Hunt For King Henry VIIIs Lost Treasures Under A London Park

Watch this full episode where Tony Robinson's Time Team searches for Henry VIII's Greenwich Tiltyard and Royal Armoury, the epicentre of Tudor jousting and pageantry. Tony Robinson and the team have just three days to locate the spectacular tournament ground and the industrial workshops that produced the king's magnificent suits of armour. Using clues from a 16th-century drawing by Anthonis van den Wyngaerde and historical accounts, they dig on the pristine lawns of Greenwich to uncover the lost world of one of England's most famous kings.

The dig proves to be a tale of two sites. While the search for the armoury is plagued by later drains, the team, including Phil Harding and Mick Aston, makes a breakthrough by finding microscopic hammer scale, the tell-tale sign of Tudor blacksmithing. At the Tiltyard, historian Jonathan Foyle helps interpret the archaeology as the team uncovers the exact foundations of the magnificent banqueting hall, Tudor walls, and even the sandy surface of the jousting lane itself, complete with a Tudor horseshoe.

0:00 Searching for Henry VIII's Lost Palace
8:50 The Spectacle of Tudor Jousting Tournaments
16:13 Excavating the Elusive Royal Armoury
30:12 Archaeology Breakthrough: Uncovering the Tiltyard
42:13 Recreating Henry VIII's Tournament Ground

From Time Team, Series 10, Episode 05

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