Solway Wetlands Archaeology - Update and future events

Dear all

 We have received the attached from Grampus Heritage, who carried out the archaeological dig in Abbeytown this summer, about some forthcoming volunteering opportunities.

 Following on from the dig in the summer at Abbeytown, there are going to be some sessions to begin separating out the smaller bones from the gravel so that the bones can be assessed.  These sessions will take place in two blocks, 15th, 16th and 17th January (block 1) and 29th, 30th and 31st January (block 2). The venue for these workshops will be the Solway Discovery Centre in Silloth.

 There are also going to be a walkover survey of the Solway Marsh from Skinburness to Angerton from 1st to 5th December.  More information is in the attachment as well as details of where to park.

 If you would like any more information about volunteering on either of these sessions or anything else in the attachment please contact Joanne Stamper on joanne@grampusheritage.co.uk or 016973 21516

 Thank you

 Victoria Palmer

Administrator

Solway Wetlands Landscape Partnership Scheme

 Solway Coast AONB Unit

Allerdale Borough Council

Liddell Street

Silloth on Solway

Cumbria

CA7 4DD

 Telephone: 016973 33055

Website:    www.solwaywetlands.org.uk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/solwaywetlands

Twitter:      www.twitter.com/solwaywetlands

 -----Original Message-----

 It seems like a long time since we finished digging at Abbeytown in the summer. Shire horses in the trench, the sound of peacocks, lots of drains, pottery, glass and bones. Happy memories!

 The aims of the main excavation this year were to establish the arrangement of the refectory and the kitchen and to recover environmental samples from midden deposits and drains to learn more about the diet and subsistence of the monastery. We were successful on both counts, proving that the refectory had an east west alignment with the kitchen running north south from the south west corner of the cloister. In addition we located the vaulted cistern and main drain to the south and a ‘new building’ to the south of this. We believe that this building may be the infirmary (perhaps lay brother’s infirmary) as the position is very similar to the layout at Roche Abbey. Furthermore, this building was not as heavily robbed and may have been in use for some time after the dissolution which would also explain the better preservation. Abbot Richard of Melrose visited Holme Cultram in 1472. His visit was to preside over the election of a new Abbot but during this visit he also gave orders to rebuild the infirmary “and to supply the inner doors of the monastery with locks to keep out unwelcome visitors”! Evidence that the infirmary still stood as late as 1600 comes in the following quote from Collingwood and Grainger (1929):

"In 1557 it was ordered that the officer in charge of the domains may 'lie' there, and in 1593 John Synhous (Senhouse of Netherhall) as steward was commanded to be resident. The building so left was the Infirmary (le Sekeman House,) probably rebuilt in 1472 (p. 150) and still existing”

 The Leather:

 Some of you will remember that the material recovered from the Friar’s Garth main trench included several pieces of leather. Following the excavation, the leather was stored in water filled sample tubs, with the water regularly changed and the condition monitored. A few weeks ago we took the material to Tullie House where curator Tim Padley gave an initial assessment of the assemblage. Tim confirmed that many of the pieces are from medieval turnshoes, with several soles and parts of the uppers present. After some careful hand cleaning, it became apparent that many of the pieces had evidence of fine stitching. The assemblage also included a girdle (medieval belt) with the impressions of the decorative studs still visible. Tim has suggested that much of the material is a dump of cobblers waste relating to shoe repair rather than shoe making. The assemblage is important as it originates from a rural monastic site and not from a major population centre and it was therefore recommended that the material be conserved before being fully recorded. The leather is currently being conserved at Durham University and the process will be completed within 6 weeks. Durham are also carrying out species identification on some of the timber recovered from Friar’s Garth. When the leather is returned we would like to hold a leather recording workshop so that you can see and work with the conserved material. More details on date and venue will be coming soon. 

The Lovely Bones:

 You will no doubt recall the many white tubs of soil which were filled during the excavation this year. Most of these environmental samples have now been put through a system of flotation (flotting) to separate the heavy material from plant remains. The next step is to begin separating out the smaller bones from the gravel so that the bones can be assessed. It is already clear that many of the samples contain a great deal of fish bone, much of which is in a good state of preservation. Please can you help? We would like to begin sorting through this material in the new year and have timetabled two blocks of three days to start this process. These are 15^th, 16^th and 17^th January (block 1) and 29^th, 30^th and 31^st January (block 2). The venue for these workshops will be the Solway Discovery Centre in Silloth  http://www.solwaycoastaonb.org.uk/discovery.php We will be working from 10am to 4pm each day and hope that, with your help, we can make a real impact on the wealth of environmental material we have to process. We will provide equipment for 10 volunteers each day and hope that these will be informal and enjoyable social days in the dark of winter, where we can catch up, drink tea, have a chat and learn about bone identification while making real progress in this vital research strand of the project. Please let us know if you can come along for any of these days or even pop in for a few hours.

 Salt Survey

 In December last year we began a systematic walkover survey of the Solway Marsh from Skinburness to Angerton. During the four days completed last year we recorded several salt working sites and sandstone bridges and got as far as East Border without losing a single member of the team! We would like to achieve similar success this year and will pick up the survey where we left off. We aim to undertake 5 days of walkover survey from 1^st to 5^th December. The first parking and access point will be from Brownrigg Farm marked on the attached google earth image (‘Brownrigg Farm Access Point 1’). The landowners have kindly granted permission for us to park and access the land from there. So we will start at Brownrigg on 1^st December and when this area is completed (perhaps after 1 day?) we will move onto Saltcotes. The second parking and access point for Saltcotes is shown in the attached google earth image “Saltcotes Parking”. This is by a large metal double gate though the local farm informed us that we can park there as there are no cattle on the marsh at the moment. Survey days will be from 10:00am to 3:00pm so please bring a packed lunch along with warm clothing, wellies and waterproofs (wetsuit and snorkel are optional).

Please let us know if you can help with any of these activities. A timetable for more survey and excavation during 2015 will be coming soon.

 Best regards,

 Mark and Jo