Episode Information

Cutting-edge DNA research is transforming our knowledge of who we are, where we come from and how we got here. This series reveals fascinating and shocking truths about the ancient and medieval inhabitants of Europe. Clad in animal pelts, a hunter stalks his prey in a dense forest. He pauses, and we notice that he is dark-skinned. Then we see his eyes: they are a bright piercing blue. This is Ireland, 7000 BC. A crack team of geneticists based at Trinity College Dublin is now revealing the truth about ancient Europeans, from the hunter-gatherers who stalked and foraged in the wild, to the first farmers, who migrated from the Middle East. Now, a shocking discovery at the ancient passage tomb of Newgrange gives an astonishing insight into the culture and beliefs of Europeans some 5,000 years ago. And our experts reveal how medieval people continued to practice pagan rituals centuries after the coming of Christianity. We venture inside laboratories to watch scientists piece together the past using evidence from ancient bones and skulls, tree rings, soil samples and ice core data. Key scientific institutions, including the Department of Genetics at Trinity College Dublin and the Department of Archaeology and Palaeoecology at Queen's University Belfast, are featured and have granted Tile Films exclusive access to their research. Exciting sequences filmed at these places are combined with archaeological investigations, contributions from historians and other experts, spectacular drone aerial footage and vivid drama re-enactments.