At the time of writing we still do not have a date for this site, as we're still waiting for the results to come back from the C14 dating analysis. Hopefully though, by the time of our meeting on Wednesday, we will have them. In the meantime however, I can tell you that we now have a better understanding of the feature i.e. it seems to be comprised of more than one ditch. Our excavations in Trench 5 and 5a in the northwest quadrant have revealed a junction of two ditches, one wider than the other with a ridge running in between. This may seem peculiar at first but apparently causeway enclosures are made up of many ditch sections (although our feature is too small to be one these). There may be more ditch sections but without digging out the whole circuit we may not be able to find this out. In the bottom of Trench 5 under a pile of small cobbles we uncovered an area of dark material. On closer examination this turned out to be charcoal which has given us another good sample for analysis if needed. As we're coming to the end of the digging season, having dug almost a dozen trenches, we don't intend opening up any more. Next year the plan is to concentrate on the internal mound, which will hopefully give us a clue as to the purpose of this enigmatic structure. As usual you can find more detail of our progress on our website diary here.
Next Meeting
Wednesday 5th October - at the Real Crafty on Upper Dicconson Street starting at 7.30pm as usual. As a follow up to our very successful trip to Worsley Delph in August, this month Jim Meehan will tell us more about the Duke of Bridgewater and his coal mines, in an area that was at the very heart of the Industrial Revolution. His talk is entitled 'A Dog, a Duke, and a Dowager'. These are the central characters in the history of the mining communities of Mosley Common and Worsley. Jim's talk, as usual, is sure to be a fascinating tale so hope to see you there.
Greenbelt Development
Talking of Mosley Common it seems the reassurances I received from Wigan Council last year, about limiting the housing schemes for that area, were premature. Apparently Peel Holdings will be extending the development further east into the area where it is thought the Roman road ran. As I reported in November last year (Newsletter 247) evidence for the road was thought to have been discovered in 1957 under the farm track there (Jim, in his research of the area, has uncovered some great photos of the excavations they carried out). As I also mentioned though, the site will be archaeologically investigated prior to commencement of any operations. In fact, investigations have already started with evaluation trenches having been put in (as reported on Facebook). Not, however, in this area but a quarter of a mile northeast on the other side of the guided busway (see below). Referred to by Peel as Phase 1, the intension is to build 265 new homes in the field north of Dewbury Close. The Roman road is thought to have crossed this field which is east of Mort Lane. In 2011 we visited the site (see Newsletter 209) thinking we had spotted the road on Google Earth. In fact what we had seen was the route of the Transco gas pipeline installed about a decade earlier. The current evaluation trenches also failed to detect any evidence for the Roman road (but may not be that surprising given the amount of disturbance here over the years).
GM Archaeology Day
Glad to see the return of this event which will be held as usual in Peel Hall at Salford University. The date is Saturday 26th November. Doors will open for registration at 9.30am ready for a start at 9.55am. It sounds like another excellent day with a packed programme of lectures on a range of topics spanning the prehistoric periods to the 20th century, showcasing some of the remarkable archaeology that has been uncovered during the past 12 months or so. Tickets cost £10 (standard) / £5 (student / unwaged) and are now available online here (you can also pay on the door).
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