ANCIENT burial finds are teaching historians about the way people lived in Worcestershire up to 5,000 years ago.

Archaeologists are excited after starting an eight-week dig on the Tarmac quarry site alongside the A38 near Clifton, between Worcester and Upton-upon- Severn, after a previous dig provided a Neolithic treasure trove of items.

Worcestershire County Council’s historic environment and archaeology service team is investigating the area, which could shed light on one of Britain’s oldest settlements dating from between 500 to 1,000 BC.

In 2006 on the same site, ancient finds, including six stone and flint axe heads dated between 4,500 and 5,000 years old, were recovered and what could have been an historic sauna.

Robin Jackson, project manager, said: “They were exciting finds, important nationally and even on a European-scale.

“We had five stone axes, one flint, shards of pottery and grain as well from about 2,900 to 2,600 BC.”

The number of axes found on a single site is unique in the UK while the more than 8,000 charred barley grains provide evidence for crop growing and the earliest beginnings of farming for Neolithic people ever recorded, according to history experts.

“The finds recovered from this pit would have been extremely precious at that time and were almost certainly buried as a gift to the gods,” explained Mr Jackson.

“It’s the Neolithic equivalent of a pot of gold.”

Burnt crab apples and hazelnut shells found at the earlier site appear to show our forebears enjoyed a muesli-like diet from a mix of wild foods and harvested crops, reflecting a move from hunter gatherers to farmers.

Among the earlier finds was a mystery ‘burnt mound’ surrounded by several pits with evidence of heat, thought to be the first ever found in Worcestershire.

Archaeologists still debate their use but agree stones were heated in fire, then dropped into cold water to create steam with possible uses ranging from the steaming of wool to an ancient sauna.

Once the archaeologists are finished Tarmac will begin commerical operations while the finds will be displayed at a later date.