Dig into York’s multilayered past

THE history of York, England -- as layered as the KitKat candy bars that originated here -- will be laid bare Friday at a new attraction called Dig.

Dig, billed as an archeological adventure, will immerse visitors in the city’s rich and varied heritage as well as in the methods scientists employ to uncover the past.

Four periods in York history are featured: the Roman era, the time of the Vikings, the medieval period and the Victorian age.

Although the history and many of the artifacts are real, the trenches inside St. Saviour’s Church are not. York’s multilayered past has been re-created inside this medieval house of worship.

St. Saviour’s fell into disuse in the 19th century and later was taken over by the York Archaeological Trust. The Archaeological Resource Centre, which the trust opened there in the 1980s, was the forerunner of Dig.

Visitors will begin their Dig experience in a briefing room, learning what archeologists look for and how to uncover clues. Then, everyone is handed trowels and sent off to the trenches.

Four depths, corresponding to 1,700 years of history, are exposed, containing real artifacts and re-creations of some of the more precious finds. (Visitors can later view the real McCoys in Dig’s display cases.)

Authentic finds salted through the trenches include bone, tile, brick, bits of pottery, Victorian coins and white disposable pipes that gentlemen tossed away after use. Even real bits of Viking daub, used to seal their homes, are thrown in.

Each find lends itself to later analysis in one of Dig’s areas that teach archeological techniques, such as “In the Field” or “Labworks.”

Other possible finds include dice; a Roman ear scoop for removing wax; a much-repaired iron pan from the Viking era; oyster shells from someone’s dinner 1,000 years ago; and Victorian ceramic dolls.

Whereas in the trench area you might feel like an extra in an Indiana Jones movie, Labworks is pure “CSI.”

It asks such questions as: What can human remains tell us about how the person and his contemporaries lived? By studying a core sample from a Victorian privy, what can we learn about sanitary conditions and diseases? Just how many bugs hid out in Victorian homes?

The hands-on activities at In the Field demonstrate how archeologists rebuild the past.

There you can reconstruct Roman wall plaster, map finds from York’s Viking settlement and study Victorian life by comparing a typical home of that era with houses today.

The final area is “Study Zone,” where visitors can delve deeper into Roman symbolism, read about the Vikings or explore what their own lives might have been like in ages past.

Officials said Dig aims to give visitors a better understanding of the combined work by field archeologists, researchers, curators and conservators.

Admission is about $9.60 for adults and $8.70 for children up to age 15.

Open seven days a week. For reservations and information: 011-44-1904-543-403, www.digyork.co.uk.