Cornwall is probably not the first place that springs to mind when thinking about the Roman and Byzantine Empires but in a field overlooking a cove, just a mile down river from the famous Cornish village of Padstow, locals have picked up a wealth of 1,500-year-old pottery and metalwork from as far away as North Africa and Turkey. Geophysics results suggest an Iron Age village may have once been located on the site, but archaeologists think the cove may have also been a port for Mediterranean traders. The team dig for evidence which will support the theory, and after three days of work and initial difficulties, they believe they know how the site looked in its prime.

• Tim Taylor

• Suzannah Lipscomb
• Tony Robinson
• Phil Harding