Newsletter 40

French Trip Details

Tom Glover is finalising the details of our trip to Angers, Wigan's twin city in France. The date is yet to be decided but it is likely to be on a weekend sometime in May. Tom has also obtained the use of a Wigan Council Mini-bus and is negotiating a small grant towards the overall cost of the trip. Besides Angers there will also be time to visit Falaise where one of the major battles of the 2nd World War took place. More details will be given at the meeting. If you are interested please contact Tom or myself on the night.

Chenehutte

At the meeting Tom will be describing recent work carried out around Anger, which includes excavations on a Roman site a few kilometres to the west on the southern bank of the river Loire. A Roman town has been uncovered on a plateau covering an area of over 40 hectares. The earth and stone bank, which still surrounds the site, survives to a height of 3 meters. The foundations of various buildings have emerged including a forum, shops and a temple measuring 11 meters square. The site seems to be centred around a crossing point of 2 major roads, one of which once led to a bridge over the Loire. Occupation of the site seems to date from the early part of 1st century although there is evidence of continuous use well into the 2nd century.

Chorley Arch. Society

Last month Tom Glover and I met with Jack Smith from the Chorley Archaeology Society to swap tales and see if there were common projects we could work on together. The Chorley Society are a long established group having been originally founded as long ago as 1954. They are still active in both fieldwork and historical research. After the meeting, we visited the Arley site to see some of the work we have been doing there over the last few years. Jack has a particular interest in industrial archaeology and remembers looking at this site himself many years ago. One project that we thought might be suitable for a joint operation is the Roman road at Hic Bibi. In 1984 the Chorley Society excavated there in a field just off Coppull Moor Lane and found evidence of the road, although greatly destroyed by ploughing. Jack has suggested that we could to use our geophysics equipment to survey the whole field.

The Chorley Society has a full programme for the coming year. If you are interested in the details please see me at the meeting.

Roman Roads

Alston Hall near Longridge is hosting a series of one-day courses on Roman Roads this year. They are to be held on Sundays between 10am and 4pm and will cost £20 per session. This seems very reasonable as it will include coffee, a 2 course lunch and afternoon tea. Here are the details:

• 22nd April - Parish Lanes to International Super Highways.
• 10th June - Strategic Links, Tactical Networks and Local Connections.
• 15th July - Roads Across Brigantia.
• 2nd September - Decline and Fall of the Roman Road.

Enrolment forms will be available at the meeting.

Next Meeting

Wednesday 7th February at the BP Centre (Scout HQ) in Greenough Street, at 7.30 pm as usual. This month's meeting is the AGM and so usual nominations are invited for society officials. Also please remember your annual subscription (£5) as this will guarantee your receipt of the monthly newsletter

. Hope to see you there - B.A.