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