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Neil Oliver was part of the highly acclaimed BBC2 series ‘Coast’. It covers various subjects relating to both the natural and social history of the British coastline. The series is a collaboration between the Open University and the BBC. The Coast team have complementary skills, meaning that between them they can investigate anything. This included the underwater environment of chalk ledges on the sea bed to illustrate how Isambard Kingdom Brunel managed to keep afloat the SS Great Britain when it ran aground of the Irish coast in 1846. They were also able to trace the history of a storm, investigate a child that changed medical history and look at the future and how new technology can predict erosion of our coastline before it happens. Neil was Coast’s lead presenter.
Neil Oliver took part in Channel 4’s Time Team, Big Royal Dig digging up the gardens at the Palace of Holyrood in Edinburgh. He also worked on a series for BBC Scotland about Scotland’s history and a series called ‘The Face of Britain’ on Channel 4.
Neil on YouTube: @Neil-Oliver/videos
It was in 2002 when Neil first came to our notice when he co-presented ‘Two Men in a Trench‘. It was a ground-breaking project that has done more than any other to bring back to life the fascinating, thrilling and moving tales of derring-do that have characterised British domestic warfare. Neil covered from the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, right up to the end of World War II. In 2003 Two Men in a Trench
The figures that moved across those fields of fire were not anonymous shadows, but real people living through the most traumatic experiences imaginable. Only archaeology lets us touch the traces left behind by these people. In the making of Two Men Neil Oliver helped pioneer the techniques that let us glimpse those long lost moments through the eyes of those who took part. History takes us close to the past, but only archaeology lets us touch that past with our bare hands.
The series were accompanied by two popular books, both of which Neil co-wrote. (During 2004, Two Men in a Trench II was the most popular history/archaeological book on Amazon.com.)
Neil Oliver has been a qualified archaeologist since 1988. His fieldwork experience has covered everything from the earliest Stone Age of Scotland to the examination of World War II coastal fortifications of Kent and Northern France. If it’s been buried in the ground during the last 10,000 years, he’s dug it up.
Since the late 1990s he’s been the co-founder and co-director of the Anglo-Zulu War Archaeological Project based in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. This was a life changing experience in search of the real stories behind the classic film ‘Zulu’ starring Michael Caine and Stanley Baker.
In 2003 Neil became a member of the All Party War Graves and Battlefields Heritage Group. This group was chaired by Lord Faulkner of Worcester. The group was tasked with researching and excavating the battlefields of World War I. He then set up a project in Paraguay to research and excavate sites related to the Triple Alliance War that afflicted South America in the 1860s.
In the mid 1990s Neil qualified as a journalist. In his time, he’s worked for The Scotsman, The Herald, The Guardian, The Edinburgh Evening News and The Glasgow Evening Times. He also worked at The Sun and The Daily Record. Alongside the general news reporting that was the main part of his work, Neil also specialised in covering archaeological stories.
Books:
In 2005 Neil published his book about the First World War called ‘Not Forgotten‘. His most recent book released in 2024 is called Hauntings
2008 saw Neil presenting a stunning 10 part BBC1 series in collaboration with The Open University ”A History of Scotland”. Neil took us back to the earliest days from AD84 to discover how a nation was born. He looked at how the tribes of Caledonia banded together to confront the legions of the Empire.
After the UK Coast crossed the Channel to France, 2015 saw Neil shooting a new Coast in New Zealand. It was transmitted both there and here in the UK.
Neil has always been outspoken. He took a stance on Scottish Independence in 2014 and spoke out about Covid. He holds strong views on World Politics and Climate Change which he has aired on his show at GB News.
