Season 1

Francis Pryor examines the history of Britain near the end of the Roman occupation. The first instalment focuses on Britain under Roman rule, revealing a much greater degree of collaboration with the natives than was previously recognised.

Francis Pryor examines the relics of the Dark Ages to build a fuller picture of this much-maligned era. Popular belief has always held that the departure of the Romans led to barbarism in Britain, but archaeological finds have shed light on a cultured, literate society that embraced the growing Romanised Christian religion and embarked on a profitable trading relationship with the Byzantine Empire.

Francis Pryor examines the Anglo-Saxon invasion, an era marked by a huge political shift. While historians naturally put the social changes down to the arrival of the new culture, evidence has emerged that a shake-up of allegiances among Britons was already occurring independently at this time. Last in the series.