Time team booklets

Since 1995, Channel 4 has produced site reports for each of the Time Team series, all written by the series' producer Tim Taylor. They describe how each dig progressed, what was found, what was the significance of these finds and, when appropriate, what the Team did wrong! In addition, each booklet contains a full resources section, giving relevant organisations and further reading, and in the 1996 and 1997 booklets, there are also updates on the sites investigated in previous series.

The Time Team reports

• The possible location of the ancient Gaelic 'inauguration' ceremony of the Lords of the Isles on the Scottish island of Islay
• The parkland surrounding 14th-century Hylton Castle near Sunderland, before it is redeveloped by the local council
• The likelihood that a substantial Romano-British villa was the source of a small Roman statue found in a village church in Wiltshire
• Areas on London's north and south banks where the Romans might have made their first crossing of the Thames
• A 6th-century Saxon cemetery on land near Salisbury owned by a cash-strapped developer

£3.50

TIME TEAM 96

• A prehistoric 'fogou' in deepest Cornwall to discover its size, where the people who built it lived and what it was used for
• The graveyard of over 5,000 mammoths near Oxford to find out what the landscape looked like 200,000 years ago
• The remains of a preceptory owned by the medieval Knights Templar in Somerset
• A rare Venetian wreck that may have been part of the Armada, found off the Devon coast
• The palace of the legendary kings of Ulster, to search for trackways and ceremonial routes
• A farm field in Suffolk littered with pieces of Roman pottery, to find the buildings and industrial activity that may have been the sources of these finds

£3.75

Time Team 97

• Historic St Mary's City on the coast of Maryland, where some of the earliest English settlers landed and which was the site of the first governor's mansion in America
• The remnants of Matthew Boulton's manufactory in Handsworth, Birmingham, one of the most important sites of the Industrial Revolution
• The site of a 13th-century leper hospital in Launceston, Cornwall
• The origins of 31 'hogback' grave markers in Govan, Glasgow, carved during the Dark Ages
• A scheduled site in Malton, North Yorkshire, where, under a Roman fort, lurked a Norman castle and a Jacobean mansion lay beneath an orchard
• The remains of a substantial Roman villa underneath a disused army training camp on Salisbury Plain

£4.00 (reprinting)

For information on how to order these publications, visit the Time Team publications page on the main Time Team website.

Other books

An Atlas of Roman Britain by Barri Jones and David Mattingly (Blackwell, 1993) paperback £15.99
An amazing accumulation of archaeological evidence has been used to map every aspect of Roman life on a countrywide scale, including the distribution of Roman forts, towns, villas, potteries and quarries. Lots of additional plans and useful descriptions on each topic.

The Finds of Roman Britain by Guy de la Bédoyère (Batsford, 1989) paperback £14.99
Written in non-specialist English, this is a well-illustrated guide to the various Roman finds from sites across the country, placing them within their social context.

Roman Britain by T W Potter (British Museum Press, 1983) paperback £6.95
The four centuries during which the Roman presence in Britain rose, flourished and declined changed every aspect of life: industry, trade, government, the arts and learning. This book gives an illustrated outline of the period.

Roman Britain by Tim Potter and Catherine Johns ('Exploring the Roman World' series, British Museum Publications, 1992) hardback £19.95
A survey of the effects of Roman culture on Britain and its people, by two British Museum curators. Includes evidence from the latest archaeological discoveries, including the Vindolanda writing tablets and the Thetford and Snettisham treasures, as well as a gazetteer of noteworthy sites to visit.

Roman London by Jenny Hall and Ralph Merrifield (HMSO in conjunction with the Museum of London) £4.95
Up-to-date, all-colour booklet containing descriptions of recent archaeology.

Roman Villas and the Countryside by Guy de la Bédoyère (Batsford in association with English Heritage, 1993) paperback £15.99
A good account of villa buildings and the way of life of the people who lived in them. Demonstrates that, while the hundreds of such country houses that once existed in Roman Britain may have varied in size and richness, they had many similarities in layout and surroundings.

Roman Villas by David Johnston (Shire Archaeology series, 4th edition 1994) £3.95
An excellent concise guide to the archaeology of villas, their architecture and their role in the life of Roman Britain as centres for agricultural production. The Shire series is extremely useful, and the introductory books in it can be found in every museum bookshop in the country.

A Taste of Ancient Rome by Ilaria Gozzini Giacosa (University of Chicago Press, 1992) paperback £13.50
More than 200 recipes from ancient Rome are updated here for the modern chef, including everything from sauces, soups and appetisers to meat, fish, vegetables and desserts. Includes an introduction to the history of banqueting in ancient Rome, as well as everyday menus of Roman families.

Roman Britain: places to visit

The following are well worth visiting to get a feel for the particular corner of the Romano-British world of which the Time Team villa was a part.

Corinium Museum
Park Street
Cirencester
Gloucestershire GL7 2BX
Tel: (01285) 655 611
Fax: (01285) 643 286
Houses one of the finest collections of antiquities from Roman Britain - many beautiful mosaic floors, a reconstructed dining room (triclinium) of a Roman town house, plus a kitchen complete with menus, a butcher's shop and a Roman garden, complete with wall paintings. Can also be contacted for details of Roman sites to visit in the Cotswolds, including the following.

Chedworth Roman Villa
Yanworth
Cheltenham
Gloucestershire GL54 3LJ
Tel: (01242) 890 256