Beneath our feet

Britain’s history runs deep – and much of its treasured past lies hidden underfoot. Every day, new discoveries are unearthed not by expert archaeologists but by amateur enthusiasts. Armed with spades and maps, these detectorists, mudlarks and fieldwalkers scour the earth’s surface. What they find is perhaps at first glance unremarkable: fragments of pottery, metal coins, jewellery. But from the pieces emerge stories of how our ancestors lived, traded, ate, played, fought – and died. ‘Beneath Our Feet’ is a celebration of this growing public involvement in archaeology.