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Private Notes
Bath is going to be a spa again, and the people who first made it a spa were the Romans. The extensive engineering works which have been undertaken at Bath since 1979 to modernise and improve the thermal water supply for the new spa development gave Professor
Cunliffe a unique opportunity to discover how the Roman engineers tackled the problems of controlling the hot springs nearly 2,000 years ago. In the five years since Chronicle first reported, continued excavations under the Pump Room have revealed the remains of a great Roman temple precinct dedicated to the goddess of the spring, Sulis Minerva.
In this edition of 'Chronicle', David Drew and his team cross inhospitable terrain in search of the last refuge of the Incas. Though they follow in the footsteps of explorer Hiram Bingham III, who attempted this quest in 1911, the team reach very different conclusions as to where this lost city might have been located.
The old Billingsgate Fish Market closed in January 1982, and the most important waterfront site in Europe was available for examination by the Museum of London. Would they find traces of the Great Fire? Of the medieval church that once stood there? Of the Norman, Saxon, even Roman waterfronts? The site has been occupied for nearly 2,000 years - but was it continuous? Did the Saxons take over as soon as the Romans left? Chronicle followed the excavation for two years to produce an unprecedented Diary of a Dig and recorded the archaeologists' work against time to rescue historical evidence before the foundations of an office block destroyed the site for ever.
A broken handle from an ancient amphora and three old photographs in a London House were enough to put Oxford archaeologist Mensun Bound on the trail of an Etruscan ship wrecked off the coast of Italy 2,600 years ago. But Reg Vallintine, one of Britain's most experienced divers, had last seen the site 20 years before. Could he find it again 140 feet down on the sea-bed off the island of Giglio? And if he succeeded, how risky would it be for archaeologists to work at the very limits of safety for air-breathing sub-aqua divers - risks which were to be compounded by ruthless underwater pirates? In this month's Chronicle, Andrew Faulds narrates the story of MENSUN BOUND'S quest for an invaluable wreck whose unique cargo could throw new light on the mysterious Etruscans and the patterns of trade which existed in the Mediterranean 600 years BC. Re-aired 12 July 1990
Chronicle looks back at its own past. It has dug into the archives to find highlights from the last 18 years and these are shown in the company of three distinguished archaeologists.
The hull of the Mary Rose was raised on 11 October 1982. Millions of television viewers and thousands of spectators watched spellbound. Now, near Nelson's flagship The Victory, the flagship of Henry VIII rests in dry dock. 'Dry' apart from the constant spray of water that's poured on the timbers to keep them from drying out and breaking. In this fourth report on the greatest underwater excavation that Great Britain has ever seen, Chronicle re-examines the hull and talks to the research groups advising on conservation, reconstruction and display. It also looks at the work being done on the ship's artefacts; the boots and jerkins worn by the men, the tools and weapons they used, the bones of the cattle they ate and, prior to their interment this summer, at their own bones which provide remarkable information about their age, strength and state of health.
