LOCAL archaeology enthusiasts are to be congratulated after uncovering more than 4,000 pieces of dating evidence during a two-year Swaledale Big Dig project.

TV archaeologist and Time Team expert Professor Carenza Lewis will be back in Swaledale this week to congratulate people who were involved in the process.

Prof Lewis, who launched the project in 2014, will be the main speaker at its formal conclusion in Reeth on Friday, April 15. She will explain how the results of the Big Dig will contribute to national archaeological research. An analysis of the finds from 50 test pits dug in and around the neighbouring villages of Reeth, Fremington and Grinton will also be presented.

Alan Mills, spokesman for the Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Archaeology Group (SWAAG), which organised the Big Dig, said: “In addition to digging test pits we have also run 24 free training courses in archaeology, led 11 guided archaeology walks, organised exhibitions and presentations, and run several events with local schools, involving children in geophysical surveying and test-pit digging.

“Hopefully, we have inspired some young people to become the next generation of archaeologists."

People attending the presentation on Friday evening and a free exhibition the following day, both at the Memorial Hall in Reeth, will learn how the Big Dig uncovered more than 4,000 pieces of dating evidence, mostly in the form of pieces of pottery and metal ware, and will see what the evidence reveals about the social and economic history of the area since the 1100s.

The Swaledale Big Dig was backed by the National Lottery Heritage Lottery Fund, and supported by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.