Adventures of the Fob Seal by Athersley South Primary School

Download and read the Adventures of the Fob Seal, a booklet collage of work produced by Athersley South pupils who dug test pits this year.

Adventures of the Fob Seal

Week 3 - Young Archaeologists Dig In

Richard Newman School saw the opening up of 9 pits along the edge of the sports field.  The first group of 50 appeared on the horizon and immediately swarmed down to their pits.  With a brief explanation the young community archaeologists got straight to work reducing the pits in depth and learning and questioning as the went.  The enthusiasm was limitless the volunteers in stunned shock.  However after a revitalising brew with Greek honey we got back to our feet ready for the afternoon session with another 50 young community archaeologists.

Athersley North School allowed us to dig across a corner of the field which unfortunately had been recently landscaped and consisted of made ground of modern building materials.  7 test pits were opened up, but none were completed.  However again the enthusiasm was enormous as was the children’s ambitions to get down to Australia.

Athersley South School was incredible privilege to work at with facilities laid on and the weather was perfect.  Yet again the children were very keen on using all the tools, digging and sieving the spoil.  Beryl’s granddaughter Sophie got a real taste for archaeology, clearly a ‘chip of the old block’ (sorry Beryl). 

setting out the test pits in the morning

Yet again the children were very keen on using all the tools, digging and sieving the spoil.  Beryl’s granddaughter Sophie got a real taste for archaeology, clearly a ‘chip of the old block’ (sorry Beryl). 

We had no real expectations of significant archaeology until during the afternoon Cole turned up a Georgian piece of jewelry.  

Cole's find of the month (TP40)

This was confirmed by the Portable Antiquities Officer for South Yorkshire, Ms Eleanor Cox, as a fob seal of late Post-medieval date (AD 1700-1800).  Fob seals were used to mark the wax that used to seal envelopes and hung round the writer's neck, and evidences just how aspirational and communicative Athersley folk were during the Late Post Medieval period.

So an exhausting but deeply rewarding time had by all, more anon - Chris Scurfield 2013

week 2 (down the pits)

Week 2, saw the targeting of 10 test pits right across the ward, but concentrating on Beryl's garden due the excellent catering.

 TP 13 within the church grounds revealed evidence for the made ground which was characterised by at least two tipping episodes.

 TP 15 was significant as it encountered a dog burial which we were able to confirm, after detective work within the local community, was called ‘Chippy’.  Also still lurking in the TP15’s garden is a ‘Blue Peter’ time capsule so a possible target for next year?

 

TP15: ‘Chippy’ RIP

The Finds comprised mainly of brick and tile associated with house construction with pottery and glass, iron and glass slag.  Some pits we found evidence for clay pipes. Clay pipes survive as either round fragments of stem or the actual bowls many of which were decorated.  The presence of clay pipes probably related to the areas agricultural fields during the 19^th century with farmers stopping for a smoking break.  On a more modern note across many of the pits small quantities of asbestos were encountered, evidence of the original garden sheds erected at each property.

Two different test pits

Today we excavated two very different test pits.

Excavating at Regent Crescent

One in a garden on Regent Crescent near Laithes Lane had very few finds. Was the top soil brought in from somewhere else, after it had been sieved?

Excavating at St Helen's Church

The other was in the grounds of St Helen's church, Laithes Lane. The contrast could not be greater. We dug through a thick layer of building material, iron-working slag and rusty metal. This looks to be a make-up layer of waste to help level the ground. Was it put here during the 1940s-60s when Laithes Lane was built or improved?

Sylvia sieves for finds

 

Brooks digs at St Helen's Church

The Evidence Builds

Week 1, After a lot of digging we are all improving our finds recognition,  and I have 'mastered' laying out  a 1m test pit - not as easy as you would think.


General view of test pits 5 & 6

The range of finds has been amazing.   Modern plastics, sweet wrapers, nylon stockings and fragments of shed roofs,  house slates, bits of brick, tiles and glass have all been intermixed over the years and bear witness to changes in house fashion/decoration and garden architecture.

We can all now recognise iron and glass slags which were probably introduced onto the earlier fields which predate the modern housing, to make the clay soils easier to work.

Going back in history, the 19th century has been represented by clay pipes and scatters of pottery.

Prehistoric activity is suggested by the presence of 'pot boilers' heated stones used to cook food and even a flaked flint has been recovered which was knapped probably to make an arrow head .

 Test pit 7 - with spade marks cutting into the natural clay

For just what will be recovered in Week 2, watch this space

Kate deturfs test pit 2

Test pit number 2 is deturfed - at New Lodge Crescent.

Hands on History Barnsley - Test Pits Day 1 - the video

Finds processing

First day of finds cleaning and sorting with Beryl, Carol, Pearl and Sylvia.

First test pits

Day one of the 2013 season of test pits - New Lodge Crescent, with a visit from Barnsley Central MP and Shadow Minister for Culture and Heritage, Dan Jarvis.

Digging Test Pits

We start digging Hands on History test pits in Athersley and New Lodge tomorrow. First cut will be made by Dan Jarvis, Barnsley Central MP and Shadow Minister for Culture and Heritage. Thank you to Beryl Russell for arranging it.

Garden Archaeology

Athersley, New Lodge and Smithies' very own Time Team will be coming to gardens and schools around the area from Monday 2nd September.

Look out for this banner on front walls, fences or hedges - when you see it, it means our local Time Team are doing a small archaeological dig in that garden!

Each day we will dig a 1m by 1m archaeological test pit in two gardens. We have almost a full list of gardens for the 2013 dig season but still have room for more volunteers to help dig. The exciting part is, we don't know yet what we'll find from our area's past!

Please get in touch if you'd like to find out more or get involved. We'll also hold dig seasons in 2014 and 2015.

Romero Communities win Heritage Lottery Fund support

The Romero Communities have received £79,800 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for an exciting project, Hands on History, in Athersley and New Lodge. Led by volunteers from the local community, the project aims to help local residents discover the archaeological past beneath our feet and lead courses in archaeology and local history. The project begins in September and runs until May 2016.

Explaining the importance of the HLF award, Fiona Spiers, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund -Yorkshire and the Humber said “This exciting project will enable people to actively learn about the history of their local area and gain skills in archaeological investigation.  This project really will uncover the hidden heritage of Athersley and New Lodge, letting everyone get involved and learn about their community’s past!”

Carol Clair of Romero Communities says “We are grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund who have awarded the grant to look into the archaeological history of Athersley and New Lodge. This means we can dig archaeological test pits, do geophysical surveys and run courses in archaeology and local history. Anyone who would like to have a go at archaeology is welcome. You don’t need to know how to dig or do geophys as archaeologists will train and supervise you. We will also provide all equipment.”

The test pits will be dug in people’s gardens during September for the next three years. We are looking for finds such as old pots and clay tobacco pipes that can show how the area was used before the estates were built. In October, we also hope to do geophysical surveys of the area to the north to see what ancient features are buried beneath the soil. Pupils from all three local primary schools will also get the chance to join in. They will dig test pits in their school grounds and have lessons about archaeology.

Finds from the test pits will be shown at a Finds Road show in November.

If you live in Athersley or New Lodge and would like to find out how you can get involved contact Beryl Russell on 07516641796. We will also have stalls at the St Helens Gala, Laithes Lane pit fields on the 28^th August and New Lodge Celebration Event, on village green behind Roundhouse Medical Centre, 31^st August. Please come along for a chat. There is also a Facebook Group called Hands On History Barnsley.

Overview of Athersley Archaeology

Here is overview of known archaeological sites in and neighbouring Athersley and New Lodge.

Athersley and New Lodge Desk-Based Assessment

The area of Athersley, New Lodge and Smithies has only a small number of known archaeological features. The only sites situated in the study area recorded in the South Yorkshire Sites and Monuments Record prior to the start of this project are John Carr House and the associated moated manor farm at New Lodge (See desk-based assessment, site nos. 33-35), and the sites of two mills at Burton Smithies – a paper and corn mill and a fulling, paper and woollen mill (site nos. 42-43). Water for the mills was brought from the River Dearne along a mill leat (site 48). Further sites recorded in the SMR just outside the study area include St Helen’s Chapel and Well (sites 5-6), Royston Cross (site 9), East Gawber Hall Colliery Fanhouse (site 37), the Ridings post-medieval house at Monk Bretton (site 5), and the Barnsley Canal, opened by 1804, which passes just to the south-west of the study area (site 29-30).

Other known features within the study area include the cropmark of an Iron Age-Romano-British field system, recently identified by Chris Scurfield (site 3), a small number of farmsteads recorded in the 1854 and 1896 first editions of the Ordnance Survey (sites 51-54) and a late-19^th century railway line (site 49) associated with a range of 19^th – early 20^th century collieries lying just beyond the study area (sites 45-47, 50). The 1892 Ordnance Survey also records a gravel pit (site 57) and a quarry (site 58), described as old suggesting their abandonment by this date. There is also the small Carlton Reservoir (site 56).

The 19^th to 20^th century landscape development of the study area can be broadly characterised as rural farmland with woodlands until the second half of the 19^th century. The two mills at Burton Smithies were the main industrial features that were in existence prior to the mid-19^th century. From the mid-19^th century the area became more industrialised with the creation of a number of collieries and the railway line that serviced them. It is only after the Second World War that the residential areas were built that now form Athersley North, Athersley South and New Lodge.

Hands on History begins

This is the blog for the Hands on History project. Over the next three years we're going to dig test pits, look at finds, do geophysics and hold exhibitions about the archaeology of Athersley and New Lodge.

We're beginning with over two weeks of digging test pits in gardens and primary school grounds this coming September.

Then we'll have a geophysics weekend on October the 12th and 13th. We'll also do fieldwalking to look for artefacts in fields during the weekend.

We're also planning a Finds Roadshow and exhibition in November to show what we've found. We'll confirm the venue as soon as we have it.

We're also running tea time courses introducing archaeology and local history at Richard Newman Primary School. Each course lasts 8 weeks and is free!

The dates and times are:
Teatime History - Starting Monday September 23rd - 5pm to 7pm.

Teatime Archaeology - Starting Thursday September 26th -5pm to 7pm.

We'll post more news and a dig diary as the project gets going.

If you would like to find out more, volunteer or book a place on one of the courses email Bill - billbevan001@gmail.com