All language subtitles for 21455d386c7744ab8194f715073f5b66_track3_eng

Stretching over 80 miles,

running through hills, dales, rivers
and mountains,

Hadrian's Wall is
a wonder of the ancient world.

You get an idea
of the sheer size and scale

of this gargantuan achievement.

It signalled the edge
of one of the greatest empires

the world has ever known.

Here we've got the second in command
of a Roman century of 80 men.

Armed with my trusty walking boots,

I'm going to travel along the entire
length of this iconic monument...

Now, this section here is
known as the heart of Hadrian's Wall.

...through rain...

Absolutely chucking it down!

...and shine...

If someone painted that view and
showed you it, you wouldn't believe them.

...I'll learn the secrets
of the Roman Empire...

If you needed a number two,
this is where you came.

...to the best-kept secrets
of the Great British countryside...

Wow! Whoo- hoo- hoo- hoo- hoo- hoo!

...meeting many folk along the way.

Keep up, Robson. Sorry, mate.

That's amazing!

Hello!

It'll be an epic journey
to take your breath away.

Oh, wow! I'm not a religious person

but there is something spiritual
about this part of the world.

So pack your corn plasters,
fill your Thermos

and join me
for the walk of a lifetime.

The Romans, they gave us it all.

Now I'm on the second leg
of my journey

across the beautiful
Northumbrian countryside.

I'm starting at Chollerford,
near Hexham,

and my aim is to reach Walltown Crags
in three days,

a mere 40,000 steps.

It's 20 miles of rugged landscape

that a couple of millennia ago was
teeming with rugged Romans.

Now it's home to a flock of sheep.

Rugged sheep, mind.

The wall stretches from east to west
across England,

from coast to coast.

But this particular section is filled
with the remains of Roman forts.

They were home to many of the 10,000
strapping soldiers on the wall

who saw off barbarians to the north
and troublesome tribes to the south.

Just 600 steps into my journey

and I've already reached
Chesters fort,

built in AD124...

...clearly a time when men were men,

as the soldiers here spent their time
not just seeing off the enemy

but the northern weather

and all the while wearing
skirts and sandals.

Tour guide Laura is going to show me
how

the fort's Roman inhabitants braved
the cold

wearing only tunics.

It doesn't bear thinking about.

So, along the wall, each fort has
its own unique story to tell.

What was special about this place?

If you'd been here 2,000 years ago

there would have been
500 cavalry men living here.

500 cavalry men and their horses
would have been living on this site,

so this would have been
a really important strategic point

because it guarded
the crossing of a river.

So where did they all live? Well,
there are barracks just over here.

We'll have a look at the barracks.

Only 20% of the fort has
been excavated

but these rows of identical low walls
reveal

dozens of small barracks buildings
side by side.

Was this area
where the horses were kept

or was this where the soldiers lived?
Well, this was a bit of both.

This was a place where there were
three men and three horses,

so the men lived
alongside their horses.

Really? Yeah, really.
When you say lived alongside,

they didn't sleep alongside them?
They did. They didn't. They did.

You know how you're in bed with your
partner and you have a little rollover?

Imagine a horse rolling over you.
That's going to leave a mark.

Well... That's going to smart.

It would have been a way of keeping
warm, the heat the horses give off.

I'm thinking about the smell.

It must have been a mucky existence.

Now, you'd think,
given their sleeping arrangements,

that centurions would be oblivious
to horse dung

but it seems not.

Every fort had its own spa.

So we've just come through
the lobby - this is the lobby -

to take us into what was, in effect,
the changing room.

This would have been
where they would have entered

and prepared themselves
to go into the bath.

What, these are little lockers here?
Just like little lockers.

Like today you put your pound coin in
and turn it,

and you put the wrist band on.

So this was a place
just to start to prepare yourself,

to get your clothes off,
to put your sandals on.

You would have had wooden,
flat wooden sandals

that were sort of raised up
a little bit

because everywhere here had
underfloor heating.

What, so hot it would burn your feet?
It probably would. Really?

Really, really hot stones.

Did they have some sort of kind
of towel to take with them?

We don't know. They might have had
something to cover their modesty

but because this was just the blokes
from the fort,

this was just the Roman soldiers
from the fort, maybe not.

Just let it all hang out, Laura.
Nothing's changed there, either.

Coming here was even hotter. Oh?

It was a really, really hot,
dry room

which would start you to sweat.

Open up the pores.
Start to open your pores. Yeah.

And then you would go round
to one of the warm rooms,

start to cover yourself in oil,

or you'd perhaps have a servant
to do that... Of course.

...and then use warm water
to scrape it all off

to clean yourself. Right!

They actually did manscape.

Just when you think you've grasped
who the Romans were,

they slip through your fingers.

Probably all that oil.

Oh, Laura! Love it!

I just wish you'd have been
my history teacher back then. I do.

I really wish you had.

So the Roman lesson for today is

never underestimate
the power of a sauna,

although I think I might have to find
a different solution

to getting warm and clean in my tent.

As I've travelled along the wall,

I've been collecting stamps
for my Hadrian's Wall passport,

so here's another one
to mark the way.

But I've a few miles to go
before I set up camp

and the trail, as ever, has
some pretty good chat on offer.

Where are you guys from? The South,
near London. Near London? Yeah.

I'm Robson. What's your name?
Catriona.

Where are you from, Catriona?
From London.

Are you walking the full length?

Because you're going to need more
than that, bonny lad.

You need a tent and everything.

Are you doing the full walk, from,
like, the west to the east?

No, so I think we started...

Do you know where you are?
You're on Hadrian's Wall.

Just in case you're lost.

Just in case
you still think you're in London

and you took a wrong left.

Good luck for the rest of your walk.
Thank you. You, too.

Enjoy. Bye. Bye.

The wall might have been built
to protect Rome from the north

but today the invasion is
obviously coming from the south.

You don't just have to come here

and have to learn
about Roman history.

It's just one of the most beautiful
walks in the world.

That's why they're here.

You know, the hustle-bustle of London
they've left behind

and come to the open space and beauty
of Northumberland.

You know, there's something here
for everybody.

I'm just at the point where the
North Tyne river intersects the wall.

Now, I should be heading west
on my journey

but just look at this.

For my money, there's no better river
in the world.

Now, I can't travel along Hadrian's
Wall without taking a diversion

to one of my most favourite places
in the world.

Now, as some of you may or may not
know, I like a bit of fishing,

so I'm off to meet
one of my best buddies,

who is the self-acclaimed
number-one angler in Northumberland.

And if you think of
that famous film Gladiator,

he's like Russell Crowe's
body double

and this river is his arena.

Oh my, as I live and breathe,
James Stokoe.

How are you? Mr Green. Not bad, mate.
You've eventually arrived.

I've been waiting.
The salmon are waiting.

How many have you caught? None yet.

Do you want me to get changed...
Yes, please.

...and come back and show you
how it's done? Someone has to.

I've given you the big build-up.
I know.

You going to look pretty daft
if you didn't catch.

Right, time to get kitted out

and back to catch
some of those trout or salmon

I know are hiding there.

He's a good-looking fella, isn't he?

I would love it if I caught one
and he didn't.

I would love it!
He'd never get over it.

He'd need therapy.

Because he's a world-class fisherman
and a fishing guide on this river,

he's even got flies named after him.

All these here,
they're actually named after Stokoe.

They're the Stokoe Shrimp
and they're very, very good.

There's only one fly in my book.

That there is called
the Calvin Shrimp,

designed by Ross Macdonald,

and I have caught 95% of my fish
with this fly.

And I've not told Stokoe
I've got loads of them.

I've got loads.

He's not getting one.

Mate, there's a load of fish
showing here, I'm telling you now.

They're not touching anything
at the minute but it's a good start.

They're here,
which is the most important thing.

It's just the anglers.

Are you all right, bud? Yeah, fine.
I shouldn't laugh but I did.

Stop laughing! I'm old, OK?

I'm old.

JAMES LAUGHS

And in fact, it's been 20-odd years

since me and James first stepped
into this river to fish.

But, mate, me and you have been
fishing together,

we have had some amazing times
on this water.

In the stories we have,
the fish we've caught.

I mean, these fish are
quite comparable to yourself.

Well travelled, they've got an air
of elegance...

Oh, here we go. Sought after. Uh-huh.

Silver. Oh, aye.

And they can be the most
annoying thing on the planet.

It's just like spending a day
with yourself.

I like the fish analogy, James! Yeah.

So putting our angling rivalry
to one side for just one second...

So going back to Roman times,

would this river have been
a good source of protein

for most of the Roman soldiers?

This river would have been
a lifeline.

I mean, it's not a coincidence

that the wall has been built
parallel to this river.

You've got a source of water
and a source of food

and I would give anything to be back
in those days

to see what this river was like.
Really?

It's good now. It's the best river
in England and Wales

but we just don't have anywhere near the
numbers of fish that they would have had.

So you would have had salmon,
you would have had trout.

It's endless -
trout, salmon, sea trout,

eels, chub, pike...

Pike? Pike. There's pike in
the Tyne? There's pike in the Tyne.

And when you get one,
there's no greater sensation.

They do say the tug is a drug. And no
matter where you are or who you're with...

But it is important who you're with.
It is.

When you've got a friend
like yourself who can come

and you can out-fish them,
it's even better.

Is that the scenario that's going to
play out today? It's up to the gods.

You have talked this up so much
and I've bigged you up so much,

mate, it's
just an accident waiting to happen.

Let's let the fish do the talking.

Come on, then. I'll go up there.

Get yourself up there
without falling in. Here we go.

Fishing isn'tjust a hobby
for me and James.

It is an absolute obsession.

It's an addiction, a love,
an absolute everything.

Hadrian's Wall is just over the hill
from here,

so I wonder how many Roman soldiers
came down for a spot of fishing

at the end of a stressful day
guarding the wall.

Although today, the fish do seem
to be in rather short supply.

James has just suggested
that I start singing

so the fish will throw themselves
on the bank, you know?

Mate, three number ones.
I rest my case.

Kept Oasis off the number one spot
and Elton John and David Bowie.

You may mock.

I was banking on a bit of salmon
for my dinner on the campfire.

Stokoe, what are you playing at?
Where are the fish?

Can you imagine, 2,000 years ago,
we were Roman soldiers,

we've got to provide
for our families? We'd be sacked.

Sacked! Disowned. Absolutely.
Our wives would have left us.

Mate, I'll settle for a trout.
Mate, I'll settle for a minnow.

Have you...?

Literally, anything that's got a fin
on it. Please!

Please! We are anglers,
we actually do catch fish.

Don't we, James?
Yeah, most of the time.

After three hours,
it's time to admit defeat.

With no dinner caught for tonight
and my manhood definitely dented,

I realise I'd make a rotten Roman.

I'm back pounding the path
by the beautiful Hadrian's Wall,

now almost halfway along
its 84-mile length.

So far my journey's taken me from
Chollerford to the River North Tyne.

The route will eventually lead
to Walltown Crags...

...but my target this morning is
Housesteads Fort,

eight miles away.

At this point I really need
to get a wriggle on

if I'm to get ahead of the weather.

I don't really have time
to stop and chat to this couple

but I do.

It's not what you call overcrowded
around here, is it?

But then, of course,
the heavens open.

Four seasons in one day.

I try
some amateur weather forecasting.

My grandma used to say, "Red
sky at night, shepherd's delight.

"Red sky in the morning,

"shepherd's delight."

Bonkers, my grandma.

But it rains so much
the crew pack up

and I'm left alone
with my selfie stick.

I kind of discovered today
I don't like my own company.

After miles of sheep,
I pass some cows.

Slow progress is better
than no progress at all.

Failure is not an option.

Mind you, I do need a wee.

And after a close encounter
with some nettles...

THUNDER RUMBLES ..the
Northumberland weather closes in.

Thank God for waterproof trousers.

You know what it is.

Oh, I so wanted to say that view
over there is beyond beautiful

but it's a bit bleak today

but there is a beauty
in its bleakness.

It has been absolutely
chucking it down all morning.

But as my mam always said,
when it rains, just let it rain

and a rainy day outdoors is better
than a sunny day indoors.

Bit of a philosopher, my mum.

She had lots of sayings,
my favourite being,

"Any man who wears
a bulletproof jacket cannot complain

"if he gets his old fella shot off."

8,000 steps
and three rain showers later,

I arrive
at Northumberland National Park...

...400 square miles
of sparsely populated countryside

looked after by only a handful
of very busy rangers.

All right? And I'm meeting Margaret,
who's one of them.

I'm one of the rangers. I've never met a
ranger from the national park. Your lucky day.

So what does a ranger do?
Kind of all sorts, to be honest.

I mean, I'm here today,
we're putting up this finger post.

This one's been broken.
Do you want a hand?

Well, since you offered, yeah.
There you go.

Your gloves are in the back there.

I was just going to supervise.
I've got a bad back but...

That's all right.
I'm sure you'll manage.

I didn't know. Of course -
they're called finger posts.

I didn't know it was called
a finger post

because it points
in the right direction.

I thought it was a signpost. Every
day is a school day on this adventure.

There you go, Robson.
Thanks very much. You're welcome.

OK, so, what do I do?

OK, what I'm going to get you to do,
just clean out round here,

so just a wee bit at a time.
All right.

Are you in a supervisory capacity
now? Oh, yeah, totally.

You're like a clerk of the works.
Oh, aye. Got you.

This is the hardest work
I've had to do in years.

Is it time for a tea break yet?

Now we're getting a bit further down
what I want you to do...

Can I just tell you something?

I was digging away and I thought,
"Eh, I've found something here."

Yeah - the other bit of the post.
It's the bottom of the post.

All right! This could have been
a Vindolanda tablet for all you know.

It's a massive job,
not just maintaining the trail,

but protecting the public as
they make their way along the wall.

Eh, I've struck...
I've struck water here.

Or it's oil.

Yes! There you go.

Lovely. There you have it. I've done
a good job, there, haven't I?

You've not done too badly for a
first attempt, I'll give you that.

Right, we'll get the post and we'll
see what it's like in the hole.

A finger post? Yeah.

There's around 180 finger posts
along the 84 miles of the path

to keep the thousands of tourists
who visit the wall every year

on the right track.

Phew!

There you go. Excellent.

So the next time I walk past
a finger post

I'll appreciate the hard work
that's gone into it. Yeah.

Would you mind, if I walk
by this one with my friends,

I'll go, "I put that in with Margaret, the
Northumberland National Park ranger"?

Not at all. You take credit
for that one. Thank you very much.

Right.

Which way's the path?
Er, that way.

Yeah.
HE GROANS

Phoof!

See you, Margaret. See you.

Of course, in Roman times you
wouldn't need a signpost to ask directions

because there'd literally be
thousands of soldiers

patrolling the wall.

But now it's mostly sheep.

OK, it's time for a comfort break -
Roman style.

Housesteads is
one of the best-preserved forts

in the whole of the Roman Empire

and Andrew Poad
from the National Trust

is going to give me a tour
of the facilities.

Am I right in thinking this is
the best-preserved Roman toilet

in Great Britain? It is, yeah.

The most important place
in the fort.

If you needed a number two,
this is where you came.

Really? 800 soldiers in here

and probably quite a queue
in the mornings.

And how many does
this particular toilet seat, then?

I should think you could probably
get about 20 people in here.

And this communal toilet block wasn't
just special

because of the volume of bottoms
it was accommodating.

It's an example of,
in my humble opinion,

one of the greatest things
the Romans have ever invented.

But it is a flushing toilet,

a flushing toilet to the same
standard as you would get in Rome.

Now, it's not an easy thing,
inventing the plumbing for a toilet.

For a start,
out here on the northern frontier,

they didn't just have water on tap -

if you'll excuse the pun.

They relied on
what we now call grey water.

Collect all the water
off all the roofs

and it would all feed down
to this point here,

the lowest point in the fort.

So the Romans harnessed
Northumberland's greatest resource -

the rain.

Genius.

So you'd make your way in

and there'd be wooden benches either side
with holes cut in them for you to sit on.

This channel would have had water
running through it. Constantly?

Constantly.
We call that the sponge channel

because they didn't have
toilet paper.

They probably didn't have sponges
in Northumberland

but they might have had Sphagnum
moss or something like that.

OK, so I'm a centurion.

Those figs are playing havoc
with my stomach.

And what, I just hang over here?
Position yourself there.

There would be a wooden bench
with a hole in it

for you to perch on.

And just sit here? And just sit.
That's it. And off you go.

HE SIGHS
That's great.

All right, Brian? Yeah.
Had a good night on the wall?

See any barbarians? No?

Oh, you had the figs as well?
Playing bloody havoc.

So I've done my business... Yeah.
..and that's a load off my mind... Good.

...and I've wiped my bum with a sponge
or a bit of moss. Yeah.

What would I do with the sponge?

Would I just dip it in vinegar
or something to clean it?

We don't know, in all honesty.

But it's rumoured there was
a punishment

that you could be made
to publicly suck the sponge

if you'd been, er,
a naughty soldier.

What? Yeah.

Oh, that's horrible.
Oh, no. I was having a really nice...

We're not going to make you do that.
Well, I wouldn't do it anyway.

I'd get on to my agent.

Anyway, so, and the waste product
would just be washed away down here

very cleverly because of the design.

And it's carried out
through the fort wall

and out into the fields.

To fertilise the land to grow crops.
Yeah. A good bit of recycling.

They were clever those Romans.
Very clever. Blooming clever, man.

Yeah. Phew!

I think it says a lot
about a civilization,

how seriously it takes
its toilet arrangements.

And to think all that incredible
engineering they passed on to us,

so we can flush today.

On that note, I think
it might be time for me to retire.

All this talk of conveniences has
made me hanker

after a night in a fancy hotel.

But instead,
I have to make do with...

Oh, I love a bit of camping.

What is there not to like
about camping?

You know?

You're at one with nature,
you're closer to the countryside.

However, you are further away
from a nice cosy bed,

a hot shower and a flushing toilet.

Right,
hopefully this won't take long.

HE SINGS TO HIMSELF
Right, hang on. Hang on, hang on.

HE WHISTLES

That wind's picking up!
This could take off!

No!

What the...?

Ow! I just stabbed myself in my leg.

Jesus.

I just put the peg in my leg.

Hey, I'm losing pints, here.

Oh, hilarious!

# Ta-dah! #

This here could end up
way over there through the night

with me in it.

TV gold.

BIRDSONG

It's day two on this leg
of my journey

and I wouldn't describe sleeping
under canvas as a highlight.

Oh!

I think the bottom line is
I've got camper van envy.

HE YAWNS I wouldn't say
I had a good night's sleep.

And I'm not going to say
I had a bad night's sleep.

It was bloody awful.
Just wind and rain.

I'll need a good breakfast

because I've got
some serious walking to do today.

I'm hoping the views
will keep me going...

...as I'll be climbing up past
the spectacular crags at Whin Sill

to the wall's highest point
at Steel Rigg.

Fingers crossed the weather holds.

THUNDER RUMBLES

My fair-weather friends, the crew,
run for cover again

with some lame excuse
about keeping the equipment dry,

so it's me and my selfie stick again.

Ah, that's more like it!

This is the Northumberland
I know and love.

Absolutely chucking it down!

HE LAUGHS

The sun was shining this morning,
which was delicious,

and now it's chucking it down
with rain.

I think I'm going to need
a bigger coat.

Ooh!

Now, there's a sight for sore eyes.

The world-famous Great Whin Sill,

created millions of years ago

during
a cataclysmic geological event.

And it created that formation
we see today.

Utterly jaw-dropping.

Geologists reckon this landscape was
once a sea of molten lava

which burst up
to the Earth's surface.

And the Romans took advantage
of the jaggy landscape

that was left behind

because the hardened lava created
strong foundations for the wall.

And there is no better spot
along the wall

to have a cup of tea

than the location
at the bottom of this hill.

In my opinion, it is the most
beautiful spot in Great Britain.

And because of the view
or the promise of a tea break,

the crew decide to come back.

Fair-weather friends.

Sycamore Gap,
named for obvious reasons,

is almost exactly halfway
along the wall

and the tree itself is one of the
most photographed trees in Britain,

though how they know that
I've no idea.

Mm! And this location is famous
for many reasons.

The tree, not so long ago, was voted
Best Tree In England

but it's probably best known
for making an appearance

in the movie
Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves

starring the one and only
Kevin Costner.

And it's now known for Robson Green
having a cup of tea next to it.

It doesn't have the same ring,
though, does it?

I can't compete with Kev.

Mam says I look like him, though.

Onwards...

and upwards.

Breakfast seems
like such a long time ago

and my rumbling tummy makes me think
of the legionaries who lived here.

They say an army marches
on its stomach

and Romans' rations,
like everything else about them,

seemed to be imaginative
and versatile.

In fact, they may have invented
fusion cuisine.

With the Romans being in Britain came
many wondrous things,

including carrots, cabbages
and plums.

Strange but true.

And believe it or not, the beautiful
landscape of Northumberland provided

a natural panty of its very own
right on their doorstep.

Ancl dinner is still being foraged for

by wild food enthusiasts
like Linus and Louise Morton,

just as it was by the Romans.

They call this the Marmite plant

because you either love it
or you hate it.

If you want to grab yourself some.

I think the leaves on this are
as close to roast beef

as you're going to get on a plant.

That actually smells like roast beef!

LAUGHTER
It does!

It's mad. That's insane! Yeah!

It smells like beef.

So I use this as a herb, so,
you know, you mix it with a salad,

so you're having it as a flavour
in amongst other things.

You love it or hate it? Yeah.
Well, I'm going with the latter.

OK. It doesn't taste like beef.

It might smell it. Yeah.

You know, I'm just looking round,
seeing a lot of clock leaves.

I don't think you can eat them.
Oh, we've got bush vetch.

It's a member of the pea family.

This one tastes
just like pea shoots.

Really? Yeah.

What, just like herb robert tasted
like beef?

Erm, I think this is closer to peas.

Yeah, this is a genuine pea. OK.
Let's see if it tastes like a pea.

Oh, my goodness. They do.

Well, what do you know?

This is... Its common name is
jack-by-the-hedge

but its other name is garlic mustard

and it does exactly what it says
on the tin.

It tastes of garlic mustard.

Mate, I've had roast beef,
I've had pea shoots...

Well, who knew you could get all the
flavours of your nan's Sunday roast

just from a few hedgerow plants?

It doesn't smell
like garlic or mustard.

Does mustard have a smell?
Yes, it does, yes.

Mm!

Garlic mustard! Garlic mustard!

LAUGHTER
It's garlic mustard!

What a picture that must have been -

those burly Romans picking
dainty flowers in the hedgerows.

Fortified
by a few carefully chosen leaves,

I'm back on the trail

and today's hike is
going to be strenuous.

It's time to take on the mountain.

Phew!
HE CHUCKLES

Whoo! My heart rate's gone up a bit.

That's because I'm heading for
the famous Steel Rigg.

There are a lot of riggs around here,

all hills named
from the old Scots word for ridge,

but this is the biggest.

Oh, I think climbing Steel Rigg is
a young person's game, I think.

Oh, God.

HE EXHALES HEAVI LY

I do like a challenge.

What was it Edmund Hillary said?

It's not the mountain you conquer
but yourself.

Clearly, I'm not climbing Everest
like he was

but let's face it -
he had a Sherpa to carry his bag.

Phew! This ain't going to be easy.

Just take your time
and enjoy the view.

HE EXHALES HEAVI LY

Oh, wow. I tell you, if someone
painted that view and showed you it

you wouldn't believe them.

HE EXHALES

I'm at the highest point
of my journey.

How do I know that?

Because this here's the trig point.

And to think I've come all the way
from over there,

as far as the eye can see.

I'm not a religious person but...

...there is something spiritual
about this part of the world,

there really is.

It just makes your heart sing, man.

ROBSON SIGHS

I'm 13 miles or 33,000 steps
into this leg of my journey

and I feel the Romans are beginning
to get under my skin.

Time to dig a little deeper,

which is an archaeologicaljoke,
by the way.

Oh, never mind.

If there is one place on this journey

that continues to bring the past
back to life

it's where I'm headed now.

50 years ago something was discovered
there

that completely redefined
the way we view an entire empire.

The Vindolanda Fort is
the only one along the wall

where there is
a live archaeological dig

and it's supervised by a friend
of mine, Dr Andrew Birley.

Under Andrew's supervision
they've dug up fascinating artefacts

that help us understand
day-to-day Roman life.

Well, we've found thousands of shoes
since you were last here, Robson.

I heard you found a sword
in its scabbard.

We got a sword in its scabbard
and a sword outside its scabbard

and in the room next door -
beat this -

something we'd never expect to find
in a million years,

a set of boxing gloves
made of leather.

Boxing gloves? Boxing gloves.
Leather boxing gloves.

The only surviving boxing gloves
from the whole Roman Empire.

Today is my lucky day because
I've been invited to help at the dig.

Hopefully, I'll hit the jackpot,

though I'm having to share
this potential treasure trove

with Dr Trudi Buck,
a forensic archaeologist

who specialises in human bones.

Trudi, how are you? I'm good,
thank you. Lovely to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

So this man is artefacts.

Am I right in saying you're dead
people? I'm dead people, absolutely.

So if you came across
skeletal remains,

are you able to tell the sex
of the person, the age of the person?

If you've got a skull
and usually if you've got teeth

you can tell where they're from.

Teeth are really good
because they preserve very well

and they're the hardest substance
in the body

so you can get DNA from them,
you can get isotopes from them

and from that you can tell stuff about
their background, where they grew up.

But the most famous find
of recent years,

one that altered our whole perception
of Roman life, wasn't human bones.

It was a pile
of remarkably preserved letters

that have come to be known as
the Vindolanda Tablets.

If you find a letter
that somebody's left,

not for you, but for somebody else
from 2,000 years ago

every single word has a resonance
which cuts through 2,000 years ago

and is a window into the soul of the person
who wrote it and that's incredibly special.

Trudi looks at the bones and they
can give you a lot of information

but you can't get that person's
opinion from their bones.

The letters are very personal
to Andrew.

In fact, you could say
it's a family affair

because it was Andrew's dad who found
the very first tablet

back in 1973.

And he found it by accident.

He was working hard
in very deep excavations

and he picked up a little oily piece
of wood that caught his eye

and we don't know why but he rubbed
his two fingers together

and it came apart

and as he peeled it apart,
just out of curiosity,

it was covered in ink writing.

And that tablet, still today,
it's one of the most special

because it's somebody sending
a package

to their son at Vindolanda from home

and they're saying
what's in the package.

They're saying
it's a couple of pairs of socks,

a couple of pairs of shoes,
two sets of underpants.

And this is the first reference
to underpants ever in Roman Britain

but it's also the only evidence
we've found that Romans wore them.

While we're talking,
something really odd happens.

I think I've found something. Yeah?
It feels like metal.

Pass it to Dr Buck.
She'll be able to let you know.

It's certainly not bone.

If it is bone it's the Bionic Man.

No, I think that is the head
of a large nail. A very chunky nail.

Good, all right. He's off.
Mate, how much is it worth?

Eh? We're talking cash, eh, man?
This is Antiques Roadshow time now.

We're not letting you melt it down
and you can't take it home.

It's got to go in the museum.

This is my Vindolanda tablet,
this nail.

This is my discovery.

This makes me want to be
an archaeologist.

Well, if it does, then it's the most
important nail that we've ever found.

Would be nice to find some cash,
though, wouldn't it? LAUGHTER

I've got seven miles to go
from Vindolanda

to my final destination
at Walltown Crags

and my feet are aching.

Now, this section here is known as
the Heart of Hadrian's Wall.

And that's what it is
about this place.

It just works its way under your skin
and gets into your heart

and I promise you, if you come here,
it will stay there forever.

And a lot of it is to do with
the views north and south.

Over here you've got
the beautiful Cheviot Hills,

you've got Northumberland's
extraordinary national park

and, of course,
the famous Pennine Way.

And to the south you've got
the stunning South Tyne valley.

And to think I was born here.

And I live here.

Spurred on by the scenery

ancl mulling over all my brilliantly
close encounters with the Romans -

the saunas, the toilets,
the postcards and underpants -

Walltown Crags comes into view.

It's the final destination
for this leg of the journey

and it's spectacular.

But I have one last thing to do.

Because it has
next to no light pollution,

Northumberland is
one of the best places in Europe

to get a clear view of the stars,

so it's time to look up.

I'm not the only one
who's here after dark.

Naz, an astronomer from
the nearby Kielder Observatory,

is pulling a night shift...

...though I've no idea
how she brought that on the bus.

Well, my goodness. Evening! Hello.

Here's something you don't see
every evening.

12-inch reflector? Yes, correct.
Yeah? Yeah.

I've got a six-inch
Russian telescope back home,

a six-inch reflector. Nice, yeah!

Naz has wanted to be an astronomer
since she was little girl in Iran.

When I was a kid my granddad would
constantly ask me

to point out the moon in the sky.

And then I got my first telescope
when I was seven

and was just amazed at the fact
that I could see these planets

through my telescope.

Anything going on in the heavens
above Northumberland?

There's a few things going on, yeah.

I'm here to look at shooting stars

but also we've got a few of the
planets in the sky tonight as well.

Would you like a look through the
telescope? I thought you'd never ask.

What are you lined up on there?
We're just having a look atJupiter.

There we go.

Just looking through the eyepiece,
there.

Wow.

Wow! That's incredible.

That's really, really clear. Yeah.

There's something quite comforting
in the thought

that although our civilization has
changed beyond all recognition

in the 2,000 years
since the wall was built,

if you look up, some things have
barely changed at all.

So in terms of Roman life
along here... Yeah.

...all those centurions looking into
the Northumberland night sky

would see exactly what
we're seeing tonight, would they?

Yeah,
basically the exact same thing.

The planets might have been
in a slightly different position

but in terms of stars,

the stars will have been
in the exact same place.

Most of the planets are named after
the Roman gods.

At that time there wasn't
a sort of distinction

between mythology and astronomy.

It kind of both
became the same thing.

The stars were their gods.
Jupiter is the king of the gods.

Yes. It was named afterJove, so...

And you've got Venus... Yeah. ..the
goddess of love. Love and beauty.

You've got Mars, god of war. War.

Ancl Saturn, the god of agriculture.
Yeah!

That doesn't have the same ring,
does it? Not quite, no!

Do you think by design
we're meant to stare at the heavens?

Because I was told
at a very early age

it's because
that's what we're made of. Yeah.

We've made of stars. We're made of
stardust. We are. We are made of star stuff.

Chemicals that make up our bodies
have come from the insides of stars.

It's always going to be a very
human thing to look at the skies

and wonder about where we came from
and what the stars are

and what we can learn
about what's out there

because it's so unknown
and I think people want to know more

about what's out there.

OK. After the vast universe,
it's time for the tiny tent.

OWL HOOTS

ROBSON YAWNS

What a day,

coming across some incredible
stories about Roman history

in a way that I kind of
never came across at school.

And it's just the best thing
to be alongside,

you know,
people who can be passionate

and committed

and really enjoy their subject

and enjoy talking about their subject
because they love it.

It's a lovely thing to be alongside.

I'm really, really enjoying that.

And to think there's more to come.

I can't wait.

COCKEREL CROWS

Oh, come on!

Next time, I discover
some revealing Roman graffiti.

It's a willy. It's a what?
It's a phallic symbol.

I get to grips
with some Cumbrian cuisine.

I've got a kink in my sausage, David.
Hang on.

'And I reach for the sky.'
Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media