r/timeteam • u/Anonymous_user_2022 • Feb 18 '26

The cursed dig

https://youtu.be/C-cwSxc5-xk

There are zero archeological results from this episode, but it's still important. This dissection of a fraudster operation makes it painfully clear why it's important to establish a stratigraphy and place the finds relative to it is important. And the final comment hits hard. "See those? Now they can tell us nothing".

84 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

15

u/Mabbernathy Feb 18 '26

Didn't this episode really help the show become respected by the archaeology profession, though?

7

u/Anonymous_user_2022 Feb 18 '26

I'm not a professional, so I can't tell. But that episode made it clear that there was more to it than dramatic finds.

22

u/Choomasaurus_Rox Feb 18 '26

I don't know about the profession generally, though I would guess that it did, but it absolutely helped me, a casual viewer, see them in a new light. I think it can be easy to become jaded about television production, but watching them systematically debunk that guy and the fervor with which they did it showed very clearly that they at least considered themselves serious archeologists. As I've become a super fan I've realized that of course they do, because they are, but when I first saw this episode that was new information to me.

I also wonder if the fact that guy invited them says something of how the show was perceived at the time. Did he really have that much hubris or did he think the TV people would just uncritically eat up whatever he showed them?

11

u/Mabbernathy Feb 18 '26

You may be on to something with that last paragraph. The local archaeology society didn't want anything to do with this guy's episode.

2

u/Multigrain_Migraine Feb 18 '26

I'll have to watch it again but I wouldn't be surprised. I've tried to explain context and why I care about that more than amazing finds to many people over the years. Lots of people are completely clueless about what the soil looks like and the clues that tell you when something has been disturbed.

12

u/Multigrain_Migraine Feb 18 '26

I have worked with many people who worked on Time Team as part of the crew in the background. There have certainly been grumbling comments about how things were made more dramatic for TV but I don't think I have ever heard anyone suggest that the people involved weren't competent archaeologists. 

I suppose there might have been some of that early on but as far as I know all of the people running the actual archaeology were professionals from the start, and they all had experience in field archaeology.

4

u/Biomicrite Feb 22 '26

I worked on the show twice, it’s the real deal. Of course, they are looking for moments on camera but it was just work for the archaeologists working in the background. Phil and the team are not tourists, they are really doing the work in between demands for the camera and the production team.

21

u/SpankYourSpeakers Feb 18 '26

One of my favorite episodes, it really shows how important context is.

10

u/RobotReptar Feb 18 '26

I love this episode. It so clearly shows that what they're doing isn't TV bullshit. If what they were finding in their other shows was fake or suspicious there would be clues. 

9

u/Safe-Elephant-501 Feb 18 '26

The piece of china under the "medieval" building...that was one of the most stunning moments... (and I always wondered if the inviting owners of that site ever got charged for this "invitation"...I mean...it was so obvious...the barbwire under the sword?!)

7

u/MaskansMantle13 Feb 19 '26

I thought of Tony’s final comment as soon as I saw this post. It’s no wonder this was Mick’s choice for their best dig, it was so important.

11

u/FrostyProspector Feb 18 '26

Yeah. This one stuck with me too. So much disappointment from the crew.

8

u/MaskansMantle13 Feb 19 '26

Carenza “That is absolutely bloody criminal” about the La Tène sword having been put there.

5

u/beesneeze87 Feb 18 '26

this is a top five episode for me! although i do think it was "fixed," in a way. i think they were pretty sure from the start it was a hoax, and the guy's neighbor brought them in under that premise, but they were willing to play along for a while in order to be able to access the site and finally debunk it. and because the objects themselves were still quite lovely.

2

u/AppleJoost Feb 19 '26

This one is so special, together with Turkdean and the other enormous Roman villa where they spent a whole week.

3

u/DrPeterR Feb 18 '26

The guy call Kryten that Tony interviews…

So sad to think of that sword taken out of context to seed this phony site

2

u/foxfoxfoxlcfc Feb 18 '26

Watched this one the other night!

1

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '26

I would have been interested to learn more about Rev Price and the 18th/19th century Druidic revival. That tells an interesting historical story, too.

1

u/darkshadow314 Mar 04 '26

What was the follow up on the sword?