Jorvik DIG

DIG sits in the old St Saviour’s Church in York, a 15th-century building that once served a parish of more than 2,800 people. The church stands on a site recorded since the 11th century, when William II’s father gave it to St Mary’s Abbey. Its Gothic windows and carved stonework still show the 15th-century style. After the church closed in 1954 the York Archaeological Trust took it over in the 1970s. In the 1990s the building became an archaeological education centre, keeping its tall nave and medieval masonry.

The centre lets visitors dig like archaeologists in four pits that copy Roman, Viking, medieval and Victorian layers. Artefacts such as Roman plaster, Viking tools and Victorian household items lie in coloured rubber strata for hands-on discovery. After excavation, visitors move to labs where they use computers, holograms and tactile displays to analyse finds. York Revealed then shows 3D reconstructions of the city built from real evidence.

Upstairs there is a children’s workshop space and a teachers’ resource room. The whole experience links to the nearby JORVIK Viking Centre, completing the journey from discovery to the past brought to life.