Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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When a new town was built near Liverpool, archaeologists uncovered the sprawling ruins of a massive medieval monastery. This episode follows the scientific detective story at Norton Priory, where a team of experts pieces together a lost history from the ground up. Using clues from over 150 skeletons, a buried kiln, and fragments of a melted bell, they are bringing the past back to life. It's a journey that combines meticulous excavation with modern forensic science to solve the mysteries of a 900-year-old site.

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Only one scientist in thousands wins a Nobel Prize. Far fewer ever become household names. In this fascinating series, Brian Trueman looks at the work of scientists whose names are relatively unknown outside their own very specialist fields.

This film was first broadcast: 1981

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