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 What a great
time we had in France last month. The trip was a huge success and I would like to thank
Tom Glover for the time and effort he put in to make sure everything went so smoothly. On
Thursday afternoon, the 12 of us mustered at Wendy Clayton's house to board the
18-seater van. The journey was a breeze especially through France, as a new section of
motorway had been conveniently opened between Alençon and Le Mans. When we arrived in
Angers, lunch was waiting at the hostel, which was located just outside the city, besides
the Lac de Maine. We had of plenty time to settle in before our meeting in the afternoon
with Monsieur Jean Brodeur at the Chateau for our guided tour. Built in the 1232 by Louis
IX, this huge castle with its 17 towers has seen many changes over the centuries. M.
Brodeur, who is the government archaeologist responsible for Angers, took us to the  top of one of its tallest towers
for a privileged view of the whole city. Later we were shown excavation work carried out
within the castle grounds, which revealed foundations from the late Roman Period.
A highlight of the tour
was a viewing of the famous 14thC Apocalypse Tapestry which is housed in its own gallery.
At the end of the tour M. Brodeur presented us with many books and pamphlets about the
history and archaeology of the region. In return he was pleased to receive our gift of the
miner’s lamp with the society’s name engraved.
The Brotherhood of Peace
Back at the hostel we
found ourselves sharing the accommodation with a jazz band from Leeds. These
self-proclaimed ‘peace’-artists were there to perform at the weekend’s
twinning festivities. The next time we saw them they were in full swing on the bandstand
entertaining the guests at the festival garden party. Very strange affair, almost surreal,
everybody was dressed up for a wedding and there were plenty of happy couples. Strangest
of all were the (almost) naked men stood on barrels at each corner of the square
dispensing free wine from barrels strapped to their backs. I’ll leave to your
imagination where the taps were located - enough to say courage was needed to partake.
Chenehutte
Having slept well at the
hostel (some people even got room service), our party travelled south-east out of Angers,
along the Loire valley to Chenehutte, to meet Monsieur Boisbouvier, who is in charge of
all the excavations in the area. He took us round the Roman site which I reported on in
Newsletter No. 40. Part of the road had been exposed here as well as buildings alongside
the route leading south. Everybody was impressed by the way our guide simply picked up a
piece of Samian ware as we walk back down the track. Later we were shown a Roman temple
that had been exposed during construction of a new school. M Boisbouvier has set up his HQ
in a local hall, which he uses to teach archaeology to the local schools. On the way back
to Angers we stumbled on a huge Roman amphitheatre (which happened to be closed for the
day). It seems the whole area must have been occupied during the Roman period.
The Falaise Gap
The next day, the journey
home was punctuated by a visit to the memorial at Monte-Ormel, which commemorates the huge
battle fought in the area in the days just after the Normandy invasion. The decisive
action took place on this hill, which overlooks the battlefield. It was here that a
regiment of Polish infantry held out against tremendous odds until the Canadians and
Americans could seal the gap from the south. The German’s lost the best part of 2
armies, the 7th and 5th, and ended Germany's hopes of winning the battle for France. A
full presentation of the whole trip will be given at the February AGM.
Roman Camp Discovered
As I mentioned last
month, the South Trafford Archaeology Group are working on a site at High Legh which is
south of Warrington. Mark Hayward from our society has been down there for the last few
weeks (Sundays and Tuesdays) working as a volunteer. The site appears to be a Roman
legionary marching camp dating from the 1st century AD, but there is also evidence for
later occupation. Ditches, cobbled surfaces and postholes have been discovered in the
excavations, which cover an area more than 30m square. The work will carry on for the next
12 months and Derek Pierce, the site supervisor, tells me they welcome anybody who would
like to help. Contact Tom or me at the meeting for more details.
Next Meeting
Wednesday 3rd October at
the BP Centre (Scout HQ) in Greenough Street, at 7.30 pm as usual. This month we have Jack
Smith from the Chorley Archaeological Society who will be telling us about their
society’s work. His talk is entitled “Two excavations and a little bit of
luck”.
Hope to see you at the meeting -B.A
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