Throughout 2022, archaeologists from Durham University, together with local volunteers from the Auckland Project and students from King James I Academy, have been digging test-pits across the town of Bishop Auckland, Durham, as part of the community project ‘The Bishop Big Dig’.
Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, the project aims to bring local history to light.
Although no Roman discoveries have been made so far, despite the presence of the nearby fort at Binchester, gardens lent to the project by members of the public have so far produced more than 2,000 artefacts spanning the medieval period to the present, including clay pipes, animal bones, coins, a 1970s fire alarm, and a vinyl record by Meatloaf.
The project ends in December, but the team are still looking for more places to excavate. For more information, see www.thebishopbigdig.com.
