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5 episodes
1. Why Build a Castle

1. Why Build a Castle
archaeologists Tom Pinfold and Peter Ginn set to work learning the skills of the medieval stonemasons to construct a beautiful spiral stair case Every stone is marked out using the most closely guarded knowledge of the medieval castle builders geometry Meanwhile historian Ruth Goodman lays a rush floor and commissions clay cooking pots and an oak grain arc to store their wheat and barley
59min
Nov 18, 2014
2. Defending the Castle

2. Defending the Castle
Historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Tom Pinfold and Peter Ginn discover the secrets to building a castles defensive structure and explore the art of medieval combat Learn about the craft behind the weapons they had to resist from launching medieval missiles with a trebuchet to making and using one of the most feared weapons of the age the crossbow
59min
Nov 25, 2014
3. Inside the Castle

3. Inside the Castle
Historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Tom Pinfold and Peter Ginn enter the surprisingly colorful world of medieval interior design The castles we see today are scarred by centuries of warfare and weather erosion Most of their original roofs carpentry and interior finishes have long since disappeared In their heyday however they were lavishly decorated
59min
Dec 2, 2014
4. The Castle's Community of Skills

4. The Castle's Community of Skills
The team delve deeper into the secrets of the skilled communities who built medieval castles. The stonemasons working on the castle walls are dependent up on blacksmiths, whose metalwork was magical to the medieval mind - set, and upon carpenters employing sophisticated geometry.
59min
Dec 8, 2014
5. Beyond the Castle Walls

5. Beyond the Castle Walls
As the teams time at Guedelon Castle in France draws to an end historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Tom Pinfold and Peter Ginn look at the castles place in the wider medieval world Thirteenthcentury Europe was a busy developing connected place where work trade pilgrimages and crusades gave people the opportunity to travel across the continent and beyond
59min
Dec 16, 2014
















