Shoot two navigation
It looks as though the Team is going to be blessed with some sunshine as it’s a beautiful morning. The local diggers are starting to arrive (including one in complete combat fatigues and webbing pouches!) and the crews are collecting their gear together and checking equipment.
By 8.30am Tony is filming the opening tease (the bit that runs just before the opening titles of the programme) and John Gater and his geophysics team are up and running. The excitement is building as the team speculate about what this site could be. Some archaeological work done in the area previously suggests intense Roman occupation, and the town is situated on a strategically important river crossing. So what was here? As usual, there are just three days to find out.
The Roman finds on display are of a very high quality -- including well-preserved leather shoes, fine brooches and exquisite strap ends and buckles. These outstanding finds from earlier digs in the area suggest the prospects are good for the Team. In the next hour the first trench will be opened, and as ever the diggers can’t wait to get to the archaeology.
Stewart Ainsworth enthuses over his maps: ‘From what I can see it looks like nothing was built on top of the Roman archaeology until the late 19th century. This looks quite promising’.
11.05am: After a few more delays the first trench of the shoot is opened in the supermarket area -- not through the tarmac of the car park, but on a small patch of grass on the western edge of the perimeter. There has been quite a lot of modern disturbance in this area so geophysics have concentrated their efforts over at the British Legion Club.
12.05pm: A debate is under way about the best way to tackle excavating the area behind the British Legion Club. ‘What’s important here is to find out if the Victorian buildings have destroyed the Roman archaeology underneath,’ says Phil. The second trench of the programme is opened ten minutes later. Everyone is hopeful that this afternoon will bring some exciting discoveries. The prospects look good, the excavation has started and the dig is now running full steam ahead.
