Processing the Burials at Aspull
In February (Newsletter 284) I reported on the remarkable results from our first batch of cremated bone from Feature F13 (a plain pit on the north side of the rising sandy clay mound – see below). Since then all the bone removed from Urn 1, has been cleaned and sent to the University of Lancashire (ULan) for analysis by Dr Sam Walsh. Sam has also returned the bone from F13 to the Bolton facility. Work there on the material from F4 (the clay- lined pit) is also complete with all the boxes being deposited at the facility. Bone from F12 (the burial below two large stone slabs) has now been cleaned and will soon be ready to send to ULan (together with F4).
As you can see from this femur, some of the fragments from the F12 burial are quite large so it will be fascinating to see what Sam can gleen from these remains. We have already obatained a Carbon14 date from this burial and suprisingly it came to have a similar date as the bone from Urn 1 (between 1700 and 1875 BC). It was hoped this might be earlier as it was lower down in the site’s stratigraphy (a wide date range means it’s still likely to be earlier).
It has been decided that we will remove the material from the two remaining burials i.e. F2 (under Urn 2) and F9 the newly discovered burial. This is because they are both at risk of deterioration over the winter months - F2 is on top of the rising mound and F9 is at the bottom of the trench which is liable to flooding. The remnants of F4 (the clay-lined pit burial) will be reburied in clean sand. This will help to preserve it for future investigation. Regarding the future, all the bone from the various burials will be returned to the site before the summer of 2029 in accordance with our licence to remove human remains. It is thought we should commision pots (similar to the ones discovered) for their internment. Site work has continued on areas to the south and southwest sides of the rising mound. This is to check for any more burials and try to understand the nature of the burnt layer. Extending the cut through the southwest side of the rising mound has also revealed a collection of large stones at depth running underneath the mound.
The box-like arrangement of stones (F22) at the centre of the circular kerb feature is continuing to be investigated and we still haven’t found the extent of the stony layer on the northwest side of the monument, so there’s still plenty for us to be doing before the end of the season. As usual more details on our site diary here.
Eddie Pennington
It was really sad to hear the news last month of Eddie’s passing. Although one our longtime members, Eddie had not been to one our meetings for quite a number of years (mainly due to a clash with his other passion, war gaming). Eddie was our chairman for at least 5 years sometime before 1994 to 1999. Our Society records before then are vague as it was the time of the ‘Committee of four Bills’. Our secretary at the time, one of the Bills (not me) managed to have his briefcase stolen with all our records in it. Eddie had joined long before then and, during his time as chairman, saw us through some difficult times. Our condolences go out to his wife Mary who herself has served as our treasurer over many years.
GM Archaeology Day
This will be on Saturday 28th November, once again at the Salford University's Peel Hall. The full line up of speakers has yet to be published but I do know some. As well as Patrick giving an update on our site’s progress, Derek Cartwright will be giving a rundown of the all the ancient monument on Winter Hill and Anglezarke. This will be to give context to the talk being given on the recent Two Lads monument project on Winter Hill, its excavation and reconstruction (as mentioned last month in Newsletter 290). I will send more details and how to book as soon as I get them.
Next Meeting
Wednesday 6th October – at the Real Crafty on Upper Dicconson Street, starting at 7.30pm as usual. We are delighted to welcome Graham Mottershead from Team Civic (he was originally booked for May but due to illness Ollie Cooke was able to step in at the last moment). Graham for a long time worked for the Salford Archaeology Unit carrying out many excavations around the region. He will be reporting on these and also more recent ones during his time at Civic (including his work on the Two Lads project). - hope to see you then - BA.