Time Team Specials

Britain's Stone Age Tsunami
8PM Thu 30 May 2013

Tony Robinson reveals astonishing new evidence that shows how, 8000 years ago, a huge tsunami swamped the east coast of Britain.

The new research also explains the tsunami's cause, and transforms our understanding of the people whose lives it devastated.

Like recent tsunamis in the Indian Ocean and Japan, Britain's tsunami was a phenomenally destructive force, with waves as high as 10 metres in many places.

But new research on the people who faced those waves has forced a new appreciation of the impact of the wave's destruction.

For years, these Mesolithic communities were thought to be primitive hunter-gatherers. But through remarkable new archaeological excavation, Tony discovers that people in Britain at that time were living comfortable, settled lives in their own houses, with varied diets and sophisticated skills.

The tsunami didn't just scare a few cavemen; it swamped a civilisation.

It was also the most dramatic incident in a long and volatile epoch of climate change that eventually separated Britain from continental Europe, and set the shape of our current coastline.

In 6000 BC, Britain was still joined to the rest of Europe by Doggerland, an area of dry land the size of Germany, where thousands of Mesolithic people lived.

In the programme, scientists take Tony on an astonishing virtual journey through Doggerland's rich and plentiful landscape, which was to be destroyed by the tsunami and then persistent flooding as the world's ice melted.

And they also reveal how the tsunami was caused by melting ice, triggering a chain reaction that left a trail of destruction from the top of these islands to the bottom.

Currently displaying all only audio described episodes
+ Display all episodes + Display only audio described episodes
    1. Britain's Stone Age Tsunami Thu 30 May 2013 Britain's Stone Age Tsunami

      Tony Robinson reveals astonishing new evidence that shows how, 8000 years ago, a huge tsunami swamped the east coast of…

      • This episode has audio description available.
      • This episode has subtitles available.
      • 10 days left
      Playlist
    1. Britain's Stone Age Tsunami Britain's Stone Age Tsunami Thu 30 May 2013

      Tony Robinson reveals astonishing new evidence that shows how, 8000 years ago, a huge tsunami swamped the east coast of…

      • This episode has audio description available.
      • This episode has subtitles available.
      • 10 days left
      Playlist
    2. Rediscovering Ancient Britain Rediscovering Ancient Britain Sun 17 Jun 2012

      For thousands of years, nomadic tribes roamed freely across Britain. But by 5000 BC they were starting to settle down…

      • This episode has subtitles available.
      Playlist
    3. Searching for Shakespeare's House Searching for Shakespeare's House Sun 11 Mar 2012

      Tony and the Team join a group of archaeologists as they dig the site of William Shakespeare's house, New Place, in…

      • This episode has subtitles available.
      Playlist
    4. Time Team Specials Brunel's Last Launch Thu 10 Nov 2011

      Nowadays, London's East End is synonymous with the 2012 Olympic Games. Cutting-edge engineering and design have…

      • This episode has subtitles available.
      Playlist
    5. Mick Aston The Way We Lived Sun 08 May 2011

      Tony Robinson and Mick Aston dig out the best bits of over 200 Time Team episodes to tell the story of how our domestic…

      • This episode has subtitles available.
      Playlist
    6. Boudica's Lost Tribe Boudica's Lost Tribe Wed 04 May 2011

      Boudica is revered as one of the greatest female warriors in history. Tony Robinson traces her story and follows a…

      • This episode has subtitles available.
      Playlist
    7. John Gater Looking Underground Sun 01 May 2011

      Tony Robinson and geophys boffin John Gater look back over 200 digs at the extraordinary achievements of cutting-edge…

      • This episode has subtitles available.
      Playlist
    8. The Somme's Secret Weapon: A Time Team Special The Somme's Secret Weapon Thu 14 Apr 2011

      In the half-light of dawn, on the frontline of the Somme battlefield on 1 July 1916, a small metal nozzle pushed its…

      • This episode has subtitles available.
      Playlist
    9. Wars of the Roses: A Time Team Special Wars of the Roses Wed 16 Mar 2011

      The Battle of Bosworth was the decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses. It was the beginning of the end of three…

      • This episode has subtitles available.
      Playlist
    10. Tony by a well reconstruction Hadrian's Well Wed 10 Nov 2010

      While digging a huge site in the middle of London, archaeologists uncovered two extraordinary Roman cisterns. At the…

      • This episode has subtitles available.
      Playlist
    11. Bamburgh Castle of the Saxon Kings Fri 11 Sep 2009

      Tony and the Team help investigate the Saxon roots of Bamburgh Castle, high on rocky cliffs in Northumberland above the…

      Playlist
    12. Ship's Crest The Wreck of the Colossus Thu 16 Apr 2009

      In 2001, divers discovered one of the most exciting naval artefacts ever found in British waters, part of the wreck of…

      • This episode has subtitles available.
      Playlist
    13. The £10m House The Ten Million Pound House Sat 21 Mar 2009

      Hidden away in Kent is an architectural gem, a building that is important not because it's bigger or better than any…

      Playlist
    14. Tony hovering over a field Life on the Edge 1000 BC Sat 22 Nov 2008

      Three thousand years ago the banks of the River Witham, just outside Lincoln, were bustling with activity…

      • This episode has subtitles available.
      Playlist
    15. Michael Brennan D-Day Sat 15 Nov 2008

      On the morning of 6 June 1944 Allied troops landed in France to attack Hitler's 'Fortress Europe' and begin the…

      • This episode has subtitles available.
      Playlist
    16. Tony Robinson and the chariot team The Big Roman Villa Sun 08 Jan 2006

      The story of the biggest villa excavation in this country for 50 years, some of the finest mosaics ever discovered and…

      Playlist
    17. A gold urn The King of Bling Mon 13 Jun 2005

      A chance discovery by archaeologists in Southend reveals an Anglo-Saxon tomb crammed with such impressive gold…

      • This episode has subtitles available.
      Playlist

MORE: