The documentary tells the story of the extremely rare discovery of evidence of Roman crucifixion, unearthed in a routine archaeological dig in the Cambridgeshire Fens. When human remains were found alongside a variety of Roman artifacts, none of the team at Albion Archaeology saw anything out of the ordinary. But once the bones were washed back at HQ, something highly unusual was uncovered: a nail through the heel bone of one of the individuals. Could this be evidence of a Roman crucifixion? When they did some research, they found that only one confirmed example had ever been unearthed before, discovered in the 1960s in Jerusalem. To find out more, they called in renowned osteoarchaeologist Dr Corinne Duhig to investigate. With exclusive access to Corinne’s investigation and the remains themselves, The Cambridgeshire Crucifixion sets out to find out who this person was, how they lived and why they were put to death in this notoriously gruesome way. We perform a CT scan, DNA and isotope analysis of the remains, and use them to create a cutting-edge virtual autopsy of the skeleton, conducted by Corinne and one of her former students, biologist Prof Ben Garrod.
A supporting cast of expert contributors help to analyse the artefacts found at the Fenstanton site and reveal a compelling picture of life in Roman Britain in the 1st century CE. The film culminates in a world first: a full forensic facial reconstruction of a victim of Roman crucifixion, conducted by world-leading expert Joe Mullins.

Join us on an unforgettable voyage through one of the most desolate periods in human history as the rulers, conflicts, and cataclysmic societal breakdown of Early Middle Ages are brought to light. At its height in the second century A.D., the Roman Empire was the beacon of learning, trade, power and prosperity in the western world. But the once-powerful Rome--rotten to the core by the fifth century--lay open to barbarian warriors who came in wave after wave of invasion, slaughtering, stealing, and ultimately, settling. As chaos replaced culture, Europe was beset by famine, plague, persecutions, and a state of war that was so persistent it was only rarely interrupted by peace.
The documentary profiles those who battled to shape the future, from the warlords whose armies threatened to case the demise of European society, like Alaric, Charles the Hammer, and Clovis; to the men and women who valiantly tended the flames of justice, knowledge, and innovation including Charlemagne, St. Benedict, Empress Theodora, and other brave souls who fought for peace and enlightenment. It was in the shadows of this turbulent millennium that the seeds of modern civilization were sown.