Time Team Day 22 - Roman Sarcophagus

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.