Codnor Castle, Derbyshire
First screened 6 January 2008

Q & A

Emily Boulting, producer and director of the Codnor Castle programme.

What's your favourite Time Team dig?
Codnor Castle – the castle seemed to be bursting to tell its story.

What's your favourite Time Team find?
The gold coin at Codnor Castle because it made the archaeologists behave like kids in a candy store.

What's the most important Time Team discovery?
The Roman boat in Utrecht.

What's your best Time Team moment?
I wasn't there, but to watch the moment Brig lifted a skeleton of a woman complete with a knot of plaited hair from the Keeill site in the Isle of Man. It was amazing that the plait had survived 1,400 years intact. It was one of those moments where you really feel that you are connecting with the past.

What's your favourite archaeological site in the UK?
The Roman farm at Frocester Court in Gloucestershire, a real gem of a site where the fantastic Eddie Price has been painstakingly studying the development of the site for over 25 years! It's a real labour of love and he's an inspirational figure. He came to lend us the benefit of his knowledge at a dig in Standish, Gloucestershire.

What's your favourite archaeological site abroad?
Too many to mention, but Ephesus has to be up there. It was the first site I ever visited, too many years ago to mention. But there are so many I would like to visit and haven't yet … particularly Pompeii.

Who's your archaeological hero?
Phil 'the Bloodhound' Harding, his instincts are amazing – he seems to be able to sense where the archaeology is.

What's your favourite archaeology book?
Castles and Landscape by Oliver Chreighton. I read it researching our dig at Queenborough Castle on the Isle of Sheppey and found it really fascinating. I had never really considered the impact of castles on the economy and landscape before reading this book.

If you could travel to one moment in time, where to and when?
The signing of the Magna Carta.

If you could dig one site, what would it be?
I would love to investigate some of the lumps and bumps around Stonehenge … because I bet that there are surprises all over the place.

If you could make one find, what would it be?
I would like to find something that answered a historical mystery.

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