I would like him if he hadn’t come to my university and spouted unreformed marxism in the tv lounge for 45 minutes. Pretty much a revolutionary Marxist.
As a geology buff and documentary junkie, I believe this is one of the best I've ever seen. Kudos for the planning and execution of this fascinating story.
@@annotten7413 I have just watched several of his videos and wanted to say THANKS SO MUCH for this link. I live in the midwest, but it''s in the west where all the geology action is. Wish I were a bit younger; I would take a trip there, inspired by these wonderful talks.
Tony is fab, I've been watching his history program Walk Tru history,truly awe inspiring. Time team is marvelous if I remember correctly watching TT was start the of my being bitten by the history bug, Himself & his camera man are blessed with the job that they have.
GOTTA love this guy's skill at making Completely Delightful Documentaries!!! He takes a full-bore, no-holds-barred hands-on approach, going to where things happened, climbing mountains in the cold Scottish rain, getting down and dirty in any and all ways possible and speaking in SUCH an articulate, well informed, logical and entertaining manner. Right up there with Attenborough!!!
Having already lived in our house in Cambridgeshire for twenty years, I was surprised to discover from a local history book some years ago it's actually on the lower slopes of a long extinct volcano. It doesn't look much like a volcano now as the top was sliced off during the various ice ages, leaving just a plateau where the village of Warboys is now. That's surrounded by gentle slopes leading to the low lying areas all around it in every direction. To the north and east are the fens, which are made up of peaty soil. To the south and west where we live, are heavy clays soils made from sediment formed by glaciers depositing ground up rock dust. It's all very logical now I know how it came to be.
Went into the White Hart in Warboys recently after it re-opened. I asked the locals about this as it had just been on the tele'. None had a clue? In fact only one could remember the 'Time Team' dig there a dozen years ago?
an international treasure that Tony Robinson ... there is something magical about a country that produces people like Tony Robinson and David Attenborough ( to mention just two ) ... thank you Britain
and izszl do please tell me , given that you have such a low opinion of Robinson, what are your achievements ? ... please tell so we can all stand back in awe of what you have contributed ... or are you one of those armchair nobodies who bravely snipes at those who make a contribution without having actually done anything meaningful themselves ... grow up you gutless pig
@alanrtment porter content is interesting, people are compelling. Albeit a character can be interesting, hence we may say content of ones character. I find this man to be very uninteresting and talking down, which, like all other things i have stated here, is my opinion. Surely it ought to be self evident to a connoisseur of thought and interesting things such as yourself, that opinions, unlike facts, are held by a minimum of one. I wasn't aware that my comments are entered into a popularity contest, alas maybe you can enlighten me as to how youtube comments really work.
I loved volcanology in college and this is so very fascinating You can go years picking rocks up and not realizing what you have in hand, and how old these artifacts are! Excellent!!
Wow! Not only a good script, but great special effects as well! Thanks, Tony! More than 50 years ago, when Skye was much less polluted by tourist hordes, I spent several nights in a small guest house; its small windows looked across the bay at the Black Cuillins. I have never since seen such a beautifully eerie sight!
It's pretty neat how Tony went from being an unemployed actor to presenter on Time Team to researcher and author to the face of so many documentaries as he ages.
ODFOD! He has almost 100 acting credits and about 10 or so production credits. He has been a successful actor since the 1960’s he’s a successful writer and you are just a dumb arsed ignoramus who thinks TR was nothing until _you_ discovered him. He wasn’t unemployed, he was resting or between work, but he was a million times more successful than you.
Thank you, Reijer, for posting a fascinating documentary. Most have no idea how the British isles were formed, and do not even suspect its volcanic origins. Here is a geology lesson of sufficient length and detail that might serve as a basic geology course.
I live in Eastern Washington State. The whole Inland Empire was a great big belch of molten basalt which occurred over millions of years. It is one of the most interesting geologies on earth. We still have active volcanoes, witness Mt St Helens in 1980 on the western shore. We are part of the Pacific Rim. I live in Spokane where I can look out my window and see the bare basalt and evidence of the great Glacial Lake Missoula cataclysmic flood, another great geologic event unaccepted when it was realized. My mother's side of the family came from Scotland so I watch these shows with great interest as they give me more understanding of my roots.
Yes, two about 100 km apart, Mulciber underneath the Dutch part of the North Sea(south of Doggerbank) and Zuidwal, underneath the Wadden Zee. They're both roughly 160 mln years old and covered by a mass of sediment.
Inevitable reference to Tony Robinson's part Baldrick in the Black Adder series with Rowan Atkinson. Baldrick was the dumb peaseant who to get his master out of trouble always had a totally bizzare 'Cunning Plan'
Snowdonia National Park & Mt Snowdon itself are simply breathtaking, I climbed it twice via the Watkins path. Probably one of the best experiences ever, getting to the top and visiting the shop for a beer after a hard walk is worth it everytime. Hopefully when I'm back in shape I shall do it again =)
Jamie Baker Back in the later 1960s I climbed up Snowdon quite a few times, many times up Crib Goch and once up the Miner's Track. Once in 1968 we did the horseshoe - up Crib Goch to the summit and down the other side of Llyn Llydaw.
Interesting, the bit about the land masses that were to become Scotland and Ireland being part of what would become North America. Was watching a video on the formation of the Appalachian Mts over here--and the fact that they extend over to the Grampians in the UK and even further into northern Norway. Pretty cool, I thought.
I know what you mean; i have a hard time with particular American accents used in the narration of documentaries. Apparently i live in "Eeedinbur-ro" in "Scaaatland", for example...
Other than professional talkers, who speak clearly, even those folks with regional accents if they don't race through what they are saying, I can understand. Once I've zoned onto what's being said then we're all good. Hearing Scots accents can be something that requires concentration even though my maternal family were fresh of the boat during the 1880's setting in Dunedin, Aotearoa-New Zealand.
I'm really enjoying this. Glad to see that there's some emphasis on the volcanic past of Britain. The farther north one travels, the more volcanoes you find. Scotland is very volcanic-- it even has a super volcano: Glen Coe. England has one as well: Scafells.
There are a lot of volcanoes towards the south of France as well. Europe has more of an ancient (and in the case od Italy and various islands in the Mediterranean. current) past than many people realise.
Absolutely fantastic! Here in NYC,. one can readily view similar findings in the exposed bedrock in Central Park, Manhattan and in Staten Island NY as well. Terrific video.!
Loved the word Pahoehoe when studying geology at school . I was told it was pronounced 'Pa hoy hoy' , after the Hawaiian volcanic descriptive word . Very thin , very hot runny lava and like 'diarrhoea' . The thicker , blocky and cooler lava is called 'Ah-ah' . A word used by my Mum when I was learning English as a toddler when going for a pooh ! When discussing volcanology we just ripped off the Hawaiian words for types of lava not realising what they actually meant . Not only did volcanoes form Britain but our language too .
In medieval China, one of the most intriguing naturalists was Shen Kuo (1031-1095), a polymath personality who dabbled in many fields of study. In terms of geology, Shen Kuo is one of the first naturalists to have formulated a theory of geomorphology.
I used to live in Cumbria, near the Lake District, and spent a lot of time walking in those hills. What today is a collection of separate mountains was once one huge volcano with it's peak at the centre of what now is the Lake District National Park.
@@antonystringfellow5152 it's absolutely amazing isn't it all our Volcanos are thankfully dead but this gave me another perspective on this beautiful nation of ours and it's made me fall in love with it even more.
@Deb-vu7gk We've had them a lot longer than that which makes sense our Volcanos and anything that could lead to one is gone but we do have fault lines that are barely active According to a British Geological Survey “A magnitude 4 earthquake happens in Britain roughly every two years. We experience a magnitude five roughly every 10-20 years. Research suggests that the largest possible earthquake in the UK is around 6.5." The Dogger Bank earthquake of 1931 was the strongest we've ever had apparently at 6.1 I've been alive for 29 years never felt a single earthquake in N.I despite our volcanic past I'd say they the vast majority of time they are probably unnoticeable.
I love the narrations done by Tony Robinson. His voice is very mellow and lacks the nasally sound of many Brits.being an actor with a genuine interest in history, he learns his topic and is reasonably sure of the information. He will also question facts that sound unusual to him. Tony goes into these documentaries with few preconceived notions and a great curiosity for the truth !! Tony is not hampered with a bunch of other people’s opinions and therefore develops his own ideas and follows the facts.
Read the story of Noah. Not only did it rain 40 days and nights, but here's the part people forget - the "fountains of the deep BROKE UP" and that changed the geology of the earth PLENTY!!!!
That's all well and good, but of what relevance are any of those fairy tales to the real world? Why not harp on about the way Brahma created the Himalayas? Or the way these mountains are _really_ Ymir's bones... Geology is about reality. Creation myths are interesting stories, but they have nothing to do with the real world.
Iscah994 Everyone "knew" about this great flood, huh, yet for some reason, the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese, Babylonians, etc... all managed to live through it, without the slightest disruption to any of their records. Couldn't have been a very "great" flood, huh?
A dynamic planet - one that never rests. What a great way of putting it Tony. And certainly we are not subject to the 'climate change' alarmism given how many millions of years it has taken to make the UK we know today.
I have known of what was an old volcano near me, and it wasn't until last summer I climbed a hill for the first time, and it was only then, from that particular hill top, I could see the volcanic scenery.... This hilltop had been only recently opened to the public, and having climbed most of the outer rim already, it was only from this particular viewpoint I could understand it so much better
I've seen pillow lava in the alps in Southern Tyrolia/Northern Italy, it was high up on a mountain side near the summit of "Torre de Pisa". The thought of what forces were needed to bring it so far made me dizzy!
Mount Royal in Montreal is a similar eroded volcanic plug in the middle of a big city. Well, not exactly a volcano, but the eroded remnants of igneous intrusions that were part of a much larger volcanic complex active more than 100 million years ago.
Knowing that the isle of skye was possibly the largest super volcanoes ( except the trapps) is in Scotland and that the grampian mountains fault line is possibly one of the oldest mountain chains in the world makes me so proud to be a scotsman
Academic Advisor: "So, are you enjoying the Geology class?" Student: "It's interesting. Not enough to make me want to change my major, or anything, but still..." AA: "I see. And how's the professor?" Student: "Eh~ Goodenough!"
You can actually drive to the Isle of Skye... There's a bridge that crosses the small water separating the Scottish mainland from it on A87. I drove there a couple of years ago and drove around a good portion of it. Middle of the summer, but cold, windy, and wet... At the same time, it was 100F back home in Houston with probably 90% humidity. I much preferred the weather in Skye.
Love these videos - thank you so much for posting them. Have watched every one of the Time Team Series and just discovered these. Especially interested in English history - many of my ancestors lived there, mainly in Devonshire.
@@dianefowler8779 I'm an Irish American from Cavan Ireland but lived most of my life in Chicago Illinois. I will like us to be friends hope you don't mind??
The biggest problem I had watching this was the constant referral to large volcanos as "Super Volcanos". Those are not "Super Volcanos", those are something completely different. Yellowstone in the US is one, they do not leave giant mountains behind. They leave large calderas.
Thankyou, Baldric, that's an excellent idea; A brothel that caters exclusively to scientists!! The girls never have to worry about being mistreated and the scientists can gain all the benefits of close intimate human contact, without all the distractions from their important work. All I have to do now is submit a business plan for; Her Majesty's Royal Society of Scientist's Brothels. Where the only clothes worn inside its walls are labcoats and the only bubbling test-tubes... No, I'm gonna stop there!
Notes if you have to watch this for schoolwork. 1. The landscape of Britain was forged millions of years ago. Giant geological forces such as volcanism and tectonic movement have shaped the landscape we see today. 2. In the 1780’s, James Hutton, a gifted chemist, made a discovery that Edinburgh was once a gigantic volcano, when most people thought Britain was formed of layers from a massive flood. 3. Hutton found a section of Basalt that he was sure hadn’t been formed from an ancient sea, and proposed that the inside of the earth turned rocks into liquid, and then regurgitated them at the surface. A volcano. 4. Lava spewed from Edinburgh’s volcano at 1000C and remnants of the volcano are scattered all over the city, including Castle Rock underneath Edinburgh Castle. 5. Vast lump of rock underneath the castle has played a massive part in the city’s history, and in many ways, Edinburgh was the birthplace of geology. 6. Hutton discovered that the earth wasn’t made in thousands of years, but it would have taken millions, and our planet is very very old indeed. 7. Britain was once scattered across the globe like pieces of an unmade jigsaw puzzle. 8. Millions of years ago lava would have been exploding under the water, and as it cooled it would have cracked and formed pillow-shaped rocks. 9. Volcanic bombs of molten lava have exploded from the centre of a volcano in Snowdonia and landed and stuck in larger rocks below like shrapnel. 10. Stripes on sides of mountains represent different eruptions, as these were pyroclastic flows, which were extremely deadly. 11. Sheer size of ash flows covering huge areas in Snowdonia reveal it was over 100x more powerful than Krakatoa. There was a whole chain of volcanoes aligned along the northern coast of an ancient continent. 12. As the ancient continent pushed northwards, and it gobbled up the ocean floor, which then remelted, and was regurgitated as massive volcanoes along the coast. 13. Two massive continents were travelling towards each other on a collision course, until finally England and Wales crashed into Scotland and Ireland. 14. Hadrian’s wall is built on top of a gigantic volcanic sill, which stretches right across the neck of Britain. It was once a red-hot layer, insulated and trapped by hundreds of feet of rock above it. 15. Two ends of Britain started to scratch apart and magma from deep down in the earth started to move towards the surface, however doesn’t create a volcanic eruption but instead barges its way inside rock layers, producing a vast rocky slab. 16. 60 million years ago, Britain was attached to North America. 17. In the Isle of Skye, from the Volcano’s central reservoir, magma rose to the surface, creating a gargantuan volcano, over 2 miles high and 15 miles long. Over millions of years it has been eroded away. All that is left now is the black coolants, the exposed shell of its magma chamber. 18. The Island of Skye would have been just one massive field of lava. The volcano was like an unstoppable tap of molten rock. 19. The lava left almost “fossils” which were ripples that were formed from rivers of runny lava. As it cooled, the outer crust hardened, but the inner molten rock continued to lurch forward, creating rope-like lobes, building up layer after layer over thousands of years. 20. A huge current of molten rock surged upwards from deep inside the earth, causing North America to separate from Britain and Europe. This also created more sea floor, forming the North Atlantic Ocean.
At 24:52 the big tree from the Kevin Costner 1991 film "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" can be seen....where he and Morgan Freeman supposedly travel to Sherwood Forest after they have just reached the shores of Britain (Cliffs of Dover) after fleeing from the Middle East. #takingthelongwayround✌🏻😉
Nice video! The only comment I have as that, despite hinting at what causes a continent to go wandering, you did not actually mention the force. It is convection currents inside the Earth. These are the most powerful forces on (in?) the planet. BTW, I live 28km from a very active volcano.
@@moviemad56 Why? We got almost no ash, everything blew over to Bariloche in Argentina. Second time round for them in a few years as Volcan Puyehue also smothered them in ash in 2012. They live 100km further. Just the luck of the draw.
Tony mentioned that the British Isles are moving further away from North America at about 2 or 3 inches a year. The reason is the "mid-ocean ridge slowly expanding the Atlantic Ocean. That means that Normandy, invaded 6 June 1944 is about 10 feet farther away from North America than it was that day.
What a fantastic piece of film this is, educational to say the least and next time I am in Skye I will see it in a very different light, unbelievable history and I must say Tony Robinson on some of the outside shots did appear to have a slight slur in his voice, a wee whiskey to keep out the cold no doubt haha, he did say twice that he was cold in Scotland, once in Edinburgh then in Skye! Excellent!!!
44:37 "the earth we live on is almost alive", almost??? Have you been walking around with your eyes closed all your life? Of course the earth is alive, very alive. Just look at the changing of seasons, the storms, earthquakes etc. Of course she's alive.
Bit of a shame how they showed the British Isles to be an island which drifted the same way as Europe... It was actually joined together. Britain once was the extension of Europe, there was a landbridge between the Netherlands, France, Belgium and England which eroded away fairly quickly after a natural dam broke which released the lake that covered the Netherlands which in turn created the English channel of today.
Justin Lee Sure it'll be mentioned, but they took the route of "Hey lets make it look like the British Isles already because otherwise people won't recognize it"
Manny Calavera I didn't see it as that. I saw it as the impact volcanoes had on the makeup of Britain. The land bridge and Friesland were not created by volcanoes nor were they destroyed by one, but by ice.
All of Hawaii is from one Volcano. the 'land' just moved over the vent and it appears to us that there are multiple islands, not just one large volcano
Yes, it's called a hot spot or mantel plume. They're very common around the world. Yellowstone National Park is centered on such a plume that shows previous activity in a line going westward.
Gordon. I went to Edinburgh for two weeks and it only rained 3 times. Morning, noon and night. In Edinburgh morning rain never lasts past noon. After that it’s afternoon rain.
Gordon. My mother’s patents lived in a little village midway between Edinburgh and Glasgow. They both died in (a) November. The cemetery was on top of a hill. A funeral on top of a hill in November in Scotland in a snow storm is something I can recommend for fun -not. When we got back to the relatives house we were staying they had the windows open because it was “awfie warm”
How interesting : the "special relationship" and now "Brexit." It were as though our political reality echoes our former geological state of being. A massive " Noramexit" , let's say , leads to a future "Brexit," let's say. Fascinating stuff. Thank you Reijer Zaaijer for posting this excellent program. I appreciate the geology in spite of how my rather corny analogies might make it seem. Cheers.
Anoinly, they didn't feature Scotlands only wholly visible Volcanic Plug, t spectacular Dumbarton Rock, also made of hex columns, an has an old fortress on top. (An a tiny terrifying bridge!)
Heehee, trekking up an old volcano with a huge back pack and, a hand bag. Could be my girl, I still haven't got it out of her system that on some occasions you DON'T need your hand bag...
Made me smile as well seeing that combo. But Tony hoping she brought a flask with her in her handbag...is a bit of a wimpy wish & statement. Be a man and carry your own stuff. She NOT your mommy!! Love him & his presenting though. 👌🏻❤ At 34:00 we see the man equivalent😁 done by Dr. Dougal Jerram of Durham University.
If you have the pleasure of visiting the Science North museum in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. the main staircase is carved down through two tectonic plates which you can see. Utterly fascinating.
