VISITORS to the Tamar Valley Centre on Saturday were able to view the findings from the archaeological field walking event held by the Helping Hands for Heritage project in September.

The event, at Pentillie, saw 37 volunteers walk across a ploughed field, picking up anything that was not natural, such as bits of pottery, to see if there was evidence of people having lived or worked there.

The findings were on display for an open day on Saturday, but project manager Sam Barnes said the pieces were mainly 'dock dung' — rubbish swept off the streets of Plymouth, brought up the river and spread out on the fields as fertiliser.

'It was mainly bits of Victorian pottery and Medieval ceramics,' she said. 'But wasn't enough to say for certain whether anyone lived or worked there.'

For more details about Helping Hands for Heritage and up coming events, visit http://www.tamarvalley.org.uk/hh4h">www.tamarvalley.org.uk/hh4h

l Helping Hands for Heritage project manager Sam Barnes is pictured (centre) with volunteers and visitors.

Picture by James Bird