Norfolk's biggest archaeological dig has been rocked by claims of financial irregularities, with more than £100,000 allegedly missing from its accounts and a former treasurer charged with fraud.
Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project (SHARP) - which has been carrying out excavations in the village for almost three decades - has had to scale back its activities this summer in order to save money.
New members of its committee first began to suspect "serious financial irregularities" towards the end of last summer's dig and notified the police, who launched an investigation.
Pamela Bent, the project's long-standing treasurer, was later arrested and charged with fraud by abuse of position and false accounting over a four-year period. She is due to appear at court in King's Lynn later this week.
Eleanor Blakelock, the charity's excavation director, said this year's dig had been reduced from the usual six weeks to four, to save on the costs of hiring toilets, generators and other equipment.
The project, which started in 1996, involves excavations each summer in the village, near Hunstanton.
It is funded by charging for courses, to train people while they are taking part in digs, as well as through fundraising and donations from the public.
In a statement, the project said: "In the final week of the 2023 season, the newly elected committee began to suspect there were serious financial irregularities in the SHARP accounts and finances over several years.
"Since the season, together with the police, the new SHARP committee and trustees have been working hard to determine the nature and cause of these irregularities.
"This revealed a substantial amount of SHARP's money unaccounted for.
"The SHARP trustees and committee would like to take this opportunity to apologise to the membership that this has occurred.
"In light of these events, we started this year with little in the way of contingency funds and although we are hopeful that we will break even, we are still being hampered by increased hire costs.
"We are however confident with the new committee and trustees taking the reins, and new procedures in place, that SHARP will survive this incident and go forward into the future."
A spokesman for Norfolk police said: "Pamela Bent, 65, of James Close, King’s Lynn has been charged with one count of fraud by abuse of position between July 3, 2019 and August 3, 2023, and one count of false accounting during the same period. Both charges relate to a charity.
"She has been bailed to appear at King’s Lynn Magistrates Court on July 18, 2024."
DIG GOES ON
Despite the cloud hanging over the project, archaeology is under way this summer.
Volunteers are working on a large trench, where the remains of Anglo Saxon maltings have previously been found, to find out more about the ancient brewing industry which kept Sedgeford and neighbouring communities supplied with the vital raw material to make beer.
Work has also started on a new site nearby.
"We've got two excavations this year," said Dr Blakelock. "We've opened up a new slot where we've had previous test trenches.
"We're hoping to find where the settlement which was on the top of the hill extends to.
"We've also found some sort of fairly modern medieval trackway."
The section of the 5m-wide track, surfaced with material from a nearby chalk pit shows evidence of potholes being repaired - along with ruts which may have been made by cart wheels.
RICH HISTORY
Since it began in 1996, SHARP has uncovered a rich vein of ancient history on a hill across the valley from the modern-day village of Sedgeford.
As well as the remains of around 400 ancient villagers buried in the so-called Boneyard Field, archaeologists have found a hoard of coins hidden in a cow horn, the body of a murder victim who had been cremated in an oven.
They have also found evidence of a malting industry, whose wares may well have been exported by boat along the Heacham River, which in ancient times was navigable as far upstream as the village and beyond.
The dig has also thrown up a wealth of finds which shed new light on how our ancestors lived.
SHARP is holding an open day on Sunday, July 21 (10am - 4pm) , with tours of the site, children's crafts, displays of finds and other activities. Admission is free, parking on a nearby field costs £3.
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