Aspull Ring Ditch Developments

It was particularly dry last month, which was great for our volunteers, but it dried out the ground making it more difficult to excavate. Despite this we have made great progress uncovering more and more of the mottled clay layer. This has revealed some interesting patches containing charcoal and some cremated bone but, as yet no more burials. We've also been able to clear all of our ditches ready for potential visitors. As reported in last month's Newsletter, we have been talking with osteologists about what to do with our large collection of cremated bone i.e. how to have it processed and analysed. We were very pleased therefore to welcome Dr Sam Walsh on site last month to inspect our finds and give her advice on them. Like everyone who visits our site, she was amazed at the size of the monument and quality of our excavations. Sam is a lecturer at UCLan and has a lot of experience working with cremated bone. She has worked on the remains from various sites including the Morecombe Bay Bronze Age Barrow excavated by Dig Ventures. She was able to give helpful advice on the excavation of the bone still in situ and how to prepare it for analysis. She also said that, if we wanted, she would be available towards the end of the year to carry out its analysis. We've also made good progress preparing the two urns ready for lifting later this month. We are however having some difficulty with our second urn as it appears to have a cremation burial lying in a pit underneath it. The urn itself is in poor condition with pieces already falling off it. It is unlikely therefore that we will be able to extract it intact. The loose pieces though have enabled us to peer inside, and this has revealed it to be mostly empty. We will however attempt to block-lift it together with any contents lying below it.

We have also been in contact with both Wigan and Bolton Museums who have kindly offered rooms where we can remove the contents of the urns. Bolton have also offered facilities for processing the cremated bone (i.e washing and drying it). As usual you can follow our latest progress on our dig diary here.

If you missed last summer's history tour of St Wilfrid's Churchyard Standish (as reported on our blog site here) you will be able to get another chance this month. Jim Meehan will be conducting his next tour on Saturday 21st June, meeting at the Church at 1pm. Jim's tour is very entertaining with fascinating stories about the famous, not so famous and sometimes infamous people from around the region who ended up there - a place where coal miners lie next to Baronets and cotton Barons alongside cotton weavers. The tour costs £2 which is payable on the day. Coffee and cake will be available in the Parish Hall after the walk. To book please email archives@wigan.gov.uk. If you want more info ring Jim on 07749293030..

Wednesday 4th June at the Real Crafty on Upper Dicconson Street starting at 7.30pm as usual. This month we will be having our friend from Liverpool Museum, Vanessa Oakden who is curator there. She will be giving her talk entitled "Merseyside in Seven Digs". Merseyside has a rich and varied heritage, where humans have been modifying the landscape for more than 10,000 years. Vanessa's talk explores the archaeology of the region through the lens of seven significant excavations, which will highlight some key finds and what they can tell us about region's heritage. Sounds absolutely fascinating, hope to see you there -BA