MORE evidence has been uncovered as the search for the lost village of Studmarsh continues.

A team of archaeologists and volunteers from mental health charity Herefordshire Mind has spent two weeks digging at the National Trust’s Brockhampton Estate , near Bromyard , in a bid to uncover the remains of the village.

Studmarsh was mentioned as a settlement in medieval documents but little has been known about the place for more than 500 years.

So far the foundations of the end corner of a large stonebuilt structure with walls up to one metre wide have been unearthed, along with a stone-lined foundation to support a timber framed cross wall and external doorway, suggesting a manor house may have once stood on the site.

And along the hillside, what appeared to be rubble foundations for a much smaller building with wattle and daub walls were found.

Pottery dating back to the 13th and 14th century was also found in and around the remains.

Ian Bapty, lead officer for the project, said: “All this is quite exciting. A reasonable preliminary interpretation is that we have not only found the lost village of Studmarsh, but that the presence of these two very different buildings demonstrates that it was very much a village as we understand that term."

Pottery found on site suggests the village was abandoned in the 14th century.

“While we don’t know for sure why the village declined, the impact of catastrophic events around that time such as the Black Death, may be significant factors," said Ian.