Schoolchildren were shown objects more than 2,000 years old in an Ancient Greek day discovering the birthplace of Western civilisation.

Langley Fitzurse School in Kington Langley travelled back in time last Wednesday (MAR 18) to the centuries Before Christ to study the ancient greeks, who invented the concept of democracy and the Olympic Games.

The eight to 10-year-olds dressed up in chitons, similar to the togas of ancient Rome, and made Greek pottery and coins out of clay.

Andrew Skelton, learning and outreach officer at Chippenham Museum, showed them original artefacts like an oil lamp and they handled reproductions of hand weights used in the Olympics, clay tablets, statues of Gods, a bronze hoplite helmet and plates decorated with athletes and warriors.

They experienced archaeology by digging into sandboxes to find original broken pieces of pottery, and were asked to work out what they thought they had been used for.

Lunch was a feast of hummus, pitta bread, kebabs, salads and baklava, a sweet pastry, which they prepared themselves with the help of school cook Andi Sawyer.

Admin Officer Liz Howe said: “The children thoroughly enjoyed the day. They came to school in full Greek costume, including sandals despite the rather chilly weather. They said they liked digging things up, trying on the helmet, making the pots and sampling the food, especially the kebabs.”