Secrets from the Sky

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[edit] General Information

History Documentary hosted by Bettany Hughes and Ben Robinson, published by ITV in 2014 - English narration

[edit] Cover

[edit] Information

Secrets from the Sky Bettany Hughes and Ben Robinson offer viewers an aerial view of some of Britain's best-loved historical landmarks. They are hoping that the footage captured during each programme will reveal secrets hidden at ground level that will help solve mysteries about our heritage.

[edit] Tintagel Castle

The first programme takes the duo to Tintagel Castle on the dramatic Cornish coast. It's famous for its links to King Arthur, and is said to have been the monarch's birthplace. But can there really be any truth hidden among the tales of magicians, dragons and swords in stones? Ben's bird's-eye view reveals its roots in the Dark Ages, while Bettany suggests that the location was once part of the world's richest trade network and would probably have been ruled by a king important enough to have become a legend.

[edit] Old Sarum

Bettany Hughes and Ben Robinson's investigations take them to the windswept plains of Wiltshire and the remains of a ghost town that was once one of William the Conqueror's most important strongholds. Old Sarum is the ancient settlement that should have evolved into Salisbury, but instead it was abandoned and a new city was built from scratch two miles away. Why did this happen? As Ben discovers from the air, many of the clues to the sudden shift are recorded in the lumps and bumps of this unusual site. His aerial observations allow Bettany to unearth a story of Saxon kings and Norman warriors, the birth of the Domesday Book and a very public and bitter battle between the Church and the military.

[edit] Stonehenge

The presenting duo visit Stonehenge, hoping to shed light on the purpose behind its construction. Ben Robinson's images from the air reveal that the landscape is the product of thousands of years of worship, celebration and remembrance of the dead, while on the ground, Bettany Hughes builds a picture of how superstition and belief inspired people to redesign the world around them, and how modern perceptions of the role of the ancient monument are still changing.

[edit] Maiden Castle

Bettany and Ben visit the massive ancient monument known as Maiden Castle in Dorset, where their aerial investigation uncovers a story of prehistoric life, death and survival as the Romans invaded Britain. The eye in the sky reveals that this was one of the greatest construction projects of its time and shows just how difficult any assault would have been. On the ground, Bettany discovers evidence that builds a picture of how Iron Age Britain prospered and then succumbed to the Roman way of life.

[edit] Sutton Hoo

Bettany Hughes and Ben Robinson visit Sutton Hoo in Suffolk to investigate Britain's very own `Valley of the Kings' - a landscape of royal Saxon burials that includes one of the greatest discoveries of treasure ever made in this country. It was only 70 years ago that an amateur archaeologist found out these mysterious mounds was the burial grounds of some of the richest Saxon kings. With priceless artefacts from the location now in the British Museum, the duo uses the octocopter to try to solve the mystery of how this important site went undiscovered for 1,300 years.

[edit] The Antonine Wall

Bettany and Ben discover how the Romans pushed deep into Scotland to build the most heavily fortified border in the whole Empire. Crossing the heart of the country from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde, the Antonine Wall, at 40 miles long, is perhaps the most impressive Roman frontier ever built. Using the evidence gathered by Ben's eye in the sky, Bettany pieces together the remarkable story of an emperor's lust for glory and the catalogue of events that caused this monument to be quietly abandoned after just 20 years.