THE Time Team crew will be trying to unearth the remains of a long lost Viking village when they visit Castle Howard later this month.

The team of Tony Robinson, Mick Aston and Phil Harding will be running about the world famous stately home looking for traces of a medieval and Viking-age village, known to have been underneath the magnificent house and gardens.

They will be there at the invitation of Richard Kemp, Castle Howard's new head of visitor services, who is an archaeologist.

He said: "When I first came to Castle Howard last August I was struck by one area of lawn with humps and bumps.

"Then the gardening team began showing me 13th and 14th Century pottery they'd recovered from the same area, and I thought, 'Wow', an excavation would add an amazing new slant on visitor enjoyment and give an appreciation of Castle Howard before there was a Castle Howard."

Mr Kemp then realised these were probably the remains of the lost village of Henderskelfe, which was mentioned as standing in 1066, and in North Yorkshire that makes it Viking-age.

The Time Team excavation takes place from April 23 to 25, and visitors to the house will be able to see the work taking place.