For six months in the latter half of 2000, Time Team followed an excavation in Ely, Cambridgeshire, for a special 90-minute documentary.
The excavation, carried out by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit, covered a strip of land the size of two football pitches, running down to the river Ouse from Broad Street in the centre of the town.
It revealed a remarkable picture of Ely in past centuries: channels where boats used to moor to load and unload goods; a medieval kiln with huge quantities of high-quality pottery finds; and a series of buildings from different periods fronting the road at Broad Street.
What could the dig tell us about the history of the 'island of the eels'? And how far back could it trace the origins of this cathedral city?
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