The Priceless Roman Mosaics Buried Beneath This Field in Somerset | Time Team | Odyssey

Time Team visit Somerset to investigate shards of an ancient Roman mosaic that keep turning up. When the Time Team discover layer upon layer of mosaic, they know they've come across something special.
Odyssey is your journey into the world of Ancient History; from the dawn of Mesopotamia to the fall of Rome. We'll be bringing you only the best documentaries that journey into the mysteries and ruins of worlds long lost.
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[@chrisdresen4823]

Episodes like this have me saving loudly to my pc "Make this a whole season and uncover the whole thing!!"

[@JillAnderson-cx4dv]

😊

[@corban8472]

I want to see all of it

[@hawk4192]

They did a follow-up on this site. I grew up there and participated in the '05 dig, but had left by the time of the follow-up. All the locals knew it was there and a lot of us have little trinkets from the fields after they would plow.

[@suzbone]

​@@hawk4192that's awesome!

[@susanmercurio1060]

Me too

[@user-mirn0858]

Phil is an example of a man who you might think would get tired of digging in the dirt, but he absolutely loves it. It is lovely to see a man who loves to do what he does. And I have to say it is nice to see these folks working in nice weather for a change. I give them credit for working through all kinds of wind and rain and cold. Thank you everyone.

[@rrr92462]

It's just so amazing to see a mosaic as it's discovered and unearthed. Plus the fact that it's 1500 years old!

[@LoveratLoves]

As an Australian I am SO jealous of the history of England and finding awesome stuff like this.

[@stephanieyee9784]

Ditto! I would love to find a Roman villa, Iron Age round house, any ancient coin (but preferably a silver hammered one), an Anglo-Saxon Anything, a Danish ie Viking hoard or ship burial in my backyard or top field. We just don't have anything comparable here. ❤️🇦🇺

[@lauralake7430]

As an American, same

[@aliveandhearty7321]

I don't doubt there's pretty awesome stuff in Australia too ...obviously not roman mosaics but amazing folkways dismissed as savagery.

[@aliveandhearty7321]

I don't doubt there's pretty awesome stuff in Australia too ...obviously not roman mosaics but amazing folkways dismissed as savagery.

[@brawdygordii]

​@@stephanieyee9784As an Australian I think you probably do share the history of Britain somewhere?

[@Motorsportqueen]

I started doing mosacis 20 years ago. These ancient mosaics are so inspiring.

[@Zuckerpuppekopf]

It must have been an amazing privilege for Time Team to have had the first dig opportunity at this wonderful site. Given its significance, was there ever additional excavations done at later dates, any new discoveries about its history?

[@mk_oddity2841]

Time Team did a follow-up on this site for their "Big Roman Dig" series in 2005, and the University of Winchester continued to do excavations there until 2007. I couldn't find any information after that, unfortunately. Lots of stuff behind paywalls. Sigh.

[@JLCra87]

Its really amazing how time has just worn away the walls and all the upper structure down and simultaneously just burried the foundations 6 inches under the dirt. I realize that's almost 2,000 years. Just kind of mind blowing regardless. Amazing that so many floors and mosaics have been preserved for all that time.

[@markharris4778]

wow what a fantastic find, so special so unique, hope they keep digging, would love to see it competed

[@annazaman9657]

I think they dug more of it in a time team special

[@bevstrohfeldt8346]

After a long life of being facinated whith history in all forms, watching the Time Teams discovery today I felt a deep satisfaction What a spectacular find! The Team mustbe so thrilled, as we are just watching their excitement. Bevmusic

[@LordTelperion]

Is there a part II?? I must know more!

[@DipityS]

The home was large enough to look more like a public building such as a hotel - what an amazing dig this must have been - it would have been so exciting to be there on the ground when they were rediscovering this treasure. And all because Trudy decided to do a bit of spot arachnology - bless her!

[@catofthecastle1681]

She found a spider?

[@laurapianezzola3934]

​@catofthecastle1681 maybe it means she dug the hole in a webbed pattern.

[@brawdygordii]

​@@catofthecastle1681She not only found a spider she studied it!

[@mrdanforth3744]

All over Britain beautiful houses like this were abandoned and pulled down shortly after the Roman legions left, and the people moved to hill forts. It seems because they could not be defended. For a thousand years the wealthy and powerful lived in some kind of fort or castle. Only in the late 14th and early 15th century did they start to build something resembling this Roman villa or what we call the stately homes of old England. Stunning to think how quickly civil society collapsed and how long it took to re establish law and order.

[@Odanti]

I love time team; they are so awesome. I love history. ❤️🙏❤️

[@FreejackVesa]

I like to think about the people who used to walk these corridors of tile. They had no idea that one day the floor they were walking on would be excavated and posted onto some global sharing platform. Weird to think that the every day objects we interact with during our lives will likely outlive us.

[@KingNoTail]

I could just tell that coin at 8:15 had the portrait of Nero on it without Guy even having to say it. His portraits always looked very unique.

[@katherinekinnaird4408]

Very interesting. Thank you for inviting us with you.

[@glorialange6446]

This is my favorite dig of them all. Mosaics are my special passion and I love this

[@AdamBechtol]

Pretty remarkable. I can't imagine wanting to farm that land going forward. I'd be digging it up for the rest of my days. Though I dunno how laws work for that sort of thing in the U.K.

[@shahad_alsayed]

Absolutely fantastic I mean not only the roman's building..but the archeology, the geophysics and the whole team..they are really briliant scientist..would love to.watch the next finding. Thank you for sharing the knowledge

[@MLove-777]

That is exciting...🎉

[@jonathaneffemey944]

Thanks so much for posting.

[@drewofearth6681]

These people blow my mind with their archaeological approach. There’s a lot of prep, don’t get me wrong… but they’re like, basically SCOOPING this stuff out with a pickaxe. 😂

[@breathinggreen2790]

My man holding papers in his hand while being in the open door of a helicopter must have nerves of steel.😮

[@jacquiedwards160]

Amazing... simply amazing... I, like a few other commenters, would love to know what happened to the floors as well

[@jonap5740]

The floor found under the driveway was removed to All Saints Church in Lopen.

[@johng4093]

I wonder what the farmer is going to do with that land now.

[@mcburcke]

Truly amazing find! I hope it gets, or has already been, fully excavated and evaluated...its got to be one of the very top villas in Britain.

[@jeanniewaters8465]

Andy has a great future! I appreciate his straightforward, informational style. By far he and Ryan Hall are slam dunk the best❤

[@AnthonyTobyEllenor-pi4jq]

One of the best programmes ever !

[@lindak8664]

If that was my field I wouldn’t be able to resist uncovering all of that. What a wonderful thing to find below your cows.

[@johannahellingh5138]

one of my favorite episodes!

[@no-secret-chart]

Thank you! ❤ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 ❤ We are visiting next week!

[@user-ru3ql6ji4p]

No man loves stones like Phil Harding.

[@OlJarhead]

How are these works of art preserved? Are they covered with some sort of protective sheet then recovered with dirt… are they removed bit by bit and reassembled elsewhere?

[@iamnutty8471]

no they are hugely expensive to remove even if worth saving, they just rebury them and tell the farmer dont plough deeper then X

[@jonap5740]

@@iamnutty8471 This isn't true of all of them. The Lopen Mosaic is displayed in All Saints Church.

[@johnhenrygrzyb7970]

I’ve been told that if there’s enough money and time, they will take what they have with them to wherever they can display it or save it. If they can’t, they have to re-bury it and mark it. This with the hope that they can come back one day and get it. Sadly, a lot of the times they can’t ever go back because of money.

[@chrisb3989]

Can it be removed? Why? Remember the most important rule of Archaeology…..do no harm. The rest is irrelevant…it’s not going to deteriorate in any meaningful way in the next hundred of years……in the years to come much better investigating techniques will be available……we often complain about damage done by crude archaeology in years gone bye…..let’s not do that. Look at what we can without damaging it and leave the rest for the future.

[@FreejackVesa]

@@chrisb3989we the issue is that it's a plow field. It's land that belongs to a farmer, not the national trust or whatever. They can't force the farmer to not make a livelihood just to protect what's in the ground.

[@stephanieyee9784]

Trudy must have been beside herself when she unearthed the puece of mosaic! How amazing to have this Enormous Romano Celtic villa with stunning mosaics in your field.

[@hannahbrown2728]

After maybe half a dozen rewatches Ive finally noticed Tony saving face around at 14:00 cause he cant bare to admit he likes little finds just as much as big ones. Thats a good chunk of plaster!

[@Tawadeb]

Fabulous dig

[@ericvosselmans5657]

Baldric is going places

[@IAlwaysWantedToTryThat]

That's *Sir* Baldric, if you please!

[@Val.Kyrie.]

GOBBLEDEJUKE

[@jeanettenorman7052]

How amazing

[@williambock1821]

Geez,I wish Rome would take over MY town! I’d sign up for a slice of that pie and a mansion in a second!

[@HollyMoore-wo2mh]

That would be a HUGE villa. My goodness it’s huge.

[@lisamoore6804]

Mosaics are my favorite.

[@mrod4517]

How can they rebury this finds? This should be preserved in an open air museum!

[@mrdanforth3744]

If they bury it, it will be preserved as it has been for 1600 years. If it was left exposed to the elements it would deteriorate. It can be re excavated later if it becomes possible to build a museum over it.

[@sterling557]

​@@mrdanforth3744Unless someone tries to steal it by digging it up and damages it in the process. Or someone damages it just for jollies, like happened to the 400 year old notch tree by Hadrian's Wall.

[@bethbartlett5692]

One of my Top 5 Favorite *"Time Team Episodes"* Much more exciting than "Anglos Saxon's Post Holes".

[@Moonlight-yi3kp]

I hope they will return someday to uncover everything

[@ranamcmahon7653]

Wow Wow Wow 😯 that's what I have to say!!! 🎉❤

[@JLCra87]

Oh dang... Can you imagine that farmer who plowed over the Mosaic lol. Just minding your business with no idea you're dragging a metal blade across a 2,000 year old piece of history lol.

[@GrandmaBev64]

I just love what you guys do! I've always wanted to go on an excavation, problem was I kept asking my father to go on an exhibition! Lol. He asked if I was sure. We finally figured out I had meant to say expedition It's still a joke today.

[@moonlover2022]

I really like and respect Tony Robinson, he seems quite educative person, his documentaries are awesome, I never realized that he's Baldric from Blackadder.😃😁

[@ericvosselmans5657]

funny right

[@Allannah_Of_Rome]

Funny you say that because Tony wasn't really highly educated nor did he come from a well off family. He's done a lot in his lifetime tho and you could say he's culturally educated.

[@derekmenzies1349]

@@Allannah_Of_Rome an other one of his CUNNING PLANS

[@catofthecastle1681]

Drama school is very advanced and much more educational than many colleges in the US! Any advanced degree would make you well educated!

[@HenrikRClausen]

Having watched quite a few Time Team episodes, I thought from time to time: "One day, these guys are going to find a full, high quality Roman mosaic." Well, when it rains, it pours :) Let me ponder a bit the mystery of why this complex seems to have been simply abandone: Noting the blend of Celtic and Roman authority, it might seem that the local rulers using this grand house might try to "Out-Roman" each other, to cast into stone (and mosaic) their allegience to their Roman overlords, making them feel quite at home in England. Then, early 5th century, when the roman legions left 'temporarily', there was no Roman overlord to sho allegience to in a physical form like this. Could it be that in the political vacuum of this time, it became a political demand that the tribal chiefs abandon their 'Romanness' in facor of Celtic or Anglo-Saxon allegience, thus abandoned this pretty valuable house due to political pressure?

[@KingNoTail]

That's a very good theory. Once the legions were gone everyone would've been very vulnerable.

[@mrdanforth3744]

All over England these large houses were abandoned and the owners moved to hill forts. The houses were pulled down and the stone brick and timber reused elsewhere. It seems they were abandoned because they were no longer safe from attack after the legions left. For the next 1000 years the wealthy and powerful lived in some kind of fort or castle. Only in the late 14th and early 15th century did they begin to build something resembling these Roman villas, that we call the stately homes of old England.

[@whirlymurley3974]

this was across the road from my mates house..

[@ArtbyKatina]

This should keep going, if you were to pay my way over there I’d be camped onsite working from Dawn to Dusk.

[@greghelms4458]

I want to know the after story. Anyone? Links? Further digs?

[@StudioPluche]

Terrific find, but why just three days?

[@christianweagle6253]

That's how the show works. These folks all have day jobs and they can't stay onsite for more than a long weekend. Other archeologists come in after and keep working the dig, usually.

[@StudioPluche]

@@christianweagle6253 ah, I see. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

[@drevil4454]

the other day I was digging a random hole down here in South Africa and low and behold I found ancient roman artifacts. a friend of a friend of a friend dated it for me. he reckons you guys need to fly over. here is the deal.... you can take from the 20 x 7.5m hole whatever you want. the one side must be 3ft deep and the deep end 6ft. really bring your friends..... a lot to be discovered. once you are done, dont stress about the hole. I will replicate the mosiac and line the ancient hole with cement. finally preserve everything with water.

[@randywise5241]

Did it rot away do to abandoned neglect and savaging or was it destroyed on purpose? Was it already a ruin when it was torn down? Or did the owner have the wrong friends? Many unanswered questions. It could take years of archeology to uncover it all. Are people still digging the site today?

[@MossyMozart]

@randywise5241 - Perhaps it recycled by the owning family for projects elsewhere, outright looted, or salvaged by local folks well after it was abandoned?

[@TheSonicdruid72]

oh dear.... David seems like a trouble maker haha poor Bridgets face said it all in the cut away

[@patriciafoley1494]

Hey Moon family!! Aww Oscars teeth😊

[@SittingDuc]

Season 10, Episode 2, January 2003

[@RamblinJer]

Got to admit if I found one of the 10 best mosaic floors which prompted my neighbor to dig and find a better one I might have to plan a bit of revenge sabotage, lol

[@davidnewland2556]

just t have some ting like that under my land would be wonder ful, I'd best do my to reconstruct the building and come up with a way too preserve the tiles i think soft slippers available for tourists, to walk where romans once walked would a wonder. it would give one pause and make me think about the wonder.

[@silva7493]

Once the team have unearthed these exquisite mosaics, what then becomes of them?

[@DaynaRathman]

Guy de la Bedoyere looks very Roman himself 😉

[@Kathsings]

How sad Mick wasn’t there to see this.😢

[@conniekiers9554]

if they find such great treasures so late on day 3, why couldn't they ask for an extension and continue their search?

[@sse-pinturarte8710]

Hello, I am a fan of the program and I always try not to miss a video but there is something that catches my attention and I’d like you to answer the following : Those fields where you can find such beautiful, historically valuable and ancient mosaics from the Roman period in the UK have never been used for agriculture? When plowing the land, these relics could have been destroyed because they are located at a very shallow depth. Thank you. Sonia S. Echavarria, La Paz, BCS, México.

[@mintybadger6905]

As I understand it, yes those fields are used for agriculture and yes many artifacts have been lost/destroyed by plowing for hundreds of years. It’s unfortunate but necessary as if they had to protect every single artifact in the UK, nothing else could get done.

[@sse-pinturarte8710]

@@mintybadger6905 thank you!

[@TheGoldbaxter]

I always wished they would say what happens to the site after they leave. I know most they just cover over but why would you do that to this one?

[@AdamBechtol]

18:37 Haha, they all have such similar vehicles.

[@Tawadeb]

Sponsorship

[@user-rm4rn1sf4g]

Why havent you continued the site????

[@goldenineke]

What happens to this site once the dig finishes? Does it revert back to a field that is plowed annually with the potential to damage archeology?

[@stmull8678]

Are the discoveries reburied after three days? Also, if they aren't reburied, are they protected? I'd like to know what happens afterward. re-burying it seems counter-productive

[@The_Not_So_Great_Cornholio]

I often wonder why they dont use a push broom to clean loose debris...just sweep a few feet and check the pile. I'm not an archaeologist but it seems like that would be more efficient without really sacrificing anything.

[@coralgwyn-williams9933]

were the original dark areas found by lidar?

[@margaretdevery6547]

What happens now? Does this site remain protected & intact, or is the mosaic removed & set up again in a museum?

[@jonap5740]

You can search by place name to find more about the site.

[@taniapatruno1838]

What happens after you leave a find like this? Is it covered back up or does an organization assist the owners in completing uncovering and preserving it?

[@DaynaRathman]

So many questions…but how do crops grow in such shallow soils?

[@imalikconnor]

I am curious,,,after they are done with the dig, what do they do with what they uncovered?

[@shostakovich99]

So after this work 20 years ago, did they do anything to protect the mosaics from future plow damage?

[@candacecraddock1592]

Why were these villas abandoned? So beautiful and intricate and Britain has never been abandoned so how was something like this lost?

[@dandare1001]

I think partly the Anglo-Saxons came along. They preferred to live in dirt and straw huts, allowing their livestock to inhabit solid houses with rooves and central-heating. It's a cultural thing.

[@carinakaron8068]

​@@dandare1001 After the Romans left, the civilisation of Roman Britain collapsed ,moving into the Dark Ages.

[@dandare1001]

@@carinakaron8068 Yes, that is what happenend.

[@hollyxxx9227]

Imagine being on neighbours at war but its time team and roman mosaics😅

[@nickim6571]

Please tell me those mosaics where removed an put in a museum.

[@user-hy7zb2vl3t]

Sorry, but probably recorded an preserved for others later on to discuss and work on 😊

[@robertslusser6753]

So what happens to this dig after the 3rd day? Doe's a local archeological group continue or is it just recorded and covered up again?

[@jonap5740]

The place is recorded and reported to the regional archeology people and they decide if they have time and funds to go further with it. You can google this one by name: Lopen, Sommerset.

[@lutomson3496]

why dont the consider this to be an historical site and preserve this and open it to the public? the property owner could probably make some good money on it with all the council laws there probably will never happen to many rules restrictions etc

[@mariehillard1742]

Were the floors saved?

[@julicooke4266]

can these mosaics be preserved on a piece of ply so they ca n be enoyed by all]/

[@lynnemcdonald465]

What happens to sites like this after Time Team leaves? What do the farmers do? There would have to be protection from ploughing at very least.

[@Ideo7Z]

In 2000 yrs some archaeologist is gonna be at a dig site uncovering a linoleum floor thinking "WTF was wrong with these people?!" as he discovers an older cedar hardwood floor underneath that.

[@theallseeingmaster]

Some people had some very ice things back then.

[@kdjohnson1998]

Was this before or after the Turkdean digs?

[@MrCarlbrooks]

If anyone wonders why it was "the Dark Ages", Britain's countryside went from living like this to dung-and-straw huts and river-clay thumb pots for almost 1000 years after Rome fell. Civilization is wild, it really is.

[@andriandrason1318]

There’s No Such Thing as the ‘Dark Ages’.

[@kafon6368]

Self-righteous scholars seeking to make history as dry and tone deaf as possible. We went from calling the "Barbarian Invasions" the "Migration Period". They try to prove you wrong by saying "oh well life didn't change much when the Franks & Goths came!", well yes, maybe within 1 year of the government changing. How about 100 years? All those barbarian tribes bring knowledge of literacy, governance, arts, and science? It baffles me why they want to change perspectives and interpretations on a civilizationally inferior people coming to power over the continent and making things worse off.

[@MrCarlbrooks]

@@andriandrason1318 I suppose it depends on where you're standing but large parts of Europe and Britain certainly had them. Going from tiled bathrooms to Charlemagne wondering out loud if cheese rinds made you smart is quite a drop in style

[@andriandrason1318]

@@MrCarlbrooks The Frankish King and Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, who initiated a cultural and artistic flowering known as the Carolingian Renaissance?

[@AmaricanBall729]

@@MrCarlbrooks …and nowadays we have neck bearded incels LARP-ing the 1100s in every available public park, because back in the Middle Ages women really did exist simply to serve men 🙄

[@Scraggledust]

❤

[@brentm9848]

has this site been further explored since Time Team left?

[@stubromac2711]

Here’s a question… who covered these ruins with topsoil? And where did the top soil come from?

[@catofthecastle1681]

Wind!

[@f_youtubecensorshipf_nazis]

Surely with computers these days and all the satellites in space we could scan the entire planet for stuff like this. I hope that's a thing. We can tell the topography of the bottom of the ocean because of small changes in the water, we have to have something like that scanning for human history on land.

[@williamjeffersonclinton69]

Gotta love how John fucks with Uncle Phil.

[@heru-deshet359]

You can plant your foot anywhere in England, dig and you will always find ancient treasures.

[@Scotthanson-kl4dq]

Why do u have only 3 days?

[@WastedTalent-]

So, in other words, the Romans treated pottery the way we treat McDonald's cups.

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

Pretty well. The only difference being pottery is just very hard dirt while plastics have a somewhat more insidious "afterlife!" 🙄😉

[@ArtbyKatina]

Lot of guess work going on this site 🤨 32:20

[@Val.Kyrie.]

Welcome to history.

[@ds4101]

Why do they only have 3 days? They found something so why can’t they excavate until they unearth everything to be discovered? One would think they would want to preserve such a beautiful find. Perhaps by documenting and then moving the mosaic floors to a museum or something. Does giving a tight timeline create some drama?

[@ArtbyKatina]

Wouldn’t it be upside down if it’s from the ceiling 🤔 31:37

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

Quite often peels from 1 edge, thus being like your falling buttered toast. 50 - 50 whether it lands in the cat hair! 😜😁

[@janetwann5578]

What happened to the drain you were going to put in that doorway

[@catdogky]

Why only 3 days???????????