Archaeologists in South East Cornwall have found the walls of a lost medieval village during a community dig at Mount Edgcumbe.
The discovery at Barn Pool excited those involved, who unearthed several historical finds during the dig organised by The SHIPS Project and Mount Edgcumbe House and Country Park.
More than 200 people dug alongside experts, uncovering centuries of finds. These included walls from the ancient village of West Stonehouse, which was sacked by the Bretons in 1338, rebuilt, and then destroyed in 1740 by the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe.
The team also found a neolithic grinding tool, coat buttons and sweetheart buttons left by Americans before D-Day, plus Elizabethan and Roman coins.
A rare Plymouth Trout codd bottle was also discovered, but then went missing, prompting an online appeal for its return. After The SHIPS Project team received a text about its location, the historic bottle was recovered.
Visitors to Mount Edgcumbe could see the finds at an open day on Sunday, August 23. The items will now be re-covered for another year.
Archaeologist and organiser Mallory Haas said: “We’ve had a couple hundred finds and some of them are really spectacular.
“Some of the things that have come up include Roman Samian, some early stone tools, and because we know American troops were here, we have lots of evidence of their D-Day preparations on the same ground.
“All of these things tell us about how well used this land was and just how old this site is. We’re going back from Neolithic times and all the way up to World War ll.
“We are done digging and we’re going to put the site to bed, but we’ll be coming back next year, extending what we’ve learned and asking some new questions.”
Community Dig Unearths Medieval Village Walls in South East Cornwall