Well, I thought it the best for quite a while, and fimed in typical Time Team weather.... Somehow the piece of plaited hair gave the woman, who had been dead 1400 years immortality, and made her "human", rather than just skeletal remains. Great stuff, very interesting...
I have to say that, having worked on the Isle of Man (a thoroughly excellent place in my opinion) that the weather shown was actually nothing to do with it being "the tail end of a hurricane" but just your average summer's day. I still have dreams about the 90 mph wind!
Am I the only one to feel uncomfortable that graves were desecrated in the name of entertainment? In fact I was disgusted with the way that newly discovered graves were greeted with whoops of childish excitement, reminiscent of little children opening christmas presents. One of the presenters even shouted that he could see a skeleton in one of them - what else would he expect? The graves were then ripped open and the bones yanked out and slung in plastic bags "for carbon dating". One poor lady who had lain undisturbed for nigh on 1400 years even had her remaining hair scooped out unceremoniously on the end of a trowel, for no reason other than to tell us that Manx girls used to plait their hair all those years ago. I think this episode crossed a line.
Wow! The grave was amazing. What great news about the date of it too!! One of the ealiest Christain burials. Didn't Brigid do well with excavating the hair. Well done Time Team.
Originally posted by InExile: Am I the only one to feel uncomfortable that graves were desecrated in the name of entertainment?
No you are probably not. The subject has cropped up several times over the years. As for the entertainment aspect, well, yes. It is a television programme, but the enthusiasm was a response to archaeological importance, not childish excitement. Now, as to whether that justifies disturbing graves .......
The discovery of the oldest Gaelic inscription on the IOM was quite something.
Also impressive that they could get the Ogham deciphered so quickly, even if no-one was quite sure what the words meant (as opposed to what they said).
"Corner...50...throng". I guess the Celtic philologists will still be arguing about that one in 100 years.
Originally posted by Woodkerne: Will there be a repeat of Sundays Time Team episode this week? I missed it and it would seem I missed out on a a good dig : (
This was an extraordinary programme. Not only was it fascinating but the discovery of the 14 hundred year old female and the plait of hair had the emotional effect of reducing me to tears.
Tony Robinson's enthusiasm is infectious as is that of the whole team. Long live Time Team.
Originally posted by Woodkerne: Will there be a repeat of Sundays Time Team episode this week? I missed it and it would seem I missed out on a a good dig : (
If you do not have More 4 give me a shout and I will Torrent it.
Originally posted by InExile: Am I the only one to feel uncomfortable that graves were desecrated in the name of entertainment? In fact I was disgusted with the way that newly discovered graves were greeted with whoops of childish excitement, reminiscent of little children opening christmas presents. One of the presenters even shouted that he could see a skeleton in one of them - what else would he expect? The graves were then ripped open and the bones yanked out and slung in plastic bags "for carbon dating". One poor lady who had lain undisturbed for nigh on 1400 years even had her remaining hair scooped out unceremoniously on the end of a trowel, for no reason other than to tell us that Manx girls used to plait their hair all those years ago. I think this episode crossed a line.
Originally posted by InExile: Am I the only one to feel uncomfortable that graves were desecrated in the name of entertainment? In fact I was disgusted with the way that newly discovered graves were greeted with whoops of childish excitement, reminiscent of little children opening christmas presents. One of the presenters even shouted that he could see a skeleton in one of them - what else would he expect? The graves were then ripped open and the bones yanked out and slung in plastic bags "for carbon dating". One poor lady who had lain undisturbed for nigh on 1400 years even had her remaining hair scooped out unceremoniously on the end of a trowel, for no reason other than to tell us that Manx girls used to plait their hair all those years ago. I think this episode crossed a line.
It's a television programme.
And there's me thinking it's an archaeological dig.
Your views on excavating graves are actually shared by many archaeologists, and there have been several discussions about this on the forum in the past. Maybe this episode did portray the discoveries rather insensitively, but graves and skeletons do turn up in archaeological digs and diggers have to get used to them. There are strict guidelines about excavating, handling, recording and storing human remains, and once all investigation and research is finished they are re-buried unless there is an over-riding reason why they should be kept for future study. Only those which are deemed to be likely to provide significant new information will be excavated, unless there is a stronger rerason for their removal, such as redevelopment of the site.
In this case, the burials were an essential part of investigating the keeill site as a whole - and once discovered, they couldn't really just be covered up again and left there, or treasure hunters and illicit diggers would be there like a shot as soon as Time Team had left.
I've been trained to excavate skeletons, and personally don't feel uncomfortable about doing it - they are just inanimate remains, the people they once were have finished with those bodies. I have always felt privileged to be able to learn something from them - it makes them important so long after their deaths.
But I also respect other people's views which may be very different from mine.
English Law covers the disinterment of bodies as does Scottish law. I assume that the Isle of Man has similar legislation which will have been followed here. There is also a wide ranging code of ethics for archaeologists which I am confident that all members of Time Team follow.
As to ones personal response to digging up the dead it rather depends. Some people consider that burning a body and scattering the ashes is a gross sacrilege, others that it is the holiest act that one can perform, and to others it is just another example of irrational superstition.
For my own part I am as bothered about what becomes of my remains 1400 years after my death as I am about what the carbon, calcium etc molecules were doing 1400 years before my birth.
Originally posted by InExile: And there's me thinking it's an archaeological dig.
I don't know about you, but I don't get to see many archaeological digs from my living room. I do get to see television programmes that involve archaeological digs thanks to the makers of Time Team and others.
My point is that through TT we get to see close up shots of things that would otherwise be closed up to us as onlookers of a live dig. The constraints of the self imposed 3 day limitation mean that some elements of the dig will be sometimes disproportionate to the overall picture of the site. Also there is a need to satisfy the voyeuristic needs of the viewing public. They want to see things coming out of the trenches - they won't watch someone working in a trench only to discover that there was nothing there.
If the Isle of Man is anything like the west coast of Scotland then it is wet wet wet. I got quite homesick!
Lovely interesting site - I just wish they had had a bit longer - what else would have been brought to light.
As for finding bodies in graves, is that not what archeology/anthropology is all about? I can see why people get worried by "sacrilege" as it is termed, but we find out about ourselves this way - what we looked like, wore, collected, thousands of years ago, and it is too important, historically, to neglect.
I am just getting over this last sundays programme. It amazes me to see how the programme has been edited together after over 30 hours of filming in just 3 days. The weather on the Isle of Man can be so different as where we are the wind is allways blowing (Speke Lane)!! I must say that even Phil Harding agreed with me that people are laid to rest for a reason so they should be left there unless it is vital to see how that person died. I have not seen any spirits floating around yet anyway!!! The team are all a great lot and do there job very well. It would be great if we could invite them back to our (windy)Isle again as there is so much more to discover. The ogham stone was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. Good luck with the rest of the programmes.
Yes, the Ogham was amazing, wasn't it? I haven't seen many that are not inscribed on the corners of stones. The smaller version, for some reason, seemed a bit more personalised to me. I wonder what the meaning is? I dare say that the translation may change with some more thought and time to look at it in context and in all its glory.
Now I love Time Team I have been a Fan ever since it 1st one stared. But I watched the Time Team on Sunday night & thought they were being insensitive with some of the bodies, I think it was wrong for them to do that, to the Body of the Young Girl & her hair should have been left. I also thought that when they were lifting Stones to get the another body it was sad because the stones had been there for 1,000 years & they seen to just pull them out of the way.. I like Time Team & will continue to watch them but I thought this one was wrong Sorry..
I think that's fair enough, Taggy. I'm usually ok with graves being excavated, except when it starts to become a bit too recent. I'm very uncomfortable with the WWII digs - especially the Spitfire one.
The IOM dig was obviously (as Tony pointed out) going to involve graves by the very fact that the site included a graveyard. Still, I think these things are bound to have different influences on different people.
Its what happens to early skeletons afterwards that always bothers me. Iron Age pagan no's 112365-112389 are never going to get the same treatment as someones Great Uncle Geoff ,and it saddens me sometimes.
