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Sacred Wonders Of Britain: My first encounter

2014-01-06T17:14:27+00:00

From the very beginning my interest in archaeology was driven by fascination with the strangeness of the past.

As well as wondering at the effort involved in building places like Avebury, West Kennet long barrow and the Ring of Brodgar, I wanted to understand what on earth had motivated all that labour in the first place.

When the Sacred Wonders Of Britain project came along, I felt I would finally have the opportunity to have some speculative conversations with the foremost experts in fields like archaeology and medieval history. And so it was.

Why do some ancient sites draw us back and still resonate with us today?

For the first time we could visit sites like St Nectan’s Glen, Flag Fen, Llyn Cerrig Bach, Canterbury Cathedral and many more besides – and allow ourselves to think about not just how and when these places were built, or by whom – but also the most fascinating factor of all – why?

My own first encounter with sacred sites came during my years as a student of archaeology at Glasgow University in the 1980s.

Field trips took us to sites like Dunadd hillfort in Argyll, ancient capital of the kingdom of Dal Riata; the Neolithic stone circles on the Island of Arran, off Scotland’s west coast; the early Christian site of Iona; as well as venturing into the south of England to see the most famous sites of all at Stonehenge and Avebury.

I was captivated by all those places then and I’ve been captivated ever since.

When it came to choosing which sites we should feature in Sacred Wonders Of Britain, the process was agonising.

The notion of sacred is woven through the landscapes of Britain and Ireland.

Generations of people, down through the millennia, have sought to make sense of the cosmos, and their place within it.

Spend time in any of the circles, chambered tombs or early churches and you can almost sense the passion with which our ancestors went about the business of understanding what was going on around them and in the sky above.

We were at all times sensitive to one absolute truth – that it is quite impossible to put yourself in the mind of a Neolithic farmer, or to understand the thinking of an Iron Age druid.

Their worlds are utterly separate from ours and the profound differences in our circumstances mean we would be ill-advised even to try.

In the 21st Century, where religion is practised at all, it is separate from the activities of every day life.

It seems at least possible that in the ancient world, no such distinction existed.

Similarly, the practice of religion may have functioned as a practical tool – not unlike the use of modern politics, bringing people together to discuss matters of mutual concern.

In any event, we tried to allow for those concerns and others. We selected sites that spread across as long a time period as possible.

For this reason, the rock art of Creswell Crags seemed like a must – given that it was made more than 13,000 years ago.

We needed to consider too the world of the Neolithic, the Iron Age, the impact of things Roman and also the advent of Christianity.

Bath's sacred spring holds surprisingly vindictive requests from ancient Romano-British worshippers

Hopefully the sites and monuments visited during the three episodes will suggest just enough to make a meaningful, if speculative picture.

What we are saying about those places is certainly open to challenge – indeed my greatest hope is that our version of events will simply get people talking and arguing!

I’m often asked to identify my favourite site – and it’s as hard a question as you might imagine.

When pushed however, I have to concede that Orkney knocks me off my feet.

If I had a time machine, I would certainly go back to the Neolithic period on those islands in hope of understanding just what grand idea – what visionary individual, perhaps – inspired a mania for monument building that lasted for a thousand years.

Ness of Brodgar on Orkney is, for me, the most significant archaeological discovery of my lifetime.

Just the sight of the place strikes me dumb and I look forward to every visit and the chance to glimpse just a little bit more.

The Ring of Brodgar is an ancient circle of stones, each quarried from a different part of Orkney

Flag Fen too is a wonder to behold – the realisation that people living nearly three and half thousand years ago were motivated to build, to reshape their landscape to such an extent.

There’s undoubtedly something very strange about looking down a deep dark hole onto a structure that people once walked on in the daylight.

But it is the fact the place was swallowed by rising water levels and the deposition of peat that has preserved it for our viewing today.

Thanks to the careful application of modern techniques of preservation, the timbers of the walkway are still timber, soft to the touch.

Much of it is as it was when those Bronze Age farmers knew it as part of their every day landscape.

Maybe it’s just the way I’m made, but that simple fact puts the hairs up on the back of my neck every time I think about it.

Neil Oliver is an archaeologist and presents Sacred Wonders Of Britain.

Sacred Wonders Of Britain continues on Monday, 6 January at 8.30pm on BBC Two and BBC Two HD. For further programme times please see the episode guide.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

Make Me A Muslim: What brings women to faith?

2013-01-30T10:58:02+00:00

Getting the chance to make a documentary for BBC Three about young women converting to Islam was the job of my dreams!

It was what I always hoped filmmaking would be like, a tiny but strong team (me and my assistant producer Alys Harte), a fascinating subject (I've always been intrigued by what brings people to faith), and most importantly - our own camera!

As soon as I met our presenter Shanna Bukhari I knew the project would be a lot of fun. The production team was complete.

What can the converts teach Shanna about her own faith?

It was a massive challenge finding the converts to take part. After two weeks of calling mosques and support groups for new Muslims and drawing a complete blank, we decided we needed change tactics.

The people we initially contacted were suspicious of us on the phone simply because we were journalists.

We decided to meet people face to face to explain what we wanted to do, and that our aim was to challenge stereotypes about Islam.

We set out on a massive nationwide search - visiting mosques in each city along the way. Often we would need to convince the men in charge about the documentary before we could meet any women at all.

It was a hard task, and we weren't always received warmly. But in the end it worked!

We found that once we got to meet the women ourselves, as two young professionals with a genuine interest in Islam, we were welcomed with open arms.

It was still tough to find the best young women to take part, it's a very personal thing talking about faith, and it's a big deal to do it on camera.

Presenter Shanna Bukhari met Alana, who became a devout Muslim after she met her fiancé

A lot of people find it hard to tell their family and friends about their conversion, so the last thing they want is to tell millions of viewers.

We were really lucky to meet women who were frank and funny, and who could express how important their new faith was to them.

Safiyyah was the first one we knew was totally right for the film - and I met her totally by chance.

Saffiyah: 'Islam was so appealing to me... because it was a religion where it was quite conservative'

It had been a long and disheartening day, and despite going to two mosques and meeting many people - I hadn't met any converts. As I was leaving a Cardiff mosque I bumped into a white Welsh woman.

It turned out that she had only converted to Islam a few hours ago! Not only that, she was really keen to take part in the film as a chance to explain how hard it is if your family don't approve of your conversion.

After that everything else seemed to fall into place, and we found all the other contributors quite quickly.

I love doing all the camera work myself, as it creates an intimacy that allows people to share personal beliefs they might be scared to if there was a big intimidating crew filming in their bedroom.

It makes it hard work as Alys and I had to perform so many roles - runner, researcher, producer, director, camerawoman, we did them all!

Often we would be lugging camera kit in and out of the hire car late at night in the rain - grab a few hours' sleep - then drive onto our next location to film the next day. We'd be lucky if we had time to grab a sandwich.

I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to make this documentary, and I learnt so much from Shanna and the others who took part.

There were some very powerful moments.

Inaya converted to Islam after a difficult time in her life

When Inaya confided in me that converting was like a weight being lifted off her shoulders, it really brought home to me how for each of the women, converting had enabled them to close a door on hard times in their past.

I saw with my own eyes that Islam is a truly peaceful religion. So often it is associated with angry men and extremism, but this couldn't be further from my experience of the British Muslim community.

The women's sections of the mosques were full of warmth, children running around, a sense of female solidarity, faith, devotion - but most of all laughter. I don't think you often hear about that in headline news.

Emily Hughes is the producer and director of Make Me A Muslim.

Make Me A Muslim is on Wednesday, 30 January at 9pm on BBC Three. For further programme times, please see the upcoming broadcasts page.

Listen to Shanna Bukhari on Radio 4's Woman's Hour

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

Writing The Preston Passion from the ground up

2012-04-05T11:02:27+00:00

Here's the brief from Aaqil Ahmed, the BBC's Head of Religion and Ethics:

a) Tell the story of Christ's Passion, his suffering and crucifixion, in a way that's fresh and universal.

And

b) Set it in Preston.

That's it.

Writing drama for TV normally means having a detailed series outline to stick to, or piles of research to trawl through, or a novel to adapt.

But this?

A blank page is always daunting, but this was so blank. Where do you start?

By ripping up the rule book, and going to Preston.

The self-sacrifice of Jesus is reflected through 12-year-old carer Bella (Aimee Leach)

My writing partner Lyall Watson and I spent six months in Preston talking to local people - faith groups, museum curators, leaders of the immigrant communities, prison visitors and people who came forward generously to share their stories: recovering alcoholics, war veterans, victims of crime and racial abuse and perhaps most affecting - a group of young carers.

All shared stories with us of quiet, personal heroism and sacrifice.

For me this research process was extraordinarily moving and a completely new way of developing television drama.

From the ground up. By listening.

Aaqil and Hilary Martin, the executive producer, wanted the drama to be 'universal'.

It must speak to people of other faiths and no faith as well as to Christians.

By telling very human, personal stories we hoped to avoid falling into the trap of re-enactment.

We wanted enactment, to make the Passion dramatically REAL and close. The story of the Cross as it matters everywhere and at all times, not just in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago.

Bishop Crowther (Ronald Pickup) and Samuel Horrocks (Tom Ellis) in Pilate

Returning to the gospel accounts of Christ's Passion we asked what elements must a story have for it to count as a 'passion' story.

And we settled on a formula: a passion story must have at its heart an act of gratuitous self-giving love that somehow turns the world upside down.

No longer blank the page is now a scrawl of notes for many stories.

It's at this point we decide to write not one Passion, but three: to tell the familiar story from three different points of view - Pilate's, Mary's and Jesus'.

So Pilate's story is mirrored for us in the story of Sam Horrocks, the mayor of Preston in 1842.

Confronted by a town in turmoil during a mill workers' strike he must decide between the starving workers on the one hand, and the powerful mill owners on the other.

Like Caiaphas in the gospel, the Church of England sides with the mill owners and the strike leader's fate is sealed.

Our connection with Mary, the mother of Jesus, is through one of the many women who ran a free cafe on Preston railway station for the troops during World War I.

She bravely continues to serve while awaiting news of her soldier son.

Mary (Samantha Bond) waits for news of her soldier son

And the self-sacrifice of Jesus is reflected here and now by a 12-year-old girl.

The daughter of an alcoholic mother, Bella cares for her young brother and sister.

As she shops, cooks, baths and loves them she passes through the traditional Stations of the Cross (the stages in Christ's journey to his death).

It's a way of telling the Passion story that satisfies me as a committed Anglican, and Lyall, an agnostic.

Did we ever argue about religion? Of course. But then having written together for years we argue about everything.

And most importantly we both feel enriched by our encounter with the Passion and with the people we met in Preston.

The Preston Passion has been a turning point for both of us - a reminder of why we wanted to write in the first place - to share stories. To share.

Colin Heber-Percy is the co-writer of the three short dramas which form part of The Preston Passion.

The Preston Passion is on Friday, 6 April at 12.00pm on BBC One and BBC One HD.

If you are affected by any of the issues featured in the Preston Passion, and would like some advice, please visit the Help and Support information page (available until 16 May).

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

Songs Of Praise: Our royal wedding special on Anglesey

2011-04-28T15:00:31+00:00

As one of my daughters was married last year, I know what it's like to walk down the aisle, witness the vows and keep smiling for the cameras all day long.

Wedding days are always memorable. Royal weddings become moments in history. We will always remember where we were on Friday, 29 April 2011.

So, knowing that more than two billion eyes would be focussed on William and Kate, with all the pomp and ceremony of the Westminster Abbey service in London, how could Songs Of Praise capture the spirit of the day in our own unique way?

Having been series editor for the last 18 months, which involves overseeing all the programmes - and having produced many editions of the programme during the previous 10 years - I knew we needed to mark the day in one particular community for whom the marriage would have particular significance.

I made a decision some months ago that Songs Of Praise should join in the celebrations with a special programme from a beautiful part of North Wales, where William and Kate would begin their married life.

William is a helicopter pilot with the RAF's Search and Rescue crew based on Angelsey.

So it followed that we should make contact with those who live on the island - neighbours, in a sense, of the couple - and invite them to be part of this television event.

And it wasn't a difficult decision to suggest that our popular presenter Aled Jones introduces the programme.

After all, he grew up on Angelsey and began his singing career as a choirboy in nearby Bangor Cathedral.

In fact, when we recorded the hymn singing in the parish church in Beaumaris in March, Aled was quick to remind the congregation that the last time he stood in the church was when he was 12.

Opportunities to return to his roots are pretty rare, so the warm welcome he received made him feel as if he'd returned home.

He said to me, during a pause in the recording, how special it was to come back and be reminded where it all began for him.

Following some careful research, Anglesey turned out to be the perfect place for a newly married couple.

A nearby island was once inhabited by the Welsh patron saint of lovers, so we decided to interview a local resident about this.

We also found a fascinating craftsman who made traditional Welsh lovespoons and we commissioned him to produce a unique wedding gift that will be sent, with our best wishes, from Songs Of Praise.

And then it transpired that the classical singing group Blake, who had recorded a romantic song for the royal wedding called All Of Me, were available to film with us on Anglesey as well as talk about their association with William and Kate.

Jules and Ollie from the group studied at St Andrews University when the couple were courting, and share their own impressions of that early relationship.

I'm often asked who chooses the hymns featured in the programme and how the selection is made.

Well, the producer always thinks carefully about the music, partly based on the stories to be told by those being interviewed and partly on the nature of the programme.

This time, classic wedding hymns such as Praise My Soul The King Of Heaven and Love Divine almost chose themselves.

But I have a sneaking suspicion that Julie, the producer, might have included one or two of her own favourites as well.

With only weeks to go before our Anglesey recording, the pretty church of St Mary and St Nicholas was selected and singers of all ages quickly recruited from the local area.

Songs of Praise is always a community event. Local congregations are invited to the church that hosts the television recording and in the Land of Song, as Wales is affectionately known, we were spoilt for choice with so many wonderful voices.

There is always a choir rehearsal a week or so before when our conductor runs through the hymns.

On this occasion he had been told that men from a local male voice choir would be there to help swell the tenor and bass parts but, due to some crossed wires, they'd double-booked to travel to Cardiff for a rugby match.

Fortunately, they did turn up for the recording itself, and to stand behind them during a spine-tingling rendition of the Welsh favourite Cwm Rhondda was an experience I'll never forget.

The recording day arrives and the evening light is perfect.

Anglesey on a sunny day is a breathtaking place to be. The scenery is stunning where the sky meets the sea.

The choirs and congregation start to arrive and there is a real buzz in the air.

We have booked members of the RAF Band to help accompany the singing and conductor Paul Leddington Wright is ready to take everyone through each hymn.

It rarely happens in one take because, sometimes for technical reasons, we have to record the hymns several times.

The evening goes very well, everyone is in such good voice, and the music sounds fantastic.

But it doesn't end there. There's more to be done. And I know that the filming on location that compliments the singing often looks very straightforward.

But life is never simple. The producer wanted to film with Prince William's RAF colleagues to illustrate the work they do.

So Aled was volunteered to be winched from an Anglesey beach into the helicopter.

As a TV presenter you can be asked to do all sorts of things. And the great thing about Aled is that he's willing to do almost anything.

One camerman was dispatched to be in the chopper and one of the BBC team was waiting with Aled on the beach, camera at the ready.

Weather conditions weren't perfect, Aled was a little apprehensive, and then it all happened.

One second, he was recording a short link to camera. The next, he was whisked off his feet and was lifted hundreds of feet into the air and ceremonially dropped into the waiting helicopter.

You'll see in the short film that there's no television trickery. Aled really did put himself in the skilled hands of the Royal Air Force crew.

And you can tell by the lump in his throat that he was truly grateful for the work they do. I think it's a magic moment. See what you think.

David Taviner is the series editor for Songs Of Praise.

Songs Of Praise: Anglesey's Royal Celebration is on BBC One at 5.10pm on Sunday, 1 May.

For further programme times, please visit the upcoming episodes page.

For the latest on the royal wedding, please visit BBC News's special royal wedding site.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

The Bible's Buried Secrets

2011-03-22T12:42:21+00:00

I was approached by the BBC's Religion and Ethics department back in 2009. They explained they were looking to work with a specialist on Bible's Buried Secrets, a documentary series about the Bible and archaeology, and that I'd been recommended to them.

Now, I know I'm a bit of a geek, but I'm always amazed at how many of my students say at the end of a lecture they had no idea the Bible was so cool and exciting.

But it really is. And I was so pleased that the BBC thought so too.

I was also delighted at the prospect of joining the BBC's team of religion presenters.

Over the next few months, we discussed possible topics for each episode.

One of the things we all agreed on was the importance of showing that biblical scholarship often asks very different questions of the Bible than people might expect.

It's not motivated by confessional concerns, but it deals with the Bible as a collection of ancient writings from ancient cultures - much like the Odyssey or the Iliad.

So scholars approach the Bible in ways similar to those they'd use in dealing with any ancient literature: who wrote this and why?

Is it a reliable source of history? If not, why not? How can archaeology be used to piece together a more reliable view of the past?

This is what's so exciting about studying the Bible, and this was one of the things I was keen to show with the topics we selected: David's empire, God's wife, and the Garden of Eden.

I've published work on all three topics, and I regularly lecture on them, so it was then a question of figuring out how to make the scholarship accessible, exciting and visually engaging.

I was brought up in a secular household and I'm not a believer, but I've always been fascinated by ancient religion.

My passion for the Bible springs directly from the fact that it's such a fantastic and diverse collection of texts that can tell us something about the beliefs, concerns and cultures of the people who wrote them.

But that doesn't mean that these people's views are representative of an entire society.

In fact, many scholars agree that the Bible was written by small groups of elites, whose views were likely to be very different from the other people in their own societies.

It's this diversity that I enjoy exploring in my research, and this is what I wanted to focus on in the series.

The other thing I wanted each programme to do was highlight the cultural richness of the worlds from which the biblical literature came.

The Bible itself contains many different versions of the past it seeks to describe, and some of these are often the stories that are more commonly overlooked.

So the legitimate nature of the worship of the goddess Asherah was an obvious story to tell in the documentary series, as was the alternative view of the Garden of Eden presented in biblical books beyond Genesis.

Obviously, I know that not everyone will like the series. Some people might find it challenging to their faith or their own understanding of the Bible's cultural legacy.

But I hope that the series will be of interest, especially to those people who might think the Bible is boring or irrelevant. I hope they will watch the series and be intrigued.

Dr Francesca Stavrakopoulou is a senior lecturer in the Hebrew Bible and the presenter of Bible's Buried Secrets.

Bible's Buried Secrets is on BBC Two and BBC HD on Tuesdays at 9pm. The series is available in iPlayer until Tuesday, 5 April.

For further programme times, please visit the upcoming episodes page.

For reasons of sensitivity, comments on this blog post will be pre-moderated. What's pre-moderation?

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.