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Hands-on history-lovers dug in to a community archaeology project in Market Bosworth.

The Big Bosworth Dig saw around 140 volunteers dig 25 test pits in back gardens, school fields and community green spaces to unearth finds destined to shed light on the town’s past.

It was organised by Bosworth Links, a group set up by the Market Bosworth Society, which has been given £29,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to co-ordinate a two-year archaeological investigation of the historic market town.

The work is being supervised by Mathew Morris, from the University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) team, who was the first person to come across the skeleton of Richard III during the historic Leicester dig of 2012.

In Market Bosworth, the first turfs were turned by students at Dixie Grammar School, where around 65 young people got involved during the two-day dig.

Among the finds in their metre-square, metre-deep excavation were clay pipes, Victorian pottery, a large animal tooth, and several pieces of medieval pottery.

On the parish field, a similarly-sized pit offered up a hand-sized piece of high status Tudor greenware.

Other pits were sunk in Sutton Lane, Rectory Lane and at St Peter’s CE Primary Academy, among others.

Finds, including Roman and prehistoric pottery shards, plus waste material from flint tool making, were washed, labelled and bagged by volunteers at a dig headquarters set up in the Dixie Grammar School hall.

They will be analysed by the ULAS team which will prepare a report based on the evidence they provide for the town’s history, along with possible recommendations for further research.

Market Bosworth Society and Bosworth Links chairman Nigel Palmer said: “I am absolutely delighted by the number of finds discovered in the test pits, which was far more than we could ever have hoped for.

“I am humbled by the number of people who helped in our success and who gave up their time for this year’s event.”

In addition to the HLF grant, the project has received financial backing from the Dixie Educational Foundation, Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, The Richard III Legacy and Market Bosworth Parish Council and was supported during the weekend by Hinckley Archaeological Society.

A similar community excavation is already planned for next year, with around two dozen more pits to be dug in different locations around the town to extend the area investigated.

To find out more and to register to take part visit www.marketbosworthsociety.com/bosworth-links