Ancient moorland timbers dug up

The find has excited National Park officials

Archaeologists have discovered timbers near Whitby which date back to the early Bronze Age.

Radiocarbon dating has revealed that trees which make up a waterlogged platform are 3,500 years old.

The find was unearthed at Staithes Beck on the North York Moors.

This is really what sets the place apart from anywhere else

Mike Pratt

Mike Pratt from the North York Moors National Park said: "It's only when we find something as significant as this that it really comes home to us that the North York Moors main feature is the depth of its layers of human cultural history."

The archaeologists are not sure yet what the structure would have been used for.

A fuller examination of the timbers has begun.

But Mr Pratt, who was very excited by the find, said: "It's the latest of a number of finds over the years.

"It really proves just how important and unique this landscape is.

"This is really what sets the place apart from anywhere else."