Britain's first known 5th century mosaic at Chedworth Roman Villa is to feature on TV's 'Digging for Britain' this week.

National Trust archaeologists working at Chedworth will be revisiting their unexpected finds from 2020 in a new episode airing on BBC 2 on Thursday (January 11) and available now on iPlayer.

Back in 2020, excavation and dating uncovered a 5th century mosaic, evidence that sophisticated life had continued within this luxury mansion, decades after Britain ceased to be part of the Roman Empire and the country had entered the 'Dark Ages'.

Previously it had generally been believed that, following the economic crash at the end of the 4th century, all towns and villas were largely abandoned and fell into decay within a few years.

As such, the discovery of a mosaic created in the 5th century caused much excitement and debate, leading the team to pursue additional testing methods to confirm their findings.

Viewers of the new 'Digging for Britain' episode will be able to follow along with the team as they do further fieldwork, uncovering part of the mosaic once more to conduct additional tests.

Confirmation came in the form of three additional sets of radiocarbon dating, pottery found on the site, and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL).

OSL shows when soil particles were last exposed to sunlight. A sample collected from immediately below the mosaic was dated to 400 AD, confirming the mosaic cannot have been laid before this.

Martin Papworth, National Trust archaeologist, said: "We've used OSL to date several significant archaeological sites in the National Trust, and the additional confirmation provided by both this and our new radiocarbon dates adds weight to our conclusion that this is indeed a 5th century mosaic.

"Re-examining this mosaic with the 'Digging for Britain' team was brilliant and it's exciting that so many people will be able to engage with the story of this discovery through watching the new series.

''We're now continuing our research. Was Chedworth the only villa occupied in style into the 5th century? With the help of Professor Ken and Dr Petra Dark, evidence is now being gathered from other West Country villa archives to track down additional dating evidence.

"This will put our 5th century Chedworth dates in context so we can further understand what life would've been like during this period, not only at Chedworth but within the community of villas and towns that surround it."

The 5th century mosaic has now been re-buried following the excavation to protect it from the weather.

Chedworth Roman Villa will reopen to visitors on Monday, February 5.