Youngsters from Freezywater St George Primary School have been getting their hands dirty and trying a spot of archaeology at Forty Hall.
The visit to the site of the Henry VIII’s Elsyng Palace Excavation by Enfield Archaeological Society is one of many organised for schools by Enfield Council.
Their trip in the glorious sunshine featured a spot of quick excavation and logging of “historic” objects before the group were given a tour of the excavation site and shown artefacts which had been retrieved.
Members of Enfield Archaeological Society also answered questions from the young people and showed them artist’s impressions of what the palace would have looked like
Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Cllr Achilleas Georgiou, said: “Young people in Enfield have a thirst for learning and Enfield Council works with a wide range of organisations to provide interesting and thought provoking learning opportunities for children.
“We want children to have a good grounding in history and to understand that the past helps shape the future, we are determined to continue to improve the quality of education in Enfield.
“According to Ofsted 93 per cent of the schools in Enfield are good or outstanding and we ae working to further increase that percentage.
The Enfield Archaeological Society was founded in 1955 and is active in carrying out research and fieldwork in and around Enfield, to understand and preserve its history.
It aims to promote the practice and study of archaeology in the district, to record and preserve all finds in the borough and encourage others to allow their finds to be recorded by the society. It also seeks to co-operate with neighbouring societies with similar aims.
The society is currently working to excavate and explore Henry VIII Elsyng Palace on the grounds of Forty Hall Park which dates back to 1413.
Membership is open to anybody with an interest in the past and residents can find out more here.