Grosvenor Park, Chester

Park digs reveal more secrets of the past
Second year students from the University of Chester’s Archaeology programme have been exploring historic remains hidden underneath Grosvenor Park.

The excavation, run by Chester City Council’s Archaeology team, in conjunction with the university, provides a key training experience for students on the programme. The dig began on the 21st of April and will run daily, Monday to Friday, until the 16th of May.

The trench is located near the Vicar’s Lane entrance to the park and is designed to provide more information about post medieval and Roman activity uncovered in excavations last year. In 2007, a new Roman road was identified in this area, which runs underneath the park in the direction of the Roman Amphitheatre. This road dates to the 2nd century AD.

Lying on top of the Roman road are many other features relating to the period before the park was laid out in the 18th century. These include a substantial amount of building rubble from post-medieval buildings, land drains and fragments of brick foundations, which may be all that is left of former buildings here. Site director Simon Ward, Senior Archaeologist for Chester City Council said: “The dig has started really well. The students are already uncovering fascinating evidence dating back to when the site was part of the grounds of Lord Cholmondely’s mansion, which was badly damaged during the Civil War.”

There have been several exciting finds so far including a largely complete window pane, with glass, that had been smashed probably in the 17th or 18th century. A musket ball embedded into the pane suggests why and how it was destroyed. Amongst other musket balls and lead shot, there have also been pieces of decorated clay pipes, part of a 15th or 16th century glass flask and an Elizabethan coin.

Councillor Eric Plenderleath, city council Executive Member for Culture and Community explained: “These training excavations follow last year’s digs, which helped to inform a Conservation Management Plan for the area as part of a funding application to the Heritage Lottery`s Parks for People programme. Grosvenor Park is turning out to be a hidden archaeological gem and I am delighted that we are continuing to provide learning opportunities to the University of Chester. I thank the students for the enthusiastic and professional way in which they are carrying out this project.”

Whilst on site, the archaeology students receive full training in all aspects of excavation from photography and recording to excavating delicate materials. “Our students really gain from having this local field experience to complement their lectures and other fieldwork conducted over the course of their degree,” says Dr Meggen Gondek, Programme Leader for Archaeology at the University of Chester. “Chester’s archaeological heritage is a fantastic resource and it is particularly important for archaeologists in training to work with professionals such as the team from Chester City Council’s Archaeological service.”

Work continues on site until the 16th of May and visitors to the park are welcome to stop at the site to see how the dig is progressing.

Chester Amphitheatre Project

Bank Holiday Bradford

Museum steps back in time

Bradford Industrial Museum is set to come alive this Bank Holiday weekend sending visitors on a journey to the past.
The popular venue is offering visitors “A Grand Day Out” on both Sunday and Monday taking people back to a bygone era.
The museum’s permanent galleries give a glimpse into the living and working conditions of Bradfordians from the beginnings of the textile industry to the present day.
This weekend Annie Ambler, maid of all work, will be working hard in the mill manager’s house while the looms and machines rattle to life in the mill building.
Visitors can call at Gaythorne Row, a terrace of Victorian back-to-back houses and meet the World War Two Home Guard at number 23, while a family settles down to watch the 1953 Coronation in number 29. It is wash day at number 19 and a family will arrive at number 21 to explore their new home of 1875.
The homes have been recently refurnished in three distinct periods - the Victorian, the 1940s and the 1950s to 60s.

People can also step back in time on board a classic Bradford City transport bus, take a ride on a horse drawn wagon and see the Bradford trolley bus which was the last to run in the UK.
Printing demonstrations will be held throughout the day in the print gallery.
Street games will also be on offer along with entertainment from traditional Morris dancers.
The fun takes place between 11am and 4pm and is part of Museums and Galleries Month which is the UK-wide celebration of museums and galleries which takes place in May. A number of events will be taking place at museums and galleries throughout the district.
Jane Glaister, Bradford Council’s strategic director of culture, tourism and sport, said: “This is a great family day out and allows people to glimpse into the past and see a living history of Bradford.”

Bradford industrial Museum 360 degrees

The smell of plague

ROMAN RUINS REVEAL CITY’S HISTORIC SECRETS

A Roman mass grave discovered in Gloucester has been hailed as one of the rarest finds ever in Britain.Analysis released today of the grave which contained some 91 people - skeletons of men, women and children dumped in what looks like a hurried fashion - reveals that they could have been victims of a mass outbreak of a disease.

The grave was unearthed at the top of London Road in 2005 but the results of the analysis has only just been announced by Oxford Archaeology.

The discovery of a mass grave of Roman date is almost unparalleled in British archaeology.

Only two others have been reported, but their identification has never been confirmed nor have they been studied.

After an 18-month programme of scientific analysis, Oxford Archaeology’s “Life and Death in a Roman City” say the bodies of victims had been thrown in over a short period of time during the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD - about a century before the Romans quit Britain.

Louise Loe, Head of Burial Archaeology at Oxford Archaeology, who led the analysis, said: “The skeletons were lying with their bones completely entangled, reflecting the fact that they had been dumped in a hurried manner.

“When we studied the skeletons we looked for evidence, to explain why they had been buried in such a way. This has led us to conclude the individuals were the victims of an epidemic.”

Two 1st Century sculptured and inscribed tombstones were also found at the site.

One was for a 14-year-old slave and the other was for Lucius Octavius Martialis, soldier of the 20th Legion.

The legion was stationed at Gloucester until the 70s AD.

The mass grave may have been civilian descendants of the Roman military.

The burial site is now occupied by Cathedral Court, a complex of retirement homes at 122, London Road, opposite the Church of St Mary Magdalene, a former 12th Century lepers hospital.

Roman Gloucester is thought to have been founded in 48AD by the river, at Kingsholm. In about 97AD Glevum, the Roman name for Gloucester, was given the status of ‘colonia’ - the highest urban status.

Plague killed Roman grave bodies

Page 36

Also:-

Ancient burial site found at Kent’s HQ

A HOUSING development on the site of Kent Cricket Club’s St Lawrence Ground headquarters has unearthed body parts from a medieval leper cemetery.

Persimmon Homes are due to build 70 homes opposite the Bat and Ball pub but work will be complicated because the houses are on top of an ancient leper burial ground.

A preliminary survey a year ago by Canterbury Archaeology Trust revealed the graveyard last year.

The former St Lawrence Hospital was on the site centuries before cricket was invented and victims were buried in the grounds.

It is believed victims from the Black Death which decimated England in the late 14th century might lie in special constructed plague pits.

The hospital stood on the site from around the 12th century until Henry VIII ordered its destruction in 1536.

The land, used as a car park by the club, was sold off to help finance a major redevelopment of the club’s historic headquarters.

The £10 million revamp includes plans to build a 130 room hotel, conference facilities, improved stands and the 73 flats and houses is seen as the cricket club’s salvation.

But the law says the human remains have to be treated sensitively; which means the skeleton remains may have to be removed and buried elsewhere. They pose no threat to human health.

Marion Green, education officer at the Trust, said: “We have carried out preliminary work on the site and have found several medieval burials but we haven’t carried out a detailed survey of the site yet.

Paul Millman, Kent chief executive, said the club had known about the medieval remains for some time.

He said:”Everything has been done properly and an archaeological survey was carried out last year.The ground was the site of a former leper hospital and we know more work will have to be carried out before development can continue.The developers are well aware of this.”

And the smell of plague? :

Art moved for ’smelly’ exhibition

A Sunderland art gallery has replaced its sculptures and paintings with an empty room filled with 14 smells.
The novel “exhibition” has combined hi-tech science with artistic imagination to try and capture strange odours and historic events.
The sensory art is the idea of Robert Blackson, the curator of the Reg Vardy Gallery, and features the chemical smells of the sun and a space station.
The smell of the Hiroshima bomb and the stench of plague are also recreated.
Other interesting smells which have been imagined and created include the aroma of Cleopatra’s hair and a death row prisoner’s last meal.
Mr Blackson said: “The idea came to me when I was reading a book called Fast Food Nation. They talk about how you can make a flavour out of anything.
“For example, you’ve got strawberry flavoured yoghurt, which doesn’t actually contain any strawberries, just a bunch of chemicals but it smells like strawberries and that helps to recreate the flavour.
“I thought about the idea of making smells for things that have played an important role in history or society and thought it would be interesting to call on a different sense for the exhibition.”
To assist him in his quest, Rob called on botanists, astronomers, scientists and historians to help him recreate specific aromas.
He was also helped by James Wong, a botanist at Botanic Gardens Conservation International, who has spent the last 18 months recreating the smells of four extinct flowering plants.
The For If There Ever Was exhibit at the Ryhope Road gallery runs until 6 June.

Person Robert Blackson

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11th century Hemington Bridge

I’ve heard of The Sweet Track, but….

SUGAR ME TIMBERS!
Archaeologists have come up with a sweet way of saving an ancient bridge.
Today, tonnes of sweet sugar syrup will be poured over the 11th century Hemington Bridge to help preserve it for future generations.
It is the third and final stage of a special process which uses the sugar crystals to prevent the wood from warping and breaking.
University of Leicester archaeologist Lynden Cooper says the timbers are an excellent window into the 11th century world.
He said: “The timbers are a rare testament to the engineering skills of the early medieval period and illustrate the importance of the road networks to the economy. They also provide unique evidence of Saxo-Norman woodworking methods.”
The remains of the Norman bridge were discovered in Hemington, near Castle Donington, Quarry in 1993 by a retired Leicestershire GP, the late Chris Salisbury.
The wet timbers were removed from the site and a painstaking conservation process has been taking place, which involves immersing them in tanks of liquid sugar.
British Sugar has donated the sweet stuff free to help the county council and the University of Leicester’s archaeology team with the project. The company has already supplied 40 tonnes of sugar in the past decade to the tanks at Snibston Discovery Park.
The sugar crystals gradually replace the water and prevent the wood from warping.
Once restoration is complete, the timbers - part of the largest medieval wooden structure in the region, after Lincoln Cathedral’s roof - could be put on display.
County councillor Ernie White, cabinet member for community services, said: “It’s amazing to think that timbers from a Norman bridge are being preserved with sugar - and that they could eventually be displayed to the public.
“I thank British Sugar for its generosity in supporting this project and for helping to ensure that future generations will be able to learn more about this fascinating find.”
The county council funded the University of Leicester Archaeological Services team to study and excavate the site. Sections of the 11th century bridge were so large that they had to be lifted by eight people.
The sugar solution has to be changed every few years, as water comes out of the timbers and dilutes it. The timbers will be immersed in a clean batch of liquid sugar for nine months and then dried under controlled conditions.
British Sugar used a similar method to preserve timbers from an Iron Age boat found in Poole in 1985.
The boat is now on display in the Waterfront Museum, Poole, Dorset.
Dr Julian Cooper, head of food science at British Sugar, said:
“This project has been a source of genuine pride for British Sugar. “Now we have reached the final stages of this 15-year conservation process, we congratulate the determination of those involved in safeguarding the bridge for generations to come.”
It is estimated that they will be ready for display in two to three years.

Sweet success for ancient bridge scheme

Medieval bridges at Hemington Quarry, Lockington-Hemington, Leicestershire

Person Chris Salisbury

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Ships’ Graveyard

Blow to campaign to protect the hulks
A MARITIME historian has accused English Heritage of failing to preserve important nautical relics.
Paul Barnett, who has campaigned for almost 10 years to get the Purton Hulks proper archaeological recognition, said: “English Heritage continues to fiddle while Purton burns.”
Mr Barnett’s comments come after English Heritage said it would take a further two years before it can decide whether or not the hulks deserve any formal protection.
The hulks are the remains of 80 vessels left on the River Severn to protect its banks almost 100 years ago.
They are the largest collection of historic vessels surviving in Britain and are considered to be of great archaeological significance.
Mr Barnett has already collected 1,000 signatures on a petition to be presented to Andy Barnham, Secretary of State for Media Sport and Culture, asking for protection for the hulks.
His campaign also recently won the support of Dr Mark Horton, an archaeology lecturer at the University of Bristol and presenter of BBC series Coast and Time Team regular.
However, English Heritage’s announcement comes as a blow to Mr Barnett who believes time is running out for the hulks.
He said: “At present the site can be destroyed. Earlier this month there was more vandalism when a 15ft chunk was sawn off one of the wrecks and this keeps happening.
“If the site gets listed by English Heritage then it becomes a criminal offence to damage it.”
English Heritage said it applauded Mr Barnett’s achievements and hard work with the Purton Hulks, but said any listing would not protect the vessels against erosion.
English Heritage also said it still needed to establish how important the hulks were in comparison to hundreds of other wrecked boats surviving in inter-tidal waters.
A spokesman for English Heritage said: “These boats have not had the benefit of the systematic recording which Mr Barnett has done at Purton, but we must assess all of them before we can establish the significance of the Purton ones.”

Purton hulks have their bones picked by looters

Roman Medway

Ancient finds unearthed at dig site
THE Romans certainly knew how to build well.
Archaeologists have discovered the remains of the original turf wall built on the edge of the River Medway in about 70AD.
Their discoveries, found in the winter but kept secret until now, were made while they were exploring the flint-and-brick wall that eventually replaced it.
Archaeology South-East carried out the dig at the Rochester Riverside site as part of the preparations by Medway Renaissance, the council’s regeneration team.
Darryl Palmer, the senior project manager for the archaeologists, said the dig had produced a lot of interesting remains, including a number of coins.
One of the things which has interested them is the age of the turf wall.
It appears to have been built between 70AD and 150AD.
They reached that conclusion from the pottery they unearthed in it.
One intriguing feature is the base of what may be a small circular tower in the wall.
“It’s not 100 per cent clear what it is,” said Mr Palmer.
“It may be a guard tower, or a postern gate, a corner tower or even a gatehouse. We shall have to do more research first.”
They also discovered remains from the Saxon period between the 10th and 11th Centuries.
Hunters
“There are fragments of medieval masonry which may indicate that there were buildings here at that time, but we found no foundations to confirm that,” he said.
The oldest remains to be found were flints from the Mesolithic period, about 10,000 years ago.
This was when hunters roamed across England, but whether they were left, or just happened to be swept there as the river flooded, no one can say.

Ancient finds unearthed

Also:

Archaeologists uncover remains of Camelot
A team of unbiased UK archaeologists has uncovered what seem to be the remains of a medieval castle they believe was once known as ‘Camelot’.

According to a report in Western Telegraph, the dig was organized by the British Tourism and Fictional Archaeology Board, and funded by the EU Transnational project.

The site of the castle is a car park in Somerset.

The dig came about after team members, commissioned by the local tourism forum to carefully read Idylls of the King and related books by T.H. White, identified the possibility of a castle existing on the site.

“The information had been passed down the generations by word of mouth but nobody knew if it was really there,” said team member Sir Gawain.

“The only way to find out was to grab a shovel and dig,” he added.

So far, excavators have uncovered what look to be the outer walls of a medieval castle, as well as post holes, the hearth of a medieval house, a sturdy round table, and numerous fragments of medieval crockery.

The discovery of the stone walls, dating from the early middle ages has particularly been exciting for archaeologists.

“I don’t think they expected to find that. It is looking as if it was a site for a medieval castle of special grandeur and majesty. We will know a lot more once the other unbiased UK experts have had time to analyse the finds,” said Gawain.

They have also discovered an ornate sword inscribed with the name Caledfwlch, which archaeologists think is likely to date from the Middle Ages.

“It looks like the sword was laid to rest carefully, with thought to it’s preservation, which has lead the team to conclude that it was fairly important,” said Sir Gawain.

Excavations at the site are continuing.

1st of April was twenty days ago!

Stirlings in Action

Flying aces remembered
A RESEARCHER from Malvern has published a book telling the story of some of the lesser-known flying heroes of the Second World War.
Stirlings in Action with the Airborne Forces by Dr Dennis Williams tells the story of two RAF squadrons which shared the task of dropping agents and supplies on behalf of the Special Operations Executive, took part in the D-Day landings, suffered heavy losses at Arnhem, dropped Special Air Service troops behind enemy lines and were involved with the Rhine crossing that sealed Germany’s fate in 1945.
190 and 620 Squadrons both flew the Short Stirling aircraft, and many of the operations involved a lone aircraft flying at night, using visual navigation to find the small pinpricks of light where resistance forces were waiting to receive agents and supplies.
There were also tasks of towing gliders and dropping paratroops that demanded skilled piloting and navigation.
Apart from his research into operational records and archive material, the author found many squadron members who told their stories. The book is illustrated with more than 200 photos.
Dr Williams learned to fly when he was 17, on completing an RAF Flying Scholarship. He became a materials scientist working for the Ministry of Defence on semiconductors and ceramics.
He recently returned to university to get a degree in archaeology, and now works for the county archaeology service

Stirlings in Action is published by Pen and Sword Books.

The Cowper & Newton Museum

Museum to open after revamp
A museum celebrating the lives of a poet and a preacher will reopen with a day of talks and tours.
The Cowper and Newton Museum, in Olney, will launch the 2008 season with its annual Cowper and Newton Day on Saturday April 26, following completion of an intensive programme of work over the winter break.
The museum, which was founded in 1900, commemorates the poet William Cowper - who lived in the museum building from 1768-1786 - and his friend
John Newton, ex-slave trader, hymn-writer, and campaigner for the Abolition of the Slave Trade.
It also holds an important local history collection and has beautiful period gardens which contain Cowper’s original summer house.
In 2006, with the help of the Heritage Lottery Fund and donations from local residents, the museum was able to acquire the last important collection of William Cowper memorabilia still in private hands.
This success attracted further funding, enabling it to undertake an ambitious programme of refurbishment and redisplay.
The story of the Cowper and Newton is now told through a series of colourful interpretation panels.
All the objects - paintings, books, manuscripts, personal belongings - are newly displayed, with the latest in lighting and display cases to show them at their best and, there are audio points with readings from their work. Whole rooms are devoted in turn to their family and friends, their domestic life, their writings and, in John Newton’s case, his progress from blasphemer and slave trader to inspirational preacher and abolitionist.
The local history section has now become the Olney Museum, separated from the Cowper and Newton collection and housed in the rooms above the shop.
Here you can browse through the geology and archaeology of the town, the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons, the Civil War, World War Two, and the lace making and boot and shoe trades which were so important to the area.
Space has also been created for an educational resource centre and for an exhibition gallery - known as ‘The Three Hares Gallery’ - which will be available free of charge for use by community groups.

Person William Cowper

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Vulcan flight

Vulcan bomber takes to the skies

A restored Vulcan bomber has taken to the skies on a test flight from RAF Cottesmore in Rutland despite an earlier false fire alert.
The Cold War bomber took off just after 1345 BST to fly the 30 miles (48km) to Bruntingthorpe airfield in Leics.
The aircraft had to make an emergency landing during a test on Monday following the false alarm.
Project Manager Andrew Edmondson said the fault on the aircraft was just one of a few teething problems.
He said: “There’s people out there who’ve restored motor cars and everybody knows that once you’ve restored it, for the first six months, you get a few teething problems.
“We’re getting the same thing and they’re just bulbs that are blowing, a micro switch not quite working, so it’s not very significant.”

The test flight is in preparation for an application to the Civil Aviation Authority for a permit to fly during air shows this summer.
Organisers hope the bomber will fly in about 18 air shows over the summer - which will cost about £1m - but say a major sponsor still needs to be found to ensure it has enough money to continue flying.
The plane last flew operationally 15 years ago after being used for years as deterrent in the Cold War.
Some 20,000 people worldwide have helped contribute to the restoration of the bomber - with £2.7m contributed by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The Vulcan was first introduced as a four-engined nuclear bomber to counter the growing threat of the Soviet Union.

Bangor Museum

Update of The Oldest Museum in Gwynedd

Bangor Museum’s short-term future guaranteed
A MUSEUM has been given a reprieve after fears it would close as early as this month.
In January, it was announced the Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery could be facing closure because council officers have to make more then £1m in cuts over the next three years from its lifelong learning service, and staff have been told they cannot support the museum financially.
Museum supporters had hit back saying the financial support from the council is worth only £60,000 a year and substantial savings could be made elsewhere.
However, the council has found that it can maintain the level of support for the museum for the current year.
Alan Dyer, chairman of the Friends of Gwynedd Museum, said: “The good news is we have had a temporary reprieve until April 2009, but the problem over financing the museum long-term is still a major concern for us…..