Member Article

Students’ new film is a historical epic

It’s been more than 6,000 years in the making but a film that tells the mysterious tale of life in prehistoric Northumberland has been realised to the public.

Filmed on location in Bamburgh by Ashington High School students ‘A Day at the Bradford Kaims’ is now available on DVD at libraries throughout the county.

The film features exclusive footage of the discoveries at an archaeological dig at the wetland site which has been undertaken by the Bamburgh Research Project and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage. Experts say the site is extremely rare with some structures and artefacts predating discoveries elsewhere in Europe by more than 1,000 years.

Finds include a wooden paddle and a hollowed out tree trunk, thought to have been used as a water sump or trough dating back to the first farmers more than 6,000 years ago. Other finds include arrowheads and blades thought to date back to the Bronze Age up to 4,000 years ago. A total of 24 burnt mounds have also been unearthed and experts at the site believe these may have been used by our Neolithic ancestors in order to heat stones for the purpose of brewing beer.

The seven students first visited the site to produce a film for the Bamburgh Research Project while they were at middle school. The research team were so impressed by the end result they invited the students back to make a new film about the exciting discoveries at the Kaims.

Brian Cosgrove, media manager at Ashington Learning Partnership said: “This has been a labour of love for the crew since they first visited Bamburgh five years ago. The latest film has been viewed online by archaeology enthusiasts from around the world but to now see it professionally packed and available through the county’s libraries is a really fitting send-off for the students as they prepare to leave high school. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see some of the team responsible appearing on Hollywood red carpets in the years to come.”

The crew behind ‘A Day at the Bradford Faims’ were Georgia Bell (presenter), Jack Wright and Callum Lyall (cameras and sound), Nicole Mann and Freya Gething (additional video content), Cory Vallely (production assistant) and Kyle Crook (stills photography).

Students from Hirst Park Middle School in Ashington designed the cover for the DVD sleeve. Project director, Graeme Young said: “Our team has experience of working with professional film and video production units but we couldn’t have been any more impressed than we have been with the crew from Ashington High School. They have produced a high quality film which will be enjoyed by archaeologists and historians as well as local people with a keen interest in life in prehistoric Northumberland.”

The Bamburgh Research Project has been backed by the Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage, and is partly staffed by volunteers.

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