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Roman Crime and Ancient DNA

Gold is found at a bishop’s palace, a Roman crime is uncovered, detectorists unearth a staggering bronze age haul, and ancient DNA solves a medieval mystery

Alice heads to the north of Britain to explore the region's most fascinating archaeological digs.

She first heads to County Durham to join archaeologists digging at the spectacular Auckland Palace, one of the best preserved Bishop’s palaces in Europe, for evidence of what happened here during Oliver Cromwell’s brief Commonwealth.

In the small town of Millom on the west coast of Cumbria, a community dig is taking place, bringing together volunteers from across the local community in search of their town’s history. It has turned up the biggest haul of medieval pottery ever discovered in Cumbria.

In Castleford, near the banks of the River Aire, Alice meets archaeologists working on the site of a new housing development who have uncovered a previously unknown Roman settlement.

In the parish of Kilmadock, in Scotland, an internationally significant Pictish stone was discovered five years ago, and expert stone conservators are now attempting to lift this ancient and fragile monument from beneath the ground.

Finally, a site in Cheshire that Digging for Britain first visited in 2018 sees DNA analysis work being done to reveal secrets that have remained hidden in a 13th-century graveyard for centuries.

Release date:

59 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Alice Roberts
Editor Joe Marcus
Producer Terry Black
Producer Louise Ord
Executive Producer Alexander Gardiner
Executive Producer Rory Wheeler
Executive Producer Edward Hart
Series Producer Dominic Ozanne
Production Company Rare TV

Broadcast

Digging for Ireland

Digging for Ireland

Outstanding archaeology from Ireland, including perfectly preserved Iron Age bog bodies