MEMBERS of the public were invited to learn more about the history of Weymouth as archaeologists presented findings from a recent excavation.

The dig took place underneath the old council offices at North Quay, which has since been demolished and is now a car park.

The team of archaeologists from Context One found items from the Victorian period, the Civil War, and back as far as the town's early beginnings.

Findings were presented to the public at the Old Town Hall on High West Street on Saturday. Volunteers put on costumes to help tell the story of the town through its history, based on the findings from the dig.

READ MORE: Festival to share historic Weymouth high street finds

Richard McConnell, the project’s chief archaeologist, said: “It is based on the community excavation towards the end of last year.

“What we found was archaeology that went right the way back to the early genesis of the town when it was founded in the thirteenth century, right up until the point when the High Street was finally demolished in the 1960s.

“We thought it was an ideal opportunity as part of the Festival of Archaeology which is a national event, to put on an event which showcases some of the early results of what we found.

“What we have tried to do with our volunteers, is we have themed the weekend so that we have from the medieval period up to the modern period and the volunteers have taken this on, a lot of them are dressed up in costumes that reflect the period with which we found a lot of this material."

Among the findings were more than 5,000 parts of pottery, animal bones from the medieval period, and cannonballs from the battle which took place in Weymouth during the Civil War.

The team also found bottles from a cellar, dating back to the old High Street in the 20th century and even remains from when a parachute bomb hit Chapelhay in 1940.

They also found the ruins of an 18th century pub, known as the Weymouth Arms.

The bombing also saw the pub close its doors in November 1940 after suffering blast damage to its back wall, which the archaeological team have found.

READ MORE: 'Ruins of bombed pub unearthed in Weymouth'

Mr McConnell added: “It is a wonderful journey through the evolution of Weymouth."