Archaeologists want help to get to the bottom of a mysterious mound in north Shropshire

A team from DigVentures are sharpening their trowels and cleaning up their buckets in advance of a return this summer to the rolling hills near Wem.

Over the last few years teams of public and professional archaeological trench dwellers have been digging away at a field beside Soulton Hall.

"The site is a scheduled ancient monument but nobody knows what it was," said Maiya Pina-Dacier, the director of engagement at DigVentures. "So we are digging to find clues and the public can help us to do that."

DigVentures was a pioneer in paying for top-notch archaeological digs through the power of crowdfunding and this year is looking for £26,000 to pay for this year's two week campaign.

"It is 60 per cent funded already," said Maiya.

They have found some tantalising clues over the last three or four years as to what the site may have been used for. Now the site is just eight miles from the border with Wales, but things were much more fluid in the 1250s as the imaginary line between the two countries shifted this way and that.

The manor itself dates back the 16th century, and the surrounding farmland is filled with Bronze Age, Roman, and medieval archaeology.

Maiya said: "Despite being a protected scheduled ancient monument, no one knew why it was there, and we were given permission to find out.

"After a week of digging, the evidence started to emerge: a moat, a wooden structure, and a solid stone wall.

"As the excavation continued, the evidence started piling up: a medieval ampulla, a medieval necklace, medieval cups, bowls, and jug handles, and a medieval token, all dating to around 1250."

They scanned the ground with a geophysics survey and say that the evidence is pointing to the discovery of long-forgotten medieval manor.

"The results were beginning to show the remains of even more structures and features lying just below the surface.

"It’s not every day that archaeologists discover a long-forgotten medieval manor, but that’s exactly what our evidence is pointing to!"

In return for contributing to the crowdfunding, members of the public can pay to get down in a muddy trench and scrape around in the hunt for finds. The finds will be kept and properly documented by the team of specialists.

Packages are on offer from £10m to £1,375. Members of the public can pay £350 to dig for two days.

Places on DigCamp for those aged 6-12 and DigClub, for ages 12-16 have been fully booked but more places are set to be released imminently.

"No experience is required as we can train people how to dig," said Maiya. "It could be useful for people of any age to see if they like to be an archaeologist."

Maiya said she would love to see the artefacts that are found end up on display in a local museum.

Find out more about the dig and the Crowdfunding here: digventures.com/projects/soulton-hall/crowdfund/