Digging for Britain Season 9 Episode 3 (BBC Four Monday 10 April 2023)

Digging for Britain airs a new episode tonight Monday 10 April 2023 on BBC Four.

Season 9 Episode 3 The episode visits the northern United Kingdom to examine the most intriguing archaeology discovered there in 2021.

Richmond Castle is one of the oldest and best-preserved Norman castles in the United Kingdom, and it is currently being excavated by a group of local volunteers who are uncovering a rich 1,000-year history, from the castle’s beginnings as a Norman stronghold to its intimate role as a prison for conscientious objectors during World War I.

Our cameras are on the scene as archaeologists race against time to save priceless artefacts from a crumbling Neolithic tomb in the northernmost Orkney Islands.

Scotland’s oldest railway, a pioneering horse-powered wooden track that predates the age of steam trains by over a century, is being searched for by a group of enthusiastic volunteers ten miles east of Edinburgh.

Only ten miles from Sheffield, in the heart of the Peak District, archaeologists are using modern chemical research to uncover remnants of a once-thriving Roman industry: lead processing. Since Italy lacked sufficient lead deposits, the Romans looked elsewhere in their vast empire for the metal. They finally found it in Britain.

To learn more about how the Romans transformed raw lead metal into the water pipes and plumbing of the Roman Empire, Dr. Stuart Prior conducts experimental archaeology and travels to Somerset, home to the world-famous Roman baths. Stuart also learns of an unexpected Roman application for this malleable metal: ancient bathers used it to inscribe messages to the gods and curses on their contemporaries.

Archaeologists in Hull have the rare opportunity to study a massive cemetery from the city’s whaling and shipping boom of the industrial era. However, findings of trauma and injuries among the remains on site highlight the risks posed by new Industrial Revolution technologies.

Airdate: Monday 10 April 2023 at 8.00pm on BBC Four.

Season 9 Episode 3

Featured Image Credit: BBC Four