Archaeological excavation to reveal area’s rural past

Volunteers working at an archaeological dig site are trying to fill a “huge gap” in knowledge about the country’s rural past.

At High Tarn Farm, near Silloth, Cumbria, traces of crops have been found. These traces indicate that a building may have stood on the land. The age of the building is still unknown.

We are currently working with Historic England to find out more about the significance of this site.

Archaeologist Mark Graham of Grampus Heritage said: “All archaeology contributes to knowledge and when you are in an area like this, where there is no known site at all, you are filling a huge gap in our knowledge.”

It is already known that part of Silloth was once the site of a medieval farm connected to Cistercian monks.

Don O'Meara, wearing a sunhat and checked shirt, at the dig site at High Tarns Farm. — Don O’Meara from Historic England works with volunteers on the dig at High Tarns Farm (BBC)

Don O’Meara of Historic England said some progress was being made in understanding the possible uses of the High Tarn site.

“Here we are trying to extract the preserved plant remains that we found on the site,” he said.

“We recovered thousands of small oat grains. There is clearly a lot of oat production and perhaps the building was used to store that kind of material.”

The project, funded by the DEFRA Farming in Protected Landscapes Scheme, also offers volunteers the opportunity to learn about local history and connect with like-minded people.

Volunteers wearing gloves work at the excavation site at High Tarns Farm, Silloth. — Oat grains were found during the excavations (BBC)

Arthur Graham was born and raised in Cumbria, but now lives in Lincolnshire.

He often returns to the region to participate in archaeological excavations.

“These people here are my friends and I met them through this means,” he said.

“I lived in Cumbria and we left at a young age. You don’t realise what’s going on around you until you get to a certain age and you (start) loving history.”

Volunteer Jean Hill said the excavation was hard work, but the group still enjoyed it.

“We work together and have a good conversation,” she said.

“So at the end of the day we can say, ‘This is our area and what did we find today?’”

Follow BBC Cumbria on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook And InstagramSend your story ideas to [email protected].