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.
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Channel 4
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
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Channel 4
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
-
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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.
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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…
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Life on the Edge 1000 BC
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Three thousand years ago the banks of the River Witham, just outside Lincoln, were bustling with activity…
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D-Day
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On the morning of 6 June 1944 Allied troops landed in France to attack Hitler's 'Fortress Europe' and begin the…
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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…
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The King of Bling
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A chance discovery by archaeologists in Southend reveals an Anglo-Saxon tomb crammed with such impressive gold…
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