Lost Centuries at St Osyth (Full Episode) | S12 EP9 | Time Team (Essex)

Video Description

After you watch this episode, check out the official commentary video on the Time Team Official YouTube Channel! : https://youtu.be/ESyt5zkSvUw Century Viking pirates sailed up a muddy Essex creek. Legend has it they captured a lonely nun who when offered her modesty or her mortality, chose to die. The nun then carried her severed head up the hill to her church where she collapsed. Where she lay a spring bubbled up. The nun was St Osyth, the wife of the Saxon King of Essex, who chose the veil rather than consummating her marriage. The site of her death became a shrine and a busy settlement grew up. In the 12th Century Richard de Belmais, Bishop of London, founded a large Augustinian Priory in the middle of the village. This became a powerful establishment, which by the Dissolution in 1539 was one of the wealthiest Augustinian Monasteries in Europe. A few years ago a local boatbuilder noticed some decayed timbers sticking out of the mud in St Osyth Creek. The tides gradually revealed more of these timbers, which are on a significant bend in the channel. These timbers could be the remains of a medieval wharf which served the town in its early days, but they could also be the key to a much bigger mystery. The present town seems to date to the 15th century but the famous Priory is much older. There must have been a busy settlement servicing it - so where was the original town of St Osyth? Time Team have three days to redraw the map of this picturesque town on the Essex coast. Series 12, Episode 09 EPISODE CREDITS Phil Hendy, St Osyth Museum St Osyth Historical Society St Osyth Priory Victoria County History Landmark Information Group Ltd Ordnance Survey #TimeTeam #BritishHistory #Essex #Vikings #StOsyth Time Team is a British TV series following specialists who dig deep to uncover as much as they can about Britain's archaeology and history. For more Time Team content, check out the Time Team Official YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/TimeTeamOfficial ** TIME TEAM HAS JOINED PATREON! ** Support Time Team by becoming a patron and get access to exclusive behind-the-scenes content here: https://www.patreon.com/timeteamofficial ** MERCHANDISE ** You can now purchase Time Team's Official merchandise here: https://shop.timeteamdigital.com/ Subscribe for FULL EPISODES every Wednesday and Sunday.