The aerial archaeologist

BEN ROBINSON, TV’s archaeologist in the sky, tells editor ROLY SMITH how it all began

Twenty-two-year old Ben Robinson had just completed his computer science degree and was sitting on a tractor in a queue at a Cambridgeshire grain store, waiting to unload, when he heard a local radio interview featuring a nearby archaeological dig. “It was on Ermine Street, north of Royston, and they wanted volunteers,” recalls TV’s popular ‘flying archaeologist.’ “So when the harvest was over, I went along. Two weeks later found myself on the payroll, and they asked me if I wanted to stay on that winter.” As a child, Ely-born Ben had always been fascinated

Ben ready for another helecopter flight by history, especially places and physical remains connected with the past, which would seem to lead him naturally towards archaeology. “But I didn’t think there was any possibility of working in these subject areas,” he explains. “I was always going to be a farmer or join the RAF.” And he has the RAF to thank for his passion for flying. “I was taught to fly by the RAF as a teenage air cadet,” he says. “But even during my instruction and solo flying, I spent as much time looking at the ground for archaeological features as I did concentrating on keeping the aircraft flying!” Ben started flying open-air “trike” microlights when, at six foot four inches, he could just let his legs dangle over the sides. He flies enclosed cockpit microlights now and says they are surprisingly comfortable – “better than many cars in terms of head and leg room.” He explains: “A large part of the attraction has always been spotting and photographing archaeology from the air. It is a great way to get a different perspective on the heritage which is all around us.” It was following that seminal Ermine Street dig that Ben realised that archaeology was what he really wanted to do, so he undertook a Masters degree at the University of York and then later went back to do a part-time PhD. By then he was the archaeological adviser to the newly formed Peterborough Unitary Authority, setting up a new Historic Environment Record, providing planning advice, undertaking emergency excavations, setting briefs and monitoring consultants’ and contractors’ work. “A sort of poacher turned gamekeeper,” he jokes. In 2009 he joined English Heritage (as it was then) as

an Inspector of Monuments and Team Leader, mainly dealing with the eastern side of the East Midlands, but with a special responsibility for dealing with Heritage at Risk across the region. Since the East and West Midlands offices merged, Ben is now one of two Partnerships Team Leaders dealing with Heritage at Risk across a region that spans from the Welsh Marches to The Wash, from Banbury to the Humber, and from the south Lincolnshire Fens to the High Peak. “In many ways, Derbyshire represents the great and varied range of heritage found across the Midlands – in fact across much of England – and the major risks that heritage faces,” said Ben. “Clearly the county has archaeological sites threatened by agriculture, scrub encroachment, vandalism, looting, and off-road vehicles. But it also has the sort of rich industrial heritage that most people associate with the north of England and West Midlands, such as textile mills crying out for sympathetic new uses. “Apart from the ongoing effects of weathering and natural decay, the root cause of most heritage at risk is the lack of funding and the lack of ability to invest in establishing viable new uses. There are some owners who sit on an ‘asset’ for years waiting for it all to fall down or for something better to turn up. Others have taken a punt, tapped into the assistance that is available, and made a real go of things. Ben continued: “The progress at places such as Cromford Mills, Darley Abbey Mills, Torr Vale Mill in New Mills and Haarlem Mill at Wirksworth, and elsewhere over the last decade has shown what can be achieved by trusts, private owners, and local business working with communities. “The great work done to lift the Wardwick and Strand areas of Derby, and Derby College’s transformation of The Roundhouse and former railway works are exemplars of private-public investment and what education institutions can do. The Crescent development in Buxton shows what a long journey it can be sometimes, but my goodness, it is so rewarding and brilliant for a place when it finally comes off. It’s a stunning result.” Ben concluded: “I am very proud of Historic England’s role in helping to rescue these places, and more recently, in distributing various Covid-19 recovery grants to many other heritage sites across Derbyshire and the Midlands. Investment in historic places – turning a problem for a community into an opportunity – is about investing in the future, not the past.” Ben’s television and radio work has included research and on-screen contributions to many archaeology and history programmes. Starting as a seminal member of Time Team, he has since taken Griff Rhys Jones for a microlight flight; kept Rory McGrath upright as he “slodged” through a bog on stilts; immersed himself in a mist of preservative to show Mary-Ann Ochota prehistoric boats, and helped the Travel Channel’s Expedition Unknown in an (unsuccessful) quest to find King John’s treasure in The Wash. Ben has also co-presented three series of Channel 4’s Britain’s Most Historic Towns with Alice Roberts and in 2019, he presented the six-part BBC series Pubs, Ponds and Power: The Story of the Village, documenting the history of the English village, which included Cromford. A second series entitled Villages by the Sea was shown on BBC2 in 2020. Ben lives with his wife Joanne and 10-year-old son Wilfie in Huntingdonshire, “Which officially,” he says, “doesn’t exist anymore! I seem to have lived in various places on or just off Ermine Street for much of my life.” He concludes: “I believe that exploring historic places can offer insights into the past that are not legible in written history. I like to try to show how history is woven into the fabric of our present-day landscapes and lives, and how it can shape the future.” Ben is currently writing a book about how to explore the heritage of English villages.

With fellow Time Teamers Tony Robinson (left) and Francis Pryor (centre). Phil Harding (background)