Are Time Team Allowed To Dig Anywhere They Like?

Archaeologists, even famous ones like Time Team, can't just go off and dig whenever and wherever they want to, for all sorts of reasons. They have to plan very carefully. The most important thing about Time Team is that the digs follow all the rules of good archaeology.

Here's Ben, Peterborough's Archaeology Officer (minus his hat), keeping a close eye on the trenches.

It's very important that when the archaeologists do dig, they make sure nothing they find is damaged by their machinery or tools. They have to be very careful about noting exactly where, when and how things are found.

They have to make sure the owner of the land is happy for them to be digging there. They have to think about who would take care of anything they might find and what would happen to the site afterwards.

Back in the office, Ben makes sure he's up to speed on all local digs.

© Ben Robinson.

Each county in Britain has a department responsible for archaeology. One of their jobs is to control all digs in their area and to make sure they're all being done properly.

The county archaeologist for this area is called Ben Robinson (see picture). He came along to watch this Time Team dig. He's happy they've chosen this site.

Ben told Show Me, "This an incredibly important site. It's shown up in one survey in one aerial photograph from 1996 and hasn't been seen since."

"You would walk up to this wood and not know it was there, so for Time Team to come, that will help us to visualise it, to show what it was like, come up with some reconstructions and bring it out of the soil a bit for people."

(All photos © 24 Hour Museum unless otherwise stated.)