ARCHAEOLOGISTS from Cambridge University are coming back to Daws Heath for a second series of digs this summer.

Experts, including Carenza Lewis and Paul Blinkhorn from TV’s Time Team, will return in June after last year’s successful excavations.

Again, the two-day dig will be in the gardens of homes in a triangular area bounded by Bramble Road, Daws Heath Road and Western Road, with local schoolchildren also taking part.

The dig will form part of wider project undertaken by the university’s higher education field academy to map settlements across East Anglia.

Terry Barclay, from the Hadleigh and Thundersley Community Archive and Ages archaeology group, is co-ordinating the local digs.

He, said: “When they finished last year, Carenza said, depending on funding, theymight return this year to get a better picture of the area. So we are really happy they have confirmed they are visiting again. They found some artifacts last year, including items from the early Bronze Age to the Victorian period.

“It is not possible to predict what exactly will be found. That is partly the joyof excavation, but I’m hoping they will find something exciting.”

Between ten and 13 test pits will be dug, with the help of 40 pupils from five Southend schools, Southend High School for Boys, Southend High School for Girls, Cecil Jones, Shoebury High School and Westcliff High School for Boys.

Most of sites to be explored have already been chosen, but residents can still volunteer their lawns for the dig.

Daws Heath is one of 50 places in the region where a total of about 1,500 pits are being dug as part of the project. Mr Barclay said: “The community really did get behind the dig last year so we’re hoping people will get involved again in June.

“We’ve had lots of people sign up their gardens for the dig, but a couple have dropped out, so we could have more come forward.”

The most important find was a flint, found to the north of Daws Heath Road, which experts think could be a sign of a settlement in that area in the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age.

They also found a fragment of a French brandy flask dated between 1470 and 1650, which came for the remains of a former farmhouse and thought to be evidence of smuggling.

The dig will be on Wednesday, June 4 and Thursday, June 5.

Finds will go on display at St Michael’s Community Room, Thundersley on Thursday, June 5 from 10am until noon.

For details, email hadleigh history@gmail.com