Mosley Common Update

In March last year (Newsletter 267) I reported on David Ratledge's discovery of a potential route for the Roman road at Mosley Common. David had detected a ridge crossing the Common using LiDAR, roughly on the right alignment. It was slightly south of the traditional line suggested by Sibson and away from Sheep Lane where the road was said to have been found in the late 1950's. In 2021 evaluation trenches in advance of the housing development on the west side of Sheep Lane, failed to find any evidence of it (Newsletter 247). Could they have been looking in the wrong place? Last summer, as the new development continued to spread ever eastward, a series of new evaluation trenches were dug in the fields up to Honksford Brook. The excavations were carried by Rocket Environmental Services and, over four days in August, they were able to cover both suspected lines. I'm sorry to have to say though, that the road was not found in any of the fifteen trenches they put in. Some trenches revealed a certain amount of modern disturbance, but most had nothing in them, just subsoil on top of natural clay. This is disappointing and it makes you wonder where the road could have been. Sibson's description in the mid 19th century seems to be quite clear that it did cross these fields.

As it happens, last month saw another attempt to locate the road, this time on the north side of the guided bus lane. The work was carried out by Fenix Heritage, but once again the eight trenches they put in failed to find any evidence of the road. All is not lost however as the fields to the east of Honksford Brook has still to be looked at. Also, as I reported last year (Newsletter 266), Jim Meehan has been asked to research the area to the north and east of Cleworth Hall, fields that seem to be undisturbed - an opportunity perhaps for us to find it with a geophysical survey.

As usual not complete yet but, starting in March, arrangements have been made for us to visit the Heritage Centre in Horwich. Although quite small, this museum is an Aladdin's Cave of wonders. A planned temporary exhibition will start there in February on the Pre-history of the West Pennine Moors. This will include the Bronze Age artefacts from the Noon Hill burial site on Winter Hill. Derek Cartwright, who runs the Centre, will also be giving us a talk on both the Centre and the temporary exhibition.

On the same subject, in April we will be joined by Steve Milne, who is an independent archaeologist from Tameside. Since 2021 Steve has been excavating at a place called Luzley, near Mossley, on the east side of Manchester. The site includes a Bronze Age cairn. In 2022, a collared urn turned up, which was lifted the following year. Its contents have now been analysed and Steve will be reporting on this, as well as other features from this multi-period site.

In May, Vanessa Oakden from Liverpool Museum will be giving us a talk entitled Merseyside in Seven Digs.

More trips and talks have yet to be booked including one on Norman Redhead's Roman Fort site at Saddleworth. Jim Meehan has also promised another informative walk, this time around the plantation grounds of Haigh Hall.