Time Team - Ainsbrook

Monday, 14 January 2008

14 January @ 8-9pm on CHANNEL 4

Tony Robinson reports on a secret investigation into a possible Viking boat burial in Yorkshire.

After metal detectorists make a major discovery of coins, silver and swords a team of archaeologists set out to uncover the source of these objects.

But as Robinson follows the dig he discovers an uneasy relationship between archaeologists and the country's 50,000 metal detectorists.

For some the hobby of detecting is all about learning more about the past, but for others it's the lure of making money by selling what they find on the open market.

At a time when the government scheme designed to promote better understanding between these two factions is under serious threat from budget cuts, the programme reveals just how precarious the relationship can be.