Classic Time Team

At low tide on the foreshore of the Thames, near Vauxhall Bridge in central London, a series of timber stumps is visible. How old are they, and what was their purpose? Time Team have the task of finding out before the stumps are destroyed forever. Post holes would indicate a dry land building, while piles (pointed stakes driven into the ground) would indicate a structure above the river.

Time Team visits Ancaster, to which their resident Roman expert, Guy, recently moved. The town has yielded numerous finds as well as a cemetery with several sarcophagi. The church of Ancaster is also well known for a Roman inscription dedicated to the deity Viridius. One question the team wants to tackle concerns why the Romans built a defensive system around the town in the late 3rd century.

The team travel to Scotland to investigate the wreck of a ship that may have been of the Spanish armada. As this is a classic case of rescue archaeology, they are joined by the Archaeological Diving Unit, whose director explains why this exercise is so important. Both Phil and Tony do some diving. With the help of marine archaeologist Mark Lawrence, John uses a magnetometer to survey the seabed.

The team are invited to investigate the officers' mess of a military base in Bedfordshire, once home to monks and nuns of a 14th century Gilbertine Order. This structure was unlike most others of its time, as it was an experiment in unisex living. Jenni of Time Team volunteers to live like a nun during the dig, and is initiated by nunnery expert Roberta Gilchrist.

The team head for a pub in Leighton whose cellar contains the remains of a blast furnace once used for smelting iron. When Tony arrives, test pits are already being dug, and Geophysics are busy surveying the car park. They are joined by Paul Belford from Ironbrige Gorge Museum; and Jonathan Roberts shows Phil how to make a triangular charcoal clamp similar to those used in the 17th century.

It's been 40 years since amateur archaeologists dug up Roman remains near Ermine Street. Time Team tell the story of the original excavation, using the detailed plan to conduct their own investigation. They believe the site's proximity to the road is the key to this dig, finding a brewery and possibly a pub. The brewing process is described by ancient technology expert Peter J. Reynolds.

Two massive hill forts on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall have never been excavated. In fact, no major Cornish Iron Age site has ever been investigated. Time Team have been given the tall order of making some sense of these two sites, but the sites are so huge that the team will have to be very selective. Re-enactor David Freeman demonstrates a slingshot, a simple but effective weapon.

The owners of a Tudor house want Time Team to investigate a bloody confrontation between the Roundheads and Cavaliers during the English Civil War, 350 years ago. In front of the house are four mysterious arches. Could they be relics of an older, medieval building, which apparently stood here for centuries before the present building?

Hoping to uncover Bronze Age burials, the team descends on a disused airfield. While initial finds suggest the Iron Age, geophysics shows plenty of circles and some larger rectangular enclosures, suggesting something much older. Jacqui Wood makes prehistoric cheese and cooks a fish stew. Bronze Age enthusiast Francis Pryor gets excited about some faint track marks.

The people of Castleford believe there is a Roman city beneath them, and several past digs have proven it to be true. Past discoveries include leather shoes, samian ware bowls, and jewelry. There is certainly a vicus, a domestic settlement, next to a fort. The team are also expecting to unearth some major buildings, and even a Roman road, Dere Street.

The medieval castle of Beaudesert suddenly vanished without trace, leaving a single stone on top of a mound. The people want to know what it looked like. Built by the de Montforts in the early 12th century, "The Mount" is a popular beauty spot, but has suffered from erosion. Using authentic tools, bowyer Steve Ralphs makes a medieval longbow, which is tested against a crossbow of a similar period.

Local archaeologist Kevin Trott discovered Roman remains in a trench being dug for a water pipe. Unfortunately, the trench had to be closed, and now Time Team are having trouble finding it. While Phil and the diggers look for the original trench, a full-scale field-walking exercise reveals many finds, both Roman and Iron Age; including a lot of bronze jewelry seeming to show industrial activity.

A Byzantine brass bucket, one of only 11 in the world, was found during a three-day live dig in a Saxon cemetery. Time Team are now returning to find out more about the people who lived and died here. Using authentic techniques, Ray Walton replicates a brass bucket, complete with inscriptions and silvering, from scratch.