HISTORY is coming to life at Bolling Hall Museum with a free archaeological excavation digging into the site's 700 years.

Two trenches have been dug in the old front garden at the Bolling Hall Road site, with history buffs looking to find a host of interesting artefacts during the two-day dig, which started today and concludes tomorrow.

The group has dug down a couple of foot to the cobbled stones of a pathway used for carriages which may date back to the English Civil War.

The hands-on history project is being run as part of the My Place education scheme, delivered by West Yorkshire Joint Services. The scheme has already attracted more than 1,500 students in a partnership with Bradford Museums and Galleries.

In the first hour of the dig today, the group found a penny coin from 1936 featuring King George V, a coin from 1905, deer bones, and pieces of pottery.

Those who attended the event said it was important to uncover the artefacts of Bradford's past.

Malcolm Schofield, 65, of Bramhope, said: "It's an enjoyable way to spend a day and dig back to history and find out the lay of the land.

"It's interesting to see how people lived in the past and how they survived."

His grandson Toby Cade, 11, of Wakefield, also attended and is a member of the Young Archaeologist Club.

Mr Schofield said: "It's very exciting to find things. I heard about it through the club and I found a coin from 1936 and a bit of pottery.

"My grandson Toby told me about the dig."

Rachel Tapp, of the West Yorkshire Joint Services, said: "Bolling Hall used to be on a hunting ground and dates back 700 years.

"We have dug to a pathway which used to be a turning circle for carriages.

"Anybody can come along and help us. We are looking to catch people who are walking past too.

"The pathway that we have found could be 400 or 500 years old.

"We are finding all sorts of stuff and I'm confident we will carry on finding even more over the two days we are here.

"Schemes like this make people more aware that there are these historic sites on their doorstep. These sites are full of history."

Further Bolling Hall excavations were held last month in conjunction with the world-renowned Festival of Archaeology. The project featured more than 1,000 events, right across the UK.

The free event runs tomorrow at Bolling Hall Museum, Bolling Hall Road, between 10am and 2pm.