The boat on the Rhine

For this programme Time Team visited one of the biggest building sites in Europe to unearth a perfectly preserved Roman boat. The Team was invited by Dutch archaeologists to help rescue crucial evidence from a 35-metre-long barge that once transported goods along the Rhine. The river – the 'motorway of Roman Europe', as one of the Dutch experts described it – was the vital supply line between Roman Britain and the rest of the empire. This would be the last chance to investigate the boat before the bulldozers moved in. The boat itself would be preserved, but buried beneath a cycle route.

The quality of the archaeology was to astound even the most seasoned diggers as they revealed a beautifully crafted wooden vessel that has survived intact for almost 2,000 years. There is also evidence that it was sunk on purpose. But why? Over three days Time Team and their Dutch colleagues were able to tell the story of a boat that turned out to be unlike any other that has been excavated.

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