Archaeologists looking for Viking remains have found artefacts that are 2,000 years older.
The dig at Longhouse Close on fells above Seathwaite, Cumbria (England), was excavating Norse longhouses, dating from the early 10th Century. But 70 volunteers, led by professional archaeologists, have uncovered remains of a Bronze Age settlement underneath the Viking structures.
     Ken Day, chairman of the Duddon Valley Local History Group, said "the carbon dating of the material that we found showed it to be 1300 BCE - that was something we were not expecting".
     The history group won lottery funding to bring in professional archaeologists to work with members on the dig. Their three-year survey of the Duddon Valley identified 39 structures which could be Norse longhouses. Fourteen were thought worthy of preservation and investigation. Of these, three were chosen for further excavation.

Edited from BBC News (14 November 2017)