Episode 3: St Albans

This week, the team are digging up the car park of Six Bells in St Albans, in search of Roman treasure. It is an excavation that will drill down through two thousand years of history, taking in the world of medieval pilgrimages and a recipe for nettle beer along the way!

The ground under the pub is a good bet for archaeology as it lies within the walls of Roman 'Verulamium'. But the first find is a little more recent: an 18th Century lime kiln that was used to build the beautiful row of houses that surround the pub. As the team continue digging, they uncover medieval remains of butchery, cooking and occupation from the 12th century, suggesting that this was once the site of a hostel built to feed hungry pilgrims on their way to pay homage at the great cathedral of St Albans, just up the road.

As they dig deeper they find the remains of a massive Roman building decorated with vast quantities of paintedwall plaster. Could it have been a temple built for the worship of decapitated heads (a local Roman cult, of which some grisly evidence survives elsewhere in the town)? Or might it have been a high-end bath house?