episode description
Louisiana homicide detective Rod Demery and world-renowned forensic scientist Turi King examine a male skeleton unearthed in a remote sea cave near Rosemarkie in Scotland. The victim had multiple head injuries and was buried with a huge boulder between his legs more than a thousand years ago. This was the era of Scotland’s most mysterious ancestors: the Picts. Turi examines the bones and meets world-leading forensic anthropologist Dame Sue Black to discover how the victim’s violent head injuries were inflicted. She also sees a life-like recreation of his face and finds how modern isotope analysis can reveal where, and how, Rosemarkie Man lived. Rod’s witnesses are archeologists, describing a world of precarious cliff-top communities, elaborate jewelry and fiefdoms, at a time when Christianity was spreading in the region. With suspects including a sea raider, pagan and rival leader, the team recreate the attack with a Pictish weapons expert to deduce who the likely murderer was.
