Visiting experts from England, Wales, Sweden and Denmark are working in the field opposite the entrance to the tomb over the next two weeks. The archaeological dig is part of a project being carried out in partnership with Jersey Heritage, who own the field known as Jardin de Perchard, and in coordination with the Société Jersiaise, whose members are joining the dig.

Through a programme of archaeological fieldwork that combines scientific survey techniques, including geophysical survey and targeted test pitting, the team aim to reconstruct the story of this landscape spanning the deep Ice Age, later prehistory and more recent periods.

Olga Finch, Jersey Heritage’s Curator of Archaeology, said: “The start of this three-year project marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter of archaeological discovery for Jersey. The archaeologists hope to understand how the landscape was used 6,000 years ago at the time the La Hougue Bie burial chamber was being used and what the deep buried records of Ice Age sediment beneath the field can reveal about climate change and ancient people, including Neanderthals, during the last quarter of a million years.”

The archaeological dig runs until Thursday, 6 August and will resume over the following two summers. Dr Matt Pope, from the UCL Institute of Archaeology, is one of the visiting archaeologists leading the project. He has previously worked at a number of sites in Jersey, including La Cotte de St Brelade at Ouaisné, Les Varines and the Voilet Bank off the south-east coast of Jersey.

He said: “We know a fair amount about the prehistory of Jersey’s coastline, but the interior of the Island is now starting to be taken seriously by archaeologists. This project will help to unlock Jersey’s full story, test scientific methods of investigation and explore the neighbourhood of one of Europe’s most spectacular prehistoric monuments, La Hougue Bie. Research of this kind also strengthens our understanding of the remarkable Ice Age landscapes that lie at the heart of Jersey’s aspirations to become a UNESCO Global Geopark.”

Visitors to La Hougue Bie over the next two weeks will be able to see the dig and watch the archaeologists at work from the top of the mound by the chapel and to hear all about the project if they are on a free site tour with a Jersey Heritage volunteer guide.

A free open day is being held in the field at La Hougue Bie on Sunday, 2 August from 10am-2.30pm when the public are invited to drop in and learn more about the project. There will be trench-side talks, displays of artefacts and other activities.