THE Channel 4 TV show, Time Team, has been excavating on Looe Island.

The outcrop, also known as St George's Island, will feature in a forthcoming programme presented by Tony Robinson.

The island is managed primarily for wildlife but the Cornwall Wildlife Trust was delighted when show producers confirmed they would be excavating at the marine nature reserve.

'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,' said island warden Jon Ross.

'It was a massive undertaking with more than 50 crew and all their equipment being ferried on and off the island by local boatmen.'

A member of the film crew said: '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.'

A focus of the programme and the excavation is the chapel site, known as St Michaels, at the highest point on the island.

The chapel was transferred to the mainland in the 12th century.

'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,' said the film crew member. '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.' The chapel on the mainland, called Lammana, was also excavated as part of the Time Team programme.

Filming took place in May 2008 and the programme is to be aired on Sunday, March 1, at 5.30pm, on Channel 4.