Tales of the Living Dead
'Witch Resurrection'

The filming for this programme took place at Butser Ancient Farm.
It was based on an excavation in Northhamptonshire during which a 'Crouched Inhumation' was uncovered. It proved to be female, and was wearing a torc (neck-ring) made of lead. As the body was curled up, the excavation report came to the decision that she had been 'bound'.........
The local press picked up on the story and came to the conclusion that she must have been a sacrifice, and was dubbed a 'Celtic Witch'

I was asked by Electric Sky to reconstruct the burial for a 'Who Done It' type of programme series for the National Geographic channel. (Details at the bottom of this page)

With the help of members of Cantiacii, I was able to recreate the burial. I also had to make a reproduction of the torc in its original new condition, live on camera.

Click here for the text from the excavation report

All photos are available in Hi-Res by clicking on them
   
The original body as found.
A female crouched inhumation.		 Courtesy of Northamptonshire Archaeology
   
 Courtesy of Northamptonshire Archaeology A close-up showing the lead torc
still in place around the neck of the skeleton
   
The lead torc after cleaning Courtesy of Northamptonshire Archaeology
   
Courtesy of Northamptonshire Archaeology Artifact drawing of the torc.
   
Inevitable 'Mists of Time' necessary for
filming anything from history		 © GALLICA 2000
   
© GALLICA 2000 The camera crew hard at work
   
The mourners a-weeping and a-wailing
as the body is covered over.		 © GALLICA 2000
   
© GALLICA 2000 The 'victim' in the grave before the cover-up
   
The obligatory 'silly grin at the camera'
at the end of the shoot.		 © GALLICA 2000

www.electricsky.com

Tales of the Living Dead

This series of archaeological whodunits explores archaeological murder mysteries using forensic science to try to solve the crime. The films are fast-paced with subtle reconstruction used to illustrate the story. Graphics flesh out what the victim looked like, how they might have died or attempt to build a picture of the contemporaneous environment in which the victim met their end. Modern scientific techniques and experimentation - including forensic pathology and reproduction experimentation are applied to human remains to try to resolve these spine-chilling ancient puzzles.

13 episodes x 26'
An Electric Sky / Skaramoosh / National Geographic Channels World Wide Production
Skaramoosh won a Gold at the 2000 London Promax awards for best website promotion for an infomercial created for the Disney Channel website.