A PILGRIM’S badge chronicling the murder of Thomas Becket is just one of Oxford’s unearthed treasures on display at a new exhibition this weekend.

It is the final chance for residents to view objects dating back thousands of years that have been discovered at the ongoing excavations at the Westgate shopping centre site.

Ben Ford, excavation director, said: “It is clear that the public has a huge interest in the site and Oxford’s buried past, but it has not been possible to hold another open day, which is why I’m delighted to announce the opening of a new temporary exhibition in the gallery at Oxford Town Hall in partnership with the Museum of Oxford.”

From pocket knives to a small Christ pendant, the exhibition boasts some of the dig’s most interesting finds.

Mr Ford added: “We have beautifully decorated book clasps, a wonderful collection of styli – early pens – and an actual lead pencil for writing.

“The neck of a musical instrument, possibly a violin, demonstrates that the site was a centre of learning and culture.

“We have religious artefacts and belt buckles, shoes, leather bags, which tell us about the friars clothes and possessions.”

Timber columns, found at the site represent the most tangible evidence for buildings that people lived and worked in more than 800 years ago.

Mr Ford said: “These are earlier than any surviving medieval timber in buildings in the city, such as the Chapter House.

“The scale of the buildings has been breathtaking, with walls surviving to over two metres high.

“Those built on the soft ground of the valley had foundations made using timber posts, many reusing pieces from earlier timber-framed buildings, perhaps from structures built immediately after the Norman Conquest.

“Preserved perfectly in the site’s waterlogged conditions, the wood revealed the craftsmanship and skill of the medieval carpenters’ work with axe, saw, auger and gauge.”

Since June last year a team of up to 45 archaeologists from Oxford Archaeology have been undertaking the largest archaeological excavations ever conducted in Oxford.

The dig, funded by Westgate Oxford Alliance and assisted by Laing O’Rouke, has taken place in advance of construction work for the new Westgate Oxford shopping centre.

More than 4,500 people attended the open days during the summer to view the remains of 10,000 years of human activity under the city.

The new exhibition will open on Saturday and run until April 23.

The artefacts will then be taken back to Oxford Archaeology offices for further analysis.