Death in a Crescent

The beautiful city of Bath, in Somerset, is well known for its history and fine architecture, symbolised by the stunning Roman baths complex that used the natural hot springs on whcich the city's prosperity was founded. On the northern edge of the modern city centre, meanwhile, stands the glorious Royal Crescent – one of the most prestigious addresses in the West Country.

Time Team has been given permission to put trenches through the perfect lawns of the Royal Victoria Park, which fronts the Royal Crescent. Why? Because parch marks noticed in the ground here have indicated that some interesting archaeology could be lying under the surface. Add to this the Victorian-era discovery of a Roman sarcophagus in ground behind the Royal Crescent and it all adds up to a Time Team-sized mystery to sort out in the usual three days.

The known route of the Roman Julian Way passes across the north of the modern city. It's too far away to pass through this site, but could the parch marks in Victoria Park be a lost part of the Fosse Way, another Roman Road that passed through Bath and would have joined the Julian Way? Trenches are excavated all over the area in an attempt to understand the relationship between the site where the sarcophagus was found and the possible road.

After deep excavation, a Roman wall is found at the sarcophagus site, together with lots of evidence for structures – but no bodies. Over in Victoria Park, a Roman road surface is found – together with burials in the roadside. Terrible weather interrupts the dig at intervals as the Team tries to work out the complicated archaeology.

During the three days of investigation, Time Team discovers evidence of various buildings and bodies – even if they are not where it was expected to find them. Mick Aston concludes that Bath has always been a place where sick people came to sample the springs – and perhaps quite a few of them never survived, which is why burials are found all over the place there.

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