AN anniversary event will be held at an ancient North-East burial site next month.

To mark the 125th anniversary of the first archaeological dig at the Copt Hill site, in Houghton-le-Spring, Wearside, an information day and picnic will be held alongside land at the Seven Sisters copse of trees.

The dig, in 1877, revealed the historical significance of the area, which was discovered to be a neolithic burial site.

Further research over the past two years has led experts to compare it with Stonehenge.

The anniversary event, being organised by the Friends of Copt Hill, will also be used to launch the community event Unveiling Seven Sisters, which aims to raise awareness of the site.

Already this year, the friends have been awarded grants totalling £25,000 to encourage participation in a project to protect and develop it.

Members plan to replace the missing seventh tree at the copse and plant two others as the existing trees begin to wither with age.

The group has already planted new hedgerows alongside the site and carries out regular litter picking patrols.

A Friends' spokesman said: "A geographical survey carried out in 2001 unveiled a wealth of archaeology in the area that had previously been undiscovered.

"The last major study was an excavation of the mound by the local historian Canon Greenwell of Durham Cathedral, in 1877. Artefacts unearthed at that time are now in the British Museum.

The event will be held at Copt Hill on Saturday, September 21