SCHOOL children got a chance a chance to dig into their village’s past last week.

The pupils from Meldreth Primary School had a visit from the Meldreth Local History Group, who have been digging in the village in recent weeks as part of a project aimed at getting a glimpse of Meldreth’s past.

As part of the visit, the children got a chance to dig a test pit on their school field. Throughout the day, the children came out in their classes to see what was happening and all of the children were involved in digging, taking measurements, sieving soil and washing finds.

The most exciting find of the day was a George II farthing, though later on in the weekend, the pit produced three pieces of what we believe to be prehistoric pottery, dating from around 3000 years ago.

The school visit was part of the latest weekend of digging for the project, entitled Understanding Our Past: Exploring the Hidden History of Meldreth.

Kathryn Betts, Secretary of Meldreth Local History Group and one of the organisers, said: “We had another very successful weekend of digging, with all of the pits producing material of interest.

“We’d like to thank all of the test pit owners and volunteers for their help and especially the staff and pupils of Meldreth Primary School for a fantastic day there on Friday. Once again, it was wonderful to see people of all ages being actively involved in the project.”

“A further ten pits will be dug in the village on 17 and 18 August and full details will be available closer to the time.”

Pits dug over the weekend unearthed shards of early pre-historic, Roman and medieval pottery as well as a number of non-human bones.

For more information on how you can get involved in the project, visit www.meldrethhistory.org.uk, email info@meldrethhistory.org.uk or contact Kathryn Betts on 01763 268428.