Excavation - Mons Pool (Nottinghamshire)

Mons Pool Excavation

Mons Pool Excavation, near Collingham, will be open to Nottinghamshire’s Community archaeology volunteer diggers once again this year. For those who don't know the site, it is a multi-period settlement by the River Trent near Collingham (photos from previous years are up in the 'see what we do' section on the NCC website). It's a multi-period settlement stretching from the Late Roman period all the way back into Stone Age prehistory. It's a really great site, owned by LaFarge and excavated by the University of Salford. Excavation has taken place there for several years as the site is due to become a quarry. For the past few years Community Archaeology has worked with the University of Salford's team to open the site to volunteers, through the Heritage Lottery Funded Trent Vale project. This year is the LAST YEAR of excavation on the site, so this will be your last chance to contribute to the exploration of this settlement.

30th July to 3rd August - Archaeological Field School
This week is the Field School week. If you are interested in really getting to grips with archaeological fieldwork and learning about all the processes, then this week is for you! If you want to attend the field school you will be asked to come for the full 5 days, during which time they will take you through the processes of excavation and hopefully give you a really good grounding. This week will be ideal for the student or keen amateur. No experience necessary.

6th August to 17th August - Volunteer Excavation Fortnight
This fortnight is for anyone to come along to, whether you want to try your hand at excavation just for a day, or if you want to come for a longer period. No experience is necessary as we will take you through the processes. Please note; this is a commercial site and as such Community Archaeology are unable to offer weekend sessions.

18th August - Open Day
The dig site will be open to visitors, with finds on display and guided tours of the archaeology.

During the excavation there will be a variety of workshops for volunteers to get involved in, as well as the opportunity to help reconstruct one of the Roman pottery kilns found on the site. More details will be available as we get closer to July.

E-mail community.archaelogy@nottscc.gov.uk you would like to take part, or if you want to book. Spaces are limited and will be allocated on a first-come-first served basis. The excavation is unsuitable for young children, and anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

News - Major Roman find near Newark

ARCHAEOLOGISTS believe they have uncovered the remains of a Roman village at an excavation site in Collingham, near Newark.

Researchers from Trent and Peak Archaeology unearthed a range of artefacts during a year-long excavation at Tarmac's Langford Quarry in Newark Road.

Discoveries included eight stone-lined wells – an unprecedented number for the region – and 26 human burials, as well as vast amounts of pottery dating from the first century to the fourth century AD.

Archaeologist Lee Elliott, of Trent and Peak Archaeology – a commercial archeological unit based at the University of Nottingham – led the research.

He described the scale of the findings as one of the "largest and most significant" collections of Roman artefacts recovered in the region.

He said: "We believe this site resembled a Romano-British village, very few of which have been identified along the Trent Valley – single farmsteads being the norm.

"The village appears to have been sub-divided into areas for living, working and burial.

"The exceptional range of artefacts for a rural community suggests prosperity, possibly built on large-scale animal husbandry and associated products servicing the nearby Romano-British towns at Brough and Lincoln."

Archaeologists also discovered bones of animals, including cows, sheep, pigs, horses, dogs and deer, which do not normally survive on acidic sandy sites.

Mr Elliott said the site provided "fresh insights into the everyday rural life during this period".

He added that archaeologists were particularly impressed with the discovery of the stone-lined wells, each of which are about two to three metres deep, because no other site in the region had ever uncovered so many.

All had been built on a timber raft base and animal bone and pottery were found in the shafts after they were emptied of the silt which had filled them.

"The wells appear to be for communal use," Mr Elliott said.

"They may have been built in response to contamination of the nearby river which was used for watering animals and rubbish disposal.

"The number of wells reflects the size and wealth of the community they served.

"The wells have provided exceptional finds including complete Romano-British pots lost 1,800 years ago and well-preserved timbers with toolmarks."

Other findings include several Romano British brooches, 200 coins, iron knives, pins, buckles, rings and lead weights.

The quarry's owners, Tarmac, had agreed with Notts County Council to strip all the remaining land that needed to be worked in one go, so that archaeologists had the maximum opportunity to look at it.

Neil Beards, Tarmac's estates manager, said: "We're thrilled this approach has rewarded us with such significant finds, that may not have been discovered if we weren't quarrying here.

"We really have been taken aback at what has been uncovered on the site."

For more information visit www.nottingham.ac.uk/tpa

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Major-Roman-near-Newark/story-13359342-detail/story.html

Festival of British archaeology - Mons Pool (Besthorpe/Collingham)

Just a reminder that the Mons Pool Excavation will be open to the public this weekend, on SUNDAY 24th July, between 10.30am and 3.30pm. The site will be signposted from Collingham.

There will be guided tours of the site, and the opportunity to see some of the finds and talk to the archaeologists. There will also be 2 guided walks of the neighbouring nature reserve; one leaving at 10.30am, the other leaving at 2pm.

Please be aware that this is a working excavation site, so you are advised to wear appropriate sturdy footwear.

Community Archaeology - Knaith & Collingham Riverside Surveys (Cancelled)

Not surprisingly this weeks fieldwork by Nottinghamshire Community Archaeology has been cancelled!

Community Archaeology - Knaith & Collingham Riverside Surveys

Community Archaeology will be doing two surveys along the river Trent this month:

The first is around Knaith on the 15th November and the second around Collingham on 30th November.  

For further details get in touch with them via e-mail at community.archaeology@nottscc.gov.uk, phone 0115 977 2160 or via the website at http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/home/environment/heritage/archaeology/communityarchaeology.htm