DOZENS of children have been enjoying hands on learning at Dorset's recently discovered Roman villa.

Over the course of the summer more than 160 primary school children and 24 teaching staff have visited the site at Druce Farm near Puddletown.

The East Dorset Antiquarian Society (EDAS), led by site director Lilian Ladle, is into its fourth and final year exploring the site of the Roman villa.

Both EDAS and the landowners, Tom and Ann Rideout, saw this summer as the perfect opportunity to share the villa with the community and encourage archaeologists of the future.

Sue Cullinane from EDAS devised a special programme for schools including an introductory talk, a guided tour of the excavations, a chance to examine some of the recent artefacts found, and an opportunity to undertake practical activities including 'finds' washing and trowelling in newly-opened trenches.

Sue worked closely with Emma Talbot, the education officer of Dorset County Museum, to organise the visits and she also designed display boards and the finds cabinet.

This summer has seen a number of visits including Weymouth Home Educators, St Mary's Primary School in Swanage, Piddle Valley Primary School, Yeovil Park School and Yeovil Home Educators.

Druce Farm has also welcomed members of the Dorset County Museum branch of the Young Archaeologists' Club (YAC), who attended a short field school.

A spokesman for EDAS said: "All the young guests were very enthusiastic and enjoyed the experience.

"The teachers were delighted that EDAS has been able to offer this unique opportunity to pupils to visit a real archaeology site and experience practical archaeology."

EDAS said it would like to thank volunteers Sue Cullinane, Bryan Popple, Geoff Taylor, Barbara Milburn, Pam Norris and Anita Hicks for all their efforts in making the on-site activities for the youngsters both informative and enjoyable.

It also wanted to thank the teachers who supported the visits and all the young people who made it such a rewarding experience for everyone involved.

The land at Druce Farm has been farmed by the Ridout family for the last 70 years and in the early 1990s metal detectorist found a number of Roman coins and what appeared to be broken Roman ceramic roof tiles at the site.

A group from EDAS carried out an assessment of the field 20 years later and, with help from Bournemouth University MA student Hannah Simpson, carried out geophysical prospecting on the site that showed the remnants of what appeared to be a classical Roman villa.