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'Everyone was on site early because it's today that the archaeomag dating is being done', says Mick the Dig. 'It takes about an hour to set it up so we had to get in early'.
This type of dating measures the polarity of the magnetic particles in the fired clay in the kiln. When clay is heated the magnetic particles in the clay align themselves with the earth's magnetic field. Then, when the kiln cools down they are frozen in position. By measuring the difference between the alignment of the magnetic particles in the clay and that of the earth's magnetic field today, archaeologists can date when the kiln was last used.
Ian Powlesland in Trench 2 is getting to the end of what has turned out to be a dump of broken (waster) tiles. The sectioning of Trench 1 continues and the whole trench is once more trowelled back to clean it.
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Very fine features have been identified in Trench 1, so Mick the Dig decides to plan and photograph the whole area in detail.
11am
Trench 2 is finished and Ian Powesland joins Mick the Dig in Trench 1.
12 noon
One hour to the live programme. Work is progressing well and the kiln base discovered yesterday evening is cleaning up nicely.
Steve and Matt from the web crew are called in to use the digital photography equipment. The first picture of the inside of the fire chamber is taken, the first time anybody has seen it for hundreds of years.
'You web guys are just way out there!', shouts Mick the Dig as the picture comes through.
Trench 1 kiln. Click on image to see larger version.
Live on television all the timing counts freeze on Tyler Hill. This means that nobody knows how long we need to be on air. Sandi, professional as ever, carries on and pulls the scenes together. To the viewing public it probably looked as though nothing had gone wrong behind the scenes.
2pm
Stop for lunch.
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Geophysics pick up another anomaly that could represent a workshop associated with the kiln. Mick decides to put another trench in – the third on this site.
in another attempt to locate
workshops
Excavation is running at full speed. After seeing the web-team photograph, the production crew have decided that they want to get one of their cameras in the kiln. Mick the Dig and his team start to take out the front of the kiln. This is to try to find the location of the last fire used to make tiles.
at full speed
A reconstruction of the kiln fire hole arch is started. Mick the Dig and Ian Powlesland finally hit the burnt soil context of the kiln's last fire. Everyone is hoping that the archaeomag dating is going to come in on time.
6pm
Trench 3 has offered up some nice pottery that could indicate the presence of a structure or some form of occupation layer in the stratigraphy. Mick and his team are nearly ready for the last broadcast tonight. Just a few hours to go and it will all be over!
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At the end of Time Team Live, what was the general consensus at Tyler Hill?
'Its been a fantastic site!' cheered Sandi Toksvig. 'This has been my third Time Team and it has been just fascinating.'
The kiln has been half sectioned. This is where a string line is taken across the feature and one half has been excavated. Specialist Mark Horton takes up the story: 'By sectioning the kiln we have left one half of it completely intact. This means that apart from enabling us to record a side profile of the archaeology, one half of the kiln is totally preserved for any future research.'
Though many were cogitating over the starting date for the kiln's use, the Team discovered that documentary evidence pointed to it going out of use by the 15th century. Mark Horton continues: 'We know that many manufacturers on the continent were producing large volumes of tiles. Trading ships were using them as ballast for return journeys to this country that could then be sold on. These imports would have put a great strain on local producers and flooded the market.'
Final words from Mick the Dig
'This has been a very interesting site to dig. At times it's been very delicate work, but it's been great to find such a well-preserved industrial kiln. We have to remember that though many of the finds have been pieces of tile, a kiln like this would have been fired many times and could have been used for other products like roof tiles or pottery. Following the geophysics it looks like there are other kilns here and we have managed to locate some traces of related structures, as well as dumps of waster tiles (those broken in manufacture). Overall its been good fun and I think I can safely say we have all enjoyed it.'
After the final field recordings of drawings and photographs are finished the kiln will be back filled. Perhaps some day another group of archaeologists will dig the site again and learn even more from that preserved half of the excavation section.
So what happens when the cameras stop rolling and the last programme has gone out? There is a mad rush to get everything packed away!
Apart from a small team of archaeologists who stay behind to finish recording the archaeology, everyone else is scrambling around trying to clear up more than 50 miles of cable, portaloos, catering equipment and production offices together with the hundreds of other things that make Time Team Live possible.
every day the location caterers
can go home.
All of the digging stops with the final end-of-day broadcast. After the field recording is finished the mechanical diggers move in to back fill the trenches. All of the archived information from the programme is deposited at the local records office and finds go to the Museum. It's been a job well done – roll on next year!
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