Unlocking Essex village’s secret history

BUDDING archaeologists unlocked the history of their village at a special event held at the weekend.

Dr Carenza Lewis, of TV’s Time Team, and her team of experts from Access Cambridge Archaeology led residents on 29 digs around Clavering.

Among the finds were pottery pieces from medieval to Victorian times, animal bone, a medieval bell, a trading token dated 1669, and remains of a commemorative cup from the 1700s.

One of the most exciting finds was a prehistoric leaf-shaped arrowhead up to 6,000 years old.

Robert Pacitti, artistic director of Pacitti Company, who devised the project, said: “It is exciting as it shows us how we can be together as a community and work on a shared task in a way that is fun, educational but still about the art.”

Once people had finished the excavation, they buried a silver charm as a legacy for the future. Hundreds of people then packed into the village hall to hear Dr Lewis explain the findings.

Rosanna Zaffuto, who works for Bishop’s Stortford Council, heard about the dig and came to the village to volunteer. She was in the group which discovered the commemorative mug after digging up their driveway.

She said: “I am really interested in archaeology but this was my first time digging.

“I was really impressed with what we found, especially as we had such dense material to work with.”