Two Men in a Trench

Tony Pollard and Neil Oliver visit the site of the Battle of Culloden. They carry out a full archaeological investigation of the site. The Battle of Culloden illuminates a dynastic rivalry of gigantic proportions. In 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie stepped into the spotlight. He sailed out of exile, landed on Scottish soil, and, along with his Jacobite supporters, attempted to restore his father and the Stewart line to the British throne, which they'd been kicked off 57 years before. His cousin, William Duke of Cumberland, the youngest son of King George the Second, led a huge government army against him. On April 16th 1746, they met just outside Inverness on Culloden Moor, in the Battle of Culloden, the aftermath of which would reverberate down through centuries.

In 1513 Europe was in turmoil. The King of England, Henry VIII had crossed the Channel and invaded France. The French were Scotland's historic ally and James the IV, the Scottish king, felt duty bound to come to their assistance. He did this by invading England, leading one of the best equipped armies Scotland was ever to send across the border. Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, brought the English army north to repel them. The two huge armies met at Flodden, and after just three bloody hours of battle, 12,000 men and the King of Scotland lay dead. Neil and Tony start their archaeological expedition by trying to locate the Scottish defences and gun emplacements on the Hill of Flodden.

During the English Civil War, Newark was known as the 'Key to the North' because of its great strategic importance. The River Trent, and two vital communication routes - the Great North Road and the Fosse Way - all met here. Newark had provided staunch support for King Charles I and the royalists, but Parliament was determined to take it. After two failed sieges, they were back in 1645 for a third go. This time they meant business. The team starts their dig at Shelford, the site of an early battle in the siege. They discover two medieval buildings - one which was standing at the time of the battle and the other they believe was a church buried beneath the defensive rampart.

Neil and Tony try to pinpoint the exact location of the Battle of Barnet which took place in 1471 between the armies of Edward IV, the Yorkists, and the Lancastrians. Along with a team of archaeologists, they head to suburban London to investigate the medieval battle. Today the battlefield has disappeared beneath centuries of urban development, but just over 500 years ago, 25,000 soldiers fought one of the crucial battles of the Wars of the Roses. The location is currently a golf course and a car park, but the team manages to find spots that could be excavated for evidence of the battle.

Inchkeith is an extraordinary place. Barely a mile long, the island is covered with fascinating reminders of its long and dramatic history. The island was first occupied in the 7th century by Christian monks. The Danes, the Dutch, the English, the Russians, the French and the Germans have all tried their luck on the island. But not all residents went to the island of their own volition. The island has been used as a giant isolation ward for syphilis sufferers, and one time as a prison

With a team of archaeologists, Neil and Tony are off to investigate the Battle of Shrewsbury which took place in 1403, at the end of a sweltering hot day in July. The Church of St Mary Magdalene, built in commemoration of the battle, stands on the spot where it is thought 2000 soldiers were buried in a mass grave. The battle had its origins in 1399 when Henry Bolingbroke overthrew the rightful king of England, Richard II, and had himself crowned Henry IV.