Dig pupils get to grips with the past...

School pupils from York are being given the chance to take part in an archaeological dig on the outskirts of the city which has already revealed major finds from the late pre-historic and Roman eras.

Children from Lord Deramore's and Badger Hill primary schools and Archbishop Holgate's School are spending this week working with experts from York University's Department of Archaeology on the latest excavations.

The dig is taking place on the site of the university's 500m campus expansion at Heslington East and has already unearthed a series of major finds.

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The most striking is an Iron Age skull discovered by a team from York Archaeological Trust employed by the university. It is thought to contain the oldest surviving brain material in Britain.

Another of the skeletons discovered in an area close to a Roman building is thought to be one of Britain's first victims of tuberculosis.

The schoolchildren will be helping with a geophysical survey of part of the site, as well as excavating, drawing and recording finds. The project is part of a major initiative, backed by a 27,500 Heritage Lottery Fund grant, to increase public participation in the dig.

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