MINING experts have joined archaeologists to carry out vital work on a 3,500-year-old structure discovered on the North Yorkshire coast.

The Bronze Age timbers, which may have formed part of a dock, were found at Staithes Beck following the floods of November 2000. But their tidal location means the excavation must be protected from the force of the North Sea.

As a result, Cleveland Potash, which own Boulby Mine, north of Staithes, agreed to supply crucial equipment, including a scaffold installation, to allow the archaeologists to work without damaging the timbers.

Graham Lee, archaeologist at the North York Moors National Park, said: "This is very exciting and could be unique archaeologically.

"The size of the main timbers suggests that they represent a substantial platform on which the north-western side of the beck appears to have been developed. Interpretation is difficult as no similar structures are known nationally."

Updated: 10:45 Thursday, March 07, 2002