a
NETWORK NEWS
The newsletter of the Leicestershire and Rutland Archaeological Network
NUMBER 24: May 2004
ANNUAL REPORT April 2003 to
March 2004
Five new parish councils and meetings
joined the Network in this financial
year. This low figure, when compared
to previous years, arises from a
situation wherein sources of volunteers
such as existing amateur archaeology
groups have been exploited to the
maximum. Recruitment continues,
however, and the high profile accorded
to archaeology on television, together
with the outreach work of the
Archaeological Services Team, offers
the hope that the Network will continue
to expand in 2004-5.
The percentages of parish authorities
that have joined the Network, by Local
Authority, were as follows at the end of
March 2004.
BLABY
70.8
(17 out of 24)
CHARNWOOD
75
(24 out of 32)
HARBOROUGH
59.1
(52 out of 88)
HINCKLEY & BOSWORTH
95.7
(22 out of 23)
MELTON
68
(17 out of 25)
NORTH WEST LEICESTERSHIRE
82.8 (24 out of 29)
LEICESTERSHIRE (total)
(156 out of 221)
70.6
RUTLAND COUNTY COUNCIL
(29 out of 56)
51.8
LEICESTERSHIRE + RUTLAND 66.8
(185 out of 277)
Details of which parishes have
appointed Archaeological Wardens
and, subject to Data Protection Act
1998 considerations, who those
Wardens are, can be had from the
Network co-ordinator.
Three issues of Network News,
numbers 20-23, were produced, with
numbers 20-21 being produced as a
double issue incorporating the Annual
Report for 2002-2003. These were
distributed to all Archaeological
Wardens; all Parish Councils and
Meetings that had not appointed an
Archaeological
Warden;
Elected
Members of
Leicestershire
and
Rutland County Councils; and other
key organisations and individuals,
including Heritage Wardens who have
expressed an interest in archaeology.
Training sessions in previous years
have
concentrated
on
booked
seminars on the identification of
pottery and flint. A downturn in
attendance has led to a successful
switch to informal sessions for active
fieldworkers, using where possible
material they have found themselves.
These have been held at both
Leicestershire County Council Heritage
Services' headquarters at Thurmaston,
and the Collections Resources Centre
Heritage Services
Suite 4, Bridge Park Plaza, Bridge Park Road,
Thurmaston, Leicester, LE4 8BL
(0116) 264 5800 Fax:(0116) 264 5819
at Barrow-upon-Soar. Reports on
objects and collections submitted to
the service for identification have been
enhanced, with benefits both for
enquirers and for the Services'
records, notably the Sites and
Monuments Record (SMR). The
appointment of a Finds Liaison Officer
under the Portable Antiquities Scheme,
has increased the Services' capacity to
attend meetings of metal detectorist
clubs, and to offer training in
identification,
recording
and
conservation of finds to all volunteers.
The annual Fieldworkers Training Day,
which took place in September,
provided an opportunity to all Wardens
and members of the Leicestershire
Museums Archaeological Fieldwork
Group to receive intensive training in
identification of finds, fieldwork, and
organising a group.
RIDGE AND FURROW SURVEY
Results of this project, in which
Wardens are studying the earthworks
of medieval field systems, continued to
come in, recording where they survive
and enabling loss since 1991 to be
calculated. The results will be
incorporated into SMR, providing a
resource for both research and
environmental planning related work.
The article about finds from Thorpe
Satchville, in the newsletter below,
shows one way in which fields where
the ridge and furrow has been
ploughed out can be made to yield
archaeological evidence.
FIELDWORK
Archaeological Wardens and Fieldwork
Groups of which they are members
have been active in many parts of the
two counties. Notes are published by
LCCHS in this newsletter, and in “The
Fieldworker”, the newsletter of the
Leicestershire
Museums
Archaeological Fieldwork Group, and
reports are archived in the SMR. The
work of the Archaeological Wardens
for Huncote, and Thurcaston and
Cropston, amongst other workers, has
made a significant contribution to our
knowledge of the pottery industry that
flourished in the Roman period in the
area that was to become, in the
medieval period, Leicester Forest. This
work has led to the preparation of a
paper on the industry by Richard
Pollard of LCCHS that is due to be
published in 2004-5 by a national
body, the Study Group for Roman
Pottery.
Gillian Cecchini's finds from Thorpe
Satchville
are typical of the
assemblages
recovered
by
fieldwalkers and metal detectorists
throughout Leicestershire and Rutland.
They enable us to help piece together
the life of communities hundreds, and
sometimes thousands, of years ago: all
this for a few hours searching, with
landowners' permission of course, and
the support and training provided by
Leicestershire County Council.
_______________________________
NEWSLETTER 24: MAY 2004
THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES
TEAM
Restructuring of the Community
Services Department has led to the
unification of the Heritage Services
and Sustainable Development groups
as a new Environment and Heritage
Services group. At the same time, the
Planning Archaeology and Sites and
Monuments
Record
are
being
separated from the other functions of
the Archaeology Section (renamed the
Archaeological Services Team), which
Heritage Services
Suite 4, Bridge Park Plaza, Bridge Park Road,
Thurmaston, Leicester, LE4 8BL
(0116) 264 5800 Fax:(0116) 264 5819
include Collections, Identifications,
Donington-le-Heath Manor House, and
general public enquiries.
Planning Archaeology and the SMR
will be united with environmental
planning, biological records, and the
historic buildings work carried out in
the past by
the Heritage and
Resources
Team
(formerly
in
Sustainable Development). These
functions will be carried out by the
newly designated Historic and Natural
Environment Team, which is being
formed in the Spring/early Summer of
2004.
Bob has worked hard over the years to
become recognised in the village as
someone to call upon when items of
archaeological
and
architectural
interest are uncovered. The recording
of this framing is a textbook example of
the way in which the Archaeological
Warden network is intended to work:
as a complement to the local authority
planning control system, involving local
initiatives, ensuring that features of
interest are recorded, and their prompt
reporting
to
the
Archaeological
Services Team of Leicestershire
County Council.
There are no staff changes at the time
of writing, and the archaeologists will
continue to work alongside each other
at the Thurmaston office. A return to
County Hall for all the archaeologists is
expected to happen in the autumn of
2004. Details of all these changes will
be published in the next Network
News, due out in August.
Bob's record will now be placed on the
Sites and Monuments Record, where it
can be used for research and planning
work by the general public and the
County Council alike.
TIMBER FRAMING IN WYMESWOLD
Gillian Cecchini, Heritage Warden for
the parish of Twyford and Thorpe,
brought in to Heritage Services for
identification a small assemblage of
finds collected by her in September
2003 from a field just north of the
village.
Bob Trubshaw has reported on the
exposure of part of the timber framing
of a house in Wymeswold. The house
is a Listed Building, Grade II: the
official description considers it to be
probably early 18th century.
The building's walls were rendered
when examined by the Department of
the Environment Inspector, who
speculated that it was probably timber
framed or brickwork framed. However,
the nature of the framing - upright
timbers called studs placed close
together - leads to the suggestion that
it is in fact 16th century. Bob, and
LCCEHS, extend their thanks to the
owner of the property, Mrs Ginny
Westcott, for drawing Bob's attention
to the building work that exposed the
framing.
A FIELDWALKING ASSEMBLAGE OF
POTTERY FROM THORPE
SATCHVILLE
This is an assemblage from the area of
the medieval Open Fields of Thorpe
Satchville. The early medieval pottery
(10th-14th centuries) demonstrates that
the village lay in an area that acquired
its pottery from several sources at this
time, including those to the south west
(Potters Marston), north (Nottingham),
east (Stamford) and south (LyvedenStanion, in the area of Rockingham
Forest). Other wares are similar to
those made at Chilvers Coton
(Nuneaton) and south Derbyshire.
Sherds of late 14th-mid 16th century
"Midland Purple" ware, including a
Heritage Services
Suite 4, Bridge Park Plaza, Bridge Park Road,
Thurmaston, Leicester, LE4 8BL
(0116) 264 5800 Fax:(0116) 264 5819
ridge tile fragment, may also have
been made at Chilvers Coton, or
Ticknall (near Calke Abbey, south
Derbyshire).
Earthernwares of a Tudor to Georgian
date are likely to come from Ticknall
and other East Midlands country
potteries, whilst two sherds of 17th-18th
century slipware were probably made
in Staffordshire.
Ridge and furrow earthworks,
indicative of ploughing in the medieval
period, have been recorded in this
field, appearing on the mid 20th century
RAF vertical aerial photographs held at
the Record Office for Leicestershire,
Leicester and Rutland.
The parish, like many others, was
subject to an Enclosure Act in the latter
half of the 18th century, in 1796.
However, some enclosure had taken
place in the parish at least as early as
1649. Enclosure meant that the open
fields were divided up, and effectively
signalled the end of large scale
ploughing in strips, the form that led in
the medieval period to the creation of
the sinuous curved earthwork "ridges"
and the furrows that separate them.
Enclosure was usually followed by a
change from arable to pasture, hence
the survival of the earthworks. Pitt
estimated in 1809 that no more than
10,000 acres in the County of
Leicestershire still lay in open fields,
and the last five parishes to receive
Enclosure Acts all did so between
1810 and 1842, Medbourne being the
last of all. Later 20th century ploughing
and development has removed much
of the surviving ridge and furrow, and
some of the most accessible places to
see it are now in urban areas, such as
Western Park and Gorse Hill City Farm
in Leicester.
The sherds collected by Gillian most
likely document the use of household
and farmyard refuse as manure,
incorporating broken vessels and tiles.
The fact that no sherds need date to
later than the Enclosure Act may
indicate that the field was rapidly
turned over to grazing. The broad
coincidence of the Enclosure Act
movement with the development of
industrial pottery output such as
transfer printed "willow pattern" in the
late 18th century is helpful: if the latter
is present in a field it may well have
been manured after Enclosure. This is
why it is so important to collect
"modern" looking pottery as well as
older material.
Gillian's collection has not led to the
recognition of any new "sites" such as
Roman villas or Anglo-Saxon farms.
However, it does provide a snapshot of
the trade links of the medieval village,
and a suggestion that ploughing, in this
field at least, continued into the 18th
century but had finished by the 19th.
Small pieces of fieldwork, subject to
landowners' permission, should be
within the capabilities of most
Wardens: the Leicestershire County
Council museums' Archaeological
Services Team are always pleased to
record your finds!
SPOIL HEAPS
"Spoil" is the rather unflattering name
given to material such as soil that is
dug up and put to one side. It includes
the topsoil set aside on building sites
for reuse or removal, ploughsoil, and
archaeological deposits that have been
recorded and excavated.
Spoil heaps used to be the
playgrounds of archaeologists in their
tea breaks, as they inevitably hold
artefacts that have been overlooked
during digging. Metal detectorists have
Heritage Services
Suite 4, Bridge Park Plaza, Bridge Park Road,
Thurmaston, Leicester, LE4 8BL
(0116) 264 5800 Fax:(0116) 264 5819
often been permitted to search over
the spoil, even if they have not been
deployed to scan the soil before its
excavation.
However, it is now recognised that
heaps of loose spoil are dangerous
places, and the Risk Assessments that
form part of Archaeological Project
Health and Safety Statements routinely
state that loose spoil heaps will not be
walked on.
Volunteers permitted access to sites
where archaeological work is taking
place should always check with the
senior archaeologist on site before
searching the spoil. It may be possible
to do so without stepping on to the
heap, at least in the early stages of
work. There is no doubt that spoil
searching is rewarding, as the
recovery of sherds of pottery from
Roman, late Anglo-Saxon, and later
periods
from
Long
Clawson
demonstrates (below), but it should
only be done when the senior
archaeologist,
or,
where
an
archaeological contractor is not to be
engaged by the developer, the Site
Manager, deems it to be safe. Even
then, caution should be exercised, and
the spoil never walked over.
CLAWSON, HOSE AND HARBY: THE
WORK OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL
WARDEN
This article is edited from a paper
written by Jenny Allsop for the Parish
Council, and kindly copied by Jenny to
the Network Co-ordinator. Jenny is
also the parish's Heritage Warden, and
a founder member of the Melton
Fieldworkers archaeological group.
Jenny has taken on numerous
watching briefs, both within the parish
and more widely in Melton Borough.
These include work undertaken at the
request of the County museums
service, work done in support of
development-driven projects carried
out by archaeological contractors, and
work taken on "unofficially", that is
without a specific consultation with the
museums service.
This fieldwork can be divided into two
broad types: building recording, and
observing trenches and other ground
disturbances.
Building projects have included the
intensive examination of the Village
Shop and the Old Star Inn during
alterations, and of Corner House
following removal of rendering from the
walls: all in Long Clawson. Mud walls,
stone plinths on which timber framed
buildings had formerly stood, and
ovens have all been recorded.
Mud built pig sties on the development
site at The Croft was recorded before
demolition,
and
pottery
sherds
recovered from the spoil heaps. In
Back Lane, the importation of soil for a
skateboard park was monitored, as
this soil had the potential to contain
"alien" archaeological finds. Both these
development sites were also in Long
Clawson. The latter, a known Roman
site, illustrates a problem which
receives little publicity: that not only
can soil, and thus finds, be removed
from a site, or moved around within a
site by disturbance such as ploughing,
but finds can be brought in, with the
possibility that they might later be
found and be interpreted as signifying
the presence of an archaeological site
below.
Several churches have also been
visited in order to observe small scale
works such as the excavation of gas,
electricity, and drainage trenches:
these include the parish churches at
Grimston and Hose. These have
Heritage Services
Suite 4, Bridge Park Plaza, Bridge Park Road,
Thurmaston, Leicester, LE4 8BL
(0116) 264 5800 Fax:(0116) 264 5819
sometimes involved limited cleaning up
of trenches and pits to clarify just what
archaeological features have been
exposed: in the case of Ab Kettleby,
the parish church was built over a
Roman villa, to judge from the finds of
tile and mosaic pieces ("tesserae") in
the churchyard.
Finds are submitted to the museums
service for identification, and reports
prepared for the SMR.
REBURIAL AT WYMESWOLD
Readers of the Loughborough local
newspapers will have seen reports in
early February of the reburial of a
human skull which had been found on
a building site on the edge of the
village of Wymeswold. The skull had
been found by the Archaeological
Warden, Bob Trubshaw, whilst he was
maintaining a voluntary watching brief
on the site. Previous evaluative
trenching of the site by an
archaeological contractor had found
nothing of interest, despite the
presence nearby of an Iron Age and
Roman site previously excavated by
Bob and the County museums service.
A
police
forensic
archaeologist
attended the site together with the
museums
service's
planning
archaeologist. They concluded that the
skull had been found in the topsoil, as
opposed to having been disturbed from
a grave or other archaeological
feature, and that the topsoil had
probably been imported. Anglo-Saxon
burials had been recorded on the
opposite side of the village, and a
cemetery of the same period is known
from just over the Nottinghamshire
border.
The skull was taken in by the
museums service as part of the
archive of the site: inspection of wear
of the teeth had led an expert to date it
to the medieval period, or earlier, on
the assumption that it was British.
Washing off of the topsoil that still
clung to the skull revealed a surprise:
modern metal stitches. It seems that it
was a medical teaching specimen,
probably imported in the 19th century,
perhaps from India.
Strict rules govern the exhumation of
human remains, and museums must
demonstrate that there is a good
scientific reason to retain them. In this
case LCCHS decided to rebury the
skull. Nothing is known about the
individual, except that he was a man of
at least forty. The skull was reburied,
at the parish cemetery, at a service
attended by members of the parish
council, Bob, and a representative of
the developer on whose land it was
found. This is thought to be the first
time that human remains held by
Leicestershire's museums service
have been re-interred, though remains
excavated in churchyards are often
reburied, as was the case with 19th
century
bodies
found
during
excavation at Breedon-on-the-Hill.
The Archaeology Collections hold the
remains of perhaps hundreds of
people from as early as the Neolithic,
all found within the County. They
include cremations from Bronze Age
barrows and the pagan Anglo-Saxon
cemetery at Thurmaston, and medieval
burials from St John's Hospital,
Lutterworth.
EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
"Religious Houses to Romantic Ruins",
an exhibition looking at the history of
the county's abbeys and priories, is on
show at Melton Carnegie Museum until
July 4th. Features include finds from
Launde Abbey and Ulverscroft priory,
and vestments worn by the monks of
Heritage Services
Suite 4, Bridge Park Plaza, Bridge Park Road,
Thurmaston, Leicester, LE4 8BL
(0116) 264 5800 Fax:(0116) 264 5819
the present day Mount Saint Bernard
Abbey.
Depending upon when you read this
newsletter, there may just be time to
catch "Before Coalville" at Doningtonle-Heath Manor House, an exhibition
which is due to close on May 24th. It
includes archaeological finds from the
area of the town, including Neolithic
stone axes found in gardens and
pottery made at the nearby Roman
settlement. It is hoped that the
exhibition will go "on tour" in the future
to other museums.
The Finds Liaison Officer, Wendy
Scott, will be holding finds identification
days at the Bosworth Battlefield Centre
on May 23rd, and Rutland County
Museum on June 20th, both from 10am
to 4pm. Wendy's sessions are free, but
normal charges to the Centre, and car
parking charges at both venues, apply.
THE
PORTABLE
SCHEME
ANTIQUITIES
Wendy Scott reports that she has now
recorded over 2,300 archaeological
objects since she came into post in
August 2003. A new exhibition, "Found
in Leicestershire" will start at
Donington-le-Heath in October. It will
feature objects in the museum
service's Collections, but Wendy would
like to hear from anyone who has had
a find identified by her that she
reported as being "important" or "a
very nice example of", of all periods, as
we would like to borrow such items for
the exhibition, which will tour the
County Council museums.
STAUNTON
PROJECT
HAROLD
HERITAGE
Staunton Harold is widely known and
well-visited throughout the year. The
Parish has Leicestershire's only
National Trust building (Staunton
Harold Church, Grade I Listed),
Staunton Harold Hall (a private
residence) which is also Grade I
Listed, twelve other listed buildings
including the 18th century stable block
(a craft centre), a Grade II* Historic
Park, two deserted medieval village
sites, a designated Conservation Area
and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
There has been little systematic
research and little comprehensive
published material exists, although
there is a variety of scattered literature
as well as unpublished material, and
there are extensive archival sources
on the Shirley family and its Staunton
Harold estate.
Since 2001 the Staunton Harold
Heritage Group has been working on
the archaeology, land use, buildings
and demographic history of the Parish.
They plan to investigate aspects of the
archaeology, population and land use
past and present, and to survey
vernacular buildings.
Findings will be made available as
pamphlets for the benefit of the local
and wider community and, where
appropriate, material will also be
deposited in regional and national
archives/databases.
The Group will use fieldwalking
surveys to examine local archaeology.
Work to date has revealed, amongst
other things, evidence of the dumping
of waste from local (south Derbyshire)
pottery kilns, including 19th century
Mocha ware and kiln furniture.
The Group has received a substantial
grant from the Local Heritage Initiative
to help it carry out the Project, which
will run for three years from Spring
2004.
Heritage Services
Suite 4, Bridge Park Plaza, Bridge Park Road,
Thurmaston, Leicester, LE4 8BL
(0116) 264 5800 Fax:(0116) 264 5819
CONTACTS AT LEICESTERSHIRE
COUNTY COUNCIL, HERITAGE
SERVICES
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES TEAM:
based at Thurmaston, Fax (0116) 264
5819. Working hours variable, core
working hours 10.00-3.30 Mon-Thurs,
10.00-3.00 Friday.
KEEPER OF ARCHAEOLOGY, also
FIELD SURVEY, FIELDWORK GROUP:
Peter Liddle (0116) 264 5810
ARCHAEOLOGY COLLECTIONS,
LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND
ARCHAEOLOGICAL NETWORK:
Richard Pollard (0116) 264 5803
EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
(DONINGTON-LE-HEATH),
SITES AND MONUMENTS RECORD:
Richard Knox, Michael Henderson (0116)
264 5811
FINDS LIASON OFFICER, PORTABLE
ANTIQUITIES
SCHEME,
and
ARCHAEOLOGICAL IDENTIFICATIONS
SERVICE CONTACT:
Wendy Scott (0116) 264 5807
YOUNG ARCHAEOLOGISTS CLUB:
Pete Liddle (0116) 264 5810
SENIOR PLANNING ARCHAEOLOGIST:
Richard Clark (0116) 264 5812
ASSISTANT
ARCHAEOLOGIST:
(0116) 264 5813
Helen
PLANNING
Berrington
CHARNWOOD MUSEUM
Queen’s Hall, Granby Street,
Loughborough, Leics LE11 3DU
Open 10.00-4.30 Mon-Sat; 2.00-5.00 Sun.
Tel: (01509)
233754. Keeper: Susan
Cooke.
DONINGTON-LE-HEATH
MANOR
HOUSE
Manor
Road,
Donington-le-Heath,
Coalville, LE67 2FW. Open 7 days a
week, October - March, 11.30-3 pm, April September 11.30 - 5 pm. (Dec, Jan and
Feb, open weekends only, 11.30-3pm.)
Tel: (01530) 831259 . Keeper: Peter
Liddle.
HARBOROUGH MUSEUM
Council Offices, Adam and Eve Street,
Market Harborough, Leics. LE16 7AG.:
Open 10.00-4.30 Mon-Sat; 2.00-5.00 Sun
Tel:
(01858) 821085. Keeper: Zara
Matthews.
MELTON CARNEGIE MUSEUM
Thorpe End, Melton Mowbray LE13 1RB.
Open 10.00-4.30 Daily. Tel: (01664)
569946. Keeper: Jenny Dancey.
THE
RECORD
OFFICE
FOR
LEICESTERSHIRE,
LEICESTER
&
RUTLAND
Long Street, Wigston Magna, LE18 2AH.
Open 9.15-5.00 Mon, Tues, Thurs; 9.157.30 Wed; 9.15-4.45 Fri; 9.15-12.15 Sat;
closed on Suns.
Tel: (0116) 257 1080. County Archivist:
Carl Harrison.
SNIBSTON DISCOVERY PARK
Ashby Road, Coalville, LE67 3LN
Open daily 10.00-5.00. Admission Adults
£5.70, Child £3.60, under 5's free;
Concessions £3.90; half price after 3pm.
Group discounts : call for details.
Tel: (01530) 278444. Collections Curator:
Steph Mastoris.
THE LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND
ARCHAEOLOGICAL NETWORK
Heritage Services, Suite 4, Bridge Park
Plaza, Bridge Park Road, Thurmaston,
Leicester, LE4 8BL
Tel: (0116) 264 5803/5810
Fax: (0116) 264 5819
COLLECTIONS RESOURCE CENTRE
Barrow-upon-Soar, Leicestershire.
Tel:
(01509)
815514.
Keeper
of
Collections: Fred Hartley.
Heritage Services
Suite 4, Bridge Park Plaza, Bridge Park Road,
Thurmaston, Leicester, LE4 8BL
(0116) 264 5800 Fax:(0116) 264 5819