than once a week. 391 00:18:17,167 --> 00:18:19,476 Knowing that archery was widespread, 392 00:18:19,500 --> 00:18:21,209 I suspected other skeletons 393 00:18:21,233 --> 00:18:24,043 might reveal a different telltale sign 394 00:18:24,067 --> 00:18:26,209 of the damage archery might cause. 395 00:18:26,233 --> 00:18:30,043 So this here is evidence 396 00:18:30,067 --> 00:18:32,043 for what we call rotator cuff disease, 397 00:18:32,067 --> 00:18:35,276 so this frilly bone here with the little holes in it, 398 00:18:35,300 --> 00:18:38,476 the pitting in it, which looks like osteoarthritis. 399 00:18:38,500 --> 00:18:39,743 Now, it's not osteoarthritis 400 00:18:39,767 --> 00:18:41,176 because it's not happening on the joint surface, 401 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:42,743 but it's happening where the muscles insert 402 00:18:42,767 --> 00:18:44,043 that stabilize the shoulder. 403 00:18:44,067 --> 00:18:47,209 And this is associated with stress 404 00:18:47,233 --> 00:18:48,909 and strain on those tendons. 405 00:18:48,933 --> 00:18:52,609 We get rotator cuff disease happening in young people 406 00:18:52,633 --> 00:18:56,209 when they are cricketers or baseball pitchers. 407 00:18:56,233 --> 00:18:59,473 - Or archers, maybe. - Maybe, maybe. 408 00:18:59,533 --> 00:19:03,309 It is such a privilege to look at the bones from the Mary Rose. 409 00:19:03,333 --> 00:19:05,476 It's something that I've wanted to be able to do 410 00:19:05,500 --> 00:19:07,043 for a long time. 411 00:19:07,067 --> 00:19:08,176 And I think coming here 412 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:09,709 and looking at the collection, as well, 413 00:19:09,733 --> 00:19:12,043 I'm completely bowled over by it. 414 00:19:12,067 --> 00:19:13,576 There are so many objects 415 00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:16,409 and so well-preserved from the wreck. 416 00:19:16,433 --> 00:19:18,409 And they really do make sense 417 00:19:18,433 --> 00:19:19,743 when you look at them all together. 418 00:19:19,767 --> 00:19:22,576 When you've got the ship and all these objects within it 419 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:24,343 and the people themselves, 420 00:19:24,367 --> 00:19:28,443 we've got this very complete picture of the lives 421 00:19:28,467 --> 00:19:31,567 of these mariners in the Tudor period. 422 00:19:47,633 --> 00:19:49,043 I'm in West Wales, 423 00:19:49,067 --> 00:19:52,276 on my way to the site of Strata Florida Abbey, 424 00:19:52,300 --> 00:19:54,743 which in its heyday in the medieval period 425 00:19:54,767 --> 00:19:58,443 was among the most important religious places 426 00:19:58,467 --> 00:20:00,067 in the whole of Britain. 427 00:20:03,433 --> 00:20:05,776 Strata Florida stood in the shadow 428 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,643 of the wild and remote Cambrian Mountains, 429 00:20:08,667 --> 00:20:12,697 far from the bustling towns and cities of Tudor Britain. 430 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:16,076 It was founded by Cistercian monks 431 00:20:16,100 --> 00:20:19,476 striving for a life of hard work and solitude. 432 00:20:19,500 --> 00:20:22,609 Not much of their great abbey remains today. 433 00:20:22,633 --> 00:20:24,909 All that can be seen are the desolate ruins 434 00:20:24,933 --> 00:20:29,233 of the abbey's once-grand church and its famous archway. 435 00:20:30,633 --> 00:20:32,676 But in a field nearby, a team 436 00:20:32,700 --> 00:20:35,309 from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David 437 00:20:35,333 --> 00:20:37,143 have spent the last few summers 438 00:20:37,167 --> 00:20:41,043 slowly uncovering the remains of this Cistercian monastery. 439 00:20:41,067 --> 00:20:44,009 What they've found lying hidden in the landscape 440 00:20:44,033 --> 00:20:45,533 is truly remarkable. 441 00:20:47,033 --> 00:20:49,743 Leading the team are Professor David Austin 442 00:20:49,767 --> 00:20:51,527 and Dr. Jemma Bezant. 443 00:20:52,933 --> 00:20:55,743 They've undertaken a geophysical survey, 444 00:20:55,767 --> 00:20:59,209 which has revealed evidence of the buried abbey site. 445 00:20:59,233 --> 00:21:00,743 So is that where we are just there? 446 00:21:00,767 --> 00:21:02,943 This is where we are here, in this corner. 447 00:21:02,967 --> 00:21:04,843 You've got the church... 448 00:21:04,867 --> 00:21:07,309 The abbey church is over there. 449 00:21:07,333 --> 00:21:09,609 But also, I mean, there's an enormous building complex 450 00:21:09,633 --> 00:21:10,876 just behind you 451 00:21:10,900 --> 00:21:14,643 and another really large complex over by the river there. 452 00:21:14,667 --> 00:21:16,476 And huge industrial activity down here. 453 00:21:16,500 --> 00:21:18,776 See these enormous signals there? 454 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:20,143 So what do you think this is? 455 00:21:20,167 --> 00:21:21,509 Well, we think it's iron workings, 456 00:21:21,533 --> 00:21:24,776 'cause we've excavated an iron forge over here, 457 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:27,076 so it's the whole of this southern area. 458 00:21:27,100 --> 00:21:29,576 At some point is processing metal, 459 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:31,043 coming out of their mines, 460 00:21:31,067 --> 00:21:33,809 and their mines are just up on the hillslope over here. 461 00:21:33,833 --> 00:21:37,309 It's amazing to think that this agricultural landscape 462 00:21:37,333 --> 00:21:39,343 - was so busy... - Yeah. 463 00:21:39,367 --> 00:21:41,443 ...full of industry, full of people. 464 00:21:41,467 --> 00:21:44,597 Exactly, this would have been a really busy place. 465 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:47,776 This summer, the team are hoping 466 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:50,176 to reveal the full scale of the abbey 467 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:51,709 and also to find evidence 468 00:21:51,733 --> 00:21:54,333 of the great events it bore witness to. 469 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:59,176 I hadn't realized how important Strata Florida was, 470 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:01,609 but the whole of this valley 471 00:22:01,633 --> 00:22:05,343 would have been home to a massive monastic community, 472 00:22:05,367 --> 00:22:08,809 and we're just starting to get a real feeling 473 00:22:08,833 --> 00:22:12,473 for the extent of that from the excavations here. 474 00:22:14,967 --> 00:22:17,843 The excavations have uncovered the foundations 475 00:22:17,867 --> 00:22:20,043 of a huge stone building, 476 00:22:20,067 --> 00:22:22,676 which the team believe is the great gatehouse 477 00:22:22,700 --> 00:22:25,343 guarding the entrance to the abbey. 478 00:22:25,367 --> 00:22:29,827 Gradually the dig has begun to reveal its original layout. 479 00:22:32,067 --> 00:22:34,276 You can just make out the plan of the building 480 00:22:34,300 --> 00:22:36,500 from the remaining walls. 481 00:22:37,533 --> 00:22:39,209 The gatehouse would have dominated 482 00:22:39,233 --> 00:22:41,533 this flat valley floor. 483 00:22:42,633 --> 00:22:46,043 And the road the gatehouse guarded would have stretched 484 00:22:46,067 --> 00:22:48,327 to the abbey church in the distance. 485 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:53,109 You really get a sense 486 00:22:53,133 --> 00:22:55,743 of how visiting dignitaries would have felt, 487 00:22:55,767 --> 00:22:59,076 confronted by this imposing structure. 488 00:22:59,100 --> 00:23:02,509 The gatehouse dig has yielded some evocative finds 489 00:23:02,533 --> 00:23:04,709 which hint at the piety of the monks 490 00:23:04,733 --> 00:23:08,043 who once called this place home. 491 00:23:08,067 --> 00:23:13,043 We've got a nice find from inside the gatehouse. 492 00:23:13,067 --> 00:23:14,476 This piece of Bath stone 493 00:23:14,500 --> 00:23:17,643 that probably would have lined the archway, 494 00:23:17,667 --> 00:23:19,676 and you can see here, if you look very carefully, 495 00:23:19,700 --> 00:23:21,876 - an incised cross. - Yeah, yeah. 496 00:23:21,900 --> 00:23:23,709 And it's almost like a good-luck talisman. 497 00:23:23,733 --> 00:23:25,243 We think people would have just touched that 498 00:23:25,267 --> 00:23:26,943 as they passed through the gateway 499 00:23:26,967 --> 00:23:29,343 on their way into the abbey church. 500 00:23:29,367 --> 00:23:32,843 Other finds remind us of the great wealth the monks enjoyed, 501 00:23:32,867 --> 00:23:35,576 which they lavished on their grand buildings. 502 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:36,843 Are these floor tiles here? 503 00:23:36,867 --> 00:23:38,409 These are floor tiles here, yes. 504 00:23:38,433 --> 00:23:41,043 You can see this nice one shaped like a griffin 505 00:23:41,067 --> 00:23:42,209 or a dragon, if you like. 506 00:23:42,233 --> 00:23:43,843 You can see the wings and the head. 507 00:23:43,867 --> 00:23:46,376 And we know it was an impressive building. 508 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:47,643 It was a large building, 509 00:23:47,667 --> 00:23:50,397 so maybe it had this large impressive floor. 510 00:23:54,933 --> 00:23:59,243 You tend to think of Cistercian monks seeing out solitude, 511 00:23:59,267 --> 00:24:02,276 finding some remote corner of the Welsh countryside. 512 00:24:02,300 --> 00:24:03,709 Now, it certainly is that today, 513 00:24:03,733 --> 00:24:06,543 but it wouldn't have been like that in the medieval period. 514 00:24:06,567 --> 00:24:10,043 And those monks were incredibly wealthy landowners, 515 00:24:10,067 --> 00:24:13,476 controlling all the agricultural land around here, 516 00:24:13,500 --> 00:24:15,443 as well as the lead mines. 517 00:24:15,467 --> 00:24:19,543 And the wealth they accumulated would be their downfall. 518 00:24:19,567 --> 00:24:22,909 After divorcing his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, 519 00:24:22,933 --> 00:24:25,109 Henry had set himself on a collision course 520 00:24:25,133 --> 00:24:26,809 with the Catholic Church. 521 00:24:26,833 --> 00:24:29,176 The Pope excommunicated the king, 522 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:30,809 and Henry responded 523 00:24:30,833 --> 00:24:34,143 by declaring himself the head of his own church. 524 00:24:34,167 --> 00:24:37,043 The break with Rome was final. 525 00:24:37,067 --> 00:24:40,676 After Henry's schism with Rome in 1534, 526 00:24:40,700 --> 00:24:43,943 the time had come to finally crush the abbeys, 527 00:24:43,967 --> 00:24:46,043 which Henry's ministers had described 528 00:24:46,067 --> 00:24:50,076 as bastions of corruption and papal power. 529 00:24:50,100 --> 00:24:51,809 And rather conveniently, 530 00:24:51,833 --> 00:24:55,833 the king could seize the monasteries' wealth for himself. 531 00:24:58,967 --> 00:25:02,176 Here at Strata Florida and across the country, 532 00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:06,109 the crown seized the monks' wealth and land. 533 00:25:06,133 --> 00:25:09,243 The king then sold off the monasteries' assets quickly 534 00:25:09,267 --> 00:25:11,927 to free up much needed revenue. 535 00:25:13,300 --> 00:25:15,876 The greatest beneficiaries of this process 536 00:25:15,900 --> 00:25:17,576 were the middling gentry, 537 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:21,176 who now had the lands to create new estates. 538 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:25,876 Evidence for this lies just beside the abbey ruins. 539 00:25:25,900 --> 00:25:28,043 So what have we got here? 540 00:25:28,067 --> 00:25:32,043 Well, this if part of the arrangement of the gentry house, 541 00:25:32,067 --> 00:25:34,143 which lies behind us here. 542 00:25:34,167 --> 00:25:35,909 It's now a farmhouse. 543 00:25:35,933 --> 00:25:37,743 But it was a gentry house, 544 00:25:37,767 --> 00:25:39,709 probably originally built around 1600. 545 00:25:39,733 --> 00:25:42,209 When you say a gentry house, who were these gentry? 546 00:25:42,233 --> 00:25:43,909 Who would have been living in that house? 547 00:25:43,933 --> 00:25:46,643 It would have been a member of the Steadman family. 548 00:25:46,667 --> 00:25:49,709 They come with the Earls of Essex 549 00:25:49,733 --> 00:25:51,676 here in the early part of the 16th century, 550 00:25:51,700 --> 00:25:54,876 and the Earls of Essex acquire the lands of the abbey 551 00:25:54,900 --> 00:25:56,176 cheap off the crown, 552 00:25:56,200 --> 00:26:00,276 and then the aristocrats sell on to the local gentries, 553 00:26:00,300 --> 00:26:03,376 and so this money filters down through the system. 554 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:05,643 And indeed a lot of the houses in the surrounding area 555 00:26:05,667 --> 00:26:08,709 used the abbey as a quarry and took stone from here. 556 00:26:08,733 --> 00:26:11,209 So it's not surprising that, in fact, 557 00:26:11,233 --> 00:26:12,909 the abbey is in such a ruin 558 00:26:12,933 --> 00:26:15,109 and there's not much of it surviving. 559 00:26:15,133 --> 00:26:18,043 It is surviving, but it's not there, it's here. 560 00:26:18,067 --> 00:26:20,443 It's a quarry. It's an asset. 561 00:26:20,467 --> 00:26:22,543 We're in the early stages of capitalism. 562 00:26:22,567 --> 00:26:23,676 You don't leave assets 563 00:26:23,700 --> 00:26:25,309 lying around the landscape doing nothing. 564 00:26:25,333 --> 00:26:26,973 You strip them. 565 00:26:29,567 --> 00:26:31,843 Due to the actions of Henry VIII 566 00:26:31,867 --> 00:26:36,227 the landscape and belief system of Britain had changed forever. 567 00:26:37,333 --> 00:26:41,176 Strata Florida represents this change in microcosm. 568 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:42,809 A new Protestant church 569 00:26:42,833 --> 00:26:46,576 was built right next to the ruins of the Catholic abbey. 570 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:47,876 It's a sweet little church. 571 00:26:47,900 --> 00:26:49,076 It's a bit of a contrast 572 00:26:49,100 --> 00:26:51,176 to what the abbey church would have been like. 573 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:55,043 Yeah, abbey church, massive, hugely ornate, 574 00:26:55,067 --> 00:26:57,576 full of sculpture, full of vivid paint. 575 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:00,443 And you come in here, and this plainness 576 00:27:00,467 --> 00:27:04,909 and the simplicity is a wonderful counterfoil 577 00:27:04,933 --> 00:27:06,843 to all that glory and magnificence 578 00:27:06,867 --> 00:27:10,043 that lay in that church on the other side of the wall. 579 00:27:10,067 --> 00:27:12,343 It's very much a secular power, 580 00:27:12,367 --> 00:27:15,409 and that's one of the great marks of Protestantism. 581 00:27:15,433 --> 00:27:18,076 There is an organized church, but it's a state church, 582 00:27:18,100 --> 00:27:21,243 and the head of that church now is a secular authority, 583 00:27:21,267 --> 00:27:22,709 is a secular king. 584 00:27:22,733 --> 00:27:25,973 That's what Henry VIII delivers. 585 00:27:27,167 --> 00:27:29,043 We can only guess at what the monks 586 00:27:29,067 --> 00:27:30,543 who once lived and worked here 587 00:27:30,567 --> 00:27:32,709 must have made of the dissolution. 588 00:27:32,733 --> 00:27:37,303 Their lives were torn apart and their world turned upside down. 589 00:27:38,067 --> 00:27:39,309 The ruined monasteries 590 00:27:39,333 --> 00:27:41,709 that lie scattered across the British landscape 591 00:27:41,733 --> 00:27:45,376 provide a lasting reminder of the dissolution. 592 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:49,409 It marked the beginning of a new chapter in British history. 593 00:27:49,433 --> 00:27:51,143 Not only did ordinary people 594 00:27:51,167 --> 00:27:54,543 find themselves living in a Protestant country, 595 00:27:54,567 --> 00:27:58,076 they also witnessed an unprecedented redistribution 596 00:27:58,100 --> 00:28:00,143 of wealth and land 597 00:28:00,167 --> 00:28:02,643 that would have far-reaching consequences 598 00:28:02,667 --> 00:28:04,397 for our island nation. 599 00:28:08,367 --> 00:28:10,309 It was during the Tudor Age 600 00:28:10,333 --> 00:28:14,276 that we began to look beyond our own shores to the New World. 601 00:28:14,300 --> 00:28:17,743 After Columbus discovered America in 1492, 602 00:28:17,767 --> 00:28:20,443 waves of daring merchant adventurers 603 00:28:20,467 --> 00:28:23,143 set out on voyages of discovery 604 00:28:23,167 --> 00:28:26,543 to find new lands and boundless wealth. 605 00:28:26,567 --> 00:28:28,909 And those voyages are all the more remarkable 606 00:28:28,933 --> 00:28:30,609 when you consider that those men 607 00:28:30,633 --> 00:28:34,673 were traveling to the very edges of the known world. 608 00:28:40,633 --> 00:28:43,043 The remains of one of these merchant ships 609 00:28:43,067 --> 00:28:47,497 is now being preserved at a saltwater lake in Portsmouth. 610 00:28:48,333 --> 00:28:51,076 Today, a team of divers is going to inspect it 611 00:28:51,100 --> 00:28:53,076 for signs of decay. 612 00:28:53,100 --> 00:28:56,543 Well, this is what we've got to do today, guys. 613 00:28:56,567 --> 00:29:00,676 Gustav Milne has played a key role in researching this ship. 614 00:29:00,700 --> 00:29:03,470 Time waits for no man. What are you waiting for? 615 00:29:10,867 --> 00:29:13,243 The ship was originally discovered in a channel 616 00:29:13,267 --> 00:29:15,643 in the Thames Estuary during dredging 617 00:29:15,667 --> 00:29:17,927 and then moved here for safekeeping. 618 00:29:19,900 --> 00:29:22,443 If the ship was simply brought to the surface, 619 00:29:22,467 --> 00:29:25,727 it would soon begin to rot away. 620 00:29:27,067 --> 00:29:29,476 By studying the remaining timbers, 621 00:29:29,500 --> 00:29:32,709 it's been estimated it was a sizable merchant vessel 622 00:29:32,733 --> 00:29:36,533 of up to 300 tons and 80 feet in length. 623 00:29:38,300 --> 00:29:40,843 Perhaps surprisingly for a merchant vessel, 624 00:29:40,867 --> 00:29:44,109 they discovered four cannon at the wreck site. 625 00:29:44,133 --> 00:29:47,503 You can just make out one of the surviving gun ports. 626 00:29:48,767 --> 00:29:52,509 These ships carried merchant adventurers across the globe 627 00:29:52,533 --> 00:29:56,103 and needed protection in uncharted waters. 628 00:29:58,067 --> 00:30:00,276 Despite all we know about this wreck, 629 00:30:00,300 --> 00:30:03,600 its precise identity remains a mystery. 630 00:30:10,033 --> 00:30:12,643 However, a vital clue was found 631 00:30:12,667 --> 00:30:15,027 on one of the recovered cannons. 632 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:18,776 A team from the Royal Armouries, 633 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:22,276 led by Phil McGrath, discovered an intriguing link 634 00:30:22,300 --> 00:30:25,643 with the most powerful financier of the Tudor Age, 635 00:30:25,667 --> 00:30:27,467 Sir Thomas Gresham. 636 00:30:30,633 --> 00:30:35,209 The first thing that struck us was, on the surface, 637 00:30:35,233 --> 00:30:39,409 quite clearly we have the "T" and the "G" 638 00:30:39,433 --> 00:30:41,176 for "Thomas Gresham," 639 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:44,776 and then above that, we have the family crest 640 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:48,000 in the form of a grasshopper. 641 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:53,209 Gresham's legacy can still be seen 642 00:30:53,233 --> 00:30:55,873 in London's financial heart. 643 00:30:57,633 --> 00:30:59,476 The dissolution of the monasteries 644 00:30:59,500 --> 00:31:01,476 released a huge amount of capital 645 00:31:01,500 --> 00:31:03,076 into the British economy, 646 00:31:03,100 --> 00:31:05,476 and that money eventually filtered down 647 00:31:05,500 --> 00:31:08,043 to entrepreneurs like Sir Thomas Gresham. 648 00:31:08,067 --> 00:31:11,043 It was men like Gresham who would help create 649 00:31:11,067 --> 00:31:13,867 the City of London that we know today. 650 00:31:17,233 --> 00:31:19,776 He founded the Royal Exchange, 651 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:22,800 which was the forerunner of today's Stock Exchange. 652 00:31:26,067 --> 00:31:28,376 Sir Thomas Gresham worked directly 653 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:30,376 for the Tudor kings and queens 654 00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:32,743 and even helped save Britain from bankruptcy 655 00:31:32,767 --> 00:31:36,176 by manipulating the foreign exchange markets. 656 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:39,843 So the Gresham ship provides us with a tangible link 657 00:31:39,867 --> 00:31:42,967 back to the beginnings of modern capitalism. 658 00:31:46,133 --> 00:31:48,709 In the labs of University College London, 659 00:31:48,733 --> 00:31:51,543 they're working to discover more about the ship's role 660 00:31:51,567 --> 00:31:53,197 and her crew. 661 00:31:55,433 --> 00:31:58,343 Many of the artifacts recovered are metallic, 662 00:31:58,367 --> 00:32:00,276 and during a reaction with salt water, 663 00:32:00,300 --> 00:32:02,243 some of these objects have become encased 664 00:32:02,267 --> 00:32:05,097 by what archaeologists call concretions. 665 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:07,909 By removing these concretions, 666 00:32:07,933 --> 00:32:12,109 the team hope to reveal the secrets of the Gresham ship. 667 00:32:12,133 --> 00:32:16,043 Processing this work is dirty, messy, heavy work. 668 00:32:16,067 --> 00:32:20,509 We're using large tools, not delicate scalpels, 669 00:32:20,533 --> 00:32:23,043 and we're creating a lot of mess. 670 00:32:23,067 --> 00:32:25,543 A huge variety of objects 671 00:32:25,567 --> 00:32:28,809 have emerged from within the concretions. 672 00:32:28,833 --> 00:32:32,209 Now, this, I think, is the most exciting find 673 00:32:32,233 --> 00:32:34,043 that we discovered from the concretions, 674 00:32:34,067 --> 00:32:36,643 and what we have here, we have an additional cannon, 675 00:32:36,667 --> 00:32:38,809 which is represented by this powder chamber. 676 00:32:38,833 --> 00:32:40,376 That is fantastic. 677 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:43,676 That really is a find and a half, worth all that bashing. 678 00:32:43,700 --> 00:32:45,276 We thought we had four cannons. 679 00:32:45,300 --> 00:32:47,043 We have an additional powder chamber now, 680 00:32:47,067 --> 00:32:49,497 which suggest that there was another cannon on board. 681 00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:52,043 Their research has shown 682 00:32:52,067 --> 00:32:54,809 just how heavily armed this ship was, 683 00:32:54,833 --> 00:32:57,309 and it's also revealed the cargo 684 00:32:57,333 --> 00:33:00,609 which needed such formidable protection. 685 00:33:00,633 --> 00:33:02,943 They've discovered numerous metal ingots, 686 00:33:02,967 --> 00:33:05,267 some of which are solid lead. 687 00:33:06,467 --> 00:33:08,176 These would have been very valuable 688 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:11,300 and vital for industry and warfare. 689 00:33:12,133 --> 00:33:15,343 This is the first time I've seen these ingots, 690 00:33:15,367 --> 00:33:19,343 and these are, one, extremely heavy. 691 00:33:19,367 --> 00:33:21,876 Just get a load of that. 692 00:33:21,900 --> 00:33:23,576 - No I can't. Sorry. - I can't lift that. 693 00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:25,376 We've got three of a cargo 694 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:30,376 of potentially 2,000 of these ingots. 695 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:32,243 Imagine 2,000 of those in a ship. 696 00:33:32,267 --> 00:33:34,843 That is a robust vessel. 697 00:33:34,867 --> 00:33:37,109 But some of the most moving objects 698 00:33:37,133 --> 00:33:39,833 are those that tell us about the ship's crew. 699 00:33:41,100 --> 00:33:44,676 The small metal finds associated with the concretions 700 00:33:44,700 --> 00:33:46,676 I think have been particularly exciting. 701 00:33:46,700 --> 00:33:50,043 We have a couple of spoons, silver spoons, tableware, 702 00:33:50,067 --> 00:33:51,676 possibly from the captain's table. 703 00:33:51,700 --> 00:33:53,709 They're fairly high-status objects. 704 00:33:53,733 --> 00:33:55,873 So what do you make of this? 705 00:33:56,667 --> 00:34:00,443 Wow, is this a candleholder? 706 00:34:00,467 --> 00:34:03,267 The other possibility is a salt holder. 707 00:34:04,300 --> 00:34:07,409 The intriguing finds which the team at UCL 708 00:34:07,433 --> 00:34:10,343 carefully smashed out of those concretions 709 00:34:10,367 --> 00:34:14,643 provide us with a snapshot into bustling Tudor London. 710 00:34:14,667 --> 00:34:17,043 You can just imagine the Gresham ship 711 00:34:17,067 --> 00:34:21,809 sailing up the Thames laden down with iron, tin, and lead. 712 00:34:21,833 --> 00:34:25,043 These ships brought prosperity to the city, 713 00:34:25,067 --> 00:34:28,043 and they fueled whole new sectors of the economy, 714 00:34:28,067 --> 00:34:31,676 like entertainment, which sprang up in a big way 715 00:34:31,700 --> 00:34:35,170 to help Londoners spend their hard-earned cash. 716 00:34:39,733 --> 00:34:43,643 This is Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of a man 717 00:34:43,667 --> 00:34:47,243 who would directly benefit from London's new prosperity, 718 00:34:47,267 --> 00:34:51,943 our most celebrated playwright, William Shakespeare. 719 00:34:51,967 --> 00:34:55,143 His plays and poems are the most well-known 720 00:34:55,167 --> 00:34:58,643 and widely studied works of literature ever produced, 721 00:34:58,667 --> 00:35:00,509 and his legacy is immense. 722 00:35:00,533 --> 00:35:03,543 Our everyday language is peppered with words 723 00:35:03,567 --> 00:35:06,376 and phrases from his writing. 724 00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:09,376 But despite all that fame and influence, 725 00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:13,543 the man himself remains an enigma. 726 00:35:13,567 --> 00:35:17,967 Only a few fragments of evidence survive from his lifetime. 727 00:35:22,867 --> 00:35:25,609 This summer, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust 728 00:35:25,633 --> 00:35:29,309 are hoping that archaeology can shed some new light 729 00:35:29,333 --> 00:35:31,076 on this remarkable man. 730 00:35:31,100 --> 00:35:35,330 They're digging at the site of his last home, New Place. 731 00:35:36,767 --> 00:35:39,376 We're nearly at the first stage. 732 00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:42,176 Richard Kemp was involved in organizing the dig 733 00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:45,409 and has brought me to the city's Guild Chapel. 734 00:35:45,433 --> 00:35:48,043 This medieval church would have stood right next door 735 00:35:48,067 --> 00:35:50,843 to Shakespeare's house and today provides us 736 00:35:50,867 --> 00:35:53,476 with a fantastic bird's-eye view of the dig. 737 00:35:53,500 --> 00:35:58,076 Now, Shakespeare's house basically occupied this space. 738 00:35:58,100 --> 00:36:00,176 So what would the house have been like? 739 00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:03,276 Well, according to the historic sources that we've got, 740 00:36:03,300 --> 00:36:06,343 we've got a C-shaped house around an open courtyard. 741 00:36:06,367 --> 00:36:07,476 But there's not much evidence 742 00:36:07,500 --> 00:36:09,176 of this C-shaped house at the moment. 743 00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:10,843 No, there isn't because 744 00:36:10,867 --> 00:36:13,876 the whole thing was knocked down in 1702 745 00:36:13,900 --> 00:36:16,470 by the construction of a Georgian mansion. 746 00:36:17,533 --> 00:36:19,443 The area at the back of the site 747 00:36:19,467 --> 00:36:21,843 is exciting the archaeologists because it's here 748 00:36:21,867 --> 00:36:24,397 that the house's rubbish would have been buried. 749 00:36:25,500 --> 00:36:27,409 There's a real mix or archaeology here, 750 00:36:27,433 --> 00:36:30,409 and the team have found 14th-century pottery 751 00:36:30,433 --> 00:36:33,473 right next to 18th-century rubbish. 752 00:36:34,067 --> 00:36:36,343 An intriguing feature has emerged, 753 00:36:36,367 --> 00:36:39,267 a large mysterious pit. 754 00:36:40,067 --> 00:36:42,443 Kevin Colls, the lead archaeologist on site, 755 00:36:42,467 --> 00:36:46,567 and Richard have conflicting theories as to what this is. 756 00:36:47,433 --> 00:36:48,709 I think it's a pit 757 00:36:48,733 --> 00:36:50,643 that's obviously been used to burn something, 758 00:36:50,667 --> 00:36:53,776 and we're digging it out now to see if we can find the bottom, 759 00:36:53,800 --> 00:36:55,443 where hopefully there's charcoal 760 00:36:55,467 --> 00:36:59,076 and lots and lots of burning that we can find evidence for. 761 00:36:59,100 --> 00:37:01,643 Richard has a more intriguing theory. 762 00:37:01,667 --> 00:37:04,043 He thinks it's a filled-in well. 763 00:37:04,067 --> 00:37:08,343 If it is a well, it goes deeper, and the stuff's waterlogged. 764 00:37:08,367 --> 00:37:11,209 When it's waterlogged, you get even more evidence preserved, 765 00:37:11,233 --> 00:37:13,743 all the organics like socks. 766 00:37:13,767 --> 00:37:15,209 I want to find Shakespeare's sock. 767 00:37:15,233 --> 00:37:18,043 I so want to find Shakespeare's socks and shoes 768 00:37:18,067 --> 00:37:22,243 and stuff that gets thrown away and normally rots down. 769 00:37:22,267 --> 00:37:24,143 Yeah, I suppose we're familiar with the idea 770 00:37:24,167 --> 00:37:25,676 that things survive in peat bogs, 771 00:37:25,700 --> 00:37:27,943 but equally well, things might survive in the bottom of a well. 772 00:37:27,967 --> 00:37:29,376 Exactly, exactly. 773 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:32,409 Now, maybe this is just a pit, but if it is a well, 774 00:37:32,433 --> 00:37:33,643 it will take the team a while 775 00:37:33,667 --> 00:37:35,409 to get down to the waterlogged levels, 776 00:37:35,433 --> 00:37:38,573 where there could be surviving Tudor rubbish. 777 00:37:39,367 --> 00:37:40,943 Have you ever done any archaeology before? 778 00:37:40,967 --> 00:37:42,609 - No. - Are you enjoying it? 779 00:37:42,633 --> 00:37:45,303 Oh, I love it, I love it. It's absolutely wonderful. 780 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:48,276 Just being here, you really get a sense 781 00:37:48,300 --> 00:37:51,509 of the excitement and passion of everyone on site, 782 00:37:51,533 --> 00:37:54,676 all hoping to find something Shakespearean. 783 00:37:54,700 --> 00:37:56,909 We don't do pot washing all the time. 784 00:37:56,933 --> 00:37:58,743 We do trowling, as well. 785 00:37:58,767 --> 00:38:01,176 But you can say "finds processing." 786 00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:05,043 That always sounds better than washing pots with toothbrushes. 787 00:38:05,067 --> 00:38:07,067 Yes, yes, yes, it certainly does. 788 00:38:08,467 --> 00:38:10,909 It pretty much gets no better than this, really. 789 00:38:10,933 --> 00:38:13,576 You normally dig sites which are Roman or Iron Age, 790 00:38:13,600 --> 00:38:16,409 and you can't really put yourself into the shoes 791 00:38:16,433 --> 00:38:19,209 of the people who lived and worked on that site. 792 00:38:19,233 --> 00:38:21,076 But the archaeology of this particular site 793 00:38:21,100 --> 00:38:24,576 is just all about one man, and it's his life and times, 794 00:38:24,600 --> 00:38:27,643 and you can really begin to feel you're linking to the person 795 00:38:27,667 --> 00:38:29,643 as we're excavating down through material 796 00:38:29,667 --> 00:38:32,443 which he would have walked on or threw away. 797 00:38:32,467 --> 00:38:33,143 Yeah. 798 00:38:33,167 --> 00:38:34,543 Kevin and the team 799 00:38:34,567 --> 00:38:37,076 have already made some fascinating discoveries. 800 00:38:37,100 --> 00:38:39,909 We've got this stone roof tile here 801 00:38:39,933 --> 00:38:42,043 with the hole where the nail would have been 802 00:38:42,067 --> 00:38:43,643 to hold it in place. 803 00:38:43,667 --> 00:38:44,843 And that begins to build a picture 804 00:38:44,867 --> 00:38:46,543 of what the building may have looked like, 805 00:38:46,567 --> 00:38:50,276 so you've got fantastic yellow stone tiles on the top. 806 00:38:50,300 --> 00:38:53,809 We're also finding more sort of domestic household objects. 807 00:38:53,833 --> 00:38:55,176 - Is that a plug? - It is a plug. 808 00:38:55,200 --> 00:38:57,609 It is indeed, a copper plug. 809 00:38:57,633 --> 00:39:00,643 Then we move on to more Tudor pottery now, 810 00:39:00,667 --> 00:39:04,409 so you've got this green-glaze Tudor cooking pot 811 00:39:04,433 --> 00:39:06,809 with burning on the bottom. 812 00:39:06,833 --> 00:39:09,709 So this was... this pot was put over heat. 813 00:39:09,733 --> 00:39:12,309 This was used, yes, exactly, exactly. 814 00:39:12,333 --> 00:39:13,609 You can see it's... Yeah, you can see the edge 815 00:39:13,633 --> 00:39:15,143 coming up there almost like a skillet. 816 00:39:15,167 --> 00:39:16,443 Exactly, like a frying pan, 817 00:39:16,467 --> 00:39:18,209 and that's perfectly in line 818 00:39:18,233 --> 00:39:20,276 with the sort of 16th-century date 819 00:39:20,300 --> 00:39:21,376 that we're looking for, really. 820 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:22,676 Could have been used by Shakespeare. 821 00:39:22,700 --> 00:39:24,176 You could be holding something that's been touched 822 00:39:24,200 --> 00:39:25,700 by William Shakespeare, yeah. 823 00:39:30,933 --> 00:39:32,843 Shakespeare only lived here at New Place 824 00:39:32,867 --> 00:39:34,409 for around 20 years. 825 00:39:34,433 --> 00:39:37,643 Archaeologically speaking, finding traces of him 826 00:39:37,667 --> 00:39:40,276 is going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack. 827 00:39:40,300 --> 00:39:45,543 But nevertheless, it's so exciting to be able dig here, 828 00:39:45,567 --> 00:39:47,709 where we know he lived 829 00:39:47,733 --> 00:39:51,376 and where we imagine we might be able to get a closer glimpse 830 00:39:51,400 --> 00:39:53,230 of the Bard himself. 831 00:39:56,667 --> 00:39:59,709 This site was first dug by the Victorians 832 00:39:59,733 --> 00:40:01,509 in a time before archaeology 833 00:40:01,533 --> 00:40:03,833 was a rigorous modern discipline. 834 00:40:04,567 --> 00:40:08,376 Rather intriguingly, they built a number of puzzling walls 835 00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:12,330 and sealed brick boxes to preserve what they found. 836 00:40:15,467 --> 00:40:17,709 You can feel the buzz of anticipation 837 00:40:17,733 --> 00:40:20,533 as the team prepare to open one of these boxes. 838 00:40:22,467 --> 00:40:25,009 Here we are basically excavating the cellar area. 839 00:40:25,033 --> 00:40:27,709 There's all these almost brick boxes, 840 00:40:27,733 --> 00:40:30,143 so we're just about to open the last one of them 841 00:40:30,167 --> 00:40:32,609 and see what we can find. 842 00:40:32,633 --> 00:40:34,103 It's really exciting! 843 00:40:36,167 --> 00:40:38,209 So it's like the opening of Tutankhamen's tomb. 844 00:40:38,233 --> 00:40:39,676 Almost. Almost. 845 00:40:39,700 --> 00:40:41,509 I know how Howard Carter felt. 846 00:40:41,533 --> 00:40:43,376 That's the side, I should think. 847 00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:46,309 It's thrilling to think that after 150 years 848 00:40:46,333 --> 00:40:48,976 its contents will be revealed. 849 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:51,409 Ah. 850 00:40:51,433 --> 00:40:52,976 Snails have got in there. 851 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:54,309 Snails. 852 00:40:54,333 --> 00:40:57,509 Well, not exactly like Tutankhamen's tomb, 853 00:40:57,533 --> 00:40:59,573 but there is something else in here. 854 00:41:01,067 --> 00:41:02,876 That's interesting. 855 00:41:02,900 --> 00:41:06,143 So, Kevin, what do you think we've got here? 856 00:41:06,167 --> 00:41:09,676 What I think we've got here is 1702 cellar walls 857 00:41:09,700 --> 00:41:12,043 of the property that replaced Shakespeare's house 858 00:41:12,067 --> 00:41:13,043 on this site. 859 00:41:13,067 --> 00:41:14,509 Whether any of these bricks 860 00:41:14,533 --> 00:41:17,609 are reused from Shakespeare's house, we'll have to look at. 861 00:41:17,633 --> 00:41:20,409 So these could be Tudor bricks, but they've been reused? 862 00:41:20,433 --> 00:41:23,209 Yes, basically the thinness of these bricks 863 00:41:23,233 --> 00:41:25,309 seem to suggest that these are quite old, 864 00:41:25,333 --> 00:41:28,309 so these might be 16th-century bricks, Tudor bricks. 865 00:41:28,333 --> 00:41:30,943 It definitely feels like we're getting closer, 866 00:41:30,967 --> 00:41:33,809 but Shakespeare seems to be just out of reach 867 00:41:33,833 --> 00:41:34,873 here at the dig. 868 00:41:39,700 --> 00:41:43,709 Shakespeare didn't leave much evidence behind for historians. 869 00:41:43,733 --> 00:41:46,043 So the few documents that survive 870 00:41:46,067 --> 00:41:48,476 have proved vital in piecing together 871 00:41:48,500 --> 00:41:51,530 what little we do actually know about his life. 872 00:41:52,400 --> 00:41:55,609 I've come to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust archives 873 00:41:55,633 --> 00:41:57,476 to see a key piece of evidence 874 00:41:57,500 --> 00:42:01,370 that tells us both about New Place and the man himself. 875 00:42:02,167 --> 00:42:04,676 Dr. Paul Edmondson is a leading authority 876 00:42:04,700 --> 00:42:07,743 on Shakespeare's life and works. 877 00:42:07,767 --> 00:42:09,876 This is known as the New Place fine, 878 00:42:09,900 --> 00:42:11,076 and it established 879 00:42:11,100 --> 00:42:14,309 Shakespeare's legal entitlement to the property, 880 00:42:14,333 --> 00:42:16,909 which Shakespeare paid £60 for. 881 00:42:16,933 --> 00:42:20,843 And because the purchase deed was usually half the cost 882 00:42:20,867 --> 00:42:23,676 of the overall property, 883 00:42:23,700 --> 00:42:27,276 we suspect that therefore Shakespeare paid £120 884 00:42:27,300 --> 00:42:29,043 - for New Place. - That must have been 885 00:42:29,067 --> 00:42:30,443 a decent amount of money back then. 886 00:42:30,467 --> 00:42:32,043 Quite a lot in those days. 887 00:42:32,067 --> 00:42:36,076 Just remember that a schoolmaster at that time 888 00:42:36,100 --> 00:42:38,709 earned £20 a year. 889 00:42:38,733 --> 00:42:42,143 It just kind of gives you the scale of the investment. 890 00:42:42,167 --> 00:42:46,243 And a kind of juicy fact about this particular purchase 891 00:42:46,267 --> 00:42:50,143 is that the person who lived there before Shakespeare 892 00:42:50,167 --> 00:42:53,243 was murdered by his son Fulke Underhill, 893 00:42:53,267 --> 00:42:54,676 - who was executed at Warwick. - Really? 894 00:42:54,700 --> 00:42:59,376 Yeah, and the surviving son, Hercules Underhill... 895 00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:01,376 - Fantastic name. - Isn't that fantastic? 896 00:43:01,400 --> 00:43:04,809 ...is the one who's involved in this purchase deed. 897 00:43:04,833 --> 00:43:08,143 It's the biggest privately owned residence in Stratford. 898 00:43:08,167 --> 00:43:11,376 Yeah, and, Paul, even though this isn't a document 899 00:43:11,400 --> 00:43:13,643 that Shakespeare wrote himself, 900 00:43:13,667 --> 00:43:16,643 we can imagine that he would have held it in his hand. 901 00:43:16,667 --> 00:43:18,076 Oh, absolutely. 902 00:43:18,100 --> 00:43:20,043 He saved money on it, too, 903 00:43:20,067 --> 00:43:22,076 because you'll notice that there's a space here 904 00:43:22,100 --> 00:43:25,109 for a grand capital letter which has never been filled in, 905 00:43:25,133 --> 00:43:27,809 'cause it would have been more money, which is good to know. 906 00:43:27,833 --> 00:43:30,533 "Paid my 60 quid. That's enough. Thanks very much." 907 00:43:32,067 --> 00:43:34,043 Well, the team haven't found anything 908 00:43:34,067 --> 00:43:35,643 that can change our understanding of Shakespeare 909 00:43:35,667 --> 00:43:37,209 just yet. 910 00:43:37,233 --> 00:43:40,276 But I do feel I've got a sense of this man, 911 00:43:40,300 --> 00:43:42,930 his wealth, and his thriftiness. 912 00:43:51,900 --> 00:43:53,476 And there's another place 913 00:43:53,500 --> 00:43:56,570 where clues about his life can be found. 914 00:44:02,867 --> 00:44:04,676 Like many young men of his time, 915 00:44:04,700 --> 00:44:06,876 Shakespeare left his home in the provinces 916 00:44:06,900 --> 00:44:09,876 and came here to London to seek his fortune. 917 00:44:09,900 --> 00:44:12,543 The streets weren't exactly paved with gold, 918 00:44:12,567 --> 00:44:16,209 but nevertheless, it was here in the thriving city 919 00:44:16,233 --> 00:44:18,073 that he made his name. 920 00:44:19,567 --> 00:44:22,443 We've already seen Shakespeare's earliest theater 921 00:44:22,467 --> 00:44:23,809 being excavated. 922 00:44:23,833 --> 00:44:25,243 But discoveries at the Rose 923 00:44:25,267 --> 00:44:28,543 and the Globe playhouses in the late 1980s, 924 00:44:28,567 --> 00:44:30,543 have helped build a picture of the world 925 00:44:30,567 --> 00:44:32,697 in which he lived and worked. 926 00:44:34,367 --> 00:44:36,709 This very ordinary-looking building 927 00:44:36,733 --> 00:44:40,343 contains an extraordinary archaeological collection. 928 00:44:40,367 --> 00:44:43,376 It's the Museum of London's archives, 929 00:44:43,400 --> 00:44:46,043 and it's the largest stores of its kind in Europe, 930 00:44:46,067 --> 00:44:50,443 housing over 750,000 individual objects, 931 00:44:50,467 --> 00:44:55,543 including those found at the Rose and the Globe playhouses. 932 00:44:55,567 --> 00:44:57,576 I'm here to see Julian Bowsher, 933 00:44:57,600 --> 00:45:00,600 who has led the research into these playhouses. 934 00:45:01,700 --> 00:45:03,876 Julian, we meet again. 935 00:45:03,900 --> 00:45:05,043 - Alice, how are you? - Hello. 936 00:45:05,067 --> 00:45:06,067 Good to see you again. 937 00:45:06,733 --> 00:45:09,109 Through this labyrinthine area. 938 00:45:09,133 --> 00:45:12,709 Here, finds from across London are brought to be washed, 939 00:45:12,733 --> 00:45:15,176 dried, and cataloged. 940 00:45:15,200 --> 00:45:18,276 The same system was used for the thousands of finds 941 00:45:18,300 --> 00:45:19,843 from the Rose and Globe digs. 942 00:45:19,867 --> 00:45:22,809 ...come in here, where it'll get dried out. 943 00:45:22,833 --> 00:45:25,676 After 20 years' work, Julian and his team 944 00:45:25,700 --> 00:45:27,576 have just published their findings. 945 00:45:27,600 --> 00:45:30,643 The artifacts recovered offer us fascinating clues 946 00:45:30,667 --> 00:45:32,827 about life in Shakespeare's theaters. 947 00:45:33,700 --> 00:45:35,643 Well, the interesting thing, really, about the playhouse 948 00:45:35,667 --> 00:45:37,809 is that it's the beginning of modern theater. 949 00:45:37,833 --> 00:45:40,109 These are purpose-built venues, 950 00:45:40,133 --> 00:45:41,809 and you had to go through a door and pay money. 951 00:45:41,833 --> 00:45:43,443 And this is what you paid. 952 00:45:43,467 --> 00:45:45,709 You paid a penny to get in to the main door 953 00:45:45,733 --> 00:45:47,576 so you could stand in the center. 954 00:45:47,600 --> 00:45:48,876 Or you could pay another penny 955 00:45:48,900 --> 00:45:51,043 to get into the galleries around the edge 956 00:45:51,067 --> 00:45:52,609 and a third one to sit at the top, 957 00:45:52,633 --> 00:45:53,943 where you get the best view. 958 00:45:53,967 --> 00:45:58,309 So they all went into one of these ceramic money boxes, 959 00:45:58,333 --> 00:46:00,176 of which we've just got the lid. 960 00:46:00,200 --> 00:46:02,109 So this would have been a completely sealed pot? 961 00:46:02,133 --> 00:46:04,776 Oh, yes, like piggy banks, so you've got a little slot 962 00:46:04,800 --> 00:46:08,243 in the side there where the coin's going to go, 963 00:46:08,267 --> 00:46:09,609 and at the end of the day, 964 00:46:09,633 --> 00:46:12,043 they would have gone back to the sort of management area, 965 00:46:12,067 --> 00:46:14,609 if you like, which is where they were smashed. 966 00:46:14,633 --> 00:46:15,943 That's why we have the pieces. 967 00:46:15,967 --> 00:46:17,643 And the whole lot, all the money, 968 00:46:17,667 --> 00:46:20,409 emptied into a box, and that's the box office. 969 00:46:20,433 --> 00:46:22,576 And is that where we get the term "box office" from, then? 970 00:46:22,600 --> 00:46:25,209 Absolutely. Yes, yes. Yes. 971 00:46:25,233 --> 00:46:27,509 So a lot of the other evidence we're looking for 972 00:46:27,533 --> 00:46:30,243 is what people are consuming inside the building. 973 00:46:30,267 --> 00:46:34,109 We know about people who'd have the kind of usherette's tray 974 00:46:34,133 --> 00:46:37,409 of pints of beer, even, bottled beer. 975 00:46:37,433 --> 00:46:41,509 And here we've got one of the most common comestibles 976 00:46:41,533 --> 00:46:43,309 that they've got, hazelnuts, 977 00:46:43,333 --> 00:46:46,343 found underneath the galleries 'round the edge. 978 00:46:46,367 --> 00:46:48,676 So these hazelnuts are the popcorn 979 00:46:48,700 --> 00:46:50,643 and peanuts of the Tudor era? 980 00:46:50,667 --> 00:46:52,443 It's the Tudor popcorn. 981 00:46:52,467 --> 00:46:54,909 And, of course, the other new comestible 982 00:46:54,933 --> 00:46:58,603 that we find in the theaters is the evil weed. 983 00:46:59,433 --> 00:47:01,709 Tobacco, that'd only been brought to Britain 984 00:47:01,733 --> 00:47:05,076 about 30 years before in the 1550s or so. 985 00:47:05,100 --> 00:47:09,276 And these very typical Tudor pipes. 986 00:47:09,300 --> 00:47:10,743 They're all very tiny 987 00:47:10,767 --> 00:47:13,209 because I think it's probably related to the price of tobacco. 988 00:47:13,233 --> 00:47:15,309 - Right. - You can't fit much in there. 989 00:47:15,333 --> 00:47:17,443 So this is the new fad? 990 00:47:17,467 --> 00:47:19,776 It is, and certainly quite popular. 991 00:47:19,800 --> 00:47:22,576 As well as objects associated with the audience, 992 00:47:22,600 --> 00:47:26,543 some of the finds might relate to the actors themselves. 993 00:47:26,567 --> 00:47:28,343 This is a brush. 994 00:47:28,367 --> 00:47:32,176 A very tiny, delicate brush made of bone, 995 00:47:32,200 --> 00:47:33,909 a nice little bone handle, 996 00:47:33,933 --> 00:47:37,309 with just a fragment of its bristles left. 997 00:47:37,333 --> 00:47:39,909 The exciting thing about this is it's just the sort of brush 998 00:47:39,933 --> 00:47:42,709 that actors would use for makeup, 999 00:47:42,733 --> 00:47:44,176 and don't forget that Shakespeare 1000 00:47:44,200 --> 00:47:45,876 was an actor, as well. 1001 00:47:45,900 --> 00:47:49,209 So we're looking at Shakespeare and his fellows 1002 00:47:49,233 --> 00:47:52,209 probably rushing off to do the final bit of makeup 1003 00:47:52,233 --> 00:47:53,773 before walking onto the stage. 1004 00:47:54,633 --> 00:47:56,109 Which is really rather nice. 1005 00:47:56,133 --> 00:47:57,943 Isn't that lovely? 1006 00:47:57,967 --> 00:48:00,276 But these stores also contain evidence 1007 00:48:00,300 --> 00:48:03,076 of Elizabethan London's darker side. 1008 00:48:03,100 --> 00:48:05,743 Outside the city walls, prostitution, gambling, 1009 00:48:05,767 --> 00:48:09,176 and brutal blood sports were commonplace. 1010 00:48:09,200 --> 00:48:12,409 Next to the playhouses on Bankside, 1011 00:48:12,433 --> 00:48:13,876 there were animal-baiting pits. 1012 00:48:13,900 --> 00:48:15,343 So right alongside the playhouses? 1013 00:48:15,367 --> 00:48:16,709 Yeah, next to the playhouses. 1014 00:48:16,733 --> 00:48:19,709 And they had bears, horses that were being baited 1015 00:48:19,733 --> 00:48:23,343 by very powerful mastiff dogs like this. 1016 00:48:23,367 --> 00:48:26,609 This was found in one of the bearbaiting rings 1017 00:48:26,633 --> 00:48:28,643 next door to The Rose. 1018 00:48:28,667 --> 00:48:31,909 So do you think it would have been a different class of person 1019 00:48:31,933 --> 00:48:35,776 that was going to the bearbaiting and the theater? 1020 00:48:35,800 --> 00:48:37,309 I'm afraid not. 1021 00:48:37,333 --> 00:48:42,176 They regarded it all as part of an afternoon's entertainment. 1022 00:48:42,200 --> 00:48:45,643 One of the interesting pieces we've found is a bone. 1023 00:48:45,667 --> 00:48:50,943 It's a femur, the upper thigh bone of a European brown bear. 1024 00:48:50,967 --> 00:48:55,343 In fact, we've found teeth marks here 1025 00:48:55,367 --> 00:48:57,876 which our four osteologists have identified 1026 00:48:57,900 --> 00:49:00,643 as precisely the sort of teeth made by a mastiff. 1027 00:49:00,667 --> 00:49:03,909 And playhouses and the bearbaiting arenas 1028 00:49:03,933 --> 00:49:06,043 were outside the city. 1029 00:49:06,067 --> 00:49:07,309 The city was becoming 1030 00:49:07,333 --> 00:49:11,443 under increasingly puritanical jurisdiction, 1031 00:49:11,467 --> 00:49:14,109 and these sorts of activities were slightly frowned upon 1032 00:49:14,133 --> 00:49:15,776 by the city fathers. 1033 00:49:15,800 --> 00:49:18,409 So they're very much situated outside the city, 1034 00:49:18,433 --> 00:49:20,376 particularly in areas like Bankside. 1035 00:49:20,400 --> 00:49:24,509 The plays, the blood sports, the brothels, the drinking dens, 1036 00:49:24,533 --> 00:49:26,209 the gambling dens. 1037 00:49:26,233 --> 00:49:29,233 - The seamier side of Tudor life. - Absolutely, yes. 1038 00:49:34,267 --> 00:49:35,643 The archaeology of Tudor London 1039 00:49:35,667 --> 00:49:39,076 gives us a real insight into the city during this period 1040 00:49:39,100 --> 00:49:41,243 and allows us to peer more closely 1041 00:49:41,267 --> 00:49:43,043 at all levels of society, 1042 00:49:43,067 --> 00:49:45,909 from kings and queens down to the ordinary people. 1043 00:49:45,933 --> 00:49:48,543 It's like Shakespeare's plays in that respect. 1044 00:49:48,567 --> 00:49:51,209 We get to peer inside the royal palaces 1045 00:49:51,233 --> 00:49:52,676 and look at the rabble 1046 00:49:52,700 --> 00:49:56,300 who attended the bearbaiting arenas and the playhouses. 1047 00:50:09,567 --> 00:50:13,443 The digs and dives I've visited across Britain this year 1048 00:50:13,467 --> 00:50:16,743 have allowed me to reach out and touch the men and women 1049 00:50:16,767 --> 00:50:18,697 who lived during the Tudor Age... 1050 00:50:19,600 --> 00:50:21,976 ...the wealthy monks, who once thrived 1051 00:50:22,000 --> 00:50:25,209 in the now-desolate ruins of Strata Florida 1052 00:50:25,233 --> 00:50:28,303 and suffered the full fury of Henry VIII... 1053 00:50:30,333 --> 00:50:33,109 ...the newly rich merchants and financiers 1054 00:50:33,133 --> 00:50:35,009 who sent ships and crews 1055 00:50:35,033 --> 00:50:38,173 to trade at the edges of the known world... 1056 00:50:39,467 --> 00:50:43,009 ...and the men who fought and died for their king, 1057 00:50:43,033 --> 00:50:46,133 as the Mary Rose went to the bottom of the sea... 1058 00:50:49,000 --> 00:50:51,743 ...and, most thrillingly of all, 1059 00:50:51,767 --> 00:50:53,409 Shakespeare himself. 1060 00:50:53,433 --> 00:50:56,133 It does send a bit of a shiver down the spine, doesn't it? 1061 00:50:57,567 --> 00:51:00,576 But as always, archaeology has unearthed 1062 00:51:00,600 --> 00:51:03,409 just as many questions as answers, 1063 00:51:03,433 --> 00:51:06,773 and so the digging for Tudor Britain continues.