Time Team

Time Team is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned in 2022 on online platforms YouTube and Patreon. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining the process in lay terms. The specialists changed throughout the programme's run, although it consistently included professional archaeologists such as Mick Aston, Carenza Lewis, Francis Pryor and Phil Harding. The sites excavated ranged in date from the Palaeolithic to the Second World War.

Time Team
Original Time Team Logo
Also known as	The Time Team
Genre	Documentary
Created by	Tim Taylor
Presented by	Tony Robinson Mary-Ann Ochota Gus Casely-Hayford Natalie Haynes Helen Geake Derek Pitman
Starring	Mick Aston Phil Harding Carenza Lewis Robin Bush Stewart Ainsworth John Gater Chris Gaffney Victor Ambrus Helen Geake Raksha Dave Matt Williams Tracey Smith Brigid Gallagher Jackie McKinley Derek Pitman Lawrence Shaw and others
Theme music composer	Paul Greedus
Composer	Steve Day
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	23
No. of episodes	292 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Tim Taylor Philip Clarke Emily Boulting Jim Mason David Brady Richard Belfield Mike Welsh Alison Turner
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	approx. 45 minutes
Production companies	VideoText Communications Ltd (Channel 4) Time Team Digital Ltd (YouTube)
Original release
Network	Channel 4
Release	16 January 1994 (1994-01-16) – 7 September 2014 (2014-09-07)
Network	YouTube
Release	2 April 2011 (2011-04-02) – present
Related
Time Signs Time Team Extra History Hunters Time Team Digs Time Team America

YouTube Channels
YouTube information
Channels	Time Team Official Time Team Classics
Subscribers	334,000

Time Team Podcast
Presentation
Hosted by	Helen Geake Martyn Williams
Genre	Popular science, archaeology
Language	English
Updates	Weekly (Tuesday)
Length	approx. 40 minutes
Production
Production	Time Team Digital
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	40 (list of episodes)
Publication
Original release	3 August 2024 (2024-08-03) – present

From left to right: Tony Robinson, Mick Aston, and Guy de la Bédoyère in 2007

Aston with producer Tim Taylor in 2005

Aston and Robinson, Time Team Series 8 shoot at Waltham Fields, Whittington, Gloucestershire, England, 2000, transmitted 2001

In October 2012, Channel 4 announced that the final series would be broadcast in 2013. Series 20 was screened from January–March 2013 and nine specials were screened between May 2013 and September 2014. In May 2021, Taylor announced the return of the series, with free episodes to be shown on YouTube. The first episodes of the revival began appearing on YouTube in 2022.

Series overview

Main article: List of Time Team episodes

Series	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released	Network
1	4		16 January 1994	6 February 1994	Channel 4
2	5		8 January 1995	5 February 1995
3	6		7 January 1996	11 February 1996
4	6		5 January 1997	9 February 1997
5	8		4 January 1998	1 March 1998
6	13		3 January 1999	28 March 1999
7	13		2 January 2000	26 March 2000
8	13		7 January 2001	1 April 2001
9	13		6 January 2002	31 March 2002
10	14		5 January 2003	30 March 2003
11	13		4 January 2004	28 March 2004
12	21		2 January 2005	3 April 2005
13	13		22 January 2006	16 April 2006
14	14		14 January 2007	8 April 2007
15	13		6 January 2008	30 March 2008
16	13		4 January 2009	29 March 2009
17	12		18 April 2010	14 November 2010
18	11		6 February 2011	17 April 2011
19	13		22 January 2012	13 May 2012
20	13		11 November 2012	24 March 2013
21	4		20 March 2022	2 July 2023	YouTube
22	3		26 March 2023	2023
23	2		7 April 2024	20 May 2024
24	TBC		2025	2025

Team members

A team of archaeologists, usually led by Mick Aston or Francis Pryor (the latter usually heading Bronze Age and Iron Age digs), and including field archaeologist Phil Harding, congregate at a site, usually in Britain. The original Time Team line-up from 1994 changed over the years. Historian and archivist Robin Bush was a regular in the first nine series, having been involved with the programme through his long friendship with Aston. Architectural historian Beric Morley featured in ten episodes between 1995 and 2002. In 2005, Carenza Lewis left to pursue other interests and was replaced by Helen Geake, an Anglo-Saxon specialist. The regular team also included Stewart Ainsworth, landscape investigator; John Gater and Chris Gaffney, archaeological geophysicists; Henry Chapman, surveyor; and Victor Ambrus, illustrator.

The team was supplemented by experts appropriate for the period and type of site. Guy de la Bédoyère has often been present for Roman digs, as well as those involving the Second World War (such as D-Day), and aircraft (such as the Spitfire). Architectural historian Jonathan Foyle has appeared in episodes relating to excavations of country estates. Paul Blinkhorn (pottery), Mark Corney (coins), Carl Thorpe (pottery), and Jackie McKinley (bones) have appeared from time to time. Mick 'the dig' Worthington, an excavator in the early series, occasionally returned as a dendrochronologist, whereupon he was dubbed 'Mick the twig'. Osteoarcheologist Margaret Cox often assisted with forensic archaeology, mainly between 1998 and 2005. Other specialists who appeared from time to time include historian Bettany Hughes, archaeologist Gustav Milne, East of England specialist Ben Robinson, architectural historian Richard K. Morriss, and David S. Neal, expert on Roman mosaics. Local historians also joined in.

In February 2012, it was announced that Aston had left the show because of format changes. The disputed changes included hiring anthropologist Mary-Ann Ochota as a co-presenter, dispensing with other archaeologists and what he thought were plans to "cut down the informative stuff about the archaeology". "The time had come to leave. I never made any money out of it, but a lot of my soul went into it. I feel really, really angry about it," he told British Archaeology magazine. Time Team producer Tim Taylor released a statement in response to the news reports saying "His concerns are of great importance to me. We have addressed some of them" and that "you've not heard the last of Mick on Time Team".

Regular team members in later years included archaeologist Neil Holbrook, Roman coins specialist Philippa Walton, and historian Sam Newton. Younger members of Time Team who made regular appearances include Jenni Butterworth, Raksha Dave, Kerry Ely, Brigid Gallagher, Rob Hedge, Katie Hirst, Alex Langlands, Cassie Newland, Ian Powlesland, Alice Roberts, Faye Simpson, Barney Sloane, Tracey Smith, and Matt Williams.

Members

Time Team Members
(Incomplete list)

Name	Occupation	Time Team Role	Notes
Tim Taylor	Creator	Executive Producer
Sir Tony Robinson	Actor & Presenter	Presenter
Mick Aston	Archaeologist	Site Supervisor	(Deceased)
Phil Harding	Archaeologist	Field Archaeologist
Carenza Lewis	Archaeologist	Strategist
Robin Bush	Historian	Historical Specialist	(Deceased)
Stewart Ainsworth	Archaeologist	Landscape Archaeologist
John Gater	Geophysicist	Archaeological Geophysics
Chris Gaffney	Archaeologist	Archaeologist
Helen Geake	Archaeologist	Presenter, Small Finds	(Also PodCast Presenter)
Victor Ambrus	Illustrator	Archaeological Illustrator	(Deceased)
Raksha Dave	Archaeologist	Field Archaeologist	(Former Member)
Matt Williams	Archaeologist	Field Archaeologist
Tracey Smith	Archaeologist	Field Archaeologist	(Former Member)
Brigid Gallagher	Archaeologist	Field Archaeologist	(Former Member)
Jackie McKinley	Osteoarchaeologist	Bones Specialist
Derek Pitman	Archaeologist	Presenter, Archaeologist
Lawrence Shaw	Archaeologist	Field Archaeologist
Francis Pryor	Archaeologist	Site Supervisor
Beric Morley	Architectural Historian	Architecture Specialist	(Deceased)
Henry Chapman	Surveyor	Survey Specialist
Guy de la Bédoyère	Romanist	Roman Specialist
Jonathan Foyle	Architectural Historian	Architecture Specialist	(Former Member)
Paul Blinkhorn	Archaeologist	Pottery Specialist	(Former Member)
Mark Corney	Numismatist	Coin Specialist
Carl Thorpe		Pottery Specialist
Mick Worthington	Dendrochronologist	Wood Dating Specialist	(Formerly Digger)
Margaret Cox	Osteoarcheologist	Forensic Archaeology Specialist	(Former Member)
Bettany Hughes	Historian	Historical Specialist
Gustav Milne	Archaeologist	Archaeologist
Ben Robinson	Archaeologist	East of England Specialist
Richard K. Morriss	Architectural Historian	Architecture Specialist
David S. Neal	Romanist	Roman Mosaic Specialist
Mary-Ann Ochota	Presenter	Presenter	(Former Member)
Neil Holbrook	Archaeologist	Site Supervisor
Philippa Walton	Archaeologist	Coins and Small Finds Specialist
Sam Newton	Historian	Historical Specialist
Jenni Butterworth	Archaeologist	Archaeologist
Kerry Ely	Archaeologist	Archaeologist
Rob Hedge	Archaeologist	Archaeologist
Katie Hirst	Archaeologist	Archaeologist
Alex Langlands	Archaeologist	Landscape Archaeologist	(Former Member)
Cassie Newland	Archaeologist	Archaeologist
Ian Powlesland	Archaeologist	Archaeologist
Alice Roberts	Doctor	Bone Specialist	(Former Member)
Faye Simpson	Archaeologist	Archaeologist
Barney Sloane
Martyn Williams	Broadcaster	Podcast Presenter
Keith Wescott	Metal Detectorist	Metal Detector Specialist
Dani Wootton	Archaeologist	Presenter, Finds Specialist	(News Presenter)
Giselle Király	Archaeologist	WWII Specialist
Richard Parker	Archaeologist	Buildings Archaeologist
Meg Russell	Archaeologist	Field Archaeologist
Raysan al-Kubaisi	Designer and Architect	Graphics Specialist
Gus Casely-Hayford	Cultural Historian	Presenter
Naomi Sewpaul	Archaeologist	Environmental Archaeologist, Float Tank Specialist
Richard Osgood	Archaeologist	War Specialist
Hilde Van der Heul	Archaeologist	Field Archaeologist

Production

Time Team developed from an earlier Channel 4 programme, Time Signs, first broadcast in 1991. Produced by Taylor, Time Signs had featured Aston and Harding, who went on to appear on Time Team. Following Time Signs' cancellation, Taylor went on to develop a more attractive format, producing the idea for Time Team, which Channel 4 also picked up, broadcasting the first series in 1994. Time Team has had many companion shows during its run, including Time Team Extra (1998), History Hunters (1998–1999) and Time Team Digs (2002), whilst several spin-off books have been published. The programme features special episodes, often documentaries on history or archaeology and live episodes. The programme has been exported to 35 other countries. Time Team America, a US version of the programme, was broadcast on PBS in 2009.

On 13 September 2007, during the filming of a jousting reenactment for a special episode of Time Team, a splinter from a balsa wood lance went through the eye-slit in the helmet of one of the participants and entered his eye socket. 54 year-old Paul Anthony Allen, a member of a re-enactment society, died a week later in hospital. Channel 4 stated that the programme would be shown, but without the re-enactment sequence. The episode, dedicated to Allen, was transmitted on 25 February 2008.

Cancellation

In 2012, Aston announced he was leaving the show after criticising format changes that focused less on archaeological activities. Channel 4 subsequently announced that the final Time Team series would be broadcast in 2013. Viewing figures had been in decline from 2.5 million in 2008 to 1.5 million in November 2011. The regular Time Team programme ended on 24 March 2013. Aston died unexpectedly on 24 June 2013.

In October 2013, Robinson said in an interview with Radio Times that he believed Time Team still had life in it and suggested that after a three- or four-year absence it could make a return. He also expressed support for a fan-organised Facebook campaign to bring the Time Team crew together again to carry out a dig in memory of Aston. The final Time Team special aired on 7 September 2014.

Revival

In December 2020, producer Tim Taylor announced that Time Team would begin airing episodes on a YouTube channel called "Time Team Classics". Taylor also announced the launch of the Time Team Patreon page, allowing fans to financially support efforts to revive the series. On 29 January 2021, the project exceeded its goal of 3,000 patrons.

On 17 May 2021, Taylor made an announcement on the return of the series, with episodes planned to air for free on the YouTube channel. Confirmed team members included Carenza Lewis, John Gater, Helen Geake, Stewart Ainsworth, Raysan Al-Kubaisi, Neil Emmanuel, Naomi Sewpaul, Matt Williams, Henry Chapman, Dani Wootton, Brigid Gallagher, Neil Holbrook, Suzannah Lipscomb, Jimmy Adcock, Natalie Haynes, Derek Pitman, Lawrence Shaw, Hilde van der Heul, Pete Spencer, and several returning production team members.

In September 2021, it was announced that Gus Casely-Hayford and Natalie Haynes would present the revived series.

Series 21 featured two three-part episodes, each covering a new dig conducted in 2021. The first of these episodes, which premiered between 18 and 20 March 2022, covered the excavation of an Iron Age settlement on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall. The second episode premiered between 8 and 10 April 2022 and featured the excavation of a Roman villa in the grounds of Broughton Castle in Oxfordshire, discovered by metal detectorist and amateur archaeologist Keith Westcott in 2016.

Time Team returned to Broughton Castle to answer questions related to a mysterious stone sarcophagus. The first of this two-part episode premiered on 22 December 2022.

Further episodes were released in 2023 and 2024:

• 24 March 2023 – Halston Hall, Shropshire – three parts
• 1 April 2023 – Central Greece – two parts
• 10 June 2023 – Shipwreck off the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset – one part
• 30 June 2023 – Diss, Norfolk – three parts
• 5 April 2024 – Modbury, Devon – three parts

On 8 March 2024, the Time Team YouTube channel announced plans to dig Sutton Hoo, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, in June 2024. A 3 part feature-length documentary of the dig presented by Tony Robinson was released in 2025.

Music

The series' original theme music was composed by Paul Greedus.

The majority of the incidental tracks and main themes for the show, and for many of the specials (Dinosaur Hunting in Montana, D-Day, The Big Dig etc.) were composed by Steve Day.

Format

Main article: List of Time Team episodes

At the start of the programme, Tony Robinson explains, in an opening "piece to camera", the reasons for the team's visit to the site. During the dig, he enthusiastically encourages the archaeologists to explain their decisions, discoveries and conclusions, while trying to ensure that everything is comprehensible to the archaeologically uninitiated. The site is frequently suggested by a member of the viewing public. Time Team uncover as much as they can of the archaeology and history of the site in three days.

Excavations are not just carried out to entertain viewers. Robinson claims that the archaeologists involved with Time Team have published more scientific papers on excavations carried out in the programme than all British university archaeology departments over the same period, and that by 2013, the programme had become the biggest funder of field archaeology in the country.

Other formats

Main articles: History Hunters, Time Team Digs, Time Team Extra, Time Team Live, and Time Team America

Time Team's Big Dig was an expansion on the live format. A weekend of live broadcasts in June 2003 was preceded by a week of daily short programmes. It involved about a thousand members of the public in excavating test pits each one metre square by fifty centimetres deep. Most of these pits were in private gardens and the project stirred up controversies about approaches to public archaeology.

Time Team's Big Roman Dig (2005) saw this format altered, in an attempt to avoid previous controversies, through the coverage of nine archaeological sites around the UK which were already under investigation by professional archaeologists. Time Team covered the action through live link-ups based at a Roman Villa at Dinnington in Somerset – itself a Time Team excavation from 2003. Over 60 other professionally supervised excavations were supported by Time Team and carried out around the country in association with the programme. A further hundred activities relating to Roman history were carried out by schools and other institutions around the UK.

Time Team Specials are documentary programmes about topics in history and archaeology made by the same production company. They are generally presented by Robinson and often feature one or more of the familiar faces from the regular programme of Time Team. In some cases the programme makers have followed the process of discovery at a large commercial or research excavation by another body, such as that to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the ending of the First World War at the Vampire dugout in Belgium. Time Team usually does not carry out excavations for these programmes, but may contribute a reconstruction.

Time Team History of Britain saw Robinson and the team document everything they have learned up to now and show a history of Britain. Behind the Scenes of Time Team showed meetings of the archaeologists, and material not transmitted during the episode of the dig. 10 Years of Time Team presented a round-up of what has happened in Time Team over the past 10 years and what they expect to happen in the future.

The Time Team website (editor Steve Platt) won a BAFTA for interactive entertainment (factual) in 2002.

Time Team Podcast

Main article: List of Time Team Podcast episodes

In 2024, Time Team's Dr Helen Geake and Martyn Williams began the podcast. This weekly podcast delves into the world of archaeology, offering exclusive access to digs and interviews with experts to uncover the stories of the past. The podcast is an accompanying format to the YouTube version of Time Team.

Series overview

Series	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released
1	9		3 September 2024 (2024-09-03)	24 December 2024 (2024-12-24)
2	31		7 January 2025 (2025-01-07)	present

Series One

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Guests	Original release date
1	1	"Shakespeare's hidden stage"	Tim Taylor and Sophie Kay	3 September 2024 (2024-09-03)
Dr Helen Geake and Martyn Williams discover the stage, hidden for hundreds of years, where William Shakespeare performed, Time Team's creator, Tim Taylor, explains where he originally got the idea for the hit Channel 4 programme in 1994, ancestry and genealogy expert Dr Sophie Kay has great advice on how to be the historian of your own family tree and Stewart Ainsworth reveals the importance of maps in uncovering the secrets of a landscape.
2	2	"Roman villa unearthed in suburbia"	Francesca Giarelli, Jon Beaver and Tim Taylor	17 September 2024 (2024-09-17)
Helen and Martyn speak to Francesca Giarelli from Red River Archaeology about a Roman villa hidden under a new housing development in Oxfordshire. Martyn talks about meeting up with digger driver Jon Beaver to have a go in his "big yellow trowel" and Time Team's creator, Tim Taylor talks about how he managed to persuade Channel 4 to take the risk to broadcast the programme in 1994.
3	3	"England's Pompeii"	Mark Knight, Stewart Ainsworth and Tim Taylor	17 September 2024 (2024-09-17)
Helen and Martyn hear about the latest discoveries at a site dubbed England's Pompeii. Mark Knight, from the Cambridge Archaeological Unit, talks about how the Bronze Age settlement, home to around 60 people, burned down in 850BC but has been almost-perfectly preserved, giving a snapshot of what life in Cambridgeshire was like around 3,000 years ago. Stewart Ainsworth is out in a muddy field with Martyn, explaining how LiDAR can be used to reveal hidden secrets about a landscape. Time Team creator, Tim Taylor, talks about what happened when Sir Tony Robinson became involved with the programme and Helen will be answering more of the questions from Patreon members.
4	4	"Time Team dig at Norton Disney"	Carenza Lewis	15 October 2024 (2024-10-15)
In this special episode, Helen and Martyn broadcast from an archaeological dig at Norton Disney in Lincolnshire, the ancestral home of Walt Disney himself. Discover what it's like to be part of a Time Team dig and hear from archaeologists in the Time Team family who've been working on site, as well as the volunteers who've been digging test pits in the front gardens of bungalows in the village, and both Helen and Time Team's Carenza Lewis will be sharing their memories of the first ever episode of Time Team and answering your questions.
5	5	"Returning to Sutton Hoo"	Martin Carver	29 October 2024 (2024-10-29)
Helen and Martyn hear from Professor Martin Carver, who carried out major excavations of the Sutton Hoo site in the 1980s. Finding out more about the burial mounds, the buried Anglo-Saxon ship and the exotic Byzantine bucket, Carver explains why it's such an important place archaeologically and how it still holds secrets to this day. Also on the podcast, Stewart Ainsworth puts Martyn through his paces as he undergoes the final bit of his basic training as a landscape archaeologist, the show's creator, Tim Taylor, talks about the biggest challenges faced by the crew when putting together a programme, and there's more Patreon member questions, this time with an added surprise.
6	6	"Metal detectors and dog tags"	Keith Wescott and Giselle Király	12 November 2024 (2024-11-12)
Helen and Martyn take you deeper into the world of archaeology with the help of Time Team. Keith Wescott demonstrates how to use a metal detector to unearth rare finds, Giselle Király updates us on a rare folded dog tag, found whilst digging a site where the famous Band of Brothers had trained during the Second World War and meet the technical wizard behind Time Team's lifelike 3D graphics. Plus Helen answers more of the Patreon member questions.
7	7	"Gladiator blades and eastern treasures"	Lin Xin and Matt Williams	26 November 2024 (2024-11-26)
Helen and Martyn talk about the discovery of an ancient Roman knife handle found at Hadrian's Wall. Find out why it's not as recent a discovery as news reports might suggest. There's news from China where analysis of over one-thousand artefacts are only just starting to reveal new secrets about the people of Sanxingdui, in the western Sichuan province. Ling Xin from Archaeology Magazine explains what life might've been like in this hidden Chinese kingdom and we learn the perfect trowelling technique from Time Team's Matt Williams and the show's creator, Tim Taylor, lets you in on his hopes and plans for Time Team's future.
8	8	"Moats, masonry, and drone archaeology"	Jon Hart, Richard Parker and Harry Manley	10 December 2024 (2024-12-10)
Find out about the discovery of a medieval moat around an ancient farm site near Tewkesbury with Jon Hart from Cotswold Archaeology. Meet Time Team’s buildings archaeologist, Richard Parker. He explains how analysing architecture can shed light on the way people used to live. Harry Manley demonstrates how getting up high above the landscape with a drone can benefit the archaeology being done on the ground, plus, more Patreon member archaeology questions get answers.
9	9	"Time Team's Christmas quiz 2024"	Derek Pitman	10 December 2024 (2024-12-10)
Time Team's Helen Geake and Derek Pitman go head to head in a Christmas edition quiz. Members of the Time Team family provide the questions to find out if they really know their stuff and co-host Martyn Williams has a special festive surprise for Helen and Derek as they perform Twas The Night Before Time Team.

Series Two

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Guests	Original release date
10	1	"Your questions answered"	Derek Pitman	7 January 2025 (2025-01-07)
The first episode of the Time Team podcast for 2025 is a little different. Archaeologists Dr Helen Geake and Dr Derek Pitman answer questions you've been asking on Patreon. From how new technology might change the way archaeologists make discoveries to what happens after the diggers have left a site, Helen and Derek give you their thoughts on what you've been wondering.
11	2	"From Sutton Hoo to Byzantium- Did Anglo-Saxons fight for the Empire?"	Helen Gittos	21 January 2025 (2025-01-21)
Helen and Martyn take us to Sutton Hoo, where Time Team will be returning later this year. Find out more about a new theory - put forward by Dr Helen Gittos from the University of Oxford - which casts doubt on the current understanding of how opulent Byzantine treasures, found in some of the burial mounds, came to be there. Could it be that Anglo-Saxons were fighting in the Byzantine army? Also hear from the volunteers who are attempting to recreate the 27 metre-long longship which has made Sutton Hoo famous. How close are they to completing the project?
12	3	"New excavations at Pompeii"	Sophie Hay and Meg Russell	4 February 2025 (2025-02-04)
Helen and Martyn discover Pompeii like you've never seen it before. New excavations at the site have been unearthing perfectly-preserved bathhouses, skeletons and jewellery which allow us to learn even more about life in the ancient city before it was destroyed by a volcano. Dr Sophie Hay was heavily involved in the dig and takes us through the most breathtaking discoveries. Also, Martyn revisits the site of an old Time Team dig in the Cotswolds, where an exciting discovery has been made. Plus, Time Team's Meg Russell tells us how archaeology is a family affair with three generations involved in the discipline, and Helen answers more of your questions submitted on Patreon.
13	4	"The forgotten women of Iron Age Britain"	Rachel Pope, Henry Chapman, Brigid Gallagher and Raysan al-Kubaisi	18 February 2025 (2025-02-18)
In this episode, Rachel Pope from The University of Liverpool explains how new research is lifting the veil on the lives of women in Iron Age Britain. Martyn tries out one of the most back-breaking archaeological techniques as Prof. Henry Chapman demonstrates coring. There's a trip down memory lane as former Time Team Principal Conservation Expert, Brigid Gallagher, and former Time Team 3D graphic artist, Raysan al-Kubaisi, share their stories of life on Time Team in our Channel 4 days. Helen also answers more of your questions from Patreon.
14	5	"The toilet that solved the mystery of the Bayeux Tapestry"	Duncan Wright, Dani Wootton and Meg Russell	4 March 2025 (2025-03-04)
Dr Duncan Wright from Newcastle University explains how an 11th-century royal toilet has allowed researchers to prove the location of King Harold's residence, solving a mystery of the famous Bayeux Tapestry. Also joining Helen and Martyn is Dani Wootton, who'll bring you this month's Time Team News. Meg Russell explains the science behind the mental health benefits of archaeology, and there'll be more of your Patreon questions answered.
15	6	"What life was really like in Ancient Egypt"	Joyce Tyldesley, Lawrence Shaw and Naomi Sewpaul	18 March 2025 (2025-03-18)
Helen and Martyn are joined by this year's winner of The Archaeologist of the Year award. Joyce Tyldesley OBE is Professor of Egyptology, and she's poised to reveal some of the civilisation's secrets. Also, Lawrence Shaw gets you excited about this weekend's Time Team expedition crew YouTube video, and Naomi Sewpaul demonstrates an archaeological technique called floatation. Plus, Helen and Martyn have an exciting announcement about the future of the podcast.
16	7	"Do people really let archaeologists dig up their garden?"	Helen Geake	25 March 2025 (2025-03-25)
It's our first Patreon questions episode! Dr Helen Geake brings you answers to some of the things you've always wondered about archaeology. From how to get involved in digs to whether people are really ok with dozens of archaeologists digging huge holes in their lawns, we've got the answers to your questions. Plus, Helen tells Martyn about a historical object and discusses its importance.
17	8	"Stewart Ainsworth's remarkable discovery at Iron Age landmark"	Stewart Ainsworth, Nigel Jeffries and Dani Wootton	1 April 2025 (2025-04-01)
Landscape archaeologist Stewart Ainsworth takes Martyn to Bodbury Ring in Shropshire, where he's made an astonishing new discovery which could completely change the way we think about the Iron Age site. Helen delves deeper into witchcraft as she investigates curious witch bottles with Nigel Jeffries from Museum of London Archaeology, and Dani Wootton is back with the latest Time Team news.
18	9	"The Bronze Age object nobody can explain"	Gus Casely-Hayford	8 April 2025 (2025-04-08)
Helen and Martyn are joined by Gus Casely-Hayford OBE to answer your archaeology questions. Learn the difference between coring and flotation, discover what commercial archaeology units do, debate the benefits of using plaster casts over a more technological solution, and consider another theory on Roman stairs. Helen finds that this episode is a penannular ring and discovers how it has been baffling historians for decades, and Gus shares exciting updates on a brand new V&A museum coming to London soon.
19	10	"Britain's lost underwater Kingdom"	Vincent Gaffney, Caroline Wilkinson and Keith Wescott	15 April 2025 (2025-04-15)
Professor Vincent Gaffney, chair in landscape archaeology at the University of Bradford, discusses Doggerland, an area of land now submerged under the North Sea off the coast of Britain. Professor Caroline Wilkinson, a world-leading expert in facial reconstruction, explains how new techniques allow you to look into the eyes of people from the past and metal detectorist Keith Wescott takes Martyn to the place where he discovered a huge Roman villa.
20	11	"Did Vikings really wear horned helmets?"	Helen Geake	22 April 2025 (2025-04-22)
Helen answers more of your questions in this episode of the Time Team podcast. From whether Vikings really wore horned helmets to why the police aren't called in every time a skeleton is discovered at a site, plus there's also another edition of Helen's Find.
21	12	"Francis Pryor on the threat facing Flag Fen"	Francis Pryor, Rob Watts and Dani Wootton	29 April 2025 (2025-04-29)
Time Team's Francis Pryor discovered Flag Fen, a Bronze Age site of world importance, in 1982. Helen and Martyn speak to self-proclaimed 'word nerd' Rob Watts from the etymology YouTube channel RobWords, and Dani Wootton brings you archaeology stories from around the world in Time Team News and Helen will answer more questions from Patreon supporters.
22	13	"Is there a dark side of metal detecting?"	Helen Geake	6 May 2025 (2025-05-06)
Helen responds to the questions members have been asking on Patreon, including the dark side of metal detecting, whether our ancestors were buried or cremated, and why farmers can continue to plough the soil at scheduled monuments. Plus, Helen's find this week is a spindle whorl.
23	14	"Understanding Sutton Hoo's Bromeswell bucket"	Giselle Király	13 May 2025 (2025-05-13)
With just one week to go until Time Team returns to Sutton Hoo, Martyn and Helen find out even more about one of its unearthed treasures, the Bromeswell Bucket. Martyn visits one of the UK's largest Iron Age hillforts in Oswestry to discover how vandalism is endangering its archaeology. With fears about the future of university funding for archaeology courses, commercial archaeologist Giselle Király talks about job opportunities in the industry. Plus, Helen answers more of your questions submitted on Patreon.
24	15	"The Sutton Hoo dig gets underway"	Martin Carver and Laura Howarth	20 May 2025 (2025-05-20)
Helen and Martyn are at Sutton Hoo, where Time Team's 2025 dig has just started. Professor Martin Carver, who led an excavation of the famous Sutton Hoo mounds in the 1980s, is on site with his thoughts on the project. Sutton Hoo's archaeology and engagement manager, Laura Howarth, shares with us what she hopes the 2025 dig will reveal about life in the area. Martyn explores the burial ground for himself, and there's finally some information to share on the Bromeswell bucket.
25	16	"Sutton Hoo gives up more secrets"	John Gater and Jackie McKinley	27 May 2025 (2025-05-27)
Helen and Martyn bring you this episode of the Time Team podcast from Sutton Hoo, where our second year on site is underway. John Gater explains how he hopes new geophysics technology might shed some light on mysterious signals detected last year, and Jackie McKinley takes you through her analysis of the missing piece of the Bromeswell bucket. We also take a trip to Woodbridge, where the Sutton Hoo Ship's Company are reconstructing the Anglo-Saxon ship, discovered in one of the mounds in 1939.
26	17	"Sutton Hoo dig unearths cremation urn"	Tim FitzHigham	3 June 2025 (2025-06-03)
Helen and Martyn are back at Sutton Hoo, where Time Team's dig is in its third week. Helen brings you up to speed with what's going on on site, including the latest on the cremation vessel that's been discovered in trench one. Martyn meets the volunteers, getting the opportunity to dig at Sutton Hoo, and Tim Fitzhigham from the Guildhall at King's Lynn drops by with an update on a project to bring Shakespeare's stage to life.
27	18	"Could another ship be buried at Sutton Hoo?"	Carenza Lewis	10 June 2025 (2025-06-10)
It's Time Team's final week digging at Sutton Hoo, and it still has secrets to reveal. Helen and Martyn brave the wind and rain to take you to a new trench that's been opened on the bank of the river. Could they uncover another Anglo-Saxon ship there? Helen's been squelching in the mud on the side of the river at low tide, where Carenza Lewis and her team are looking for evidence of human activity from thousands of years ago. You'll also meet the volunteers who've been given the chance to excavate test pits thanks to their support for Time Team on Patreon.
28	19	"The Sutton Hoo debrief"	Naomi Sewpaul	17 June 2025 (2025-06-17)
Helen and Martyn sit down after four weeks of Time Team's Sutton Hoo dig to reflect on what's happened over the past month. Naomi Sewpaul discusses her work on site and sheds some light on what she may have discovered using her special floatation tank. You'll meet one of Edith Pretty's relatives, who reflects on the legacy of the woman who owned the site and sparked the archaeological digs of the 1930s, which discovered one of the buried Anglo-Saxon ships. One of our Patreon volunteers tells you what she got up to when she got the chance to spend a day as an archaeologist at Sutton Hoo, thanks to Time Team.
29	20	"Mudlarking for London's lost history"	Tim Coghlan, Tim Taylor and Dani Wootton	24 June 2025 (2025-06-24)
Searching for treasure in the mud on the banks of the river Thames, or mudlarking as it's known, dates back generations. Now, specially licenced mudlarks comb the foreshore looking for clues to the city's past. You'll meet Tom Coghlan, who discovered something truly remarkable, now on display at a new exhibition at the London Museum focusing on mudlarking. Also on the podcast, archaeologist Dr Helen Geake and co-host Martyn Williams speak to Time Team's creator Tim Taylor who's been awarded an MBE in the King's birthday honours. Community archaeology project 1722 Waggonway gears up for another dig to understand the country's first wooden railway. Plus, Dani Wootton is back with Time Team News.
30	21	"Could you be related to an ancient King?"	Helen Geake	1 July 2025 (2025-07-01)
Another episode devoted to answering the questions members have been asking on Patreon. Time Team archaeologist Dr Helen Geake considers whether DNA could discover the ancestors of ancient Kings who are alive today, how long archaeology has been studied and the measures in place to stop artefacts being stolen from a dig site. There's also Helen's Find. This time, Helen's discussing seal matrices, the metal objects used to stamp wax seals on letters.
31	22	"Potential Viking boat burial on Shetland"	Jackie McKinley and Saskia Stevens	8 July 2025 (2025-07-08)
Helen and Martyn are joined by Time Team archaeologist Jackie McKinley. She's been part of the team investigating a potential Viking boat burial in the northernmost part of the UK. Archaeologists have discovered evidence of a Roman temporary camp in the Netherlands. It's been found north of the known frontier of the empire. What does it mean for our understanding of the Romans? Dr Saskia Stevens from Utrecht University will shed some light on her research. Martyn investigates the complexities of magnetometry and how they can help the archaeological process and Patreon supporters pose their questions to Helen.
32	23	"Why don't archaeologists deal with dinosaurs?"	Helen Geake	15 July 2025 (2025-07-15)
In this question and answers episode Dr Helen Geake brings you her thoughts on archaeology-related queries posed by Patreon supporters. She'll tackle topics about the difference between palaeontology and archaeology, what's done with partially excavated human remains on a dig and whether or not the Anglo-Saxon invasion happened in the way the history books suggest. There's also another edition of Helen's Find, where Helen talks about another exciting object. This time it's a metal arrowhead.
33	24	"The 5,000 year old man found frozen in the snow"	Giselle Király, Derek Pitman, Lawrence Shaw and Louise Bedford	22 July 2025 (2025-07-22)
Time Team's Giselle Király is in the Italian Dolomites, discovering human remains left frozen in the ice for 5,000 years. The Festival of Archaeology is in full swing at venues across the UK. Derek Pitman and Lawrence Shaw have been at the festival's launch. Louise Bedford, an archaeology student, has created her own video game that allows you to explore a real dig. Helen answers more questions from Patreon supporters, and Dani Wootton has this month's edition of Time Team News.
34	25	"How did the Romans stay warm?"	Helen Geake	29 July 2025 (2025-07-29)
It's another question and answer session this week. Archaeologist Dr Helen Geake is taking the questions members have been asking on Patreon. She'll discuss how rich Romans heated their villas in chilly northern Europe, whether archaeologists behave differently around human remains depending on the religion the deceased person might've been from, and how to date pottery.
35	26	"Meeting the Little Boy Blue dig heroes"	Francis Pryor, Lawrence Shaw and Derek Pitman	5 August 2025 (2025-08-05)
Time Team's Francis Pryor appears on this episode of the podcast to discuss the damage to one of Flag Fen's reconstructed roundhouses. You'll hear from Derek Pitman and Lawrence Shaw, who've been at the Festival of Archaeology's launch event near Belfast in Northern Ireland. The Operation Nightingale military veterans and serving members of the armed forces talk about their experience digging for a B-17 bomber, Little Boy Blue, which crashed in a field around 80 years ago.
36	27	"How much does a Time Team dig cost?"	Helen Geake	12 August 2025 (2025-08-12)
Helen Geake and Martyn Williams are back with some of the questions Time Team members have been asking. From discussing advances in archaeological technology to the cost of running a dig, Helen does her best to bring you answers. Martyn also has a go at asking a question, putting forward the silurian hypothesis for Helen to consider. There's also another edition of Helen's Find.
37	28	"Sutton Hoo ship reconstruction update"	Alexandra Makin and Dani Wootton	19 August 2025 (2025-08-19)
Helen and Martyn are at Flag Fen, where a fire has destroyed a volunteer-built roundhouse on the ancient archaeological site. Helen sees the damage for herself. Jacq Barnard from The Sutton Hoo Ship's Company has an update on the work that's underway to reconstruct the Anglo-Saxon ship buried in the mounds at Sutton Hoo. With the Bayeux Tapestry coming to the UK, Helen and Martyn speak to Dr Alexandra Makin, a medieval embroidery expert. Dani Wootton has Time Team News, and Helen is answering more questions from Time Team members.
38	29	"Busting a Hadrian's Wall myth"	Helen Geake	26 August 2025 (2025-08-26)
Helen and Martyn are back at Flag Fen to answer questions from Time Team members. This ,time they tackle how much an occupying Roman force might've mingled with the locals, the newest find Helen's come across, myth-busting a tall tale about Hadrian's Wall and doing archaeology in your later years.
39	30	"How one village helped tell Walt Disney's remarkable family story"	Carenza Lewis and Giles Emery	2 September 2025 (2025-09-02)
Helen and Martyn get you ready for Time Team's next three-day dig, which took place in the village of Norton Disney. You'll hear from Time Team's own Carenza Lewis, who got the whole community involved in digging their own past at test pits in gardens and fields across the local area. Time Team members have been able to see an exclusive preview, so Helen and Martyn get the thoughts of Julie, who was one of the first to watch the episode. There's also a trip to Oswestr,y where volunteers with English Heritage are helping to preserve the archaeology at an ancient hill fort. They've got help too, in the form of a herd of sheep! Plus, archaeologist Giles Emery is in Caistor St Edmund near Norwich where a huge team of enthusiasts are excavating the largest Roman town in the area.
40	31	"How ethnically diverse was Anglo-Saxon society?"	Helen Geake	9 September 2025 (2025-09-09)
Dr Helen Geake answers questions from Time Team members. In this episode you'll hear Helen's thoughts on mysterious stones in Cornwall, diversity in Anglo-Saxon society and how much British influence might there have been on the European continent? Helen also introduces you to another item from the Portable Antiquities Scheme, an ancient brooch.

Influence

Time Team has been credited with promoting archaeology in the UK. In a 2008 report produced by English Heritage, a working group of Palaeolithic specialists recognised the importance of the show in "promoting public awareness" of Palaeolithic Britain, something which they argued was to be encouraged.

DVD releases

Complete series have been released in Australia starting with Series 15 in 2010. Since then, Series 12 (2014), Series 14 (2012), Series 16 (2010), Series 17 (2011), Series 18 (2012), Series 19 (2012) and Series 20 (2013) have all been released in Australia. 'Best Of' DVDs were released in the UK over the years; however, a complete series had never been released until Series 18 was released by Acorn Media UK on 6 February 2012. On 15 May 2012, Acorn Media released a collection of Roman-themed episodes on Region One DVD.

References

Bibliography

• "Research and Conservation Framework for the British Palaeolithic". English Heritage. 1 April 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
• Current Archaeology magazine
• Ambrus, Victor & Aston, Mick (2001). Recreating the Past. Tempus.
• Aston, Mick (2002) [2000]. Mick's Archaeology (new ed.). Tempus.
• Gaffney, Chris & Gater, John (2003). Revealing the Buried Past: Geophysics for Archaeologists. Tempus.
• Lewis, Carenza; Harding, Phil & Aston, Mick (2000). Taylor, Tim (ed.). Time Team's Timechester. Channel 4 Books.
• Pryor, Francis (2005). Flag Fen: Life and Death of a Prehistoric Landscape. Tempus.
• Robinson, Tony & Aston, Mick (2002). Archaeology is Rubbish. Channel 4 Books.
• Taylor, Tim (1998). Behind the Scenes at Time Team. photographs by Bennett, Chris. Channel 4 Books.
• Taylor, Tim (1999). The Ultimate Time Team Companion: An alternative history of Britain. Macmillan.
• Taylor, Tim (2001). Digging the Dirt. Channel 4 Books.
• Taylor, Tim (2005). Time Team Guide to the Archaeological Sites of Britain and Ireland. Channel 4 Books.

External links

• "Time Team". Channel 4.
• Time Team's channel on YouTube
• "Time Team Digital" (official site). April 2011. — contains latest news from digs
• Time Team at IMDb
• Interview with Brigid Gallagher, Time Team archaeologist (audio recording / radio interview). RadioLIVE. April 2010.
• "Time Team geophysics: from pits to palaces" – The Past, 1 February 2011