A BIT of hands-on archaeology helped bring the past to life for a group of 23 youngsters from St James' School, in Hereford.

The year 6 pupils visited a site in Bath Street, where a dig is underway on the former car park.

Their host was Andy Boucher of Archaeological Investigations, who gave an overview of the excavation before showing the 10-11-year-olds around the organisation's offices in East Street, where they got to handle finds including medieval pottery, a bone needle and a prehistoric hand axe.

The visit introduced the concept of dating by stratigraphy and tied in with a project on ancient Greece and the excavations at Knossos.

Said headteacher Martin Fowler: "For a lot of them, it brought to life things they have seen on Time Team. They realised that the grubby things you find in the ground actually do mean something!"

l Pictured at the dig are: Bella Galbraith, Lisa Gilespie, Andrew Parsons and Nathan Morris.

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