The west of Britain is explored for the best of its archaeological digs and post excavation discoveries.\n\nIn north Somerset, archaeologists are blown away by the discovery of an entirely new Roman town in the intended pathway of some new electricity cables. Multiple, impressive layers of road building from the Roman era are revealed, including a spectacular section from the 4th century when Emperor Constantine presided over a boom in Britain's economy.\n\nOn the sleepy hills of south Dorset, we finally discover the age of Britain's cheekiest giant chalk figure – the Cerne Abbas giant. Previous guesses ranged from the Bronze Age to the early Georgian period and anywhere in between. But a combination of miniature medieval snails and cutting-edge luminescence dating have narrowed the date of his origin to the late Anglo-Saxon era.\n\nAlice visits a Ministry of Defence dig on the chalky downs of Salisbury plain. A team of ex-servicemen working with Operation Nightingale, a charity that helps ex-servicemen and women suffering with PTSD, dig down to save an astonishing early Anglo-Saxon burial site from treasure hunters. A single large grave is surrounded by smaller graves, all revealing beads, combs, knives, rings and even a spear. Lead archaeologist Richard Osgood brings the best of the finds into the Digging for Britain tent to show Alice what they tell us about Anglo-Saxon migration.\n\nIn Pembrokeshire, Alice revisits Whitesands Bay, where a team are excavating a mysterious collection of child burials. A strange ceremonial feature that has been uncovered shows clear evidence that early medieval people made great efforts to bury their dead children as close as possible to it.\n\nAnd in Northern Ireland, a dig finally locates the site of a WWII aircraft which crashed after a secret mission went terribly wrong. The families of the young men who died have asked a young team of volunteers to locate and recover any remaining debris and hold a proper memorial for their relatives.
Source: BBC 4
The Greatest Discoveries: Episode 1
Professor Alice Roberts re-examines key archaeological sites of prehistoric Britain, from the arrival of the earliest humans to mysterious ceremonies at Stonehenge.
05-04-2024
BBC 4
Series 9: Episode 6
The north of England is so rich in archaeological finds that Alice Roberts is travelling back there once again to reveal more of its fascinating history.\n\nShe starts this jour ...
29-03-2024
BBC 4
Series 9: Episode 5
The west of Britain is explored for the best of its archaeological digs and post excavation discoveries.\n\nIn north Somerset, archaeologists are blown away by the discovery of ...
28-03-2024
BBC 4
Series 9: Episode 4
Alice Roberts travels across the Midlands, looking at the best archaeology uncovered last year in the heart of England. \n\nIn a Digging for Britain exclusive, we join palaeonto ...
27-03-2024
BBC 4
Series 9: Episode 3
The show travels to the north of the UK to look at the most fascinating archaeology uncovered in the region over the course of 2021. \n\nIn North Yorkshire, a team of community ...
26-03-2024
BBC 4
Series 9: Episode 2
The south of England is the location for a rich and colourful selection of outstanding archaeology excavated in this episode.\n\nThe HS2 High Speed Rail line from London to Birm ...
21-03-2024
BBC 4
Series 9: Episode 1
This episode sees Alice Roberts tour the East of England, seeking out the most outstanding archaeological digs of the year.\n\nStarting in style, she witnesses the uncovering of ...
20-03-2024
BBC 4
Series 11: 6. Forgotten Fortresses And Lost Villages
Digs in the west of Britain reveal a forgotten fortress teetering on the edge of a cliff, evidence of the oldest house in Cardiff and a discovery at a Roman mosaic that shocks t ...
15-02-2024
BBC 4
Series 11: 5. 3000-year-old Shoes And Giant Axeheads
Archaeology in the south of England unearths Britain’s oldest shoe, the lost shipyard of one of England’s greatest warrior kings and Britain’s top-secret WWII ...
08-02-2024
BBC 4
Series 11: 4. A Roman Mystery And Waterloo’s Disappearing Dead
Roberts reveals the most fascinating archaeological finds this year in the East of England: a Roman dodecahedron, the secrets of Boudicca’s hill fort and Waterloo’s ...
01-02-2024
BBC 4
Series 11: 1. The Roman Emperor’s Bathhouse
Digs in northern Britain reveal a Roman emperor’s lost bathhouse, the sunken treasures of medieval pilgrims and a formidable fortress perched on top of a Scottish mountain.
11-01-2024
BBC 4
Series 11: 3. A Norman Panic Room And A Mesolithic Fish Trap
In the west of Britain, there's a rare medieval cemetery, a disappearing Mesolithic landscape, a mysterious Iron Age burial and the ruins of a Gothic masterpiece.
25-01-2024
BBC 4
Series 7: 1. North
Professor Alice Roberts celebrates the biggest and best archaeological discoveries of 2018 from the north of the UK. Each digging team has been filming its own excavations, givi ...
05-05-2021
BBC 4
Series 10: 3. Headless Romans And Anglo Saxon Gold
A gatehouse riddled with Civil War bullets, a unique Iron Age shield made from bark and Roman burials with pots where the heads should be.
17-05-2023
BBC 4
Series 9: Episode 1
This episode sees Alice Roberts tour the East of England, seeking out the most outstanding archaeological digs of the year.\n\nStarting in style, she witnesses the uncovering of ...
20-03-2024
BBC 4
Series 8: 1. West
Professor Alice Roberts returns with the eighth series of BBC Four’s Digging for Britain. In the first episode, we explore this year’s finds in the west of Britain. ...
06-06-2023
BBC 4
Series 6: 2. East
Professor Alice Roberts explores some of this year's most exciting archaeological finds from the east of Britain. Each discovery comes straight from the trenches/site, filmed by ...
26-09-2019
BBC 4
Series 10: 4. Mystery Shipwreck And A Roman Army Camp
Alice Roberts reveals a Dutch ship sunk by the English, a Cornish Roman fort and a 5,000-year-old Neolithic monument.
23-05-2023
BBC 4
Series 6: 1. West
Professor Alice Roberts explores some of this year's most exciting archaeological finds from the west of Britain. Each discovery comes straight from the trenches/site, filmed by ...
20-09-2019
BBC 4
Series 10: 5. Roman Mosaics And Ancient Weapons
Travelling east, Alice discovers a Roman barn conversion, unearths a Tudor fort and finds intricately carved 10,000-year-old weapons.
24-05-2023
BBC 4