Hundreds dig Doncaster's archaeological history at special event

Archaeology Festival 2016 at Doncaster Museum with students from The University of Sheffield. Abbie Downs, nine, Elicia Joyes, nine, and Susanne Joyes, seven, getting hands on with some artefacts.

Over 500 people took a trip back in time as they took part in an archaeology festival at Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery.

The event on Saturday saw archaeological students from the University of Sheffield sharing their insights about historical artefacts.

The focus of the event was on items recovered from the Rossington area, where it is hoped a community archaeological project will start next year if Heritage Lottery Fund money can be secured.

Archaeology Festival 2016 at Doncaster Museum with students from The University of Sheffield. Pictured is Lortie Louis-Olivier with some roman artefacts.

Peter Robinson, a senior curator at the museum, said: “We were really busy and it went really well.

“The Rossington area is one of the richest archaeological areas in the borough and the borough of Doncaster is known as the jewel of South Yorkshire’s crown in terms of archaeology.

“It is the largest borough in England and its size means it is very diverse with lots of different types of material from different periods. It is much more agricultural than the rest of South Yorkshire which means a lot more has survived.

“Rossington is really important for the pre-historic and Roman periods. In the Roman period, it was the centre for the big Roman pottery industry and also metalworking.”

Archaeology Festival 2016 at Doncaster Museum with students from The University of Sheffield.

He said it is hoped the project will help discover more historic items on undeveloped land that has yet to be excavated. Visitors to the museum filled in a questionnaire as part of efforts to establish whether the project will be supported.