The Search for Alfred the Great

Episode 1 (1x1)

Air date: Jan 21, 2014

The Search For Alfred The Great investigates the equally extraordinary story of what happened to Alfred's remains after his death in 899. They have been exhumed and re-buried on a number of occasions since his original brief burial in the Anglo-Saxon Old Minster in Winchester. The Saxons, the Normans, Henry VIII's religious reformers, 18th-century convicts, Victorian romantics and 20th-century archaeologists have all played a part in the story of Alfred's grave. Neil Oliver joins the team as they exhume the contents of an unmarked grave, piece the bones together and have them dated. With the discovery of some unexpected new evidence, The Search for Alfred the Great reveals the extraordinary outcome of an important investigation.