Popular archaeology series Time Team is returning this month for its first new episodes in a decade – including a three-part special in Cornwall.

It returns in a new extended format, in two new three-part episodes.

The first will allow viewers to join the Time Team for the excavation of an Iron Age settlement with underground tunnels in Cornwall, followed by a huge Roman villa on the estate of a Tudor castle in Oxfordshire.

The programmes will premiere for free worldwide on the Time Team Official YouTube channel in an extended three-part weekend extravaganza covering each dig: Cornwall on March 18, 19 and 20, and Oxfordshire on April 8, 9 and 10.

In Cornwall, the excavation took place at a fogou site on the Lizard Peninsula, not far from Manaccan.

For the dig the team worked closely with James Gossip of Cornwall Archaeological Unit and the Meneage Archaeology Group.

The episode also features returning local Time Team finds specialist Carl Thorpe, also of Cornwall Archaeological Unit, and many local Falmouth and Cornish businesses were involved in the shoots and wider production.

Time Team has filmed in Cornwall several times over the years, including Bodmin Moor, Padstow, Looe Island, and also Gear Farm on the Lizard – just up the road from the new dig – and the team were able to enjoy some Gear Farm pasties during the project.

Time Team presenters Dr Gus Casely-Hayford and Natalie Haynes Picture: Charlie Newlands / Time Team

Time Team presenters Dr Gus Casely-Hayford and Natalie Haynes Picture: Charlie Newlands / Time Team

Time Team’s return is thanks to the successful and ongoing support of thousands of fans in over 40 countries on the Patreon platform, an online subscription service that helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers.

Additional previews, live after show events and complementary content for each dig will also be shown exclusively on Patreon.

Meanwhile, shows from the original run have been enjoying over two million views per month on the Time Team Classics YouTube channel.

Tim Taylor, Time Team’s creator and series producer, said: “This is the culmination of a long, challenging but thrilling journey for the team and our supporters worldwide. Much more than that, it’s proof that great things really can happen when people come together and unite with a shared goal.

"Our amazing supporters on Patreon can now officially say: ‘I made that happen!’ And there’s lots more to come from Time Team, with our fans by our side.”

The new episodes are presented by Dr Gus Casely-Hayford, an historian, curator, broadcaster and inaugural Director of V&A East, London, and Natalie Haynes, a a classicist, comedian, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics, and author of critically acclaimed books including Pandora’s Jar.

Gus and Natalie are joined by a host of original and regular team members including Professor Carenza Lewis, Dr Helen Geake, Dr John Gater, Professor Stewart Ainsworth, Naomi Sewpaul, Matt Williams, Professor Henry Chapman, Jimmy Adcock, Dani Wootton and Professor Suzannah Lipscomb, and newcomers Dr Derek Pitman and Lawrence Shaw.

Producer Tim added: “I’m delighted with the new episodes – they really capture the spirit of the original shows and that thrill of discovery, while reflecting the advances in technology and approaches that have developed in the years since.”

Time Team’s return has enjoyed the backing of many fans, including bestselling authors Sir Michael Morpurgo, Bernard Cornwell, Philippa Gregory, Kate Mosse and Ken Follett.