TWO Dalton amateur archaeologists searched for a Viking grave and unearthed a cave which experts said could date back 10,000 years.

The Mail, on October 12 in 1993, noted: "The cave is in a rock face in Poaka Beck, just a stone's throw from the new Dalton bypass and was discovered by retired BT engineer Harold Wilkes, 69,of Butts Beck and 45-year-old Steve Cairns, of Hall Street.

"It was found by chance while the pair were searching for the site of a so-called Viking grave which historical records show was discovered by Victorian quarrymen last century."

The cave was 11ft long and high enough to stand up in.

It was likely to be a natural cavity dating from the last ice age of about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.