Students' Roman villa excavation to feature on show
University of LeicesterStudent archaeologists will feature in a programme showcasing the excavation of a Roman villa in the Leicestershire countryside.
The University of Leicester has joined forces with popular archaeology show Time Team to produce the new episode.
It will go behind the scenes of a two-week dig in May 2024 that was run as a field school for first-year archaeology students at the university.
The episode will air on Time Team's YouTube channel on Saturday from 19:00 BST.
The university said the site revealed evidence of late Iron Age occupation as well as a substantial Roman villa, which likely dates back to the 2nd Century.
Findings from the discovery have been providing new insights into the rural landscape of Roman Britain, the university added.
University of LeicesterArchaeology student Isabel Higham said: "It was great getting out in the field and applying everything we'd learned in the classroom.
"Our episode will hopefully give anyone thinking about studying archaeology at university a better idea of what's involved and they'll also learn something about Roman Leicestershire along the way."
Using mobile phone footage taken by regular Time Team contributor Dr Philippa Walton, lecturer in Roman archaeology at the University of Leicester, the episode adopts a "Dig Diary" approach.
The show documents every step of the project from initial geophysical survey, through the excavation and recording of archaeological remains, to careful examination of pottery, wall plaster and tiny fragments of ancient plants.
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