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September
2000 - Channel 4 Time Team in Ely!
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 ELY
took a step back in time when actor Tony Robinson brought members of
the Channel Four Time Team to the archaeological dig in Broad Street.
The documentary team visited the site while members of the Cambridge
University Archaeological Unit carried out work on the dig.
Work
began on the site recently and lasted 20 weeks. During that time, archaeologists
were expecting to uncover evidence of activity from the Bronze and Iron
Ages. Roman remains, including coins, clothing decorations and statuettes,
have previously been found in Ely.
The remains of Roman docks have also been uncovered in Stuntney. Archaeologists
are hoping the dig might reveal a previously- unknown slice of medieval
history from the Riverdside and Broad Street areas. There has been speculation
that the riverside around the old Jewson site may have been a hive of
commercial activity during the building of Ely Cathedral between the
11th and 13th centuries.
 Among
other things, the archaeologists will be searching for the remains of
medieval warehouses, monastic in origin, which are suspected to have
been situated along Broad Street. Right up until the 18th century, barges
used the riverside wharves to load and unload their goods when Ely was
an important trading town.
Alison Dickens, the director of the archaeology unit and dig leader,
said: "This is an especially rich archaeological area and we will have
11 archaeologists working here for five months in the hope of revealing
all its secrets. "Using a combination of detailed, in-depth trench excavations
and wider sampling of the entire site, we are confident that, at the
end of the excavation, we will be able to construct a full picture of
the historical development of the life and work of the area across the
centuries."
In co-operation with the university archaeologists, East Cambridgeshire
District Council has erected a public platform at either end of the
site to enable people to watch the progress of the dig. Interpretation
boards are also on the viewing platforms. Any actual Time Team filming
would be subject to circumstances.
More info about the Time Team dig in Ely can be found here : MORE
INFO ON TIME TEAM DIG
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In March of this year 1999, officials and contractors made a hasty decision,
one that will haunt them for some time to come...