Pupils really dig lessons in archaeology
PUPILS from primary schools in Runcorn joined with staff at the Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy virtually during the last half-term to explore the archaeology of their town.
Pupils registered to take part in the activities organised by the Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy Archaeology Club, and received a kit pack containing all the resources needed for four lessons involving exploration, investigation and creation.
The first week involved working with Mr McArthur, geography teacher and former archaeologist, to track how Runcorn has changed over the 700,000-year period humans have been on the British Isles; producing impressive tea-stained timelines on what they learnt.
The whole of the second session was dedicated to exploring the mysterious Iron Age of Runcorn which is relatively undocumented. The Cornovii tribe which lived in Cheshire
2,500 years ago left little for archaeologists to uncover. Pupils spent time carefully trying to recreate Iron Age pottery, one of the few things found in this area!
Mr Crawley, history teacher, led the third week, delving into the history of Halton Castle. This session covered the long span through the ages that Halton Castle was used, from a Medieval castle to a Royalist stronghold and Civil War fortress.
Pupils went on to design and build their own cardboard castle which would have easily defended against marauding invaders.
The final session explored the history and archaeology of Norton Priory, one of the most excavated monastic sites in Europe right on the pupils’ doorstep in Halton.
One of the most iconic features of priories are their beautiful stained glass windows and therefore pupils enjoyed the task of designing and making their own stained-glass window out of card and tissue paper.