PIPES to take water to the top of White Horse Hill in south Oxfordshire have been installed.

The network has been installed by site owners the National Trust to help keep cows that graze the hillside hydrated year-round.

Solar-powered pumps will now bring water from new underground reservoirs up to the top of the scheduled ancient monument.

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The project involved major excavations of the Iron Age hills around the famous white horse carving.

However the team from Oxford Archaeology has now revealed that the 12 pits dug revealed absolutely nothing of interest.

Writing a report to Vale of White Horse District Council, project officers Lee Sparks and John Boothroyd said: "The absence of archaeological remains or artefactual evidence is notable given the importance of the landscape in which the works were undertaken."

They added: "It is likely a combination of the minimal impact of the works and the location of these impacts has results in the negative results."

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The historic site just outside Uffington near Wantage was given to the National Trust in 1979.

It contains three scheduled ancient monuments: White Horse Hill, Uffington Castle and Dragon Hill.