THE community of Bere Alston came together recently to find out what has been buried deep within their village.

Thirty people from the village joined forces to dig gardens and the school field as part of an archaeology project through Cordiale — part of the Tamar Valley AONB's work.

The event was planned to coincide with the Festival of British Archaeology.

Under the watchful eye of archaeologists and experts, including Dr Chris Smart from the University of Exeter, the volunteers dug one-metre square test pits in their gardens, while a dozen others set to work in other areas of the village to see what they could find.

It was hoped that evidence would be found of the medieval history of Bere Alston, thought to be the earliest planned mining settlement in the country, but mainly volunteers happily unearthed evidence of Victorian life in the village.

An early 19th century cobbled courtyard, the remains of the wall of a donkey shed and a piece of early Bronze Age pottery were the highlights of the weekend.

The weekend was deemed a big success thanks to the enthusiasm of the volunteers and the expertise of the archaeologists.

Sam Barnes, project officer for the Tamar Valley AONB team, said: 'Knowing what makes this area special will help to inform management decisions to protect our assets, and sustainably encourage the landscape and settlement to develop into the future.

'I am delighted with the support, involvement and enthusiasm from the local community for this event.

'Chris will be returning soon to deliver the results of the test pits once they have been analysed; keep an eye on our website and like us on Facebook to find out when this will happen.'