Time Team - S10E08: Back to Our Roots - Athelney, Somerset

Name: Back to Our Roots - Athelney, Somerset
Genre: Documentary, Mystery
Released: 2003-02-23
Duration: 50 min

Feb 23, 2003Documentary, MysterySeason 10, Episode 8

Time Team revisits Athelney Abbey, the hideaway of Alfred the Great, and also the very first site investigated by the team one hundred programs earlier. Ten years of technological advances in the meantime has significantly enhanced their geophysical survey methods and changes in heritage management attitudes have also given them the permission to dig at the site. Slag and magnetic readings suggest that iron and steel was smelted and worked at Athelney, the latter being a good indication of Anglo-Saxon presence. At the abbey site itself Phil and his diggers uncover several burials. Reenactors show Anglo-Saxon dress and weaponry and their Viking counterparts as the experimental part of the program, while Carenza and Tony make – and burn – traditional Saxon cakes. The archaeologists find a number of objects, a Medieval graveyard associated with Athelney abbey, a metalworking complex, and a substantial defensive ditch dug in the Iron Age, but reused in the time of king Alfred.

Cast: Tony Robinson, Carenza Lewis, Phil Harding, John Gater, Stewart Ainsworth, Mick Aston, Victor Ambrus, Henry Chapman

All Episodes - Season 10

01Garden Secrets - Raunds, NorthamptonshireJan 05, 2003 02Mosaics, Mosaics, Mosaics - Dinnington, SomersetJan 12, 2003 03Peak District Practices - Carsington, DerbyshireJan 19, 2003 04The Giant's Grave - Fetlar, ShetlandJan 26, 2003 05Joust Dig It - Greenwich, LondonFeb 02, 2003 06Digging Liberty - Merton, LondonFeb 09, 2003 07Death in a Crescent - Bath, SomersetFeb 16, 2003 08Back to Our Roots - Athelney, SomersetFeb 23, 2003 09Looking for the White House - Kew Gardens, LondonMar 02, 2003 10Rescuing the Dead - Leven, FifeMar 02, 2003 11Not a Blot on the Landscape - Castle Howard, YorkshireMar 16, 2003 12A View to a Kiln - Sedgefield, County DurhamMar 16, 2003 13Jailhouse Rocks - Appleby-in-Westmorland, CumbriaMar 30, 2003

Time Team S10E08 Synopsis

Time Team "Back to Our Roots - Athelney, Somerset" is part of the 1337x catalog. Originally aired on 2003-02-23, this episode is part of Season 10 of Time Team. Featuring performances from Tony Robinson, Carenza Lewis, Phil Harding among the cast. With a runtime of 50m, the episode keeps you engaged throughout. As part of this Documentary and Mystery series, the episode continues to build on the show's compelling narrative. Time Team revisits Athelney Abbey, the hideaway of Alfred the Great, and also the very first site investigated by the team one hundred programs earlier. Ten years of technological advances in the meantime has significantly enhanced their geophysical...