Time Team Season 7 Episode 5 Birdoswald

In the season 7 episode 5 of Time Team, the team travels to Birdoswald, located in Hadrian's Wall, Cumbria. The episode starts with an aerial view of the site, which used to be a Roman fort and is now an English Heritage property. The team explains that the fort was built to control traffic across the nearby River Irthing and is one of the best-preserved in the area.

The team starts investigating the site by dividing it into different sections, each with its own time period or function. Phil Harding and archaeologist Tony Wilmott are in charge of investigating the Roman Baths, while geophysicist John Gater and historian Julian Richards focus on the fort's defences. Meanwhile, Carenza Lewis and Stewart Ainsworth investigate the civilian settlement outside the fort.

Phil and Tony start their investigation by excavating two test pits to locate the position of the baths. Using a drone, they capture a bird's eye view of the site, which helps them to locate the baths' remains. They then start digging a trench to uncover the bath's hypocaust system, which was used to heat the water. While the excavation progresses, Phil finds several Roman tiles with paw prints on them, indicating that a playful dog may have wandered around the site while the tiles were being made.

John and Julian start their investigation by locating the fort's entrance, which was located near the market square. They use ground-penetrating radar to locate the fort's defensive ditches, which have never been fully excavated before. They then focus on a nearby mound, which they believe could be an observation point for the Roman soldiers. To investigate the mound, they use a 3D laser scanner to create a detailed map of its surface. Julian then climbs the mound to see if there are any features visible from the top.

Carenza and Stewart start their investigation by looking for evidence of the civilian settlement outside the fort. They start by surveying the fields around Birdoswald and identifying any crop marks that may indicate the presence of buildings. They then dig several test pits to locate the position of the settlement's boundaries. While digging, they find several pieces of pottery and animal bones, which they send to the specialists for analysis.

The specialists then analyze the finds and reveal some interesting results. Phil's tiles are dated to the 2nd century AD, indicating that the baths were built around that time. John and Julian's 3D laser map shows that the mound was constructed on top of a pre-existing rampart, suggesting that the mound was built to improve the fort's defences during the later Roman period. Carenza and Stewart's pottery fragments are identified as being locally-made, indicating that the settlement had a thriving pottery industry.

The episode ends with the team gathering together to discuss their findings and reveal their conclusions. They conclude that Birdoswald was a well-maintained fort with a thriving civilian settlement outside its walls. The site was occupied from the 2nd century AD to the end of the Roman period, making it one of the longest continuously-occupied forts on Hadrian's Wall. The team's findings provide new insights into the daily life of the Roman soldiers and the civilians who lived and worked nearby.