Under the fishpond

In 1999, keen gardener Pat Jones and her partner, Morris, were busy digging their back garden to create a new ornamental fishpond. Little did they know that under their feet were human remains.

'We were amazed when we uncovered a skull and parts of a vessel,' says Pat. 'We called out the police, archaeologists and even the forensic people. My next move was to contact Time Team.'

Confines and restrictions
The Team has a struggle fitting all of the diggers and production crew into the end-of-terrace back garden. Soon the immaculate flower beds and lawns are fighting a losing battle against the shovels and mechanical diggers. With time ticking by, and only three days to discover what is hidden under the surface, the Team works into the evenings and digs deeper into the ground.

Series producer Tim Taylor has agreed to a strict research design, which limits the dig to the back garden and some adjoining allotments. 'The back garden digs are always good,' he says, 'and it doesn't do us any harm to concentrate on a small area.'

Typical Time Team
What Professor Mick Aston would term a 'typical Time Team' unfolds over the three days. After Pat's initial find, the Team discovers nothing at all on the first day. By midday on day two the production team is starting to get jittery – and then, like a long-awaited revelation, Phil Harding uncovers a grave cut. From this point on the finds come thick and fast, and the persevering diggers are finally rewarded with the discovery of a scattered Anglo-Saxon cemetery.

Text only