Loch Tay, and the kind of view that draws people to Scotland. But the landscape isn’t the main attraction for archaeologists Nick Dixon and Barrie Andrian, who are much more interested in what they can see in the shallow waters around the edge of this loch.
They’re carrying out the first ever underwater excavation of a crannog, an artificial island built in the Iron Age. A structure that’s now completely submerged, but originally would have looked something like this.
This full-scale reconstruction was built as an experiment based on timbers discovered so far. But ideas could change as new discoveries are made. But what makes Oak Bank crannog so important is that the preservation underwater is fantastic, all sorts of clues to life in the Iron Age are being discovered here. Unique 2500 year old wooden objects that only survive underwater. Not surprisingly, digging a site as rich as this has become a kind of obsession. Nick’s been diving here most summers since 1980.
This summers excavation was different, husband and wife team, Nick and Barrie decided to run a field school, the students got to learn about underwater archaeology while they got extra help excavating the site.
Having to both teach and excavate, time was at a premium. This year’s challenge, it was not only to unlock new secrets of the 2500 year old crannog, but also to introduce a bunch of rookies to the realities and rewards of working underwater.
In this time team special documentary, you’ll be submerged into the world of underwater archaeology, and visit an Iron Age house that hasn’t been seen since prehistoric times. Are you ready? Stand by to dive into the Iron Age.
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