Digging for Britain.S12E05.Chariots and Slaves (2025)

Alice travels through the west of Britain, exploring the region's most exciting archaeological digs.

A previously unknown Roman villa complex is unearthed west of Oxford, including the well-preserved foundations of a villa.

On the island of Anglesey, at a World War II airbase that was the site of the most significant iron age discovery ever made in Wales, MOD metal detectorists discover a fully articulated horse bridle and small part of a chariot.

Alice travels to Llantwit Major, where she joins archaeologists searching for a long-lost monastery founded by the venerated Celtic saint, St Illtud, which would have once been at the centre of Christianity in Britain.

In Ilfracombe, a picturesque seaside town on the north coast of Devon, archaeologists digging ahead of a new housing development have discovered the sturdy remains of a 17th-century farmhouse, with finds that help show the role Devonshire merchants played in the transatlantic slave trade.

At a massive road infrastructure project on the edge of the Cotswolds, archaeologists have stripped back 60 hectares and discovered the foundations of a mysterious, isolated building that would have been situated on the Roman road-side of Ermine Way.

Finally, Alice heads to her hometown of Bristol, where investigations on the plot of a proposed shopping centre in the densely populated area of Bedminster have uncovered the site of an 18th-century water mill.

First shown: 7 Jan 2025