Ticks and topsoil: the Green Island environment

Protecting delicate ecology
Green Island is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and as such needs to be carefully protected so that its environment and ecology are not damaged. There are some particularly sensitive areas that the Team could not dig and mechanical diggers are also not permitted on the island.

Before any excavation could take place, an English Nature representative had to be consulted. Then photographs of the immediate area had to be taken before each trench was opened to record the environment. Even the topsoil was kept separately so that it could be reinstated properly after the dig. All of these measures had to be put in place to protect the delicate ecosystem of the island.

Feeding the ticks
Respecting the local ecology isn't always painless. It was the height of the tick season when Time Team visited Green Island, so everyone had to be covered in repellent. Unfortunately, though, they don't make a brand that's heavy duty enough for the geophysics team as they trekked up and down in the most heavily wooded and bracken-filled parts of the island.

John Gater lost count after removing 36 ticks that had developed a taste for the geofizz crew's blood. And by day three, about three-quarters of those working on the island had donated blood to the little critters. Tweezers became a standard part of the archaeological tool kit.

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