THE first Wiltshire Archaeological Festival was launched on Saturday and TV's Time Team expert Phil Harding praised the organisers for their foresight and effort.

He was speaking at Nursteed Community School in Devizes, where a week-long exhibition had been set up chronicling some of the many digs being conducted in the county.

Mr Harding said: "When I was asked to come here tonight I was immediately struck by what a good idea it was and my initial feelings have very much been confirmed by this event.

"Archaeology is now a very sexy subject and we are awash with TV programmes about it.

"I am glad Wiltshire is the first county to have an archaeology festival, because Wiltshire is the best county with the best archaeology."

The festival, which coincides with the 150th anniversary of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, is the brainchild of Katy Whitaker of English Heritage, who is chairman of the project board that put the festival together.

She said: "I came up with the idea two years ago. It seemed to me there was a lot of good archaeological work going on in the county that no- one knew about, even other archaeologists.

"Tonight is an opportunity for members of these different groups to come together, to put faces to names and to have fun."

The week of events is all but booked out, but the exhibition at Nursteed School hall will run for the entire week.

Tomorrow there are two drop-in events. At Wiltshire Heritage Museum in Long Street, Devizes, there are coin handling sessions for everyone and at Nursteed School a panel of five experts is available to identify items brought in by members of the public.

The festival is funded by grants from the National Lottery's Awards for All, the Robert Kiln Charitable Trust, Kennet District Council, North Wiltshire District Council, Swindon Borough Council and English Heritage's National Monuments Record.

Classic sites to visit in Wiltshire

Stonehenge, dated to the Neolithic period (4,200BC to 2,200 BC)

Avebury, Neolithic stone circle complex including the West Kennet and Beckhampton Avenues.

Silbury Hill, near West Kennet. Europe's largest prehistoric man-made mound.

West Kennet long barrow, Avebury. Dated to 3,600BC, it contained the remains of at least 46 people.

Littlecote Roman villa, one of a group of villas surrounding the small Roman town of Cunetio (Mildenhall), east of Marlborough.

Old Sarum, Iron Age hillfort with Norman castle motte, and evidence of Roman, and Saxon activity, 2m north of Salisbury.

Knap Hill, Alton Priors. Neolithic causewayed enclosure, with Iron Age enclosure and two round barrows.

Recent exciting finds in Wiltshire

Nursteed Community School, where Wiltshire Archaeology Festival was launched, underwent its own investigation before it was built. A dig on the grounds in 1999 found an Iron Age and early Romano-British settlement had existed there, just south west of Jump Hill, 2,000 years ago. These people left behind them solid evidence of their presence iron farming implements, pottery, farm animal bones, coins and roof tiles.

A Saxon graveyard came to light when an area next to St Mary's churchyard, Market Lavington, was excavated in the early 1990s in preparation for the building of the Grove Farm development. Some of the corpses had been buried with armour, indicating that they were eminent warriors and the village had been a settlement of great importance.

After investigating a Roman cemetery at a site close to the Countess roundabout, Amesbury, in spring 2002 a team of archaeologists found a grave dating from 2,300BC, about the time of the construction of Stonehenge. It contained the skeleton of a man in his early 40s, about 5ft 8in tall, who had obviously lived a hard life but died a rich man as he had several pieces of gold jewellery.

He was alternatively called the King of Stonehenge and the Amesbury Archer.

Digs currently on around Wiltshire

Bradford on Avon: The playing field at St Laurence School hid a Roman villa, complete with mosaics in superb condition, for nearly 2,000 years. A team from Bristol University, under Mark Corney, has been excavating it for a couple of years.

Latton, near Cricklade: A rapid excavation in a proposed gravel pit discovered an Iron Age settlement. It is being carried out by Oxford Archaeology.

Swindon: At Groundwell Ridge English Heritage is just finishing the excavation of a Roman temple complex, including hillside culverts showing how the Romans controlled water used in their religious ceremonies.