BBC Drama today announced Bone Kickers, a new six-part drama series for BBC One from Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah (Monastic Productions), the writers and creators of the hit series Life On Mars and Ashes To Ashes; and Michele Buck and Damien Timmer of Mammoth Screen.

Bone Kickers is a thrilling adventure series packed with historical mystery and contemporary relevance.

Set against the backdrop of Bath, a city steeped in 3,000 years of history, Gillian and her team – Dr Ben Akomfrah (forensic, objective), Professor Gregory Parton (encyclopaedic but terminally louche) and eager young post-grad intern Viv Davis – are brought in under a variety of imperatives to extract bodies, books, weapons and all manner of artefacts which lead them into an investigation of the past that will unlock dangers and mysteries in the present.

From the excavation of murdered 18th century slaves to the possible discovery of the True Cross, each episode is a window on a period of history but more importantly a reflection on how we live now.

Running through it all is a greater puzzle that Gillian, a fiery Celt, keeps to herself for fear of ridicule – the hunt for the greatest treasure in the history of Man, a hunt that drove her brilliant mother insane, a hunt that pits her wits against her academic nemesis, the arrogant, urbane TV historian Daniel Mastif, and that will culminate at the end of series one in a desperate race for glory which may destroy her in the process.

Polly Hill, BBC Commissioning Editor for Independent Drama, comments: "Bone Kickers takes history and archaeology and makes it sexy, accessible and exciting."

Bone Kickers is being produced by Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah of Monastic Productions and Michele Buck and Damien Timmer of Mammoth Screen.

The drama is commissioned by Jane Tranter, Controller, BBC Fiction.

Bone Kickers will be filmed in the Bath/Bristol area from early November and will transmit on BBC One in Spring 2008. Casting will be announced at a later date.