Neil Oliver opened his new documentary series (30 December) at the bottom of a waterfall near Tintagel in Cornwall. It had been a sacred site for thousands of years, for all sorts of reasons: the worship of gods or God; praying for lost loved ones; seeking help for someone with an illness. But why, he asked, are some places more sacred than others? To help unravel this question, he roamed tirelessly around Britain. Indeed, rarely has a television archaeology programme called at so many different sites, possibly because there is only a limited amount known about each barrow or set of standing stones. This would explain, also why so many of the verbal constructions in this programme were conditional: might have, may have, could have, I like to think, it seems… No matter – Olive