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IrelandStonehenge's ancient social network gives Tom Scott pause
His only new upload approaches three million views, moving from stone joints to the trust behind prehistoric journeys.
Tom Scott
Story of Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.
Why you can't touch Stonehenge any more
Next story: Tom Scott explains why balancing Britain's power grid is getting harder
Things we can learn from the video
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- 3:14A visible line shows where visitors rubbed moss and lichen off the stones.
- 12:08Shaped joints connect the upright stones and lintels, rather than simply balancing them together.
- 18:07Animal-tooth isotope analysis points to journeys from Wales or Dartmoor for prehistoric midwinter gatherings.
- 20:02Wyn identifies the social organisation needed to assemble large groups as a central Stonehenge mystery.
- 22:00Heavy visitor numbers threaten fragile, unexcavated ground through compaction and wear.
- 24:18Archival footage and visible concrete reveal modern stabilisation work that remains distinguishable from prehistoric construction.
Getting thousands of people to Stonehenge interests curator Wyn as much as getting the stones upright. That gives Tom Scott's only new upload this week a question larger than its title: how did people organise journeys across Britain without writing, maps or telecommunications?
In "Why you can't touch Stonehenge any more", animal teeth provide a clue. Wyn explains how isotope analysis points to cattle and pigs travelling from Wales or Dartmoor for midwinter gatherings. Seasonal changes helped people know when to set off. Tom distils the coordination into something strikingly human: "There was just trust."
The episode has reached nearly three million views. Alongside the access question we explored earlier, viewers are picking up on the monument's engineered joints, the deliberately visible repairs and Tom's effort to resist touching the stones himself. Others single out the different-coloured captions that make speakers easier to distinguish. The video includes a sponsored segment.
Stonehenge is drawing the channel's largest daily audience, followed by the electricity-grid explainer and the Cumbria Clock Company visit. Together, the catalogue added roughly five million views over the week, more than any of the neighbouring education channels here, including Johnny Harris and 3Blue1Brown. Subscribers were unchanged, while today's viewing is below Tom's usual daily level.
Wyn's tour also leaves room for modern engineering: concrete supporting the stones is not disguised as prehistoric work. Tom sees that obviousness as an honest record, something future archaeologists will be able to recognise rather than mistake for the original builders' handiwork.
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What viewers say
It's an absolute nightmare to shift all the stones when the clocks change for British Summer Time
@JayWalsheSee it on YouTubeI completly understand Tom saying to himself the entire time "do not touch the stone" because my entire body would naturally want to touch the stones
@Pixi83See it on YouTubeYou may never read this, but I want to tell you how much I appreciate the captions having different colours for different speakers! I never knew that was possible and it makes a huge difference in clarity!
@pepperfacedSee it on YouTube
6 more comments
I could listen to that curator for hours. He's a great storyteller, and you clearly see that he's excited to share all that knowledge and proud of what he does.
@some-online-dudeSee it on YouTubethe idea of a Neolithic worker sitting back, sighing, and saying "Lads..." is such a good bit
@axylographySee it on YouTubeToday I learnt Stonehenge is assembled like giant Lego bricks.
@steamerpoweredSee it on YouTubeNumber of Times Tom Says "Hello" to Stonehenge: 1
@michaelgoldsmith3534See it on YouTubeWhat a soft spoken guide. I could listen to entire book series read by him for hours on end <3
Edit: NOW I remember who his voice and diction remind me of! He is quite close to Bob Mortimer, and he also always has so many great stories to tell, and does so ever so charmingly!@fonkbadonk5370See it on YouTube15:36 I find it to be something very moving, the simple fact that the traces of human actions and the humor of implied intentions can travel across thousands of years! In a subtle way it shows a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity, that a person is a person through other people!
@luzijusSee it on YouTube
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The videos drawing views on Tom Scott right now
- Channel
- Tom Scott
- Subscribers
- 6,750,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 4,892,631
- Videos published this week
- 1
- Video published
- November 9, 2026
- Video views so far
- 2,902,615
- Views on its first day
- 1,193,112
The numbers
Here is how Tom Scott's week looks across views, subscribers and uploads.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which method helps reveal where Stonehenge's prehistoric livestock came from?
Wyn explains how isotopes in cattle and pig teeth offer clues to the animals' geographical origins.