THE SEVEN AGES OF BRITAIN
UK / BBC One / 7x60 minute episodes / Broadcast Sunday 31 January 2010 -Writer: David Dimbleby / Executive Producer: Basil Comely / Producer: Jonty Claypole / Director: Jonty Claypole
Presented by David Dimbleby this huge series tackles the story of art and artefacts from over 2,000 years of British history. Made in association with The Open University the series looks at everything from the very first painted images through artefacts made of stone and gold to all manner of religious iconography and great works of art.
Dimbley roams across the globe in his travels and with each item he uncovers or rediscovers there is a story to tell.
THE EPISODES
1. THE AGE OF CONQUEST (AD 43-1066) (Broadcast Sunday 31 January @ 9.00pm)
For a thousand years, from Emperor Claudius to William the Conqueror, the British Isles were defined by invasion, each successive wave bringing something new to the mix. The Romans brought figurative art, the Anglo-Saxons epic poetry and the Normans monumental architecture. David travels through Britain and beyond – to France, Italy and Turkey – in search of the greatest creations of the age.
Items tracked down (and places visited) in the first programme include: a bronze bust of Hadrian (British Museum); a fragment of a triumphal arch commemorating Claudius's conquest of Britain (Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome); a Roman coin of Britannia (Pantheon, Rome); a frieze of Britannia under the heel of Emperor Claudius (Aphrodisias, Turkey); a Roman gold brooch (Dolaucothi Gold Mine, Wales); an oceanus dish (British Museum); Roman mosaic work (Bignor Roman Villa); Beowulf; Sutton Hoo treasure (Sutton Hoo & British Museum); a Celtic Cross (Iona); Jarrow Monastery; Codex Amiatinus (Laurentian Library, Florence); Alfred Jewel (Ashmolean Museum); Alfred's translation of Pastoral Care (Bodleian Library); Caen Castle and the Abbaye-aux-Hommes (Normandy); Bayeux Tapestry (Normandy); and the Tower of London.
back to UK TV S Documentaries | home
