West Deeping archaeological dig unearths 6,000 years of history

An archaeological dig of a quarry in Lincolnshire has uncovered evidence of settlements and agriculture spanning 6,000 years.

Excavations of the West Deeping quarry revealed a Roman settlement as well as Neolithic and Bronze Age finds.

The oldest artefacts included pottery used for cooking and eating.

A free exhibition of some of the finds will be on display in West Deeping village hall on Saturday, from 13:00 to 17:00 BST.

Hannah Barrett, a project officer with the Cambridge Archaeological Unit, said: "This site isn't just Neolithic, Bronze Age or Roman, we have all of the periods right through to Saxon in the 6th Century.

"All of these periods are represented and every single one has a good story to tell," she said.

"I think that's what's so fascinating about."

She added evidence dating back to the later Neolithic period included "the largest assemblage" of pottery ever found in East Anglia or the East Midlands.

Alongside that, experts uncovered animal bones and environmental samples of seed and grain to show what they were hunting and eating.

Ms Barrett said the landscape at the time would have been "wild", with wild boar and bears.

"You feel they must have been very tough people to live there," she said.

"And yet, they've got these really sophisticated flint tools and pottery that takes a huge amount of skill to make."

Other finds included evidence of Roman settlements, along with a carved stone figure of the god of war, Mars, in a tunic holding a shield and spear and an early Bronze Age burial mound.

Maggie Ashcroft, chair of the West Deeping Heritage Group, which is hosting the exhibition, said: "It is a real privilege to be able to see some of the archaeologists' finds before they go into storage and to hear about their discoveries before the final report is even published."

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