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Excavating a newly discovered Bronze Age burial mound

Excavating a newly discovered Bronze Age burial mound

Children listening to a talk about the archaeological site
Children listening to a talk about the archaeological site

Heritage Grants

CARNFORTH, Lancashire, North West
Lancaster
DigVentures
£49500
Following the unexpected discovery of a Late Bronze Age tanged chisel and knife blade, a rapid archaeological assessment identified the site as an extremely rare, intact Bronze Age burial mound at Bolton-le-Sands.

The site is defined by an enclosure, platform and earthen mound barrow on the summit of a hill, located in a commanding position overlooking Morecambe Bay. The monument would have been highly visible in the Bronze Age, likely to have been the final resting place of a high status individual.

DigVentures, which carried out the project, is an organisation committed to designing, developing and delivering community archaeology projects throughout the UK and further afield.

Two priorities for the project were identified through consultation with the site’s community and statutory stakeholders. Firstly – to enhance participation and build skills capacity, and secondly – to record, understand and manage a new and highly significant archaeological site.

The project included:

  • surveying
  • a community excavation involving over 150 volunteers
  • education workshops with 340 school children
  • public events, such as live video recording and handling sessions

Project outputs included a project website, online learning resources and a community archaeology toolkit.