RESIDENTS looking to dig deep into Herefordshire’s past are being invited to a hilltop excavation in the Golden Valley.


A 5,000-year-old site in Dorstone has been studied as part of a project to learn more about the lives of the first Neolithic farmers in the county.


Herefordshire Council has teamed up with staff and students at Manchester University over the summer.

Among the evidence unearthed at Arthur’s Stone includes pottery from the Early Neolithic period around 3,500BC.

“This was the age when the great megalithic chambered tombs like Arthur’s Stone were built,” said Professor Julian Thomas, from the university.

“It was a period that witnessed a remarkable first flourishing of farming groups who herded cattle in clearings and open country.

“This exciting project is looking for the first time in Britain simultaneously at a group of such sites within direct sight and close walking distance of one another.”

Those interested in the findings are invited to visit the excavations at Dorstone Hill on Sunday (9th) between 1pm and 4pm.

Next Wednesday (12th), Prof Thomas will deliver a talk on the findings of the project at the St Peter’s Church Centre in Peterchurch from 7.30pm.