A FORMER leather specialist shop in York city centre is to be turned into a pop-up archaeology laboratory in the New Year.

Local residents and visitors will be able to see archaeologists' high tech methods of recording and interpreting sites, and analysing objects in detail, such as laser scanning, digital 3D modelling and microscopes.

ArcLab will be set up in the former Robson & Cooper building on Lendal by AOC Archaeology Group and the York Conservation Trust.

AOC Archaeology’s community archaeology officer, Rebecca Hearne, said it will showcase some of the most up-to-date technologies and processing techniques used in archaeological investigations.

"What better way to discover how these work and why we do them than by trying them for yourself,” she said.

“This is a rare opportunity not only to get your hands dirty with some of York’s most historically valuable objects, but also to go into the Robson & Cooper building again for the first time since it closed last year.

"It’s really exciting that the hidden parts of this special building are going to be opened to the public.”

Visitors will also be invited to help process the wealth of objects uncovered during the public excavation of the adjacent Guildhall’s ‘hutments’ site that AOC Archaeology undertook in the summer of 2014.

ArcLab:York will let them handle, clean, document and photograph archaeological artefacts that were discovered during the dig.

The Robson & Cooper building was constructed in 1714 as a Georgian residence and was once the home of renowned astronomer John Goodricke, who died aged 21 in 1786. It became Robson & Cooper for 103 years until its closure in 2014 and it was acquired by York Conservation Trust earlier this year.

*The lab will be open daily between January 9 and 16, from 10am to 4.30 pm. All activities will be free and operate on a drop-in basis, but tours of the Robson & Cooper building are restricted due to safety reasons and will require advance sign-up. To reserve a place on the building tours, or for more information, contact rebecca.hearne@aocarchaeology.com or call AOC Archaeology at 01904 413 404.