Dense and tranquil woodland in the County Durham countryside seems an unlikely venue for Time Team's investigation into the earliest days of the Industrial Revolution. But 200 years ago Derwentcote was at the heart of an iron and steel-producing complex that fuelled the spread of empire.
Over three days the Team fight through the undergrowth to reveal the furnaces and forges that produced the raw materials of industry under appalling conditions.
As well as their chainsaws and mechanical diggers, the archaeologists draw on an unusual resource: the memoirs of an 18th-century industrial spy who visited the site. And with the help of old records they can even put names and trades to the people who occupied the workers' cottages that once stood alongside the works.
It's a story of how cottage industry gave way to the might of the industrial cities such as Sheffield, and the Team uncover the highs and lows of the working life of Derwentcote. On top of all that, Tony discovers how excited grown men can be when they get to analyse huge lumps of 200-year-old slag!
Comments