A heritage group has been given permission to dig an archaeological pit near the site of a former mill in Bingham as it bids to uncover the town’s historic origins.
Bingham Heritage Trails Association is being allowed to dig a one metre square pit on land owned by Bingham Town Council at the top of Mill Hill.
It will search for evidence of a windmill dating from the late 18th or early 19th Century as the group continues its efforts to piece together the history of Bingham.
It has already dug 29 test pits and has so far uncovered Medieval and Roman rubbish pits, and evidence of Roman and 15th Century houses.
The group’s chairman, Mr Peter Allen, said: “We want to look for further evidence of a windmill at the top of Mill Hill.
“We will get an idea of what was going on in the yard and near the mill in the late 18th or early 19th Century.”
He said pits dug so far had proved very productive, with only two not turning up any evidence.
“We don’t know where Bingham originally was and so our purpose is to look for Anglo-Saxon origins,” he said.
“It is quite amazing what we have found. We find bits of pottery and work out the story from there.
“We have found evidence of a Roman house in the rectory garden so there could even have been pre-Anglo-Saxon habitation in Bingham.”
He said samples were sent off to experts who could date them and give an indication of their significance.
The pits typically take two or three days to dig and are then filled in.
The project is being paid for through a £32,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Mr Allen said all the information would be put on the association website and some funding had been put aside for a publication, possibly a book.
From: http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Digging-for-windmill-evidence
Bingham Heritage Trails Association is being allowed to dig a one metre square pit on land owned by Bingham Town Council at the top of Mill Hill.
It will search for evidence of a windmill dating from the late 18th or early 19th Century as the group continues its efforts to piece together the history of Bingham.
It has already dug 29 test pits and has so far uncovered Medieval and Roman rubbish pits, and evidence of Roman and 15th Century houses.
The group’s chairman, Mr Peter Allen, said: “We want to look for further evidence of a windmill at the top of Mill Hill.
“We will get an idea of what was going on in the yard and near the mill in the late 18th or early 19th Century.”
He said pits dug so far had proved very productive, with only two not turning up any evidence.
“We don’t know where Bingham originally was and so our purpose is to look for Anglo-Saxon origins,” he said.
“It is quite amazing what we have found. We find bits of pottery and work out the story from there.
“We have found evidence of a Roman house in the rectory garden so there could even have been pre-Anglo-Saxon habitation in Bingham.”
He said samples were sent off to experts who could date them and give an indication of their significance.
The pits typically take two or three days to dig and are then filled in.
The project is being paid for through a £32,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Mr Allen said all the information would be put on the association website and some funding had been put aside for a publication, possibly a book.
From: http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Digging-for-windmill-evidence
No comments:
Post a Comment