Roman pottery digs made prisoner 'feel human again'

A total of 33 prisoners took part in various stages of the project

A group of inmates has unearthed Roman pottery in a Wiltshire prison as part of an archaeology project.

Inmates at HMP Erlestoke have been working on the scheme run by Wessex Archaeology overseen by Phil Harding, former Time Team presenter.

He said: “I was almost convinced that they wouldn’t have found anything but actually when I started looking through the stuff I thought, 'stone me.'"

With more than a third of prisoners re-offending after being released it was hoped schemes like this could get through to offenders in a way conventional learning might have previously failed.

'Felt like a human being'

The BBC was was given exclusive access inside HMP Erlestoke in Wiltshire, and spoke to two of the prisoners who took part in the dig.

The men were both serving long sentences for violent crimes and prison staff asked us not to identify them.

One of the prisoners said he was able to forget about being in prison and felt he was treated like any volunteer helping out on a dig.

“That was amazing, you felt like a human being again instead of this sub-class of prisoner," he added.

The second of the prisoners told us he also enjoyed taking part.

He said “I was jumping up every morning and going to sleep every night thinking 'Wow did that really just happen today? Did I find Roman pottery?'

"If I had this interest [before being imprisoned] and a way of putting money in my pocket without having to commit crime, it would have been a whole different ball game.”

Prison governor, Sarah Coombs, says the digs helped to rehabilitate the prisoners

Governor of HMP Erlestoke Sarah Coombs said: “I think when you talk about digging in a prison that isn’t always something that would come comfortably to a governor.

"But when prisoners are released we want them to go out into society and have hobbies and job opportunities that keep them away from crime and help them be a productive member of society.

"Engaging in projects like this gives them an opportunity to experience those things and hopefully take it with them when they’re released.”

The scheme received funding from the National Lottery’s Heritage Fund and was the idea of firm Wessex Archaeology which ran the project.

Heritage Inclusion Manager Leigh Chalmers said: “For my colleagues it’s had a deep impact on them coming in seeing how prisons operate and just how enthusiastic the men were to be taking part in the project."

Former Time Team presenter Phil Harding helped with the dig

Time Team’s Phil Harding said the artefacts found were “crucially important for telling the story of the prison’s site”.

He said the items found not only include Roman pottery, but also Mesolithic flints and Victorian clay pipes.

There were also more contemporary finds including an HMP Erlestoke lighter dating back to the 1970s.