Britain AD - Episode 2: The Invasion That Never Was

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Sheep-farming archaeologist, Francis Pryor, presents a brand new historical series, which explores Britain A.D, the British national character and the ultimate British icon King Arthur. Finding new and previously unexplained evidence, Francis Pryor overturns the idea that Britain reverted to a state of anarchy and disorder after the Romans left in 410 AD. Instead of doom and gloom Francis discovers a continuous culture that assimilated influences from as far a field as the Middle East and Constantinople. By scrutinising the myth of King Arthur to find out what was really going on when the Romans left, Francis is confronted by evidence that confounds traditional views of the 'Dark ages'. Nor was there an invasion of bloodthirsty Anglo Saxons, rampaging across the countryside. With new archaeological evidence Francis discovers a far more interesting story.

Episode 2: The Invasion That Never Was

In the second programme of the series, Francis sheds light on the so-called 'Dark Ages'. He shows that far from a 'Dark Age' archaeologists are discovered evidence of a resurgence of native culture. The classic image of the Romans departing and 'turning out the lights' is shown to be completely false. Francis finds a world inhabited by Christianised, literate Britons engaging in trade and diplomacy with the Byzantine Empire. So far reaching are the implications of these discoveries that the 'dark age' period in Britain has been renamed Late Antiquity.

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