Two Men in a Trench

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.

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.