Community digs to reveal village history
THOUSANDS of pounds are being pumped into a community project to help local people learn more about the history of their village.
A £29,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant is backing a two year initiative organised through the Market Bosworth Society and University of Leicester.
The community archaeology project, called Bosworth Links, will give residents the chance to carry out digs, with the aim of uncovering millennia of shared heritage on their doorsteps.
Nigel Palmer, chairman of the Market Bosworth Society and the Bosworth Links steering committee said they were delighted with the grant and the support of the university’s archaeological services team.
He added: “We hope the project and its findings will be of value not only to our local communities but also of interest to the growing number of tour- ists in the area.”
To the world Market Bosworth is probably best known for giving its name to the 1485 Battle of Bosworth, where the last Yorkist king of England, Richard III, was slain.
In recent years this defining moment in history has helped draw in thousands of visitors and tourists, especially following the discovery of Richard III’s remains in 2012 and his reinterment in 2015 with Market Bosworth on the route of the king’s funeral cortege.
The village’s own history, however, remains obscure. Previous finds of Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman and Viking artefacts show it has rich archaeological potential but leave many unanswered questions, particularly regarding the origins and early development of the settlement.
Now thanks to Bosworth Links, residents and the wider community can carry out archaeological excavations, by digging test-pits and recording their findings, in their gardens and other places around the town.
Mathew Morris, project manager for the university’s archaeology team said: “Bosworth Links is a fantastic community archaeology project to be involved with. Our research of ‘currently occupied rural settlements’, known as CORS, is often hampered by the fact that we can’t excavate large areas in modern settlements.
“However, it has been successfully demonstrated that test-pit excavation, where a 1m square pit is dug and recorded in a scientific manner to recover artefacts present in the soil, is a remarkably effective means of recovering useful archaeological information from sites that otherwise can’t be dug up.
“Even better, this type of excavation can be done by anyone. No previous experience is necessary, we provide all the on-site training you need and it’s a fun way to involve your family, friends and neighbours and learn something about where you live.”
The Project is open to everyone with no previous experience necessary. Free training, on-site support and analysis if discoveries will be provided by university archaeologists.
News on finds will be reported back to the community through a variety of public events and activities aimed at families, groups, businesses, and schools.
The first ‘big dig’ will take place over the weekend July 22-23 during the Leicestershire and Rutland Festival of Archaeology, part of the Council for British Archaeology’s national Festival of Archaeology.
The Project is supported by The Heritage Lottery Fund, and the Dixie Educational Foundation, Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, The Richard III Legacy and Market Bosworth Parish Council.
Anyone interested in taking part should visit marketbosworthsociety. com/bosworth-links/ to register, or call Hinckley 293659.