Time Team unearths the secrets of Wemyss Cav

Submitted by vicky on Sunday, 20 February 2005 Page Views: 3882

Discoveries welcome and unwelcome were uncovered by the Time Team when they went to Levenmouth to dig up the mysterious past of the Wemyss Caves last week. A steady stream of visitors gathered while the Channel Four team set to work on Friday to try to shed light on the caves' ancient occupants in only three days. However, the gruelling film schedule didn't go entirely to plan.

On Thursday, with all equipment in place, two transformers each worth over £1000 were stolen overnight from the beach, with one later found hidden under bushes near McDuff Castle.

According to witnesses, a motorcyclist on Saturday afternoon also destroyed the peaceful atmosphere when he drove through barriers towards a crew in the middle of shooting a scene.

However the dig, which costs the Time Team around £100,000 a day to produce, was declared a archaeological success.

Discoveries included the actual well in Wells Cave, whose water was, in Pictish and medieval times, supposed to have healing powers.

The caves are already famous for having the largest single grouping of Pictish carvings in Europe, but the team uncovered yet more ancient art.

And, in digs near the beach embankment, a symbolic upright stone and metal ring were found near the spot where two graves were uncovered in the 1950s.

Archaeologist Phil Harding rarely ventured from the Sloping Cave, but his determination was rewarded late on the third day when he discovered a man-made floor beneath the soil.

Taking a break from filming, presenter Tony Robinson told the Mail that, after last year's dig at the Bronze Age cemetery in Leven, it was good to be back in the area.
He said: ''We have done three or four caves in the past, but in fact this is one of the more pleasant caves, I have to say.

''They can get very muddy and horrible and I'm sure this one could be too, but just look at the aspect here — it's fantastic.

''I could happily be in the Firth of Forth in the sun any time.''

He along with Phil Harding and of course Mick Aston, readily signed autographs for Time Team fans and the merely curious who trekked the site to see the action unfold.

Yet, even now, Tony said he could not understand why the programme – now in its twelfth year – still held such an attraction.

He said: ''It's quite extraordinary.
''Who would have thought a bunch of old hippies could hold such appeal and the programme would be as popular as it is?!''

The new Time Team series starts in January 2005, and the Wemyss Cave programme is expected to be on air in late February or early March.

Source: Fife Now 09/04/2004

Contributor Bio for vicky: Ex Megalithic Portal Editor, Co-author of 'Rock Around the Peak - Megalithic Monuments of the Peak District' and... More

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