Last month we made our last visit of the season to our site at Toddington Lane. This was to finish backfilling and to re-turf the site. However we still had 'Patrick's mound' to resolve (so called because of our Chairman's keenness to have it excavated). It's just a small but enigmatic hump lying just a few metres north of our current excavations and, as mentioned in last month's Newsletter, our first impressions were that there wasn't an obvious archaeological reason for it. Our quarter-section test pit revealed just a level scattering of small stone lying below the build-up of plough soil. A section cut through this scatter revealed a bank of soft sandy clay that seemed to have features running across it. These, however, turned out to be no more than shallow scoops in the clay. In fact, when fully excavated, this clay filled the whole trench. Loose stone in its makeup suggested that it was all just trench infill. This is perhaps not too surprising as the site is on alignment with field drain which must have required a deep trench for its installation.
There are other surface features in this area such as a line of stones exposed on the surface running close to the fence line. However this is most likely to be the result of disturbance over the years due to roadway maintenance (it should also be remembered that a large mains water pipe has been installed along the track edge). I'm fairly sure we have now gained as much as we can from this site which has kept us entertained throughout the summer but next season we'll be looking elsewhere (as usual more details on our website blog here.)
Ring Ditch Excitement
As Patrick reported at last month's meeting, our attention has been drawn to a possible ring ditch feature in a field north of Aspull. It is not far from our current excavations in Toddington Lane (we're not being too specific about location at the moment for obvious reasons - although the farm says metal detectorist have already been over the field with nothing relating to the site turning up). The feature, which is over 20 metres in diameter, was spotted as a crop mark on an aerial photo and, when overlaid on the LiDAR image for the same field, coincides with a substantial mound. Last month we visited the site with our drone but nothing could be detected from the air and even on the ground the mound was difficult to perceive. However we have spoken to the landowner and he is quite happy for us to proceed with our investigations. If it turns out to be what we think it is, then this could be quite a significant find. Our first task will be to carry out a resistivity survey but, if our Burscough experience is anything to go by, probably best to wait for much dryer conditions to give us the best chance of getting a result.
St Wilfrid's Ledger Stones
Following on from our Graffiti Survey last year, it has been our intention to record the newly exposed grave stones slabs inside this ancient Standish church. They were revealed when the carpets were removed last year. Although there are no immediate plans to re-carpet, there is some urgency for us, as the intention is to recarpet the area in due course. These ledger stones have not seen the light of day in a good many years and it would be a shame for them disappear again without being properly recorded. This is a good indoor winter project so please let me know if you are interested in helping with it.
Next Meeting
Wednesday 4th December - we've only been in our new venue for less than a year and it seems we're on the move again as the Bellingham has been sold to the NHS and will no longer be a hotel. As this is our Christmas Meal and Quiz Night, we have booked Little 15s on Wallgate (opposite the old Post Office). The back room is available free of charge so maybe this could our venue for future meetings (very handy for public transport but parking may be a problem). Anyway if you would like to come along on Wednesday and haven't already booked your meal, please let me know asap.
Committee
We are looking for two new committee members as both Neil Warner and Darren Bentham have asked to step down (Neil for medical reasons and Darren due to other commitments). I would like to thank them both on behalf of the Society for their time and efforts over the last few years. Our AGM is in February (no meeting in January as usual) so if you fancy helping out on the committee please let me know (we meet just 3 times a year).
|
