'We dig to answer questions': Daventry volunteer archaeology group adds to area's historical record

CLASP (Community Landscape Archaeology Survey Project) volunteers are currently excavating a site off the B4036, a short drive on from its junction with the A5.

The group's latest discovery is a section of old road that used to run through the village of Thrupp, which is mentioned in the 11th Century Domesday Book and was thought to have been home to about 100 people.

In 1485 it was razed by Daventry Priory so it could breed sheep for a greater profit.

"We are trying to understand the layout of the village, the extent of the village and the type of housing," said 63-year-old project director Stephen Young, a retired archaeological lecturer at the University of Northampton.

"We are trying to rebuild the historical record; we're adding to the level of proof."

Evidence of the road builds on the geophysical reports were done on a previous excavation nearby.

CLASP has been going for 16 years and all work is done by volunteers.

Its chairman of trustees Dave Hayward, 76, says the group offers members a chance to go beyond the hobby stage and teach them about archaeology.

"We don't just come up here to dig because we can," he said.

"We come here because there are questions that need answering."