A COMMUNITY archaeology venture is to be extended to assess how the ecology of South Lakeland has changed in the aeons since the last Ice Age. The Sizergh: Dig in the Park 2013 project was run by Levens Local History Group last summer and completed a survey of part of the National Trust estate.

It gave volunteers including enthusiasts and local school-children an opportunity to take part in a survey of a portion of the area.

Now, two extensions to the project have won backing from the Heritage Lottery Fund – the first is a detailed analysis of pollen samples which should produce a picture of the development of the local ecology since the last Ice Age.

The second, funded by the National Trust, is to date the castle’s Great Barn timbers using tree-ring dating, known as dendrochronology.