Britain's Biggest Dig

Original version

Simulcast of BBC Two Northern Ireland in high definition

BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

Documentaries

Factual: History

In preparation for HS2, two massive digs uncover fascinating burials.

In preparation for HS2, two massive digs uncover fascinating burials, revealing life in imperial London and industrial Birmingham.

Series 1

BBC Two England

England

Simulcast of network BBC Two in high definition.

BBC Two HD

BBC Two Northern Ireland

Simulcast of BBC Two Wales in high definition

BBC Two Wales HD

Until 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales (analogue) was known simply as BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Wales (digital) was BBC 2W. From 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales schedules on both analogue and digital became identical

BBC Two Wales

Yasmin Khan

Alice Roberts

Douglas Black Heaton

Ty Unwin

Jane Harris

Izzy Charman

Tom McCarthy

Bill Locke

Harvey Lilley

Lion Television

Britain's Biggest Dig: Series 1: Episode 2

Episode 2

BBC Two - Britain's Biggest Dig, Series 1, Episode 2

The hunt is on for the lost explorer who extended Britain’s empire across the globe.

Professor Alice Roberts and Dr Yasmin Khan dig deeper through the excavations at St James’s burial ground on the hunt for the lost explorer who extended Britain’s empire across the globe.

Anthropologist Professor Alice Roberts and historian Dr Yasmin Khan explore the tale of two of Britain’s greatest cities - how one became the capital of a global empire and the other the workshop of the world - through the giant excavations being undertaken at either end of the first stage of the HS2 rail project.

They begin by digging deeper into the fortunes of rich and poor in Georgian London through the excavations at St James’s burial ground next to Euston station that will make way for the new HS2 terminus. They are on the hunt for the lost explorer who extended Britain’s empire across the globe.

Several Georgian celebrities were known to have been buried in St James’s, but many of the graves may have been lost to Nazi air raids and the extension of Euston Station in the late 19th century. One such celebrity was black champion boxer Bill Richmond. Born into slavery in colonial America, Richmond gained his freedom fighting for the British in the American War of Independence. His remains may have been lost to the Euston extension, but there are higher hopes for another celebrity – one of the most illustrious explorers of the day, now largely forgotten in the country of his birth.

The episode reveals how many of the poor Londoners buried in the cemetery suffered brutally in its workhouses. Yasmin examines the remarkable workhouse records for St James’s Parish. Within the records, she follows the remarkable story of one family.

After more than two years, the gigantic dig reaches its conclusion, with the 50,000 or so skeletons being prepared to be reburied in the cemetery in Surrey that actually took over from St James’s Gardens when it was closed in 1854.

Up the line at another mammoth dig, the team uncover how Victorian Birmingham grew into a boom town of the Industrial Revolution. On Park Street, archaeologists are excavating a 19th-century burial ground. In Birmingham, 98 per cent of the thousands buried within the cemetery have no markers. For Alice, this represents an opportunity to examine the bones in order to tell the stories of the city of a thousand trades.

Yasmin explores the high infant mortality when she is shown the skeleton of an infant with rickets. It inspires her to explore conditions for children and their families in this crucible of the industrial revolution.

Back at the excavation, Alice explores how skeletons are being discovered with mysterious cut marks and with hands, feet and spinal columns missing. It is a mystery that Alice solves in the final episode of the series.

Britain's Biggest Dig: Series 1

BBC Two

Knowledge, drama, comedy and the arts for a broad adult audience.

BBC Two is a lively channel of depth and substance, carrying a range of knowledge-building programming complemented by great drama, comedy and arts.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Britain's Biggest Dig

Series 1

Episode 2

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Brand

Series

BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

About BBC Two