TAMESIDE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY LTD

Marlene, a TAS member, recently came up with another kitchen utensil that
probably broke its handle some 5000 years ago.

A keen digger, Marlene discovered the stone whilst digging on a TAS site near Mottram.

The stone is local fine sandstone and  has been reduced down in thickness
and shaped. The edges show the tell-tale effects of its use with wear
along two sides. The stone would have been longer but has broken when
being used in the prehistoric period. It was discovered in an
area of the dig along with flints and stakeholes that may be associated
with the production of daily-needed materials or the processing of food.

This artefact, along with other stones found on the prehistoric site, suggests that a number of people might have been using stone tools, either within one  or several generations from this period, a time when many people farmed the land.

This view from local moorland, overlooking Manchester, shows TAS volunteers deturfing in preparation for a fresh dig on an old site where we are looking to build on previous knowledge, supplemented by the results of carbon dating.

A magnetic anomaly a few metres away revealed a fire pit which was dated to around 6000 years BC.

The mesolithic site has further anomalies which are going to be evaluated by volunteers over the next two weeks under the supervision of Ron Cowell, Curator of Prehistory at Museums Liverpool.

Further excavation of our trench has unearthed a number of new finds, including flints, fire-cracked stones and ochre. Recording of finds has begun, as well as drawings of prehistoric occupational levels.

An item of more immediate interest, but of unknown provenance, was the pipe bowl pictured below. Fragments of clay pipes, especially the stems, are frequent finds. To discover a bowl that has survived the plough is a rarer pleasure. The date of the bowl has little if any relevance to this particular excavation, but that does not mean it would not be interesting. A number of factors, such as materials, shape, size and decoration can guide an expert to give at least a rough estimate. Sherlock Holmes would have no difficulty in giving it a precise date. Not even a three-pipe problem!

TAS have recently reopened a former trench following confirmation of new
stone age activity (Neolithic).

Carbon dates obtained from our previous excavations suggest people were living near Mottram in Tameside around 3300 BC, using a hearth to heat and perhaps cook food. Stones discovered around the hearth were modified as tools. These, along with the flints also found, would indicate that the people had adequate implements to live.

Previously, large postholes were discovered around a hearth. These suggest that a roof might have been supported. Further extension of the trench will look for additional postholes which would assist in detecting the shape of any building.

If anyone is interested in being involved, do get in touch online to join as a member.

Recently one of our members, Kevin, has been involved in delivering a four-week course as part of a well-being project in Heywood.

The course involved practical geophysics, access and archaeological discussion of St Luke’s Parish Church, finds-handling and drawing.

The pictures below show some of the very involved participants.

A few months ago someone drew our attention to some lidar images of an area on the Stalybridge and Hyde border. There appeared to be an anomaly that was interpreted as possibly an agger, i.e. raised earthwork that, given its linear appearance, could have been evidence of a Roman road.

The most accessible section was fortunately owned by Tameside and the council readily gave us permission to carry out some geophysical research.

Work is ongoing , using both a magnetometer and a resistivity meter, to try to find further evidence to back the theory.

Such surveys requires a lot of painstaking work. The equipment can only be employed after a lot of careful measuring, marking out and setting up. The data is later fed through software that produces images which can then be interpreted by the team.

It may well be that no further evidence will be found and that it was a false lead. However, this does not mean that the work was a waste of time, as knowing what is not there is sometimes as valuable as knowing what is.

The pictures show some of the team at work one sunny Sunday morning.

As we begin to look forward to getting back in the field we are initiating a series of refresher sessions for when we eventually come out of lockdown.

It WILL happen – honest!

The first is this Thursday, via our new friend Zoom and concerns basic drawings and associated contexts. Good for newcomers and also for those of us who have simply forgotten what a field looks like.

We have an ongoing project in Tameside which involves the recording of gargoyles and grotesques on our ancient buildings. Work was carried out some time ago on Ashton Parish Church, for instance, and more recently we have been scaling the heights of the C15th bell tower at St Michael and All Angels in Mottram.

Thankfully, we haven’t really had to learn free climbing or abseiling and it is quite remarkable what can be achieved with out-sized, home-made selfie sticks.

The two pictures  below give a flavour of the faces that have been waiting all this time to greet us. Is it significant that the one with a smile on its face has survived better than the other?

Happy Chappy Grotesque

Poorly Corbel. Cheer up, old chap! We haven’t forgotten you, anyway.