Men of Rock

Geologist Iain Stewart retraces the steps of a band of maverick pioneers who made ground-breaking discoveries in the landscape of Scotland about how our planet works.

Episode 1: Deep Time

This first episode traces the footsteps of the founding father of geology, James Hutton(3 June 1726 – 26 March 1797). This Scottish rogue was a profound and original thinker who, 250 years ago, overturned ancient beliefs about how and when the world was formed.

His ideas clashed with those of the most eminent scientist of his day. One of those was Lord Kelvin, seen as one of the greater physicist back then. He despised Hutton’s geological theories and was determined to prove Hutton wrong. This led to some of the more famous great Earth debates.

Episode 2: Moving Mountains

Iain finds out how gung-ho geologist Edward Bailey(1 July 1881 – 19 March 1965) discovered Scotland was once home to super volcanoes. And how unsung hero Arthur Holmes(14 January 1890 – 20 September 1965) solved the mystery of what makes continents move across the surface of the globe.

Episode 3: The Big Freeze

In the final episode, Iain finds out about daredevil scientist Louis Agassiz(May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873), who first imagined the world had been gripped by an ice age. Plus, the story of humble janitor James Croll(2 January 1821 – 15 December 1890), who used the planets to work out the natural rhythms of the earth’s climate.