Excavations of an Iron Age site at St Abb's Head National Nature Reserve in Berwickshire is to take place the week beginning on Saturday.

This will be the first time the archeology of the National Trust for Scotland site has been investigated.

A team of volunteers under the expert guidance of archaeologists from the conservation charity will help survey the remains of the hill-top settlement which may date from as early as 500BC.

The ten volunteers are taking part in one of the trust's Thistle Camp volunteer holidays and all the participants have no previous archaeological experience.

They will work with professional archaeologists to survey the Blackpotts site, excavating a number of points to see how well the Iron Age evidence has survived.

A detailed survey of the earthworks will be produced and volunteers will be involved in digging, recording finds and using electronic survey equipment.

Dr Daniel Rhodes, archaeologist with the trust, said in a statement: "This will be the first time any archaeological excavation has taken place at Blackpotts.

"As one of a number of such settlements in the region it's a fantastic opportunity to begin to understand more about the way people in the past interacted with this spectacular environment, while at the same time actively protecting a piece of our prehistory."

Thistle Camps offer volunteers the chance to get hands-on conservation experience and this is the first year that the archaeology camp has been run at St Abb's.

Jon Downie, the trust's outdoor action co-ordinator said: "Thistle Camps are always really popular, but even we were surprised with the speed with which this year's places were snapped up.

"Archaeology camps are great and give volunteers the chance to really get involved with history."