Big Heritage CIC, a heritage social enterprise, in partnership with postgraduates from the University of Chester, worked with residents and local school children in this small, suburban Wirral town, excavating test pits in their gardens.  Exciting finds included domestic Roman pottery, Saxo-Norman artefacts indicating precious metal-working in the village, a huge musket ball from the civil war and, prehistoric tools, which seem to show that people have lived and worked in Bromborough for at least 5,000 years.

A short film about the project and a good practice guide to test-pitting were created, and handling collections continue to be loaned to local schools and groups. Volunteers have been trained in finds washing, recording and processing, and finds are to be deposited with the Museum of Liverpool.

Dean Paton, Big Heritage’s Managing Director, said: “The legacy of Discovering Bromborough is still felt in the community a year later; from new lasting friendships, to a broader appreciation of Bromborough’s unique place in history. Sometimes the smallest of projects can have the biggest of impacts.”

Big Heritage has created a film to mark the project, as well as a clip to illustrate good practice.