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Professor Robert Bartlett explores the impact of the Normans on southern Europe and the Middle East. The Normans spread south in the 11th century, winning control of southern Italy and the island of Sicily. There they created their most prosperous kingdom, where Christianity and Islam co-existed in relative harmony and mutual tolerance. It became a great centre of medieval culture and learning. But events in the Middle East provoked the more aggressive side of the Norman character. In 1095, the Normans enthusiastically answered the Pope's call for holy war against Islam and joined the first crusade. They lay siege to Jerusalem and eventually helped win back the holy city from the muslims. This bloody conquest left a deep rift between Christianity and Islam which is still being felt to this day.

The series Warrior Graveyard uncovers some extraordinary warrior skeletons from history. Archaeologists and forensic scientists use remains to tell the story of famous warriors of the past and unleash the full force of modern forensics upon them: battle scars, bone deformations and recoverable scraps of DNA will all be tested and explored. CGI and drama will then bring them dramatically to life, revealing a revolutionary new picture of how these warriors lived - and died.
An archaeological and forensic examination of six crusaders' bones brings to life the 1179 Battle of Jacob's Ford, revealing the wounds that killed the warriors in the Holy Land. With every sword slash comes an insight into an historic day. Excavations along the Israel/ Jordan border are unearthing skeletons and rewriting the history of the First Crusade. The site at Jacob's Ford is the only known Crusader battle site with complete skeletons. To secure the road between Akkon and Damascus, King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem had a mighty castle built at the Jacob's Ford of the Jordan River in October 1178. The fortress was a thorn in the side of Sultan Saladin, so he had it stormed a year later, before it was completed.
Excavations have been taking place on the site of the legendary crusader castle since the early 1990s. Archaeologists and forensic experts have examined the remains of six fallen crusaders and uncovered fascinating details about the Battle of Chastellet. The programme has secured access to the excavation and remains of some of the 80 Crusader Knights and 750 foot soldiers stationed at the fort when it was attacked and its Crusaders massacred by Saladin's army in 1179, in the battle that changed the course of history in the Middle East.