Amazon.co.uk Review
Time Team has been one of the more unlikely minority interest programme success stories of Channel 4. It was not, after all, predictable that a programme about archaeology which took the viewer through the minutiae of trench-digging and dirt-sifting was going to work so well! In retrospect, and as described interestingly here, it was a matter of building a likeable team of researchers, presenters and diggers--it is a programme, and this is a book, about team spirit as well as the pursuit of knowledge.
The book, lavishly illustrated with photographs and drawings, takes us through the various digs that make up a series, and in the process gives a comprehensive picture of what archaeology means in a British context. Every period is grist to the mill from the possibly cannibal cave- dwellers of Cheddar Gorge through Roman iron-smelters and medieval shipwrights to what happened when two bombers collided in the middle of World War Two. The programmes convey fascination in the solving of scholarly puzzles and the technical problems of ditch-digging and the preservation of evidence. Behind the Scenes at Time Team is also an exemplary description of the logistics of programme-making, a behind-the-scenes look that talks about hard work. --Roz Kaveney
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
For real aficionados of the user-friendly TV archaeology programmes, this concentrates more on how they are made than on the archaeology itself, though several good sites are used as illustrations. The book is fascinating on the pleasures and pitfalls of making fast, informative telly alongside the meticulous scientific exploration which must not be compromised. Illustrated with many photographs of work in progress, there are inserts on specialist subjects like Medieval Shipbuilding, direct quotes from the programme scripts, and personal contributions from team members - not just the leaders (Tony, Mick, Phil and Carenza) but those who tend to be anonymous on screen but whose triumphs and disappointments are just as vital. Joinging the wide range of skilled specialists who help, an RAF bomb-disposal team end the book with a bang! Review by LINDSEY DAVIS (Kirkus UK)