Search starts for lost settlement

Archaeologists are investigating two Notts fields to see if folklore about a lost settlement is true.

The scientists from the University of Oxford are examining land close to St Mary's Church in Greasley near Eastwood for signs of a medieval village.

A Countryside Agency grant of £30,000 paid for the research after dowsers said they found traces of buildings.

Local historians have always been intrigued by the site because there are remains of a castle but no dwellings.

There will be buried features, where somebody has dug into the ground Tony Johnson, Archaeologist

Neil Hutchinson, local historian said: "We decided a few years ago we would try and establish if there was actually a village in Greasley.

"It's going to be a busy three days with the Oxford people here and hopefully they will establish what we've been looking for.

"If we get Greasley on the map that will be wonderful for everybody, especially the people who live here in the small community, it will be fantastic."

Despite the predictions by the dowsers - who use pointers to find underground water or minerals - there are no obvious signs that the fields at Greasley Castle Farm were home to a village.

Archaeologist Tony Johnson said: "We're using these magnetic techniques to identify the lost village of Greasley and the surrounding features.

"I don't see a lot of house platforms but there's one or two very dark areas of soil, those dark areas will certainly be more magnetic than the other areas.

"So, there will be infill features, buried features - what archaeologists call cut features - this is where somebody in the past has dug into the ground and then it's silted in with top soil."