Page 20 - link magazine

20
Swindon Wide
Apart from laying down lots of clues, what did the Romans do for Swindon?
The archaeology project to excavate more of the Roman site at GroundwelI Ridge in North Swindon during June and July attracted lots of publicity.
partly as a result of Channel 4s Time Team's Big Dig close-by. Now that the dig area has been covered up and the dust has settled, English
Heritage Project Officer Pete Wilson provides the definitive assessment on the summer's exploration.
The excavations con- that still runs on the site and damaging it, due to the construc-
ducted by the English Her- produced a selection of Ro- tion method that will be employed.
itage Centre for Archaeol- man finds including pottery, We had visits from several local
ogy in co-operation with tile and a single coin, as well schools who were shown the site
Swindon Borough Council "rte LI as a Neolithic flint scraper and had the archaeological proc-
were an undoubted suc- ''" dating to sometime in the ess explained to them by team
cess. period 4,500 to 2,500 BC. members. There were over 500
We investigated five ar ► At the top of the hill next to other visitors during the course of
eas and learnt much that ^ the stone cistern or the excavation and over 800 dur-
was new about the site. as - y^ nymphaeum (water shrine) ing the two days that Time Team
well as establishing thatthe found in 1996 our trench were on site for 'The Big Dig'.
cycleways and footpaths demonstrated that the Over the National Archaeology
proposed by the council I cycleway would not damage Days weekend, more than 230 peo-
could be built with minimum significant archaeology here, ple took part in site tours and viewed
one of the few areas where an exhibition of finds and informa-
Swindon & damage to this important archaeo- the cycleways and footpaths will tion about earlier work on the site.
logical site. have to be cut into the ground. We hope to put on a similar exhibi-
Cricklade Railway On the southern side of the site. The trench only produced mod- tion in the library at the North Swin-
closest to the housing. we explored ern finds, with a glass medicine don District Centre in the Spring.
Friday 31st October two areas of what were probably bottle conveniently located in the Many local people returned regu-
gardens located between the main face of the trench at its deepest larly to see progress and at least
:•^ HALLOWEEN Roman buildings and the bound- point. What was of interest were one gentleman visited the site vir-
GHOST TRAIN ary wall found in 1996 when build- the origins of the gully that the tually every day to see how we
ing works first revealed parts of the cycleway will follow. were getting on.
6 m-8.30 P m site. It seems probable that it was an
P
On the slope of the hill towards early stream course from a time
TO PURTON TAD POLE StAndrew's Ridgeweemptied part when the springs rose higher up
of a trench dug by Thames Water the hill. This is important to our
Blunsdon As,aro NORTH before the importance of the site understanding of the site as it ex-
SWINDON
Station was known. In the sides of their plains how the stone cistern or
Tadpole Lane trench we found Roman archaeol- nymphaeum would have been sup-
Swindon. ogy 1 metre deep. This represents plied with water, as currently the
ICON.
(01793) 771615 swIND N the infilling of the course of a stream springs rise further down the slope.
Much to our surprise our fifth
trench on the western side of the
site was the most interesting. In it We hope to come back next year
we found a well-built stone culvert, and do a project that members of
J3ufrerffq T-))04W similar to those found in 1996, and the community can be involved
by Time Team. However, whereas with, although the scale and na-
at Studley Grange Garden & Leisure Park the earlier discoveries were Ro- ture are still to be agreed.
on Hay Lane, south of M4, junction 16 man. ours was late medieval or Further information on the project
later as it overlay a feature that can be found on the English Herit-
produced the late medieval button. age web-site: www.english-
Visit the tropics in Wiltshire, Despite the presence of the cul- heritage.org.uk , which will be up-
rain or shine, summer or vert, the steps that are proposed dated as we learn more over the
winter. for this area can be built without coming months.
Walk amongst some of the most
beautiful butterflies in the world, Spruce up for Lydiard playground
flying freely against a backdrop
of tropical plants and skimming The ever popular but deteriorating play equipment at Lydiard Park is
over fish filled pools - a truly benefiting from the 'Spruce up Swindon' campaign.
magical experience. Observe the full life cycle of
the butterfly from the tiny egg Swindon Council undertook
to the ever hungry caterpillar, some repair work at the end of the
through to the pupa stage summer holidays and has put in an
before emerging as a beautiful order to replace damaged equip-
butterfly. ment including the exciting aerial
runway.
Spiders. scorpions. mantis and
many more fascinating insects Cabinet lead member for Cul-
are on display in our mini beast tural Services and Recreation coun
Justin Tomlinson. said, "we have
House.
reassessed our budget to target
Other attractions at Studley
resources where it will be seen
Grange include:
Studley Grange Garden • Craft Village. most. Lydiard Park is one of Swin-
don's top play venues and it's ex-
and Leisure Park • Blooms Garden Centre cellent news for the many children
• World of Water r.-
Hay Lane, Wroughton, who use the equipment." Damon Twine and Hailey Lewis try-
• Pet Shed
Swindon SN4 9QT Sadly this year has been one of ing out the repaired balance swing
• Bonkers the worst forvandalism in the park, with coun Tomlinson. Colin Thurman
Tel: 01793 852400 children's with picnic benches destroyed and and Ian Spiers from Swindon Serv-
soft play a
info: studleygrange.co.uk paint being dawbed all over the ices and Bill Fisher. Acting Deputy
area
walls of the visitor centre. Director of Swindon Services