1996: Series Three
Prehistoric Fogue. |
First broadcast on Channel 4: 07th January 1996. |
A 2000 year old Iron Age underground chamber - a fogou - takes the Time Team deep into the far west of Cornwall.
Using the maps of a Cornish antiquarian who ended his days in a local lunatic asylum, the latest high-tech survey equipment and Tony's newly acquired skill at dowsing, the Team have just three days to unlock the fogou's secrets. What was the chamber used for, is there another underground passage in the area and did an Iron Age Settlement exist on the site?
Hunting for mammoths. |
First broadcast on Channel 4: 14th January 1996. |
The team attempt to unearth evidence of the past existence of mammoths and other prehistoric animals in the river valleys of Oxfordshire. However, as the vital clues lie in a gravel pit which is soon to become a waste tip, the group must race against time if they are to complete their task.
It's here in this episode that Time Team are able to use mammoth teeth, wood and pollen remains to build up a detailed picture of this sites area, which is possibly a new interglacial period dating back to 200,000BC
Village of the Templars. |
First broadcast on Channel 4: 21st January 1996. |
The Time Team visits the village of Templecombe in Somerset, where the Knight's Templar - a major power in the 12th and 13th centuries - established a preceptory in 1185. It is here that they would have admitted new members and trained them for the Crusades.
Whilst looking for the perimeter of the only site in Somerset occupied by the elusive Knights Templar, mistakes in consulting the tithe map mean that the team don't find the boundary walls until the last hour of the last day.
A wreck of the Spanish Armada. |
First broadcast on Channel 4: 28th January 1996. |
On their first underwater excavation, Tony and Phil help to identify a 16th century ancient ship that was wrecked some 400 years ago off Teignmouth beach in Devon, and use the joints on the beams to date a local pub as contemporary with the ship.
Twenty years ago, a teenage scuba diver found a bronze canon belonging to the wreck on the seabed. But after all that time under water, will there still be enough of the ship left for the Time Team to identify it?
Palace of the Irish Kings. |
First broadcast on Channel 4: 04th February 1996. |
In a dig across nearly three miles of Irish countryside, the team find evidence of ritual and religious activity from the Bronze Age, Iron Age and the early Christian period. The fort of Emain Macha in Ireland was once the home of princes and kings of Ulster, and, according to Celtic legend, was built by King Conchobar, who also built two other palaces.
The team go to Navan, the modern-day site of Emain Macha, in search of evidence of the other palaces and attempt to find a connection between what may have been a sacrificial pool and an ancient hill called Haughey's Fort.
Treasures of the Roman field. |
First broadcast on Channel 4: 11th February 1996. |
Discover why for years a Suffolk farmer has gathered hundreds of pieces of Roman pottery, jewellery and coins from one particular field on his land. Where did all this rich material come from? The Time Team heads into Lavenham to find out.
The hunt for the source of the farmer's discovery of Roman pottery leads to finds that indicate industrial activity such as kilns and metalworking. The team also enjoys a spot of experimental archaeology, trying out Roman methods of glassblowing.