HUNDREDS of people are set to attend a unique conference this weekend to explore the archaeological significance of coastal retreat Hengistbury Head.

Set up by Bournemouth University and Hengistbury Head Visitor Centre, the two-day event includes lectures, workshops and guided walks to discuss the past, present and future of research at the site.

The conference is part of the National Lottery funded ‘Performing the Past’ initiative which is supported by £44,900 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

This source also supported the Hengistbury Head Visitor Centre, which opened in 2013, with a grant of £455,000.

This weekend's activities mark the start of three years of archaeological events across the conurbation.

Hengistbury Head is considered to be one of the most important archaeological sites on the coast of southern Britain with evidence of occupation from the end of the last Ice Age through to recent times – including a barrow cemetery, a large trading port and an important source of minerals.

Tim Darvill, BU professor of archaeology, said: “Hengistbury Head has been the scene of settlement and ceremony for more than twelve thousand years.

“Several campaigns of excavation between 1911 and 1979 on the Head revealed the quality, quantity and extent of occupation and the changing intensity in the use of this extraordinary landscape.

“Forty years on from the last main campaign of fieldwork, it is time to take stock of what we know, how understandings have changed over the decades and where we might take research over the next few years.”

The first day of the conference, which takes place today, is due to be held at BU’s Talbot Campus and comprise lectures and discussions led by eminent archaeologists with interests in the site.

Tomorrow, there is set to be a guided walk around Hengistbury Head led by experts involved in the site’s management, followed by a facilitated round-table discussion to build a new research framework for the site.

Mark Holloway, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council parks project, funding and policy manager, said: “This conference will kick start three years of archaeology activities and events for the local community and our one million visitors at Hengistbury Head - thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund and our partners at Bournemouth University.”