COVENTRY’S historic Charterhouse will host a live dig exploring the history of its Heritage Park this weekend to mark the National Festival of Archaeology.
The Beneath Your Feet Festival will encourage Coventrians to find out more about the Carthusian monastery’s history.
Members of the University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) will pass on their expertise on the Grade I listed building between 10am and 4pm both Saturday and Sunday, July 29 and 30.
There will be a family-friendly Dig Box to hunt for artefacts from different eras and a digital self-guided archaeology trail.
Volunteers from Historic Coventry Trust, which runs Charterhouse, will host guided tours from midday on both days.
And there will be a chance to learn more about the Sherbourne Valley project.
The project, run by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, will restore and revitalise the Sherbourne River, which runs through the heart of Coventry.
The trust also has plans for a new wetland at Charterhouse Heritage Park.
A large test pit on the site will be looking for the lost chapel of St. Anne’s.
The chapel is where the Carthusian monks from Beauvale Priory in Nottinghamshire in 1382 stayed while setting up Coventry Charterhouse.
Six to eight smaller areas will also be dug to test for any finds and archaeological features.
Historic Coventry Trust’s education and engagement manager, Sarah Allen, said: “This chapel is the first part of the origin story of Coventry Charterhouse.
“We want to find out if there is a geophysical survey showing the chapel, how well-preserved the remains are and what signs of later industrial activity may remain inside.“
Charterhouse was among just nine Carthusian monasteries founded in England and is the only one remaining with intact interiors.
Visit historiccoventrytrust.org.uk for more information.
