When we team up with local schools to demonstrate archaeology, we inevitably find that the children are absolutely fascinated to learn about what's beneath their feet. So it was with the youngsters at East Park Academy in Stow Heath, who were absolutely thrilled to take part in our dig for their History Week.
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Explaining the basics of archaeology
Sieving the spoil
Sieving the excavated soil is always the most exciting part for children (and adults!) as you never know what might come to light.
As can be seen from the map below, in the early 1800s, the area in which the school now sits was surrounded by iron-smelting furnaces and coal mines. In fact 'Stow Heath Furnace' was literally a stones throw to the east of the site and Chillington Furnace was a little further away on the other side. No surprise then, that blast furnace slag featured amongst our finds but we also found evidence of post-medieval domestic activity, including pottery.
This work is based on data provided through www.VisionofBritain.org.uk and uses historical material which is copyright of the Great Britain Historical GIS Project and the University of Portsmouth.
The test pit uncovered lots of building rubble and iron-making slag
One of the things that struck us about our visit was how very well behaved and happy the children were, truly a credit to the staff at East Park, and we were delighted to receive this letter from the Head Teacher:
