Archaeologists are using Environment Agency laser mapping data to rediscover hundreds of kilometres of ‘lost’ Roman roads.
Since 1998 the Environment Agency has used lasers to scan and map the English landscape from above to help with work such as flood modeling and tracking changing coastlines. But these LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data are also publicly available and have been used to help with everything from building virtual worlds to managing forests. In particular, it is helping to find lost Roman roads across the north of England. Click Here for the article.
This is the drain that empties the yard of rainwater
The gardening group was rained off for not the first time this winter. However, there is one job that benefits from rain and soggy ground. This is the clearing of grass and vegetation off cobbles as the water loosens the roots. So we had a ‘set-to’ on the cobbles against the raised planter bed we tackled earlier. The cobbles had been made worse recently by silt from the flooding over the Christmas period. We got a few hours in and cleared the worst. It next needs troweling between the cracks and a brush down, but we’ll do that when its a bit drier!
The spring bulbs planted at a recent session are coming through.
Why is London’s Garden Bridge worth as much as five Lancashire museums? Ask Joanna Lumley
The cultural shockwaves of the closure of the 5 Lancashire museums continues and, in this article, the issue is compared with what some see as a London vanity project, the cost of which would keep the Lancashire museums going for half a century. CLICK HEREfor the article.
After cuts forced Bradford to send its photo archive to London last week, battle lines are being drawn on the future of key museums outside the capital. CLICK HEREfor story.
Downfall of a political giant: Inside the eerie ruins of Britain’s biggest Conservative Club where the elegant ballroom and grand staircases are crumbling to dust. The Accrington Conservative Club building is a desolate shell in the town, near Blackburn, Lancs The building was the largest Conservative Club in the country when it first opened its doors back in 1891 Once celebrated for its grand ball room which hosted parties of up to 1,000 people, it now lies empty and decrepit The building was converted into a nightclub in the 1990s, but it closed in 2003 after a customer was killed outside Since then it has had multiple renovation plans rejected and narrowly avoided plans to have it partially demolished Read the rest and view a set of photos – click here
The remains of 800 children are among 1,967 bodies to be exhumed by archaeologists at St Peter’s Burial Ground in Blackburn. The bodies are being unearthed and moved ahead of the construction of a new section of road through the area.
Burnley Council has received initial support for the Padiham Townscape Heritage Initiative bid, from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the Padiham ‘Crafting the Future’ project. Click Here for more
Access has been granted to the Trough Laithe site by Pendle Council where up to 500 homes could be built. The area is believed to comprise parts of a medieval pasture enclosure, part of the Forest of Pendle vaccaries complex established around 1290.
In an often tetchy three hour meeting of Pendle Council’s Development Management Committee which saw councillors verbally clash with campaigners on several occasions, councillors voted in favour of Peel’s outline application seeking access to the site off Barrowford Road but reserving matters in terms of scale and design.
We had a nice time in the garden on a lovely sunny January day – perhaps the only one this year! We hardly needed the log fire in the shop. Both the walled garden and woodland are looking a lot better than they were this time last year – something which made us reflect on everyone’s efforts in 2015.
Our main target in early 2016, once the weather improves, will be the area at the end of the garden, in the shade.
Despite the cold weather a group of intrepid field walkers met at The Corner Café for refreshments and discussion of the walk.
We then drove to Bury Rd Rawtenstall, parking near The Whitchaff. We walked along Bury Rd and turned down a footpath which crossed the railway and led to a grassy area with items from the Irwell Sculpture trail. Crossing over the river we then admired the chimney of Hardman’s mill, on the way to the railway station.
Many people were congregating as The Flying Scotsman was due to arrive. We picked a vantage point and he came in, only 20 minutes late, backwards. After taking many photos we walked along the river and then into Hall Carr estate, pausing for lunch in a field overlooking Lambet Howarth’s mill and chimney, with a good view of Rawtenstall below.
After lunch we passed several old farms and a very snorty black pig and made our way along Lomas Lane towards Balladen. After looking at Balladen Old Hall (1687), and unusual sheep, Zwartbles, we negotiated a treacherous stile, made worse by ice, discussed the remains of Balladen Mill by the brook, and then walked across the field to Higher Clowes and then Lower Clowes, a picturesque hamlet.
We think we have found the Newhallhey vaccary winter pasture, now covered by housing. Report to follow.
We collected our cars. 15 minutes later it started to snow!
There is now a petition, Save Lancashire’s Archaeology from Cuts. If you wish to know more or to sign CLICK HERE.
The truly shocking cuts to services at Lancashire County Council are slowly becoming known. But one cut that seems to be under the radar is the closure of the County Archaeology Service and the Historic Environment Record at the end of March. This means that the Historic Environment Record Officer post will go and there will be no archaeology planning work, therefore allowing the loss of protection for Lancashire’s archaeology in the planning system and its unrecorded destruction.
On a cold January day, around 30 people attended the first afternoon talk of 2016. A teenage Jewish girl leaves Vienna on the Kindertransports in 1938 to escape the Nazis. Finally arriving in England and fostered by a wonderful British family she went on to marry at only 17 years old and become a mother to a daughter (Christine) and a boy. She died of polio when only 27 years old. During the initial months of her new life she learned English and left behind her story in a beautifully illustrated small book, now deposited in the Imperial War Museum. This was a moving and intensely human story supported by excellent illustrations. For those who’d like to know more Chris and husband Rod will shortly be publishing a book on the subject. We expect it will be avilable in the PHC bookshop.
Yesterday Dave Oyston (United Utilities) and I went up to the Cragg’s kiln dig site for probably the last time this year. The sun shone brightly and it was a joy to be there patching up the fencing and taking in the ever changing scenery. As you can see from the photos the light was beautiful and one was almost tempted to have a dip in T3b. It seems a fitting conclusion to this year’s activities in Pendle’s Hidden Valley.
Here is a recap of things to date. We have completed the first phase – a series of rapid survey field walks to identify sites for further study. Each of these field walks produced sites worthy of further investigation. Phase 2 – schedule and prioritise identified sites – has to some extent been done on the roll so that we could make use of the summer to start the next phase. Phase 3 is to carry out further investigation including full survey and/or possible excavation of the targeted sites.
Many of the sites identified in phase 1 were post-industrial. These have been noted & it is intended to produce a gazetteer of these later features at some point. Possibly the two most productive walks were to the north of Sabden, a village at the Western end of the study area, and the very last one. The rapid survey above Sabden was to establish if the area known as Craggs warranted more intense attention. It did & it does – of which, more later.
The final walk produced evidence of some of the earliest human activity in the valley bottom. Stray bits of Mesolithic chert debitage were found on opposite sides of the valley near the possible Iron Age site at Water Meetings. Right at the end of the day we found a possible chert knapping site, with a scraper and borer/awl amongst the debitage. The majority of this material is Mesolithic too. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reliable evidence of a Mesolithic site at such a low altitude in the study area.
The Mesolithic returns us to Craggs. Here we’ve found evidence of a Mesolithic microlith knapping site which we may excavate at a later date. This is at a more typical altitude of c1000 feet. On our initial survey walk of Craggs we realised that the site was far more complex than previously understood to be. It is probable that this area was the nexus of activity in the Early Mediaeval and immediately post Conquest. Further research needs to be undertaken on this. As it stands, we decided to make this area the focus of our excavations in 2015. To date we have carried out three digs in the vicinity. The latest is ongoing. In this excavation we have been unearthing what appears to be a double kiln feature. It is not giving up its secrets easily & at time of writing we have no firm evidence of what was being burnt. More of the feature will need to be excavated. We are most grateful to United Utilities and the tenant farmer for their continuing co-operation & assistance in our work at Craggs.
We are now well over a year into Pendle’s Hidden Valley Project and it has already thrown new light on the distant past of the area. We look forward to increasing local involvement and expanding the picture of the early history of this beautiful part of the North West. The search for funds to pay for the services of experts continues. We still need help with research and digging/walking. In the new year we will continue the programme of walks, the kiln dig will continue and there will be a series of more easily accessible digs too. Please feel free to join us. My thanks go to all those who have participated in any part of Pendle’s Hidden Valley Project or any of the other activities of the Friends’ archaeological group including those in Wycoller & the Rossendale area.
I hope you all have the Christmas and New Year that you desire and deserve.
Hopefully see you in 2016, including those of you outside the Pendle area.
Alex Whitlock
Christmas Eve 2015 Kiln Site Entrance
Kiln Site Overview – under the arrow T3 detail – Kiln Lining
