Mystic Britain

Clive Anderson and Mary-Ann Ochota are on a hunt for the Picts, a medieval tribe from Scotland that terrified the Romans and ruled most of northern Scotland for centuries before vanishing from history. Our hosts are on a mission to discover who these formidable people were, what happened to them, and where this lost tribe eventually went. Finding the answers will lead them into a strange world of myth and magic, involving Viking-battling giants, crazed warriors, and the Loch Ness Monster-Nessie-herself!

Of all the ways Britain's ancestors have left their mark on the land, none are as impressive or as baffling as the giant carvings cut into the chalklands of Southern England. Chief among them is a White Horse, a 360-foot, mysterious piece of land art steeped in legend, folklore, and magic. Join Clive and Mary-Ann as they translate the subtleties of ancient texts, party with local pagans, and explore the horse's mystical power to pull generations and communities together, all in an attempt to discover who built this incredible creature and why.

The Maeshowe runes in Northern Scotland have been a great mystery for many millennia. To the Neolithic people, the ancient monument was a burial chamber. To the Vikings, it was the home of vast treasures. And to Victorians, it was the lair of Hogboon, a powerful ancestral Norse spirit. Join Clive and Mary-Ann as they travel through 5,000 years of myth and history to uncover the true story of Maeshowe. It's a journey that will bring them into a world of legendary monsters, Christmas zombies, and sounds that drove hardened warriors insane.

Clive Anderson and Mary-Ann Ochota pay a visit to Anglesey, an island on the northwest coast of Wales that, 2,000 years ago, was dripping with druids. We know that these ancient Britons were annihilated by the Roman Army in 60 A.D., but we know very little about who the druids actually were. Were they harmless, harp-playing hippies or sinister practitioners of dark magic and human sacrifice? To find out, our hosts immerse themselves in the culture, playing their sacred horn, creating a wicker man, and even encountering an actual druid.

Clive Anderson and Mary-Ann Ochota visit the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, the woods of Bristol, and a remote Welsh cave to investigate the strangest set of human bones every discovered in Britain: The Red Lady. Dating back 34,000 years and stained red, these remains have baffled historians and archaeologists ever since they were discovered in 1823. Who was she? How did she end up in a cave? And why are her bones red? Using the latest forensic technology, we unearth evidence of woolly mammoths, magic wands, ancient weapons, and even zombies.

A brave, chivalrous ruler. A magical sword. A mythical castled city. And a round table of noble knights. The story of King Arthur is both an epic tale and a puzzling mystery. What, if any, truth lies behind the legend? Hosts Clive Anderson and Mary-Ann Ochota are on the trail to find out. They examine a 12th-century work that greatly contributed to the myth, written during a time of civil war, when Briton needed a hero. They also cast spells, wield magical swords, and encounter a real Merlin, to see if there is any truth to the legend.

On London's Westminster Bridge is an impressive monument to one of the most iconic women in British history: Boudica. The story of the queen of the Iceni tribe-who took the fight to the mighty Roman Army in 60 AD-is well known in British folklore, but what is the truth behind the legend? Follow Clive and Mary-Ann as they visit replica Iron Age villages, ride chariots, and consult with a giant rabbit to better understand who this fierce warrior was, how she raised such a massive army, and what happened during her epic last stand again Rome.

They drilled holes into skulls for head trauma, plucked pigeons to transfer the bubonic plague from person to bird, and battled bacteria with a combo of copper and cow dung. Welcome to the Middle Ages and the world of Tudor medicine, which was more dark art than science. Clive and Mary-Ann explore this time of desperate cures for desperate conditions and find out how an accident changed both Henry VIII and medicine forever. Their journey will take them through a macabre list of treatments, including bloodletting, urine diagnostics, and more.

Clive Anderson and Mary-Ann Ochota are on the hunt for the truth behind the mystery of Sutton Hoo-an Anglo-Saxon, royal burial ground littered with dozens of mutilated and contorted human figures known as "sand bodies." They want to know who these people were and how their flesh and bone transformed into nothing more that stains in the sand. Their quest will take them to 6th century Britain-a time of religious upheaval, gruesome executions, and mystical killer cake (really!)-and to the site of an undiscovered Christian gateway to hell.

Throughout Season 2 of Mystic Britain, hosts Clive Anderson and Mary-Ann Ochota have traveled the U.K. to explore their ancient ancestors' mystical lives, beliefs, and practices. In the season finale, we present a chronological timeline of their findings, from the 34,000-year-old Red Lady of Paviland to the spectacular Uffington White Horse, and from Boudica, the angry warrior queen to King Arthur himself. It's a wild tour of sand bodies, blood-thirsty leeches, sacred rabbits, and ancestral Norse spirits, and you're invited to join the ride.