Tony Robinson and his team explore the ruins of Hopton Castle in Shropshire. While the site is beautiful now, it was once the scene of brutal conflicts during the English Civil War, where a Royalist army besieged a small group of Parliamentarians inside the castle. Using both historical documents and their own excavation findings, the team strives to distinguish between truth and propaganda, reconstructing the harrowing events of 1644. Their dig quickly uncovers battle evidence, and over three days, the archaeology reveals a gripping narrative of how the defenders repelled two assaults, inflicting heavy losses on the Royalists before ultimately being overwhelmed.
Show
Time Team
Episode
S17E05
Air Date
May 16, 2010
Season 17 Episodes
S17E01
Corridors of Power - Westminster Abbey, London
S17E02
A Saintly Site - Isle of Mull, Inner Hebrides
S17E03
Bridge over the River Tees - Piercebridge, County Durham
S17E04
In the Halls of a Saxon King - Drayton, Oxfordshire
S17E05
The Massacre in the Cellar - Hopton Castle, Shropshire
S17E06
Potted History - Mildenhall, Wiltshire
S17E07
Death and Dominoes: The First POW Camp - Norman Cross, Cambridgeshire
S17E08
Something for the Weekend - Tregruk Castle, Llangybi, Monmouthshire
S17E09
Governor's Green - Governor's Green, Portsmouth
S17E10
Priory Engagement - Burford, Oxfordshire
S17E11
There's a Villa Here Somewhere - Litlington, Cambridgeshire
S17E12
Commanding Heights - Dinmore Hill, Herefordshire
S17E13
Rooting for the Romans - Bedford Purlieus Wood, Cambridgeshire