Burying 55,000 coins was one of the more unusual moments of this series. We had ordered the coins from a very surprised looking cashier at the bank. It wasn't until we picked them up that we realised quite how heavy that many coins are! It took 15 minutes to load the Landrover with all 55,000 for the drive to Wiltshire.
Acquiring the coins was only part of the challenge. Our Production Coordinator had to spend hours visiting every local garden centre close by, looking for a suitable pot to bury our hoard in. Armed with a sketch of the original coin hoard container, she had to try and find a modern pot that looked Roman.
Getting ready for the first scene
One of the biggest jobs on this shoot was piecing together the previous digs that had taken place on site in the 1950s and 60s. An excavation report had never been published and no-one was sure exactly where the trenches had been dug. We spent two days in Wiltshire Heritage Museum looking at original sketches, photos and rough plans working out what had been dug.
The weather on this shoot fluctuated between glorious summer and monsoon. When working for Time Team it's important to invest in some good waterproofs, ours were put to the test by five hours of heavy rain on Day One. The weather roller coaster wasn't over - on Day Two the rain clouds had been replaced by high winds. In the big open field they ripped across the site blowing away anything that wasn't held down. We're still looking for the researcher...
