A TEAM of archaeologists have been digging up a field south of York in the hope of finding medieval remains.

The South Ainsty Archaeological Society has been excavating trenches in a Copmanthorpe field. About 25 society members took part in the community archaeology project last Saturday and Sunday.

Society chairman Catrina Appleby said: "This project has been about two years in the planning.

"The site was supposed to be a Knights Templar Preceptory, which was like a farmhouse.

"The archaeology has been fairly damaged by modern ploughing, but we did locate a lot of medieval tiles, suggesting there were buildings in the vicinity during the medieval period."

She said the work also included the examination of an old pond, backfilled in recent years, to see whether it dated from the time of the Templars' occupation of the site.

The work was funded by the lottery through the Awards For All scheme, and with support from local firms Portakabin and Colliers Plant Hire.