A RESEARCH project by a team of archaeologists could greatly increase our knowledge of the prehistory of York.

The £400,000 project will run until next March and is being led by Dr Mark Whyman of the York Archaeological Trust and Dr Andy Howard of the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, at the University of Newcastle.

It is being allocated funds by English Heritage from Aggregates Levy Sustainable Fund - money provided by the sand and gravel quarrying industry to support environmental projects.

Little is known about the Vale of York in archaeological terms and it is hoped the study will bridge this gap.

Dr Whyman said: "Our knowledge of the city of York has increased dramatically over the last 30 years, but in the Vale it is a different story - far less research has been undertaken.

"This is a great opportunity to begin to understand the landscapes and to discover the ancient communities which preceded the villages and farms of the modern Vale."

The team is hoping to discover landscapes and archaeological finds in good condition buried beneath the sand and silt deposited by centuries of flooding.

The first stage of the project will use sophisticated computer programmes to map the geology and the known archaeology of the Vale, also using information recorded by electronic survey equipment mounted on aircraft.