Following on from Channel 4's Time Team visit last year and the screening of the programme earlier this year, here at Hooke Court we have developed a fantastic new educational resource to enhance every visitor's stay.

The new exhibition – 'What Lies Beneath' - explains the history of the Court and the Time Team discoveries in detail. Maps of the trenches explain exactly what was discovered beneath the moat lawn and what the discoveries may or may not tell us about the history of the Court. The artefacts recovered during the Time Team dig are displayed alongside the explanations for everyone to enjoy.

This new exhibition was officially opened on 18th June 2007 by Phil Harding from Time Team. It was great to welcome Phil back to Hooke Court and show him what we had done since his last visit.

Guests at the opening had the opportunity to tour the site at Hooke Court and observe groups of children enjoying a range of activities. One of the activities on show was the new 'Archaeology' activity where children have the opportunity to dig their own trench and recover their own archaeological finds.

It was a great experience for the children enjoying the archaeology activity to actually meet Phil Harding and have the opportunity to learn from him about the process of searching for primary evidence in the ground. He was extremely impressed with the activity and delighted that the Time Team efforts at Hooke Court last year had inspired such a wealth of new ways of encouraging children to learn about the past for themselves.

The exhibition enhances what the children learn as part of all the history programmes at Hooke Court but for those enjoying the 'Historical Enquirers' programme it is particularly pertinent as the children can use the information in the exhibition to help them analyse their own discoveries.

With a plethora of original artefacts to handle the Time Team dig last year has brought a whole new dimension to activities at Hooke Court for children to enjoy.