Good morning, October is nearly done, and then onto November. This time the Time Team is exploring a mysterious moat which may be one of the easiest places Time Team has excavated. The run time for this episode is 47:53 and it is called the Mystery of the Manor Moat.
The historic Llanciah manor house is an archeologist’s dream. It is a grand manor house on a lovely landscape. An ancient moat was discovered and no one knows what it was protected. There are many theories such as a Welsh chapel, a Roman fort, a fortified cattle enclosure, or the ancestral home of an important Welsh family. Or did it just protect a fancy cattle enclosure? The Time Team has three days to find out. The powerful Pritchard Family, built a grand manor on the site and the family would host King Charles I. The house is a museum, but is this the original house on the site? The property manager is intrigued by the moat and would like to know what it is protecting. Earlier commissions believed that the moat was protecting a Roman fort. In fact, the Royal Commission had dug in the same area as Time Team and made that conclusion. However, the moat could have been protecting an earlier house. Trench one goes in immediately without waiting for geophysics results. Immediately the earthworks are discovered. Was this earthwork part of a larger feature that was protecting something special? A moat can be a dry ditch or a water-filled ditch that is protective. Tony learns more about the manor and the Pritchard family. He talks with her about the theories about the moat and what it could have protected. Could this moat be protecting the ancestral home of the Pritchard family? The grand house could have replaced a less grand house. Tony is rather teasing about what could go wrong with the geophysics results. John Gater goes over the results and they are as clear as mud. John cannot see anything that resembles an enclosure or even an earlier house. It soon became clear that there was no moat on the site. However, another feature is noted in the results. Trench two goes in over this feature. The house is going to be dated as well and a team goes in to get some data from the wood beams of the house. This transitions into learning about the Pritchard family and their ties to the land and the house. The records are slim in regard to this family. Stewart continues to examine the landscape and he is looking for evidence of an earlier house. He believes that there was a house on the other side of the field in the woods. An area south of the house may have contained an older settlement. Geophysics works on geophysics on this new suggestion. What could possibly go wrong? However, John can once again see no evidence of structures. If there was an earlier house on site, where was it? I am starting to think that this is a cattle enclosure. Things are not smooth sailing for the Time Team. You would think with such flat fields the Time Team would find something. The manager of the museum believes the house would not have been built in that place for no reason. She believes that the land had some special meaning in order for the Pritchard family to build on it. What was the meaning? Does the Time Team find something on this dig? Tune into the rest of the episode to find out. I know I say this often, but Tony was particularly funny in this episode. I still wish for a Tony-Gus jointly hosted Time Team, it can just happen one time, as long as it happens. The dig seemed straightforward, but throughout the episode, it has proved anything but straightforward. Theories were brought forward and then dismissed when the evidence did not demonstrate that theory. It was interesting to see how the Time Team struggled to find dating evidence on the site as well. The geophysics team was also a bit snarky towards Stewart. Anyway, this was a good episode with everything that was going on and would be something I would show to a history class.
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Good morning, the journey into the Thirty-One Days of the Time Team is sadly winding down for 2024. Today’s episode is going to come from Series Eight. This time the Time Team is on a dig that may be too good to be true. The episode is called The Celtic Spring and it has a run time of 48:29.
It is a dig like no other. In a garden, there is a Neolithic tomb, as well as a Norman Tower, and a sacred spring. Why are there so many finds in this area? What is the significance of this place? The Time Team is on a mission to work out whether or not the artifacts at Llygadwy are genuine. Or are they part of an elaborate crime against archaeology? What is going on here? The Time Team has three days to find out. Llygadwy was often described as an archeological theme park. Others described it as a hoax. The local archeologists did not want to touch the site. So the Time Team is going to be working on its own and subject the site to a variety of tests. There will be a variety of experts that will help the Time Team make sense of the site. Tony and Mick catch up with the finds that were discovered by the landowner of the site. However, there was not much context to the site. Trench one goes in near the spring where many of the finds were discovered. People would have thrown things into the spring as a sacrifice. The son-in-law of the landowner talks about what was found in the spring. They talk about what was found in the spring. The landowner has declined to be interviewed for this Time Team. The Time Team learned that the area has been extensively landscaped over the years. Tony catches up with Phil to learn more about the Neolithic tomb. You can sense that the Time Team feels that there is something off about the site. Of course, Phil teases John about not needing geophysics results. Not much progress is being made in the spring, however, Phil has made some discoveries around the Neolithic tombs. This calls into question the theory that the tomb is fake when there was intact archaeology around the stone. Eventually, Carenza finds a piece of a Roman brooch. The other finds that were made over the years are cataloged and organized until the time period. However, does this lead to the conclusion that the Spring was a ritual spring? What was going on at this site? Day one concludes and Day Two progresses. The work continues in the spring and work begins on the Roman tower. The experts are not agreeing with the conclusion that the spring was holy. Robin Bush discovered a vicar who was very interested in Druids and Bards. He was very good at woodworking and decided to create some additional features in his garden. He traveled through Europe and collected antiquities. Did he salt the field with the items he collected on his journeys? Then there is a discovery that causes a great deal of debate amongst the Time Team archeologists. There emerge two camps about the discovery. It seems that everything that was found at the site is out of context. So what is really going on at this site? Tune into the rest of the episode to find out. Yeah, from the introduction to the end of the episode, you have the feeling that this was all too good to be true. Throughout the episode, there was something off about this site. I watched this episode years ago, and I remember the sword discovery, to learn about how the sword was excavated, you will have to watch this discovery. Everything was bizarre about this site and it just got more bizarre over the episode. Mick was his lovely curmudgeonly and skeptical self throughout the episode. Tony is also outraged towards the end of the episode as well. I would show this episode to a history and a science class because of all the theories that were going on with this site. For a history class, I would show this towards the beginning of the year because how out of context everything was with this site. Good morning! The Thirty-One Days of the Time Team continues, October is flying by quickly! Today I am going to do a Time Team special. This will not be your typical Time Team. It is called Secrets of the Stately Garden and has a run time of 49:39.
The Time Team is going to be examining the Enlightenment fad for landscape gardens. One garden in particular was designed by Capability Brown. To get the feel of this garden design, Tony Robinson travels to Prior Park built by Ralph Allen and inspired by Alexander Pope. A water cascade feature was restored by the National Trust. Tony then explores the explosion of interest in natural sciences at the Royal Society in London. Robinson learns about the classical symbolism that was heavily featured in the gardens. The beautiful English countryside, however for some of that countryside appearances can be deceiving. Tony tours one of the tunnels that landscape gardener Capability Brown did to help create vast gardens. At Crum Park, the owner would have spent thousands of pounds to create his garden. These gardens would have been Britain’s best features, the height of architectural achievement, and would have been developed during the Age of Enlightenment. Crum Park has one of England’s finest landscape gardens and it is possible to experience it the way it would have been experienced in the 18th Century. It would have been signed to be taken in from the carriage. The landscape was carefully crafted to have the maximum impact on the viewer. Capability Brown would have created 107 landscape gardens during his lifetime and his legacy is still seen today. Prior Park in Bath was another of Capability Brown’s features and the National Trust is working on a restoration. The house is now a school, and the garden has been neglected. They are going to use the opportunity to learn about how the landscape garden was made. Tony continues to learn more about the people who would have had landscape gardens built in Bath. The rule book was ripped up during the Age of Enlightenment. Men of humble origins could eventually rub shoulders with the nobility. With their newly acquired money, they could show off that wealth in grand houses and landscape gardens. Nature would dictate how the gardens were crafted. Tony tours the Hampton Court Palace gardens, and they were more formal in comparison to what was to come. The gardens at Hampton Court were the last of the formal gardens. These gardens were closed off forcing nature to conform to their wants. However, a new generation was rising and the gardens would reflect these changes. The landscape was going to be liberated. Back at Prior Park, the waterfall feature has been rediscovered after shifting a lot of earth and the archeologists are learning about how it was made. It would have been made from Bath Stone, and Stewart Ainsworth goes on a tour of a quarry from where the stone would have come from. In the meantime, Tony learns about how the waterfall may have been made and what the plans are for the future of the waterfall. Sciences were changing, discoveries were being made, and the microscope became a valuable tool during this time. Nature could be examined like it had never been done before this time. Tony looks at an older microscope from this period. These examinations would have changed how people would have viewed nature. Where else does Tony go to learn about the secrets of the landscape gardens? Tune into the rest of the episode to find out more. You know, as I started watching this, I had the feeling that Tony never really ages. I am also disappointed that Tony did not make an appearance during the Expedition Unknown episode about the Hellfire Club. This was a good change of pace for the Time Team. I am sure that my readers have checked out Pride and Prejudice, Secrets of a Stately Home, and Downton Abbey. Now you know how the owners would have created their beautiful landscapes. I would have thought that these gardens were natural, I would have never dreamed that they would have been manmade. This would be a good episode for a landscape class rather than a history class. Good morning, good afternoon or good evening! I hope you, my readers are doing well depending on when you are reading this. The Thirty-One Days of the Time Team continues to press on with an episode from season 12. Today the Time Team is going to be investigating some earthworks in Nether Poppleton. This episode is called The Monastery and the Mansion. The run time for this episode is 49:58.
Nether Poppleton villagers has called the Time Team to investigate some mysterious mounds that surround a Yorkshire village. The villagers have bought the land to protect them. English Heritage thinks that this mound came from the Medieval Times. However, the villagers believe that the mound dates back even earlier. Could these be the remains of an Anglo-Saxon nunnery? Or could these be part of an Anglo-Saxon Village? The Time Team have three days to investigate. Tony takes to the air and looks at the village of Nether Poppleton. It looks like a traditional Medieval Village or is it? On day one the villagers of Nether Poppleton have gathered for a briefing. The villagers are going to be digging test pits to see what sort of activity. Mick humorously suggests that it is not a “respectable search strategy to bulldoze the town.” The towns people are going to be digging test pits around the village under the watchful eye of the archeologists. In Tony’s mind that runs contrary to archelogy. Uncle Mick is good at allaying Uncle Tony’s fears. The race is on for the villagers to find the oldest part of the village. Uncle Phil and Aunt Carenza take the time to teach the villagers how do properly dig. In the meantime, Uncle Mick and Uncle Tony are looking at the church. The church was dedicated to St. Everilda, one of two in England dedicated to this Anglo-Saxon Saint. She would have lived in this area and may have started a nunnery on the site. Geophysics work on this site and Stewart is studying the landscape of the area. The villagers are surprised at what is coming out of the test trenches. Phil goes up to the church to work on a trench. He has found a child burial. In the meantime in the incident room, Carenza and Paul are worried about not getting as many finds to the incident room. Soon, after a mad dash by Carenza, the finds come in fast and furious. Both Carenza and Paul are being overwhelmed, because it takes time to identify those finds and get them sorted out. The test pits are closed at the end of day one. The finds are sorted and plotted out on a map of the village. Carenza and Paul manage to finish in time. The locals gather in front of the incident room to learn about what their finds were. Many of the finds that date back to the Saxon period are on the opposite end of the village from where the church is. Carenza meets with the villagers to tell them what was going on with the find. Test pit number 20 is widened to become trench one. Then there will be several test pits opened up near the church. More geophysics is done to see if there are other targets. Mick is getting excited because he believes that there is a monastery on the site. Uncle Tony tries to test that theory with Uncle Mick. What will the Time Team learn about this site? Will Uncle Mick be right about there being a monastery on the site? What will the trenches turn up? Tune in the rest of the episode to find out more. It was awesome to see how the village came together to learn about their village. Carenza is put through her paces to gather up the finds that were discovered in the test pits. Tony is funny, particularly with Mick’s Pollyanna attitude. Even Uncle Phil and John were squabbling about who does more work. This was a very good episode, particularly since the villagers were so happy to help the Time Team learn about the village. This would be an episode I would HIGHLY recommend showing to a history class it was very well done and the story was very good. Good morning! The Thirty One Days of the Time Team continues and October is quickly winding down. After a couple of episodes from the new Time Team, I am going to throw it back to an older Time Team. Today’s episode is coming from Season 9. This episode is called Every Castle Needs a Lord and it has a run time of 49:47.
In the village of Henly-in-Arden, there used to be a castle. It was as grand and important as Warwick Castle. However, all that remains now is a large hill and a large stone. The local town has called the Time Team to investigate. What did this castle look like? Why did this castle disappear? The challenge for the Time Team is to dig a scheduled Ancient Monument, so will they overcome the challenges that English Heritage throws their way? For more than three hundreds year a castle stood on this hill. Eventually the castle disappeared without much of a trace. There are very few records about the castle, particularly records as to what it looked like in its heyday. English Heritage declared this a scheduled monument in the 1930s and is very interested in what the Time Team can learn about the site. Mick and Tony go over the targets that the Time Team would like to get. The hill is divided into several distinct areas. The Geophysics is working on the highest point on the hill. Trench one goes in over a lower part of this hill. There is masonry discovered in this trench, but is this part of a wall? Stewart is going to learn about the landscape in the area. Tony is disappointed with the geophysics results. However, John points out that there seems to be a big block of buildings on the site. Another trench goes in and Phil discovers some masonry. Eventually Tony makes a call to the owner of the hill. The owner is an American, who bought the title to go with the castle. He has visited the area many times and has donated money to the town. The Time Team has also organized the locals to bring what they had found over the years. Phil continues to make his way through the demolition rubble. Robin has been digging into what remains of the records to see what he could find about the castle. The earliest reference that mentioned the castle was from the time of Empress Matilda. It would have been built between 1086 and 1100. The original owners were the sidekicks of the Earls of Warwick. This family would have been an important player in county politics. In trench two, Phil continues to make some finds including roof tiles and stones. The signs are encouraging for Phil and the Time Team. Another tile was discovered, which was similar to what the locals were discovering. Now Phil wants to find some more. In Trench One there is something more substantial being found. Eventually, this trench is shut down, much to Tony’s disappointment. Trench three has gone in on this site as well and Carenza is also making some interesting discoveries. One of those finds was a piece of window glass. Phil is also discovering some “splendid rubble.” On day two, Tony catches up with Mick. He is increasingly frustrated that the Time Team has not made any finds for a building on the site. However, there have been discoveries along the side of the hill of tiles. Trench four goes in on this hill, perhaps this is the site of a gatehouse. Trench One shows signs of a building, while Trench Two and Trench Three. The signs are good for trench four. What was going on with this castle site? Why did it disappear? What will the Time Team continue to find on this site? Tune into the rest of the episode to find out. There was a mystery on this site and the Time Team navigated this mystery very well. I was pleased to see that English Heritage was gung-ho with the dig. The archeology was very good and there was a good discussion on what was going on at this site. I would show this to a history classroom. Good morning! The Thirty One Days of the Time Team are winding down and next it will be World War I and World War II documentaries for November. I cannot believe how time has flown by. I also cannot believe that I have completed Season One, Season Two, Season Three and Season Thirteen for the Time Team. Today I am going to do a newer Time Team. This is two part episode with the Time Team Expedition Crew about a Roman Sarcophagus that the Time Team rediscovered. The first episode has a runtime of 17:21. The second episode has a run time of 18:22.
The Time Team has returned to the Broughton Villa in Oxfordshire. In a previous dig they had discovered a stone sarcophagus, but had left some unfinished business. The Expedition Crew was sent back to the site to get some more answers about this mysterious sarcophagus. They will be carefully examining the sarcophagus and the ground in which was buried. Who would have been buried here? Why would they have been buried her? This was a sarcophagus that was discovered in the 1960’s and documented. The bones were examined and reburied. However the location of this grave was lost at least until Time Team came in to examine the nearby villa. It was then rediscovered. There is a summary about how the Roman sarcophagus was found and rediscovered by the Time Team. The first challenge for the expedition crew is to find the sarcophagus in a field of barley. Eventually the sarcophagus was discovered once again and the trench goes in. Helen catches up with John Pearce, who is an expert in Roman burial practices. She learns more about what would have been planned for the woman’s funeral. The family would have gathered and there would have been party. The deceased would have been talked about as well as professional mourners. It is here that a picture that Victor Ambrus has done is shown. Eventually, the team gets to the layer where the sarcophagus. The sarcophagus is relatively undisturbed which is a rare find for the Time Team. It is tough going, however, the expedition crew is making quick work of the trench. The trench is extended and a plan is formed as to how to proceed with the dig. They will have to work fast in order to get the dig in. Naomi wants to get a decent soil sample to learn about the Roman soil. With the heat, to protect the diggers and the dig, a tent is erected over the trench. The first human remains are brought up. Would the coffin been prepared ahead of time and then the woman lowered in it? Perhaps there would have been work done before. What grave goods would have been put in the grave? A 3D-printed replica of the only grave good that was found is presented. This model shocks Helen and shows how 3D Printing has come a long way and it is awesome that the Time Team was able to recreate at least one grave good. What will the Time Team find in episode one? Tune into the rest of that episode to find out. Day Two begins with more and more excavation on the site. This is a shorter two-day dig to learn more about the sarcophagus. The dig continues to progress. In this episode, you can see Helen’s spirit leave her when she learns that the lid of the sarcophagus was chucked out. How she managed to keep her composure I will never know. So what does the Time Team expedition team continue to learn about the sarcophagus? Continue to watch episode two to find out. This episode was a whole lot better than the Greece episode. Helen is a good narrator too and I felt bad for her when she learned that the sarcophagus lid was destroyed. It was cool to see the new technology that was involved with the dig. Time Team has come a long way and the recreation of the sarcophagus was very well done. Honestly, I could hear Tony in his episode quipping about the lost location of the sarcophagus. I would put this episode on my potential to show list for both a history and science classroom. Good morning! Today I am going to be doing one of the newer episodes of the Time Team and this is a Time Team special. I know I should be saving this for November and World War II, but I want to keep all my Time Teams together as part of the Thirty-One Days of the Time Team. Anyway, today’s Time Team is called Digging for the Band of Brothers and it has a run time of 1:36:56. As it is a special, it is also narrated by Tony Robinson and he is joined by one of the regular Time Team archeologists Matt Williams.
The Time Team is investigating the US 101st Airborne Division in Britain. They have been invited by Operation Nightingale to Albourne, Wiltshire. They will be working alongside service men and women from the US and the UK to learn more about the iconic Band of Brothers. It is the 80th Anniversary of D-Day and the Time Team is going to help investigate Easy Company. Easy Company was stationed in Albourne before the D-Day Invasion. What will the Time Team find to further the Band of Brother’s story. Albourne, Wiltshire would become home to the paratroopers as they prepared for D-Day. Easy Company and other regiments would take up residence in a variety of building as they prepared and trained for the D-Day invasion. The Easy Company men would have arrived here after their training at Tocca. Their exploits would have been recorded in a scrapbook, which is shown in this documentary. David Webster writes about when they arrived in the middle of the night at Albourne. Operation Nightingale are looking for Nissan huts, these were where the ordinary soldiers stayed. Officers stayed in private homes or pubs. Although they were in Albourne for a year, they made a big impact on the village and would have left traces behind. It was very cool to see photographs that had never been seen before. One of the photos shows Forrest Guth on a bike and it was rumored that he buried the bike before D-Day. In addition to the photograph, there were maps made of what the camp looked like when the soldiers were present. John Gater is surveying the fields with magnetometry to assist in learning more about the camp. Many of the initial finds are in a local history museum. One of the finds that prompted the Time Team joining up with the dig was a dog tag from one of the men. This was an episode that had a different pace to it because it furthers the story of the Band of Brothers. Mark Lawrence, one of the actors from the series visits the dig and he brings a copy of the script for the heritage center. He teases a trade. He talks about his experience in the film. There was a discussion on the impact of the TV series on the area. A section of stables was moved to the museum at Toccoa, Georgia. What else does the Time Team discover about the Band of Brothers? What other finds are made on this dig? Tune into the rest of the episode to find out. It was cool that David Kenyon Webster’s words were used to help narrate the episode. The photos were very good. This went into many of the unknown stories of Easy Company. I rather like Tony narrating how Sobel got replaced. It was cool to also see the actors from the TV series get in on the dig. I also enjoyed seeing the tree where Easy Company soldiers carved their names. I wonder what the descendants thought about the dig. I found the bike story very funny. I hope there will be another special about the Band of Brothers from Time Team. It was cool to see Matt step up and narrate the episode. I would have appreciated it if Gus also participated in this episode and then we would have the Matt-Tony-Gus team narrating Time Team. This was a very well-done episode, the archeology and other facts about the Band of Brothers were interspersed in the episode. I would definitely show this episode to a history class: both a US history and an American history class. Good morning! I hope you are doing well and am enjoying the Thirty-One Days of the Time Team. This is an episode from series 16. The Time Team is going to excavate a medieval village called Ulnaby. The episode is called The Hollow Way and it has a run time of 48:52.
The Time Team is investigating a deserted medieval village. It is a landmark in the Durham Countryside. These remains have been photographed, surveyed and written about. For the first time, these remains are going to be excavated and Time Team is going to do the job. Why was this village deserted? What secrets will this dig reveal? What will the Time Team learn about the best preserved remains in Britain? The Ulnaby Farmhouse is the home of the deserted village. The challenge for the Time Team is to determine where to dig because the village site is big. There are many lumps and bumps in the area. The Time Team will have to rely on Stewart and landscape archelogy to determine where to dig. English Heritage spent time recording all the lumps and bumps of the site. This is the first time the Time Team will be going into a dig knowing more about the site than normal. Geophysics is off and away on the site and it does not take long before a house is identified. Trench one goes in on this house site. The Time Team is also turning to the local records to see what they can reveal about this village site. What will these local records reveal about the town? Was this a Viking Village? When was this village established? Was there a manor here? Back in Trench One, Phil is looking for a house that may be made from turf. Trench two goes in soon after trench one, Mick is focusing his attention on some other feature of the site. This trench is going over another possible house platform, which may be from a later time than in Phil’s trench. Tony is not pursued and would appreciate some further dating evidence. Tony catches up with Mick about that dating evidence and Mick draws out a layout of the town. Excitement is building in trench one, and Phil has discovered something in his trench. Phil picks on John Gater for saying that there would not be a stone in this trench. Phil concludes that the stone in his trench is forming a stone wall. Perhaps this is the hints of a house. There was plenty of laughs in this section. In trench two the same thing is being discovered. The documents are proving to be a challenge. However, from the tantalizing tidbits, it is clear that Ulnaby was an agricultural area. In the meantime, Trench Three goes in under Stewart’s direction. Was this one of the last cottages in the village? It looks like the Time Team is trying to determine the three different time periods of the village. Tony is pooh-poohing it call and is looking for dating evidence. Eventually, Phil comes through with a piece of worked bone. Will this evidence make Tony happy? I would say so. Stewart and Mick walk the field together and discover the remains of an old roadway. It is nearing the end of day one- and the-Time Team search has just doubled. All they can really do is geophysics the site. However, the results are not good because the field has been plowed over the years. So the Time Team will focus on the main field, the time. What will the Time Team discover about this site? Tune into the rest of the episode to find out more. I was a little bit nervous that the Time Team had bitten off more than they could chew with this dig. However, as the dig progressed you can see more and more evidence and it was very well preserved. Tony was particularly funny during this episode. There was a lot of debate in this episode as to what some of the evidence meant which was particularly enjoyable with Tony’s narration. I would show this to a history class and a science class because of the debate on what the dig was showing. Good morning, and I carry on with the Thirty-One Days of the Time Team. This time I am pulling a special Time Team from 2005 from the Time Team Official Channel. It is called the King of Bling and has a runtime of 50:37.
The Time Team is heading to Prittlewell, near Southend in Essex. They are going to be looking at an important Royal Saxon Tomb. During road construction, an impressive load of Saxon objects was discovered, leading to an initial excavation. A nearly intact wood-lined burial chamber was discovered and its contents were comparable to similar discoveries made in England. Who was this person? Why would he have so many impressive finds? The Time Team is on a case. Construction work on a road in Prittlewell was going to be routine. However, what was discovered as a result of construction changed things. Anglo-Saxon artifacts were discovered on this site. These objects were well preserved including drinking bowls, gold-rimmed cups, other gold objects, and fine jewelry. It was a grave, unlike any others that were on the site. As the dig continued, it was clear that this was an intact burial. The finds were stunning, as the dig continued there needed to be security and the dig had to continue twenty-four-sevens. What was discovered had to be kept secret. The body and the objects would have been put in a wooden chamber. The wood would have eventually collapsed, filling the chamber with dirt. Not much of the body remained only a few teeth. The objects themselves would end up in a museum. Eventually, it was theorized that the person in this burial was a ruler. However, this caused controversy in the archeological world. Word would slowly spread amongst select archeologists. It was clear that this was a significant burial and one of the most important in English history. Slowly but surely, the finds were moved from the tomb to a conservation department. Still, the discoveries kept coming. The finds were carefully examined. One of the finds included a musical instrument “fit for a king.” The instrument would have been a symbol of wealth and status. Identifying the man or the king who was buried in the chamber would be a long way off. Two months after the evacuation, the announcement was made that a royal grave was discovered. The goods that were discovered show that he was wealthy enough to import goods. However, the finds could not identify the man in the tomb. In the conservation lab, the finds were carefully conserved and other finds were revealed. Tony catches up with Mick to learn more about how to identify someone from a period that not much is known about. Mick is thrilled with the challenge. Archeologists and historians are invited on certain days to take a look at the grave goods and come up with a theory. Each grave good was carefully selected and laid out to send a message about the person. Helen Geake was thrilled with the discovery and she talks about the grave itself. Perhaps it was laid out in a way so people could pay their respects to the dead before the grave was sealed. However, who was the man? The specialists concluded that he was a leader of men. What would the historical record say about this man? The grave goods have led archeologists to compare what was found in other finds in the graves of kings from the same period. The grave goods that were discovered at Sutton Hoo, for example, were as rich as the grave goods found at Prittlewell. Would the gentlemen in Prittlewell consider himself a king? Perhaps he was a king, and he would have been a smart king. His kingdom was at the mouth of the Thames and he would have had sway over his fellow kings. Who was this king? When he would have ruled? Tune into the rest of the episode to find out. This is a very different Time Team, but it features archeology that was done by other archeologists. The Prittlewell find was very fascinating and it was neat to hear about the secrecy that surrounded this dig. I would show this to a history classroom. Hello! The Thirty-One Days of the Time Team continues on and this time the Time Team is going to Lincoln’s Inn. Lincoln’s Inn is not an inn, but the center of legal London. This is an episode from Season 16 and was pulled from the Chronicle YouTube Channel. This episode is entitled Called to the Bar. The episode has a run time of 48:46.
Instead of a muddy field, the Time Team is heading into London and the surroundings of Lincoln’s Inn. They will be donning their best wigs and suits to do this dig! The buildings that make up the world’s oldest and most distinguished law societies may hide a secret. The Time Team has been brought in to look for a 13th Century Palace that may have belonged to King Henry III’s Lord Chancellor. Will the Time Team find the remains of this palace? Generations of lawyers have these lovely buildings. There are many different styles of buildings in this are of London. It is the legal center of London. These buildings hide the earlier building that dated back to King Henry III. Tony talks with Uncle Phil and John Gater. Tony quips that this will be a one day dig. Hedley Swain, is the site director, believes that Time Team can do it. However, finding the right spot to dig will be a challenge because of the restrictions. Tony meets up with Elaine Chalus to learn as to why everyone thinks there is a palace on the site. IT would have been the home of the Bishop of Chichester and he was one of the most powerful men of the day. The house he built, would have put a mark on the legal community. The records show that there was a lavish house on the site. However, the search for his house has not even begun. It has taken a great deal of time for Phil to decide where the trench should go. There are possible wall lines in the geophysics results. Trench One will go in as soon as they get permission from the gardener. Eventually, that permission is granted and the trench goes in by hand. They will have to be careful to avoid tree roots. The trench is near one of the oldest buildings on the site. Perhaps when this building was built anything remaining from the Bishop of Chichester was destroyed. This is where Helen Geake and an architectural historian come to examine the buildings on site. Phil has discovered some brickwork in his trench, however, it could be modern. Trench two goes in nearby. The Time Team is going next door to the Tudor Building and dig in the herb garden. Trench three goes in at this site. However, things are taking extra time. Phil has found a more modern wall. What was this wall? It is confusing to Phil. Helen helps clarify what the wall could be. Unfortunately, this wall is not what they are looking for. It was from a Victorian courthouse. Trench Two is providing demolition rubble and pottery. In the herb garden, they are finding some more walls from the Victorian period. However, they are finding a wig curler. Day one is not starting very well. Will the Time Team change their luck on day two? Day two kicks off with Phil wanting to expand his trench. However, some geraniums need to be moved again. Phil with a sly smile says that since they got permission to move them once, that extends to moving them again. Tony does not like his dodgy logic with over two hundred lawyers checking out the digs. On day two the focus shifts to Lincoln’s Inn Fields an undeveloped part of the Lincoln’s Inn. The lawyers have been aggressive in preventing development on this track. So was the town house in this field? What else will the Time Team find? Tune into the rest of the episode to find out. I liked the quip Uncle Tony made at the start of the episode that the Time Team had two hundred lawyers looking over their shoulders. This was a very complicated dig with a variety of restrictions that the Time Team had to deal with. This episode had up and downs and would be an episode I would show to a history class. |
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The purpose of this blog is to share information on what can be used in a classroom, private school, or home school setting as well as serve as a portfolio of my personal and professional work. The reviews are my opinions and should be treated as such. I just want to provide a tool for teachers to select documentaries for their classrooms. |