Aspull Ring Ditch Progress

We are now well into our fourth season on our Bronze Age site in Aspull and we are making good progress. Up to the end of last season we had collected a total of five cremation burials, two in urns and three in pits (one being in a strange clay-line pit). It seemed more than just good fortune that two of the burials had turned up in only the second trench we dug in the central area, surely there must be more. This year's work therefore has started with a deturfing exercise to uncover as much of the mottled clay layer as we can in the central area. The mottled clay layer lies under the topsoil, sealing all the other layers below it (i.e. the burnt and stony layers overlying a thick band of soft sandy clay). The burials were found within the mottled clay layer so, if there are anymore, exposing this layer should be enough for us to see them (but nothing has turned up so far).

Last month we were fortunate to have a visit from Ben Dyson for GM Archaeological Advisory Service. His main interest is Prehistory and he has worked on Bronze Age sites similar to ours in the past. The urns he's lifted include the one at Luzley (the subject of last month's talk). His guidance therefore is invaluable and he has promised to help with the lifting of our urns. We can see that our urns have been inserted into pits and Ben's advice is to gradually excavate these pits, wrapping the urns in bandages as we go. Once they become free, it should be safe to remove them intact so that they can be taken to somewhere for micro-excavation.

As for our other burials, one has already been fully excavated, the other two only partially but we now have quite a lot of cremated bone that needs processing. With this in mind, we have invited osteological experts to come and inspect our collection, particularly those in situ. This is to give us advice on how to proceed with their removal and how to have them analysed. This will certainly have a cost and it is hoped that we will be able to get financial support for this process.

Other activities on site have been to clean out the ditches which have suffered major collapses over the winter months. In Trench 6/6a the baulk between the two has been completely remove now revealing a fine flat bedrock bottom. Cleaning out Trench 1 has revealed some layer we haven't seen before, suggesting different phases of back filling. Trench 7 has revealed a collection of stones at the bottom which could represent a feature of some kind. As usual you can find more details of our latest progress on our website here.

In 2023 (as reported in our Newsletter 260) we completed a detailed survey of Wigan's Parish Church Tower. This was led by Peter Layland who has now completed his research paper on it which will be published shortly. In the meantime, if you are interested in the Church's history and its witness of the Christian faith over a thousand years, Peter is offering 3 guided tours of the Church and its churchyard. These will take place during the summer months, with dates as follows:

• Saturday 7th June at 11.30am
• Wednesday 16th July at 1.15pm
• Saturday 9th August at 11.30am

There is no need to book and the tours are free. Meeting point is the main south door of the Church and the tour will last just over an hour. As well as describing the building and its rich history, it will also cover some of the latest discoveries from his research and our survey.

Wednesday 7th May - at the Real Crafty on Upper Dicconson Street starting at 7.30pm as usual. This month Graham Hanley, our very own Roman historian, has stepped in to fill a gap in our programme. Having already given fascinating talks on the Roman port of Ostia and the more obscure monuments of Ancient Rome, this month he will be taking us on a stroll down the Apian Way. With his knowledge of the subject, it's sure to be another good one, hope to see you then - BA.