ARCHAEOLOGISTS hope to gain an unusually detailed insight into the Bronze Age after a rare untouched barrow was found in the Morecambe Bay area.

The find marks the first time in more than 50 years that an intact barrow has been found in the area, and opens up the chance to investigate its contents with modern scientific technology.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the burial monument was in use for 1,500 years, beginning as early as 2500BC in the Late Neolithic period and ending around the Middle to Late Bronze Age.

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It has been discovered in north Lancashire within the circulation area of The Westmorland Gazette but they experts will not give away the exact location for fear of looters.

Brendon Wilkins, co-founder of investigation leaders DigVentures, said: "Barrows are the best windows we have into the lives and deaths of Bronze Age Britons.

"Many sites were excavated in the 19th century so museums are full of artefacts. However these were discovered when archaeology wasn't considered a proper science, so many of the questions we want to ask today cannot be answered.

"This new barrow gives us the opportunity to use specialist technology on the finds to answer these questions."

Barrows are ceremonial graves where important people of the time were buried along with their possessions.

Often other members of the community would be added to the mound over generations, meaning this discovery could reveal a great deal about how people lived in the Bronze Age.

The excavation was prompted by the chance discovery of a knife and a chisel in a small field by community worker and metal detectorist Matthew Hepworth and his friend David Kierzek, 51, from Lancaster.

Mr Hepworth, 40, from Bare, who has been metal detecting for more than 20 years, said: "I immediately knew it was a significant find.

"It's good for the local community. The project will help build up a picture of the area and its history."

The DigVentures project will be focused on getting the public involved with the discoveries yielded by the barrow.

Finds will be live streamed to a base at Morecambe heritage centre, where school groups and members of the public can learn about them.

Supporters will be trained by DigVentures and excavations will be carried out in partnership with Bronze Age experts including Stuart Noon, Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) Finds Liaison Officer, and Dr Ben Roberts, who is a lecturer in museum studies at Durham University and was previously the Bronze Age curator at the British Museum.

"It will be an open community excavation. Anybody can take part," said Mr Roberts. "We don't know what we are going to find, but the potential is huge.

"We want to involve people in this as much as possible."

DigVentures has been supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund with a £49,500 grant.

To get involved in the July dig, visit www.digventures.com/projects/barrowed-time-2016