Time Teams excavation of the Colossus wreck site is finally to be aired on Channel four this week, following a project fraught with controversy. The popular Channel four archaeological documentary, fronted by Tony Robinson, will be shown on 9 o’clock primetime television this Thursday.
Channel four is promoting this programme as a ?documentary special? and has worked with the British Museum and the Archaeological Diving Unit to bring up priceless shards of Etruscan pottery and assist in the recovery of a 5metre figurehead from the sand.
The wreck was originally discovered in 1976 but the new site was found in 1999 some 1km from the original site. It is still not clear who discovered the new site first, armature divers from St. Marys or a team from St. Marys and Bryher. The Time Team programme had been scheduled for an earlier broadcast date but the programme ran into difficulties when the salvor in possession of the wreck demanded ?100,000. Since that time, the team have focussed on creating a 3D model of the debris from the wreck and how it has been affected by weather and tides.
Channel four promote this programme by saying ‘This Time Team documentary special tells the story of HMS Colossus and its demise, and explains how two sections came to lie so far apart on the seabed. With the help of Brian Lavery and other experts, the programme revisits the first excavation 26 years ago and tells the story of the scandalous ?m’nage ? trois’ of Nelson, Sir William Hamilton and ?that Hamilton woman?, Emma. The documentary culminates with the latest exciting and important finds, their safe excavation and preservation’. This documentary is a must for all Scilly enthusiasts and represents one of the biggest programmes centred around Scilly in recent years.