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Time Team to be axed following 2013 series |
Andy B
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|  Posted 20-10-2012 at 23:56
Tony Robinson and co.'s popular archaeology series Time Team has been consigned to history as part of a revamp of Channel 4's factual programming.
The show has been a favourite with viewers since its launch in 1994, with its combination of history and eccentric archaeologists, such as Phil Harding and Mick Aston, proving a surprise ratings winner.
However Channel 4 has now decided to spend its history budget on a range of 'innovative' new programmes, including a series about Stonehenge and a documentary on the hunt for Richard III's body.
http://www.metro.co.uk/tv/915599-tony-robinsons-time-team-axed-by-channel-4
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/oct/19/channel-4-time-team?newsfeed=true
(see also comment from Tim Taylor at the bottom of the Metro article which includes "Channel 4 will continue to commission Time Team specials and documentaries... but not carrying on with the main dig show."
"Over the last decade the size of the production and the staff needed to support it and the budget has grown to an unsustainable level. On the final show of last year we had over 75 people in the lunch tent! For the first 5-10 years of Time Team it used to be just Mick, Phil, the cameraman, the Director and me in the pub!
In my view this size of production made it harder to get in touch with the key archaeological events.
On one recent shoot I watched as Phil began to uncover a burial complete with beads and golden brooches on the final day. The pressures of the schedule meant that it was difficult to get Tony and crews in place to watch this as it happened. It was one of the most exciting moments of the year for me and it is this kind of moment we should aim to capture. "
Any thoughts on the cancellation?
[ This message was edited by: Andy B on 2012-10-21 00:00 ]
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Andy B
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| Posted 21-10-2012 at 00:11
More from Tim T claiming all is not over
http://www.scribd.com/doc/110569680/Tim-s-Response-to-Guardian-Article-on-Time-Teams-Future
Also on there as a bonus (seemingly legit) is a complete ebook copy of Mick Aston's classic 1985 book
Interpreting the Landscape. Landscape Archaeology and Local History
http://www.scribd.com/doc/36538721/Interpreting-the-Landscape-Landscape-Archaeology-and-Local-History
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PeteG
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| Posted 21-10-2012 at 00:44
hopefully someone will have a cunning plan to replace it...
(I'll get me smock)
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Equinox
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| Posted 21-10-2012 at 09:26
I'm going to be controversial here and say that while I will certainly miss watching Tony R, Phil H, Mick A and the rest of the Time Team on C4, I will not miss watching their heavy plant ripping into yet another prehistoric archaeology site.
I'm not sure exactly who introduced the JCB to British archaeology, but I suspect the justification would have been time constraints associated with developer funded "rescue"excavations. But what would future archeologists think about this in say, 150 years time? We are already re-excavating Aubrey holes and other excavated areas at Stonehenge in an attempt to recover previously unrecorded data using "modern" techniques.
The use of heavy earth-moving plant at archeological sites in the US is not popular and I believe all spoil from excavations is sieved. The one advantage with Time Team's approach is that their excavations are professionally filmed and this will provide a huge resource for future archaeologists.
[ This message was edited by: Equinox on 2012-10-21 09:27 ]
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Andy B
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| Posted 21-10-2012 at 14:46
Equinox, in the US what % of sites are professionally excavated at all prior to development? And how are potentually valulable sites identified?
I'm not looking for an argument, just interested.
[ This message was edited by: Andy B on 2012-10-21 14:47 ]
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Equinox
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| Posted 21-10-2012 at 19:04
Andy
I confess that I'm not a specialist in American archaeology and I'm not entirely sure how many development sites in the US are professionally excavated. But it is my understanding that mechanical excavation might be employed after traditional excavation had been completed, to be sure that the full extent of the areas of interest had been examined. Maybe some of the American users of the site could answer this question more fully.
However, is it not true that all excavation anywhere involves destruction of the site? Mortimer Wheeler himself said this in his fine 1954 book Archaeology from the Earth:-
”At the best, excavation is destruction; and destruction unmitigated by all the resources of contemporary knowledge and accumulated experience cannot be too rigorously impugned.” (p15)
My point was to emphasize that though the use of heavy plant speeds up removal of overburden and makes good television, it seems very incongruous when compared to careful troweling and brushing away context around important deposits and finds.
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caradoc68
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| Posted 21-10-2012 at 20:07
Dont worry my fellow portal heads this want be the end. Just a new begining, it want be long before we see Phil, Mike and Tony on the box again doing something new...
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Sunny100
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| Posted 21-10-2012 at 22:40
It will be sad to see the end of Time Team, but perhaps Phil Harding and some of the other people on the programme could have their own programmes on their own specialised subjects. Phil could do something on flink napping, Francis Pryor could, I'm sure, do something with regard to Flag Fen. So, I think it will continue but not as Time Team as we know it. I will miss Time Team that's for sure. 
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Runemage
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| Posted 21-10-2012 at 23:07
Phil could do something on flink napping
Is that one of those skills he's so familiar with he could do it in his sleep?
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bat400
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| Posted 22-10-2012 at 06:41
Re: Rescue archaeology prior to development at US sites.
Varies, but I believe all federal and most state government funded development requires at least a survey. Privately funded development on private land does not require such examination.. The locality (state and local) can have a huge bearing on exceptions for private land.
The exception in all cases, is if human remains are found. Then, in almost all cases, an archeaological assessment and rescue is required.
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Sunny100
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| Posted 22-10-2012 at 23:38
I think Phil Harding could do flint napping in his sleep - oh and drinking a pint of beer in his sleep should be easy too. 
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