Sacred Wonders of Britain episode 3: Neil Oliver examines how the creation of saints by the early church led to a new generation of sacred wonders across Britain. On Iona, in the Inner Hebrides, Neil discovers the traditional resting place of Macbeth. He also delves back through time to discover how St Columba sanctified the island with a tough brand of monasticism all the way from the Egyptian desert. On Lindisfarne, Neil sees how the epic journey of St Cuthbert led to the writing of the extraordinary Lindisfarne Gospels and the building of Durham Cathedral.
At Canterbury Cathedral, Neil learns how St Thomas Becket’s grisly murder was harnessed to build its nave, one of the great glories of medieval architecture, and on Glastonbury Tor in Somerset, he investigates layer after layer of powerful legend in the story of the Holy Grail, the sacred cup of everlasting life.
Sacred Wonders of Britain episode 3
Neil Oliver (born 21 February 1967) is a Scottish television presenter, archaeologist, historian and author. He is best known as the presenter of several documentary series on archaeology and history, including A History of Scotland, Vikings, and Coast. He is also an author of popular history books and historical fiction. Oliver first appeared on television in the 2002 BBC Two series Two Men in a Trench, in which he and archaeologist Tony Pollard visited historic British battlefields. He was also a co-author of the two books accompanying the series. In 2006, he presented The Face of Britain for Channel 4 and Scotland’s History: The Top Ten for the BBC. Early in his career he also appeared on The One Show and Time Team.
Oliver was a co-presenter of the first series of Coast in 2005, and replaced Nicholas Crane as the show’s main presenter for the second, third, fourth, and fifth series. He also presented Coast Australia (2013) and Coast New Zealand (2016). From 2006 to 2018 he presented a number of history documentaries for the BBC, including A History of Scotland (2008) and Sacred Wonders of Britain (2013). In 2012, he wrote and presented Vikings, a three-part series on the Vikings.
In April 2021, he was announced as a presenter for GB News. Oliver hosts a weekly current affairs and interview programme on the channel.
