1Hello, I'm Hayden.
2I'm one of the archaeologists investigating the site here at Bidcaster.
3This is the third summer for this community project,
4and most of the people digging here are volunteers.
5I'm a full-time archaeologist for the town council,
6but I was asked to join the project by NHA,
7a charity which sets up projects like this up and down the country.
8As you can see, we're next to Bidcaster Castle,
9which is great because the owners let us use their facilities.
10So, how did we get to where we are today?
11Many archaeology projects happen when an ancient object is found,
12and in our case that object was a gold coin.
13Coins are often found by people using metal detectors to look for things buried in the ground
14or coins are uncovered when wild animals like rabbits have been digging tunnels.
15Here, a walker found it on the ground after a rainstorm washed away some of the earth and sand.
16When the story of the gold coin hit the news,
17Peter Swift, an amateur historian, contacted me to say he believed there had been a village on this site,
18centuries before the castle was built.
19Just by chance, the team found some old maps and documents in our library,
20which showed 500-year-old drawings of ruined buildings
21on the grassy area between the outer stone walls of the castle and the river.
22We knew then we were onto something.
23Over the three summers the team has been here,
24we've found the remains of several buildings,
25and more broken pots than you can count.
26Normally you'd expect to find brooches and other jewellery,
27but we're still waiting to uncover any such items.
28The people who once lived here were skilled at making tools from animal bones,
29as you'll see when you visit the exhibition.
30Besides the discovery of the village,
31we've also found evidence of human activity on the other side of the river.
32No other houses or huts so far,
33but we can see the borders of an ancient field system.
34At one point we found a long wall and thought it was an ancient palace,
35but it turned out to be a modern wall.
36This summer's work will end soon, but we'll be back next summer.
37In the meantime, we're putting on a series of guided tours for school groups this autumn.
38Oh, and maybe you saw the TV documentary about our project.
39That suggested the objects we've found are going to the town's museum,
40but we don't know that for sure yet.
41When you enter the site, please make sure you keep to the paths at all times.
42There are a few other things...
43the highlights of the site, if you like, that I want to mention.
44Take a look at the map.
45Our present location is marked at the bottom.
46This year, we've identified the foundations of an ancient bridge,
47and it's really exciting today because a team of divers are in the river searching for lost objects.
48To reach the bridge, take the main path ahead of you,
49go straight on, and keep going till the path bends to the left.
50You'll see a smaller track leading off to the right.
51Follow that to take you to the river, where the divers are.
52You might be interested to see the rubbish pit.
53This is very near the castle walls in the north-west corner of the site.
54It actually dates to the time of the castle and not the ancient village.
55We found oyster shells and fish bones,
56and we assumed they were thrown from the castle kitchen above.
57One area we excavated in the first summer uncovered the site of a meeting hall.
58We knew it was an important building
59because it had two rows of post holes, deep enough to support a large roof.
60It is the largest structure in the central area of the site, next to the current excavation area.
61Last year we discovered a fish pond in the ancient village.
62Normally these were beside a river.
63The pond here is further away,
64but it's possible the river has moved slightly.
65Anyway, to get there from here,
66you turn right at the first information board you come to
67and follow the path into the trees.
68Before you come out of the trees, you'll see it on your right.
69If you reach the river, you've gone too far.
70So, does anyone have...