Professor Alice Roberts visits Carlisle Cricket Club dig site

Professor Roberts visited the site over two days this week and got to see the two monumental Roman carved heads unearthed from the Cricket Club site earlier this month.

She said: “It’s great that this is a community dig. There’s a huge roster of volunteers this year, so the site I think has grown a real kind of following over the years, and there’s lots of different ages.

“People are just really engaged by getting in touch with the history of Carlisle, they’re responsible for making new discoveries on a daily basis.

“It’s really exciting!

“This site is really waking people up to the exciting archaeology that there is here in Carlisle – (maybe) not waking people up to, but helping people get in touch with that heritage in a really physical way.

“I was really stunned at the size of the trench, and the archaeology in it – it’s an amazing site.”

Professor Alice Roberts is an anatomist, author and broadcaster. Her research interests focus on evolutionary anatomy, osteoarchaeology and palaeopathology.

She has considerable experience in science communication: she has presented several landmark series on the BBC and written seven popular science books.

The dig got underway on Monday, May 22 and has been extended until Saturday, July 1.

The site continues to be active and is open to the public between Monday and Saturday. Tours of the site are held at 11.30am and 3pm on each of these days. Volunteering opportunities are still available too.

Frank Giecco, technical director at Wardell Armstrong, said: “The level of interest has been utterly fantastic.

“It’s been everything from local, to national, to international – and as ever we’re all just blown away by the kindness, enthusiasm and generosity of the team on site, the project partners, local people, and the volunteers who are helping to make this possible (even in the recent heat!).”

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“With a site as surprising as this, who knows what more we might discover about Carlisle’s past in those extra days.”

Uncovering Roman Carlisle has received £56,700 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Wardell Armstrong LLP alongside Cumberland Council and Carlisle Cricket Club would like to get as many people to visit in the project as possible.

The funding aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.

The project will allow members of the public to take part in the community excavation or visit free of charge.