Time Team - Picts and Hermits

Good Morning!  Thirty-One Days of Time Team will continue in Scotland, where the team will learn about the Picts.  They are in Northern Scotland exploring caves and the images in those caves.
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The Time Team investigates the Wemyss Caves.  The Picts have left behind pictures in the caves.  The Picts worried the Romans so much, that they built a wall to keep them all.  These caves also sheltered hermits and World War II refugees.  The caves are under threat from rising sea levels.  Now the Time Team is investigating the caves to tell their story.

The Picts came from Northern Scotland and they got their name from the fact they were the painted people.  The Wemyss Caves are found on the edge of the Picts' lands.  The County archeologist takes Mick and Tony into the caves.  They examine the images that are found on the walls.  Were the caves an art gallery?  Or did they live in the caves?  To prove the Picts live in the caves they will have to find food remains and other activities in the cave.

The first thing the Time Team will do is to put in a trench.  They will take out the modern layers to get into the Picts layer.  However, this will be a challenge to do as there was vandalism on the site.  There was one instance of a car being driven into the cave and set on fire.  This expedition may be the last chance for an examination of the caves.  The rising seas may fill the caves and cover the images.

Early expeditions into the caves uncovered some of the caves’ history.  The methods they used were questionable.  Several finds were made in the caves, but the records are non-existent.  Now, with modern technology, the Time Team can create a 3D model of the caves.  This mapping effort will allow future examination of those caves.

Phil Harding has dug down further into the first cave.  It is an occupation layer, but they were not Picts.  Tony investigates the caves and the people who left behind the pictures.  The pictures in the cave were earlier versions of later Picts art.  The Time Team is investigating a huge swath of time by exploring these caves.
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The Time Team struggles to find the Pict floor.  They find a layer of bedrock at the bottom of the cave.  Phil found a piece of pot at the layer.  It could have come from the Jacobite period.  The Jacobites lived in the cave.  The second trench in the same cave is just as empty.  This is a disappointment for the Time Team.  It seems that the Picts came and went.

Tony makes his way to the second cave.  This cave proves to be a bit more promising for the Time Team.  They are investigating a passage that may connect to a castle on the hill.  A third cave is also being explored.  This third cave is a bit of a squeeze to get into.  However once inside, there is an image of a snake.  Perhaps there will be an identifiable Pict layer in this cave.  The Picts and the layer from that period remain tantalizing out of the picture throughout this episode.  Will the Time Team find the Picts layer?  Tune in to find out more about the caves.

The Picts left behind few written records and this episode explores this mysterious person.  The Time Team also recreate a Picts Pendent as part of their investigation.  This would be a good episode for an earth science classroom as well as a history classroom.  If you have a student interested in the Picts, then they could watch this episode.