Time Team - Ausgrabungen mit den Profis

Although it can be seen every day, all year round on the Discovery channels, new series are filmed in the summer and broadcast very early the following year. Obviously Live digs are different and potentially more exciting. I like Tony Robinson and Mick Aston, but my two favourites are Carrenza Lewis and Phil Harding. In the past few years, Phil has been in danger of being a bit of a caricature with his hat with the feather and his shorts regardless of the weather. He needs nothing extra to be the star of the show as he exudes both enthusiasm and professionalism. My favourite programmes are the roman digs when there is always something to see. Mr least favourite are those from prehistoric times.

Each show covers one archaeological dig - start to finish - incorporating the expertise of historians, anthropologists, paleontologists, area locals, geo-physicists, cartographers and area surveyors to name but a few. The team use artists to both sketch out archaic scenes as well as design computer graphics to show 3 dimensional perspectives of once existing structures. Adding re-enactments, experiments and the rebuilding of artifacts by modern experts only adds to the diversity of the show.

The holistic approach to the dig-site provides a fascinating, multi-tiered study that is accessible to the viewer, regardless of their background.

There is far too much rubbish on television these days. Thank goodness therefore for wonderful, engaging, intelligent programmes like Time Team (and its spin-off Extreme Archaeology by the same producer Tim Taylor).

Presented by Tony Robinson (of Blackadder fame) the premise of the programme is to bring together a number of Archaeologists, experts in various fields, to try and investigate a particular problem in three days.

The team works on various of locations, mainly in the UK but occasionally abroad. They investigate a wide variety of historical periods from stone age man living in Cheddar Gorge, through Roman villas up to an American World War II bomber which crashed in South East England.

The expertise and resources, both human and technological, that Time Team can bring to a dig means that they can often discover more about a site in the three days than the local archaeologists had been able to find out in previous years. In fact local archaeologists often invite the team to investigate problems that they haven't been able to deal with themselves. At the other end of the scale the team sometimes investigates anomalies that viewers have found in their own back gardens.

Another important part of the programme is a task or reconstruction relating to the dig. For example when working on Josiah Wedgewood's first kiln, the team showed the process that he went through to produce his pottery. In another episode when excavating a Roman villa, they produced a reproduction of a mosaic.

Overall this is an extremely intelligent programme with a superb presenter and interesting experts whose obvious enthusiasm really comes across when they are describing what is going on.

Finally it is worth mentioning the excellent 'Time Team Live' digs, where Time Team have conducted an excavation over the course of a few of days with a number of live programmes over that period where they give an update of what is happening and what they have found.

What is so wonderful about this programme is the thrill of discovery. Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen and the direction of the programme can change halfway through based on the evidence that has turned up. Its a long way from the latest boring, predictable soap opera!

An archeological dig in your back yard, as you discover what happened in your back yard 350 or 3500 years ago, if you live in England, where your history didn't begin 400 years ago. The dig begins today, and they fill the whole thing back in, after they've been at it for three days. The excitement of the discoveries uncovered as they occur, the involvement of the property owners and the neighbors as they find the history around them.

The uses of computer animation to show how things used to look (or might have looked!) and the technology that allows the scientists to 'look' into the ground even before the first shovel full of earth is turned over.

The show is seen in the US on the History Channel International channel, and is well worth looking up.

Can you say binge watching? I've been watching all 20 seasons from start to finish and absolutely love it! For anyone interested in Archaeology and especially British archaeology this show is a treasure trove! Most seasons can be found on Amazon Prime and YouTube. Highly recommended! The characters who make up the team are quite amusing as well! Start with season 1 and watch the archeologists age and some go grey or lose their hair as you move through the seasons lol.