Time Team (the hit British archaeology show) is delighted to be working with Operation Nightingale on a UK site linked to the United States Army’s most famous regiment of the Second World War – the legendary Band of Brothers.
The excavation commemorates 80 years since the legendary Easy Company were stationed in Wiltshire, England ahead of D-Day.
As the 80th anniversary of D-Day approaches, Time Team will drop in to a Wiltshire village (United Kingdom), once home to the iconic Easy Company of the US 101st
Airborne Division. The soldiers were stationed here in 1943, before engaging in pivotal actions of World War II – among them Operation Overlord, Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge.
The dig this May (2023) is being led by Operation Nightingale, a Ministry of Defence initiative that uses archaeology to support the recovery of servicemen and women returning from conflict. In 2012, Time Team joined the veterans at Figheldean, Wiltshire, coming face to face with ancient warriors.
Time Team’s creator and Series Producer, Tim Taylor, says: “We’re thrilled to be joining forces again with our good friends, Richard Osgood and Operation Nightingale. I’ve always believed in archaeology’s qualities for promoting good wellbeing. I can’t wait to see what we discover together!”
Richard Osgood, MBE, says: “Operation Nightingale last worked with Time Team in our early years, in 2012, and it’s wonderful to be reunited. Back then it was a Saxon cemetery, but this time we can’t wait to work together on a site of huge 20th century importance, and to continue our efforts to assist military veterans with the power of archaeology!”
WHEN IS THE DIG HAPPENING?
The dig takes place from 2nd to 9th May 2023, with daily updates from Matt Williams as the action unfolds on Time Team’s Patreon channel. The full story will then be brought together in a Time Team Special documentary hosted by Sir Tony Robinson, airing at a later date – full details to be announced across Time Team’s channels.
The Band of Brothers dig follows the release of Time Team’s latest episodes: a Knights Hospitaller preceptory in Shropshire, and an international Expedition Crew collaboration investigating an ancient city in Greece. The premieres led a record-breaking month of almost 1 million views worldwide, with another episode release on the way, featuring an Anglo-Saxon cemetery in Norfolk.
ABOUT TIME TEAM:
First airing in 1994 on the UK’s Channel 4, Time Team, created by Series Producer Tim Taylor, became a Sunday teatime staple. Today, the show is watched in over 50 countries worldwide.
Presented by Sir Tony Robinson, Time Team made household names of archaeologists including the late Mick Aston, Phil Harding and Carenza Lewis. Vintage episodes are available on the Time Team Classics YouTube channel, which has over 200,000 subscribers worldwide.
Across 20 series, Time Team investigated over 220 sites, including iconic landmarks Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Westminster Abbey. At its height, Time Team was one of the UK’s largest independent funders of archaeology, and the series is credited with boosting the popularity of archaeology in Britain.
Time Team relaunched independently in 2020 with the support of thousands of fans worldwide on the platform Patreon. New episodes hosted by Dr Gus Casely-Hayford, OBE are available on the Time Team Official YouTube channel, which recently surpassed 150,000 subscribers and 10 million views.
Time Team on Patreon (our funding platform): https://www.patreon.com/TimeTeamOfficial
Time Team Classics: https://www.youtube.com/c/TimeTeamClassics
Time Team Official: https://www.youtube.com/c/TimeTeamOfficial
Operation Nightingale: https://www.facebook.com/operationnightingale/
ABOUT OPERATION NIGHTINGALE:
Operation Nightingale is a Ministry of Defence initiative to assist the recovery of wounded, injured and sick military personnel and veterans by getting them involved in archaeological investigations.
CONTACT:
For all press enquiries, including interviews and imagery requests, please contact: [email protected] and [email protected]
