ARCHAELOGISTS have paid tribute to local history enthusiasts who helped unearth some of Radcliffe’s medieval history at a dig in Close Park.

A team from Salford University, alongside local volunteers, concluded their five-week-long excavation with a public open day on Saturday, with hundreds of people attending to get a glimpse of the historical treasures.

Visitors were given guided tours of the site, with the finds on display including medieval pottery and 17th century glassware and ceramics.

The discoveries will now be taken for processing at the university’s labs, before being handed back to Bury Council to be preserved.

Work on repairing the tower is due to continue until June before the ground is landscaped, though Vicky Nash, the senior archaeologist who led the dig, believes there is still more to be discovered.

She said: “Everyone worked so hard for the whole of the dig and we have some really good finds to show for that work.

“It was definitely worth us coming back to Radcliffe, and the truth is that there’s still a lot more to be found for whoever is able to come back again one day.

“Radcliffe Tower still remains a little bit of a mystery, and I hope someone can come back and piece it all together at some point because there’s plenty to be found here.”

The site was one of just two flagship digs the university chose to return to this year, after undertaking 11 smaller excavations in the Dig Greater Manchester project.

Between 20 and 25 volunteers have been excavating the site every day during the dig, which began on April 13, with 10 local schools also getting involved in the project.

More than 400 people visited the open day last weekend, which also included a cafe and local history exhibition at the adjacent St Mary’s Church.

She added: “It was really well attended on Saturday. For 400 people to come out means that they are genuinely interested and really care about the work they have been doing.

“I found it really nice to see so many people taking a real interest in their local community’s history.

“We had a really nice bunch of people working on the site and only lost one day to the weather, which was incredible.”