Time Team Season 10 Episode 1
Time Team
Season 10

Ep 1. Garden Secrets, Raunds, Northants

  • April 18, 2009

Time Team season 10 episode 1, titled "Garden Secrets, Raunds, Northants," takes us to rural Northamptonshire, where experts and archaeologists from Time Team explore a garden landscape that hides secrets from the Roman period to World War II. The episode opens with the Time Team arriving at a farmhouse where the homeowners have a beautiful garden, surrounded by a moat that dates back to the 12th century. The team starts their work and splits into groups to uncover the garden's past.

One group starts by exploring a large pond in the garden that at one time may have been a fish pond. To get to the pond, they had to dig through layers of clay that the homeowners had added over the years. After digging down a few feet, they found a layer of peat that dated back to the Roman period. They also found a lot of animal bones, indicating a butchery area at some point.

Another group focused on a grassy mound next to the pond, which was thought to be an old medieval motte and bailey castle. They used ground-penetrating radar to see what was under the mound, and they found a lot of stones and debris, meaning that the mound was likely a castle. They also found signs of a ditch surrounding the mound, which would have been used as a defense mechanism.

A third group worked on the garden's perimeter, investigating the walls and gates. They discovered that the walls dated back to the late 17th century, which was surprising since the farmhouse itself was thought to be much older. They also found an old gate that may have been a point of entry to the property at some point.

Throughout the episode, the Time Team makes many amazing discoveries, but one that stands out is a wall that they find while digging around the perimeter of the garden. The wall is old, but it's not clear how old it is. They find the wall by accident while looking for something else, and they're amazed at what they find. It's a great example of how archaeology can be so unpredictable, and it shows how the smallest discoveries can lead to the biggest breakthroughs.

One of the best things about this episode is the way that it shows how archaeology can connect us to our past. The homeowners themselves are amazed at what the Time Team finds, from the Roman-era peat to the medieval motte and bailey castle. The experts on the show do a great job of explaining how the different layers of history all connect, and how even the smallest discoveries can tell us a lot about our ancestors.

Overall, Time Team season 10 episode 1, "Garden Secrets, Raunds, Northants," is a fascinating exploration of a garden that holds secrets from centuries past. The experts and archaeologists on the show do a great job of uncovering these secrets, and the episode is full of amazing discoveries that connect us to the past.

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Description
  • First Aired
    April 18, 2009
  • Language
    English