St George’s Island, Looe is managed primarily for wildlife but Trust staff were thrilled when producers from the popular television show confirmed that they would be excavating on the island last summer. Jon Ross, St George’s Island Warden who features in the show, said “This was such a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the history of the island and watching the experts go about their business was hugely enjoyable. It was a massive undertaking with over 50 crew and all their equipment being ferried on and off the island by local boatmen. I’m really looking forward to watching the programme.”
A focus of the programme and the excavation is the chapel site at the highest point on the island. The chapel is known as St Michaels and it has been suggested that the island was purchased by Glastonbury Abbey to capitalise on the pilgrim trade relating to the cult of St Michael. The chapel was actually transferred to the mainland in the 12th century as devoted pilgrims were drowning whilst trying to access the island on St Michaels Day even in heavy seas. The chapel on the mainland (called Lammana) was also excavated as part of the Time Team programme making for interesting viewing and a challenge as summarised by a member of the film crew;
“Back in May Time Team descended on St George’s Island to try and unravel the history of the island. This shoot was one of the most complex we’ve ever tackled with two sites, one on the mainland and one on the Island.”
“The archaeology didn’t disappoint – we uncovered new evidence of activity on St George’s Island as far back as the Roman period and possibly even earlier. Excavations at the chapel gave us a plan of the building, and below the floors we uncovered the burial of an adult male, along with a piece of pottery dating to the 13th century. But our landscape archaeologist was certain he’d found evidence of much earlier activity on the island, a ditch running around the chapel. One of the biggest surprises came from the final trench to go in where we stumbled across a hoard of Roman coins! It was a challenging but incredibly rewarding three days.”