[Cross-posted to Revise & Dissent]
Tony and Phil visit the Queen to get permission to dig up her lawn.
I like Time Team even though it’s fashionable to scoff at it. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, it’s an archaeology documentary series. Rather than talk about what has been found though, it follows the process of an archaeological dig over three days. Its not a view of a typical dig, there are masses of equipment that simply aren’t available to the average excavation teams and it only lasts three days, but it’s a very good attempt at showing the archaeological process. In recent years the idea has been taken further with ‘live’ digs. These are digs usually over the August bank holiday where instead of the one-hour summary you get daily shows on the finds.
This year they’re hitting three sites similtaneously: Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Holyroodhouse as part of their Big Royal Dig. That’s a lot of medieval and post-medieval archaeology for one weekend — but they did have a Big Roman Dig a couple of years back, so I can see the attraction of the palaces. My initial reaction was that this was a mistake. The three sites are different. Buckingham Palace is quite modern, while Windsor Castle was a Norman foundation. Holyroodhouse, belongs to another royal tradition and the three sites have tended to have different functions. Beyond the fact they’re associated with modern royalty is there enough to sensibly draw them together? Having seen the first programme last night I think there might be, and it’s the modern connection that makes the programme interesting. It’s the difference that could highlight what the British perceive as regal and how that has changed over time. If I can get over my own republicanism* then it could be an interesting weekend.
Improvements in communications for this dig over previous years are plentiful. As before Channel 4 has a website, but this year there’s a lot more to it. There are also blogs being updated throughout the day and live live coverage on More4. If you can’t get More4 then you’re missing the opportunity of watching someone scrape a trowel over the same block of bricks for ten minutes. Or the archaeologist who patiently cleans a trench by pulling back the loose soil and softly swears under his breath as the camera follows him along — standing in front of him.
If you can register and get the link to work you can also watch the show over the net via a simulcast. It’s on at 19:25 to 21:25 today, 20:00 to 21:00 tomorrow and 21:00 to 22:00 on Monday — all times BST.
*To say you’re a republican in the UK carries a different meaning to the USA. A British republican thinks it’s a bad idea for someone to become Head of State simply because their father was.
I have to admit I have somewhat of a little geeky crush on Tony Robinson. A couple of months ago, History Television (Canada) showed his “Worst Jobs in History” series and a special he did on the Da Vinci Code (I am sooooo sick of this but that’s another story altogether…). I love the way he explains things in plain language and in a no-nonsense way, making the information he’s trying to pass on accessible to everyone.
I had read about Time Team on one of the BBC sites (I think?) a while ago and can’t wait for it to beshown on Canadian television. I would love to see how historic digs differ from the prehistoric ones I’ve worked on here in Canada.
A friend of mine had worked on an archaeological dig just outside of Rome one summer and we were talking about the differences in classical vs. prehistoric archaeology. On her dig, they used shovels, dug trenches and often tossed items into a discard pile (pottery, etc.). On prehistoric, at least in my limited experience, everything is kept including the tiniest piece of flaked stone. Degitage and even refuse in historic sites can tell you so much. Anyways, once more, I’ve digressed…hopefully we’ll be have the privilege (*sigh*) of seeing Mr. Robinson here on television once again very soon.
I agree with your definition of Republican — just because you’re born into royalty doesn’t mean you’re the best choice to rule. History has proven that time and again.
As for the idea of a “live dig” — I have mixed feelings. The general public, in my experience, doesn’t want to see the minute by minute details. Trowel scrape after trowel scrape without having a “major find” would cause people to tune out. They want the highlights, the juicy details and that one amazing find that will change history as we know it. Archaeology is about patience. On my field school, while we had a few minor finds and plenty of cast off flakes (lots of stone tool prep had been done by different groups on the same site over hundreds of years) we went 6 weeks without a “major find”. The few hikers who passed by our site (we were in a national park) high in the mountains stayed to hear what we were doing but quickly became bored and moved on. They would stop on their way back and asked if we found anything “cool”.
One of the things that I miss from England is “Time Team”. Especially the episodes where they made use of their refine archaeological techniques (like the one in the photo): http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6842/1699/1600/tt10.0.jpg
Unfortunately I can’t see the photo. My imagination’s running wild.
Sorry about that…
Well, it’s only a bulldozer! *S*
BRILLIANT, FABULOUS, QUALITY,WISH I COULD BE THERE, REGARDS RAB.
Did not like the floozies want old format.