Time Team America
Wednesdays at 8 p.m.
on WKAR-HD and WKAR-23
Time Team America -- Do You Dig?
Part extreme adventure, part hard science, and part reality show, Time Team America takes on two excavations this week -- one at Jamestown and the other "across the pond" at England's Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.
In each episode of the series, the seven members of Time Team America have just three days to uncover the buried secrets of their assigned dig. They face searing heat, driving rain, alligator-infested swamps, frayed nerves and of course the inevitable technical setbacks. Through it all, the audience peers over the shoulders of the archaeologists at work, eavesdropping on intense conversations and sharing the rush of discovery.
The series is based on the popular long-running British “Time Team” series, which also has served to educate the general public about preserving the United Kingdom’s archaeological record. Time Team America archaeologist Dr. Julie Schablitsky and fellow team member Eric Deetz were recruited for the PBS version of the series in 2005 at an archaeology conference in York, England. “It’s great to have a PBS series that shows how ubiquitous archaeology is in America,” said Julie. “We hope people will learn that archaeology isn’t just digging up gold statues with ruby eyes. It’s all around us.”
In exchange for an abundance of fascinating stories and intriguing mystery, the chosen sites are enriched by Time Team America’s work. Many excavation sites wait years between discoveries due to lack of funding, labor, expertise or equipment. The cohort of geophysicists, archaeologists, artists, and historians gives sites an intensive three-day boost, offering consulting from across disciplines, access to the latest scanning and imaging technology, artists’ renderings, professional documentation and even a precision backhoe operator when necessary.
published: August 19, 2009
