Worcester is one of England's great historic cities, with a history of occupation that goes back to the Iron Age. It was a Roman ironworking and industrial centre, though some houses were decorated with mosaics or painted wall plaster. From AD 680, Worcester was the ecclesiastical centre of the Hwicce and later a defended Mercian burh. The medieval city had many parish churches and monasteries, a castle and city walls, and a stone bridge across the River Severn. It was refortified in the Civil War, and the first and last battles of the war were fought here. More recently, the city has been an important centre for the production of porcelain.

The Archaeology of Worcester in 20 Digs takes the reader on a journey through a selection of the most ground-breaking and unusual archaeological discoveries made in the city.