a
NETWORK NEWS
The newsletter of the Leicestershire and Rutland Archaeological Network
NUMBER 27: March 2005
Wardens have never returned a Data
Protection Act 1998 Consent Form.
MEMBERSHIP
David
Burr
has
become
the
Archaeological Warden for Waltham
on the Wolds and Thorpe Arnold,
making this parish number 189 in the
Network.
David, together with the Heritage
Warden, is undertaking a Well Survey
in the two villages, and proposes to do
metal detector surveys of parish
council land.
WARDENS: PLEASE READ
THE NEXT SECTION. IT IS
VERY IMPORTANT
Four copies of Network News 26 were
returned to the co-ordinator, Richard
Pollard, by the Royal Mail marked
“Addressee Gone Away”. The issue of
keeping mailing lists up to date is a
challenge for all three of Leicestershire
County
Council’s
environmental
warden schemes. Wardens can of
course help by advising us when they
move house, and many have kindly
done so.
Archaeological Wardens will all receive
a letter early in 2005-6 asking them to
confirm that they wish to continue in
the role, and that they consent to the
County Council holding and using
personal data on them. Some 33
The Act places the County Council
under a legal obligation to ensure that
its records of personal data are kept up
to date, and that it has the written
permission of volunteers to hold and
distribute such data for specified
purposes. It is not enough for a
volunteer simply to have signed up for
a scheme such as the Network. Many
Wardens are also Heritage Wardens,
or members of the Leicestershire
Museums Archaeological Fieldwork
Group. However, the Council cannot
use that Group’s membership details
as a substitute for maintaining its own
records, nor can it use completed
Heritage Warden Scheme Consent
forms to justify holding data on the
Archaeological Network membership,
even where the same individuals are
concerned.
Regrettably, it will be necessary to
remove from the records those
Wardens who do not return completed
Consent Forms, and who do not give
permission for personal data to be held
on at least one of the two media –
paper or computer – available.
The parishes concerned will then be
informed that a vacancy has arisen for
the role of Archaeological Warden, and
the position advertised through the
newsletters of appropriate groups.
Heritage Services
Room 500, County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester, LE3 8TE
(0116) 265 8324 Fax:(0116) 265 7965
THANK YOU
JEWRY WALL HOURS
The opening times of the Jewry Wall
Museum, Leicester, are to be
extended. It will be opened on Sunday
afternoons as well as Saturdays, and
throughout school holidays with the
exception of the Christmas break (as it
is closed throughout December).
Contact the museum on 0116 225
4971 for details. The post of curator,
vacant since John Lucas left at the end
of 2004, is to be filled, too: a Senior
Curator, History is to be appointed,
with archaeological knowledge an
important consideration. The museum
is run by Leicester City Council.
ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE REARSBY
BYPASS
A Report by the University of Leicester
Archaeological Services
Initial analyses of archaeological
remains excavated and recorded by
University of Leicester Archaeological
Services along the line of the Rearsby
Bypass between February and May
2004 have recently been completed.
A number of occupation sites ranging
from the Neolithic (3rd or 4th
millennium B.C.) through to late
Roman (4th century A.D.) were
discovered. The excavations were the
culmination of an archaeological
programme that had started in the
early 1990s. Work was confined to the
areas to be disturbed or destroyed by
the road and associated works.
Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age 9500
B.C. - 4500 B.C.) and Neolithic (New
Stone Age 4500 B.C.-2000 B.C.)
activity was found in fields to the south
of Rearsby on the north side of a small
brook. A collection of over 650 struck
flints was recovered from this area,
and included tools – knives,
arrowheads and scrapers, and the
waste piece by-products of their
manufacture. Most of the worked flint
was found in the disturbed ploughsoils,
but subsequent excavation of lower
levels revealed pits, postholes and
hearths, some of which also contained
pottery dating from the Neolithic
period.
Later prehistoric, Iron Age (c.700 B.C.
- A.D. 43) settlement was well
represented by two sites. The first of
these to the east of Rearsby near the
northern end of the bypass comprised
elements of a typical Iron Age
farmstead, with indications of
enclosures and at least one
roundhouse that was probably a
dwelling. Part of a distinctive “pit
alignment” boundary recorded almost
500m south of this site, may have
been a contemporary pasture
boundary. The Iron Age site was
followed by a Romano-British
farmstead, 100 metres to the east,
beside the Rearsby Brook. This site
was probably occupied between the
1st and 4th centuries A.D. Here,
enclosures were built and remodelled,
with evidence of round and rectangular
structures within. An open well,
probably for watering livestock was
found. On the fringes of the settlement,
the remains of three probable graves
were recorded, but unfortunately the
acidity of the ground had destroyed
any human bone that had once been
buried, and only the iron nails that
once held the timber coffins together
survived.
The most distinctive artefact found
during the excavations, a small figurine
of a lion was found on this site. Made
of pipe clay, the head is missing but
there are traces of brown glaze on the
Heritage Services
Room 500, County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester, LE3 8TE
(0116) 265 8324 Fax:(0116) 265 7965
mane. Very rarely found in Britain such
items were made in workshops in the
Allier valley, central Gaul (modern day
central France), and imported into
Britain in the decades after the Roman
invasion of AD 43. A more complete
example is known from Baldock in
Hertfordshire (see drawing), which had
a pouring spout above the head, with
the upright tail acting as a handle.
The second Iron Age site recorded
was found near to Queniborough to the
south of Rearsby, at the southern end
of the bypass, and proved the most
interesting site of the project. This site
had not been specifically anticipated
on the basis of the earlier work. In
addition to boundary ditches and a
small circular structure, the foundation
trenches of one large or several small
aligned rectangular buildings were
found, the function of which is not clear
at this stage. A possible burial area
was found comprising a clearly defined
ring-ditch, measuring about 5m in
diameter, with a centrally placed pit.
This may have been a funerary
monument, or barrow, although these
are more commonly associated with
the preceding Bronze Age period. Like
on the Romano-British site, little trace
of a burial was found.
The most significant aspect of this site
was its date. Most of the pottery found
on the site is ‘transitional’ in style,
falling between local Iron Age
traditions and the fully Romanised
forms of later decades. It was
influenced by pottery being made in
the province of Belgica in northeast
Gaul and traded into Britain between
50 B.C. and 50 A.D. and suggests that
the site was occupied in the very Late
Iron Age in the decades immediately
before the Roman invasion in 43 A.D.
Sites where “belgic” pottery of this type
is the dominant form are rare in the
region outside of the tribal capital
Leicester, and areas of
Northamptonshire to the south.
Analysis of charred seeds and grains
will provide some insights on any
agricultural processes taking place on
the site.
Analysis of all the sites will commence
in April 2005 and will last about a year.
Finds of pottery and bone, and charred
seeds, grains and other remains
preserved in soil samples will be
studied. It is hoped that that the project
will be the subject of a display at
Charnwood Museum in 2006.
Archaeological work was funded by
Leicestershire County Council.
LEICESTERSHIRE LANDSCAPES
The conference proceedings for the
2001
Community
Archaeology
Conference have been published by
the
Leicestershire
Museums
Archaeological Fieldwork Group as its
first monograph, under the title
Leicestershire Landscapes. Edited by
Paul Bowman and Peter Liddle, the
book contains 16 papers, beginning
with three on Community Archaeology
in Leicestershire by Tim Schadla-Hall,
Peter Liddle, and two Fieldwork Group
co-ordinators, Anne Wallis (Great
Easton)
and
Brian
Burningham
(Lutterworth). The majority of the
papers are period surveys of the
archaeology of Leicestershire and
Rutland by the editors, staff of the
University of Leicester Archaeological
Services, and landscape historian
Tony Squires. Other contributions by
ULAS staff deal with the interpretation
of environmental evidence and of
Roman pottery. The book is available
from Pete Liddle at £18.00 if collected
directly from the Archaeological
Services Team, and should also be on
sale at all County Council Museums.
Retail price is £19.95.
Heritage Services
Room 500, County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester, LE3 8TE
(0116) 265 8324 Fax:(0116) 265 7965
telephone 01760 755645 for more
details.
TRENT VALLEY LANDSCAPES
Archaeological research can often
appear to be constrained by the
administrative divisions of the shires,
and more recently the granting of
unitary authority status to some county
towns and cities and districts.
This book, in contrast with many
research and review syntheses, takes
a geographical feature as its study
area. It looks at “landscape change in
the Trent Valley from the arrival of the
first hunter-gatherer communities to
the end of the medieval period. The
book brings together a wide range of
cultural and environmental information
obtained from archaeological research
in the region, much of it previously
unpublished”.
EVENTS
AND
LECTURES
AT
DONINGTON LE HEATH MANOR
HOUSE: a selection
April 6th Lecture. “Development and
Archaeology in Leicestershire”, by
Richard
Clark,
Senior
Planning
Archaeologist, Leics County Council.
April 10th Event. Environmental Day
May
22nd
Event.
Crime
and
Punishment
June 1st Lecture. “Roman Leicester”,
by Nick Cooper of University of
Leicester Archaeological Services
June 18th-19th Event. Wars of the
Roses
All the activities listed above are free.
The lectures start at 7.30 pm, and the
events run from 11.00 – 5.00.
EXHIBITIONS
Castle Donington and LockingtonHemington are the Leicestershire
parishes most often cited, but
reference is also made to sites in the
Soar Valley as far upstream as Croft.
The paper on the Pleistocene ranges
still
wider,
touching
upon
Archaeological
Warden
Graham
Coombs’ discovery of an Upper
Palaeolithic site in Bradgate Park, and
on Ron Waite’s finds of handaxes and
other artefacts on fields around
Hinckley The latter area is now being
intensively studied by the Hinckley
Field
Walking
Group,
whose
membership
includes
both
Archaeological and Heritage Wardens.
“Trent Valley Landscapes”, by David
Knight and Andy J. Howard with other
contributors is available from Heritage
Marketing & Publications Ltd price
£25.00 + £2.50 postage within the UK.
E-mail
sales@heritagemp.com
or
“Found in Leicestershire” comes down
from Donington le Heath on March
30th, to be replaced by the exhibition
on the archaeological discoveries
made at Watermead Country Park in
1996, including some of the oldest
human remains from the county
(March 31st - June 30th). “Found in
Leicestershire” is moving to The
Harborough Museum from April 8th –
July 10th.
The exhibition on the history of
Leicestershire’s abbeys and priories,
“Religious Houses to Romantic Ruins”,
is presented at the Record Office,
Long Street, Wigston Magna, until April
29th.
HINCKLEY MUSEUM
The museum, situated in a row of 17th
century thatched cottages once used
for framework knitting, is showing a
Heritage Services
Room 500, County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester, LE3 8TE
(0116) 265 8324 Fax:(0116) 265 7965
display of finds from Sapcote Castle
throughout its 2005 opening. This has
been put together by Archaeological
Warden Keith Hextall and lent to the
museum
from
Leicestershire
Museums’ collections.
Hinckley Museum is run by volunteers,
rather than by the County Council,
though it is supported by the latter’s
Community Museums Officer. The
museum illustrates the history of the
Hinckley area from prehistoric to
modern times. Archaeological material
on permanent exhibition includes finds
from Sapcote villa, and other items
from the Arthur Pickering Collection.
The museum is situated in Lower Bond
Street, Hinckley, in the town centre. It
is open from Easter Monday to the end
of October on Saturdays and Bank
Holidays 10.00 – 4.00, Sundays 2.00 –
5.00 (last admission before closing).
There is an admission charge. See
www.hinckleydistrictmuseum.org.uk or
telephone 01455 251218 for more
information.
YOUR FAMILY REVEALED
A new website, www.1837online.com ,
makes information on births, marriages
and deaths from 1837 onwards
available online, using data from the
Family Records Centre. It helps to
know exact names and dates, as the
cost of searching is at between 5 and
10p per page viewed.
Leicester University’s Department of
Genetics can take you back much
further, by studying DNA. In a feature
article in the Leicester Mercury for
February 8th, it is explained that “all
people living today are descended
from 18 men and 36 women”. There
are 7 European clan mothers, all born
between 10,000 and 45,000 years ago.
The Department is looking at the DNA
of 40 local volunteers – the deadline
for getting involved was February 14th
– and will present the results at a free
open day on April 9th between 11.00
and 4.00 at the Bennett Building on the
University
Road
campus.
See
www.le.ac.uk/genetics .
GARGOYLES AND CARVED HEADS
The series “Around the World in 80
Treasures” currently being shown on
BBC2, may have caught readers’
attention. In it, Dan Cruickshank looks
at wonders of the human world,
apparently majoring on the ritual,
sometimes to “Western Christian”
sensibilities macabre. Dan may have
bypassed the East Midlands in his
search for carved stone heads, but
local people can be relied upon to fill in
the gap.
Author Bob Trubshaw (Archaeological
Warden
for
Wymeswold)
has
published “The Good Gargoyle Guide”,
which documents the grotesque
carvings to be found at the churches of
Leicestershire and Rutland. Available
from Bob at Heart of Albion Press, 2
Cross
Hill
Close,
Wymeswold,
Loughborough LE12 6UJ (£8.25
including postage and packing), or at
local bookshops at £6.95.
“Norman” is a carved human face on a
small piece of ironstone, found by
Harby resident Betty Holyland in a
garden in the village. He made quite a
splash in February’s local press, and is
only the second recorded carved stone
head found in Leicestershire.
Head carvings date back to at least the
Iron Age, but are notoriously difficult to
date on stylistic grounds, a problem
made worse by the fact that most of
them turn up in rockeries rather than
archaeological excavations. Betty has
Heritage Services
Room 500, County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester, LE3 8TE
(0116) 265 8324 Fax:(0116) 265 7965
lent “Norman” to the Melton Carnegie
Museum, where he is on display during
2005.Norman” alongside the only other
head, which was found – inevitably in
a garden – in Oadby some 45 years
ago and given to the Leicestershire
museums collections.
Thanks are due to retired museum
curator Leslie Cram, who brought
“Norman”
to
the
attention
of
Leicestershire Museums, and to Betty
for her enthusiasm and willingness to
present “Norman” to a wider audience.
Jenny Dancey, Keeper at Melton, is
proposing to build creative writing
workshops around the two carvings.
MISS LINFORD AWARD: CALL FOR
SUBMISSIONS
Members
of
the
Leicestershire
Museums Archaeological Fieldwork
Group are invited to submit entries for
the award. All archaeological /
historical projects completed in the last
5 years are eligible. It needs only
around 4 sides of text with any
supporting photographs, plans and so
on, to form a submission. Please
contact Peter Liddle at Leicestershire
Museums for advice, and for
information about the Group.
PETER LIDDLE MBE
The New Year’s Honours List brought
a pleasant surprise in the form of an
honour for an archaeologist. Not only
that, but it was an MBE for the Keeper
of Donington le Heath Manor House
(and Archaeology), Peter Liddle, “for
services to Community Archaeology”.
With characteristic modesty and desire
to share the honour, Peter has
dedicated the award to all those who
have been involved in public
archaeological
fieldwork
in
Leciestershire and Rutland, whether
paid or volunteer. Peter has worked for
Leicestershire Museums for over 27
years, devoting his career to bringing
archaeology
to
a
wide,
and
participating, audience.
THE DIOCESE OF LEICESTER
Many readers, perhaps most, will be
aware that Leicester’s St Martin’s
church became a cathedral as recently
as 1927 (on February 27th), when the
Church of England Diocese of
Leicester was created. What is
arguably less well known is that the
former Roman tribal capital had
previously formed the See city of an
Anglo-Saxon diocese.
Christianity was introduced into the
area from the Celtic Mission at
Lindisfarne. Following the consecration
of Diuma as Bishop in 655, the area
that was to become Leicestershire was
included in the diocese of Mercia. This
situation lasted until around 680, when
the diocese was divided into five
Bishoprics, one of which was centred
upon Leicester. This covered a large
area of the south east and south
Midlands. From 787 to 803 the diocese
of Leicester formed part of the
Archbishopric of Lichfield.
The diocese lasted until about 870,
when it collapsed in the face of Danish
invasions. Leicester fell under the
diocese of Dorchester-upon-Thames
until after the Norman Conquest. In
1072 Leicestershire was allocated to
the new diocese of Lincoln. Many
records relating to the county can be
found at Lincoln still. The County was
transferred to Peterborough in 1839, in
which Diocese Rutland still falls.
Leicester was not the automatic choice
for the centre of the new 20th century
diocese: amongst the candidate
churches was the exceptional St Mary,
Melton Mowbray, described by the
Heritage Services
Room 500, County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester, LE3 8TE
(0116) 265 8324 Fax:(0116) 265 7965
architectural historian Nikolaus
Pevsner as “the stateliest and most
impressive of all churches in
Leicestershire”.
LANDSHAPES
The National Forest LANDshapes
project is offering funding in 2005 to
help community groups and individuals
undertake heritage projects for the new
LANDshapes Archive, at
www.landshapes.org/archive.
Funding is available on a first come
first served basis. Training is also
available for the less computer/internet
literate.
LANDshapes’ latest workshop at Calke
Abbey, Ticknall, Derbyshire, is on May
12th 2005, embraces
”Parkland Landscape Archaeology and
Ecology with Earthworks and Flora,
Veteran Trees and Lichens” with Dr.
Ian Rotherham, Dr. Paul Ardron and
Dan Abrahams.
The workshop will run from
approximately 9.30 am to 4.30 pm and
will include refreshments, lunch, a field
visit and workshop notes.
Please bring suitable outdoor clothing
for fieldwork, notepads etc.
Contact Lucy Ashworth at The National
Forest Company on 01283 551211 or
e-mail theteam@landshapes.org .
CONTACTS AT LEICESTERSHIRE
COUNTY COUNCIL, ENVIRONMENT
AND HERITAGE SERVICES
The County Council’s archaeologists
are based at:
Room 500, County Hall, Leicester
Road, Glenfield, Leicester LE3 8TE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES
TEAM
KEEPER OF ARCHAEOLOGY, also
FIELD SURVEY, FIELDWORK
GROUP:
Peter Liddle (0116) 265 8326
email: pliddle@leics.gov.uk
ARCHAEOLOGY COLLECTIONS,
LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND
ARCHAEOLOGICAL NETWORK:
Richard Pollard (0116) 265 8324
email: rpollard@leics.gov.uk
EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
(DONINGTON-LE-HEATH):
Richard Knox (0116) 265 8327
email: rknox@leics.gov.uk
FINDS
LIASON
OFFICER,
PORTABLE ANTIQUITIES SCHEME,
and
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
IDENTIFICATIONS SERVICE:
Wendy Scott (0116) 265 8325
email: wscott@leics.gov.uk
YOUNG ARCHAEOLOGISTS CLUB:
Pete Liddle (0116) 265 8326
ARCHAEOLOGY STAFF IN THE
HISTORIC AND NATURAL
ENVIRONMENT TEAM
SENIOR PLANNING
ARCHAEOLOGIST:
Richard Clark (0116) 265 8322
email: riclark@leics.gov.uk
ASSISTANT
PLANNING
ARCHAEOLOGIST
(SITES
AND
MONUMENTS RECORD):
Helen Wells (0116) 265 8323
email: hwells@leics.gov.uk
Fax (0116) 265 7965
Heritage Services
Room 500, County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester, LE3 8TE
(0116) 265 8324 Fax:(0116) 265 7965
LEICESTERSHIRE
COUNCIL MUSEUMS
COUNTY
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.
COLLECTIONS
RESOURCE
CENTRE
Barrow-upon-Soar, Leicestershire.
Tel: (01509) 815514. Guided visits by
appointment with the Site Manager,
Fred Hartley. Appointments to examine
collections should be made with the
relevant collection curator, but will
normally be between 10.00-3.30 MonThurs, and 10.00-3.00 Fri. Contact:
Archaeology - Richard Pollard (0116
264 5803 or 01509 815514); Art and
Costume - Philip Warren (01509
815514) (but note that for operational
reasons Philip will not be available until
the summer of 2005); Geology - Susan
Cooke (01509 233754); Home and
Family Life - Fiona Ure (01530
278442); Natural Life - Tony Fletcher;
Working Life - Fred Hartley (both
01509 815514).
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.
ENVIRONMENTAL
RESOURCES
CENTRE (HOLLY HAYES)
216 Birstall Road, Birstall, Leicester,
LE4 4DG. Open 10.00-4.00 Mon-Fri by
appointment. Tel: (0116) 267 1950.
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;
9.15-7.30 Wed; 9.15-4.45 Fri; 9.1512.15 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: vacant post.
There are many other museums and
historic buildings in Leicestershire and
Rutland open to the public, run by the
voluntary
sector
and
other
organisations.
Details should be
available at your local library, or log on
to www.lrmf.org.uk .
THIS NEWSLETTER HAS BEEN
PRODUCED
BY
THE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
SERVICES
TEAM FOR THE LEICESTERSHIRE
HARBOROUGH MUSEUM
Heritage Services
Room 500, County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester, LE3 8TE
(0116) 265 8324 Fax:(0116) 265 7965
AND RUTLAND ARCHAEOLOGICAL
NETWORK
Heritage Services
Room 500, County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester, LE3 8TE
(0116) 265 8324 Fax:(0116) 265 7965