THE BIG DIG 6
May 18th To May 29th 2026
The Scarborough Big Dig 6, 2026
The Big Dig 6 will take place between May 18th and May 29th 2026 running from 9.30am to 4pm each day. We will excavate up to 100m2 on the green space at Paradise in Scarborough Old Town by St Mary’s Church. The Big Dig was nominated as Community Archaeology Proect of the Year in 2025!
What are we looking for?
The Scarborough Big Dig is designed to give hands-on archaeological experience to primary school children and to explore the development of settlement in Scarborough Old Town and in particular to look at the area around St Mary's Church. The site at Paradise today is a sloping green open space. The Big Dig has uncovered evidence for the use of this space as a landscaped garden between c.1700AD and c.1920AD and as allotments up to 1965. Before 1538AD this area was a monastic garden associated with the house built by the Cistercians on the site of Paradise House around 1180AD.
What was on the site before 1180? We hope to answer that question during the Big Dig 5! In addition, we want to try and answer other questions about Scarborough Old Town: is there evidence for occupation of the area in the Roman period? Written evidence suggests that a settlement here was burned by Viking raiders: is there archaeological evidence for this settlement and the Viking attack? Does this earlier settlement form the basis for the borough established in the shadow of Scarborough Castle by Henry I? How does the area around St Mary’s Church develop after the establishment of the borough by Henry I in the twelfth century? Is there evidence for the important 12th to 14th century pottery industry in Scarborough?
The 2026 Excavation
The excavation this year will take place on open green space at Paradise, Scarborough, within a secure fenced compound and will extend the area we excavated between 2022 & 2025.
The programme for the first week of the excavation will concentrate on working with schoolchildren from local schools. Young people will have the opportunity to excavate on a real archaeological site. They will also take part in visits to Scarborough Castle.
From Saturday 23rd May to Wednesday 28th May the excavation will be open for volunteers to take part. We will have 5 places available each day for volunteers - you can book either a morning session or an afternoon session or a whole day. No previous archaeological experience is required - we will show you what to do! And participation is FREE!
How can I take part?
Please go to our ticketsource shop where you can book your place. You can book for either a morning session, or an afternoon session, or a full-day session.
Acknowledgements
The Big Dig is a key part of the festival. It is a community archaeology and arts project that has been generously funded to date by Community Lottery Fund, National Heritage Lottery Fund, Northern Retail Services Ltd, and Scarborough Hospitality Association. The Big Dig is organised in partnership with Heritage Adventures Ltd, Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society and English Heritage.
Permission to excavate on its land has been granted by North Yorkshire Council.
