TV's Tony Robinson ready to unearth treasures under the South Dorset Ridgeway (From Dorset Echo)

TV's Tony Robinson ready to unearth treasures under the South Dorset Ridgeway

10:00am Thursday 23rd February 2012 in Local News By Rachael Burnett

TIME Team’s Tony Robinson has come to Dorset to reveal what lies beneath the South Dorset Ridgeway.

A film crew from the long-running Channel 4 archaeology TV series visited Dorset County Museum in Dorchester yesterday afternoon for their first day of filming.

Tony Robinson and his team will be filming in the area for another 11 days as they unearth the secrets of the Ridgeway.

Actor and presenter of the series, Mr Robinson, said he will be exploring Dorset’s rich prehistoric past.

He said: “We’re making a Time Team special about the South Dorset Ridgeway.

“We’ll be having a look at what it’s made of, why it’s 1,000 feet up in the air when it used to be at the bottom of a seabed and why it was so attractive to ancient people and what they used it for.”

The Ridgeway is a ridge of high land separating Weym-outh and Dorchester and Mr Robinson and his team will be investigating the various theories surrounding its origins.

He said: “Some people say the Ridgeway was the world’s first motorway, but I’m treating that idea with a bit of scepticism.

“We want to find out more about its history and why it has over 500 prehistoric monuments on it.”

The bedraggled film crew took refuge in the museum after being forced off the Ridgeway yesterday by high winds and rain.

Mr Robinson said: “It’s day one of filming and we were up on the Ridgeway but it was tipping it down with rain, so we came to shelter here at the museum.

“We’re struggling through like soldiers in a war.

“It’s a real relief to be inside and we’re grateful to be able to use this space.”

Time Team will be filming at various locations in the area for the next two weeks.

“There are 11 more days of filming in the Dorset area and I will be here for about half of them,” said Mr Robinson.

“I’ve been to Dorset a lot in the past and I really love it here.

“I always want to come back, partly because it’s so beautiful and partly because there are so many fascinating stories in this part of the world.”

The Downs

THE South Dorset Ridgeway is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is considered by many experts to be as important as Stonehenge and Avebury for revealing the lives of our ancestors.

The ridge of high land runs parallel with the coast and has been an important place for people since 2,000BC.

There are over 1,000 ancient monuments that record the history of the Ridgeway since that time.

The Ridgeway is the most southerly part of the Dorset Downs, an area of chalk downland in the centre of the county.