Time Team dig at the site of a huge Roman Villa near Banbury goes live on YouTube this week - here are the dates and video

Time Team broadcasts the programmes detailing last summer's investigation at Broughton https://www.banburyguardian.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/archeologists-have-unlocked-the-secret-of-why-the-roman-villa-was-built-in-a-quiet-valley-two-miles-from-banbury-time-teams-tim-taylor-sums-up-the-first-dig-of-the-legacy-project-3399087 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The Roman Villa excavations will be screened on the Time Team channel on YouTube on Friday April 8 at 6pm (Part 1) with Part 2 on Saturday, April 9 at 6pm and Part 3 on Sunday April 10 at 6pm. There will also be an exclusive Patreon 'Big Dome' live event on Sunday, April 10 at 7pm for subscribers whose donations have been funding the resurrection of the iconic Time Team.

These subscribers got their own exclusive preview yesterday (Sunday). They comprise thousands of the 4m Time Team fans around the globe who have been contributing to the first fan-funded digs through monthly donations. They have been given glimpses of the work and some interviews during the dig last September and have been kept up to date with information and features by email since then.

The Roman Villa was discovered by Banbury detectorist and historian Keith Westcott, who also uncovered the Broughton Hoard and is now a member of Time Team.

In an interview with the Banbury Guardian at the end of the dig at Broughton, Time Team founder and producer Tim Taylor said: ""At Broughton we have found things that actually make this not just your average villa but a place where people 1,500 - 1700 years ago put a huge amount of effort to create something really beautiful.

"It's a lovely bit of landscape to see, just standing here now, with these hills around us and that lovely dip - and to know what we now know about that villa, which we didn't know three days ago, makes it very special."

The YouTube programmes are the first projects undertaken by Time Team since the cult programme was discontinued by Channel 4 in 2014.

Shows from the original run have been enjoying over two million views per month on the Time Team Classics YouTube channel.

The new episodes are presented by Dr Gus Casely-Hayford OBE and Natalie Haynes. Gus is an historian, curator, broadcaster and inaugural Director of V&A East, London. Natalie is a classicist, comedian, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s much-loved Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics, and author of critically acclaimed books including Pandora’s Jar.

Gus and Natalie are joined by a host of original and regular team members including Professor Carenza Lewis, Dr Helen Geake, Dr John Gater, Professor Stewart Ainsworth, Naomi Sewpaul, Matt Williams, Professor Henry Chapman, Jimmy Adcock, Dani Wootton and Professor Suzannah Lipscomb,and newcomers Dr Derek Pitman and Lawrence Shaw.

Mr Taylor said: “I’m delighted with the new episodes – they really capture the spirit of the original shows and that thrill of discovery, while reflecting the advances in technology and approaches that have developed in the years since.”

Time Team’s return has enjoyed the backing of many fans, including bestselling authors Sir Michael Morpurgo, Bernard Cornwell, Philippa Gregory, Kate Mosse and Ken Follett.

* Time Team is a flagship archaeology programme that ran on Channel 4 for 20 series and countless specials. Time Team evaluated over 220 archaeological sites, from back gardens to Buckingham Palace. In its original run, weekly viewing figures reached up to three million in the UK and it has been broadcast in 35 countries worldwide.

Episodes on the Time Team Classics Channel enjoy over two million views per month around the world.

• Time Team on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeTeamOfficial

• New episodes coming to: https://www.youtube.com/TimeTeamOfficial

• Watch old episodes on Time Team Classics: https://www.youtube.com/TimeTeamClassics

For background on the discovery of the Roman villa at Broughton - revealed by the Banbury Guardian in 2018 - see these links.

How the discovery put Banbury on the map; the ancient items found on site; how a farmer's grisly handshake eventually led to the villa; 'My discovery' by the man who found the villa; when Time Team got on board; Tim Taylor had to say and when the team arrived in Banburyshire and how he summed up the secrets of the Roman legacy.