Feature

Archaeology

Jason Baker and George Joyce, both of Melbourn, are very keen metal detectorists and archaeologists, and although it is a hobby, it seems to take up a great deal of their time.

Jason, as a small boy, used to follow George around when he was field walking and collecting, and became totally fascinated by the history to be found in the ground, and by local history in particular. At around this time Cambridgeshire County Council organised a dig on Castle Mound at Shire Hall, which Jason joined, and he was hooked for life!

They have found artefacts from every era, Mesolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, Celtic, Roman, Romano-British, Saxon and every period to the present. Apart from flint tools there are coins, (including quite a few Roman coins), pottery, weapons, stirrup and bridle fittings, jewellery, spindle whorls, weights, and recently a bronze-age axe. They also have a spectacular pair of 14 C keys which they found on the site of an earlier Melbourn water mill, a little downstream from Sheene Mill.

The most beautiful piece of jewellery, though unfortunately not from Melbourn, is a square-headed brooch (similar to the one found in Melbourn, see p. 20 of ‘A Glimpse into Melbourn’s History’, but much bigger.) It is unusual in that it has been repaired in antiquity, thus casting doubt on the theory that these elaborate brooches were only made to be used as grave goods.

Before embarking on a metal-detecting session a suitable piece of land has to be found. Field walking will reveal likely sites of occupation, by the number of shards (pieces of pottery) found. Aerial photography will also show ground disturbances and crop marks, and these days the Internet and Google Earth are good sources of likely sites.

Once a site has been located permission must be sought from the owner, whether a farmer, Parish Council or whoever.

Any finds must be reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, run by the Museum Libraries Archive, which records the item and details of where it was found, thus enabling a picture of the archaeology of that particular area to be built up.

In recent years the quality of finds has been deteriorating, due to the various substances used in modern farming, and Jason and George fear that in 20 or so years time there will be few finds of any quality remaining in agricultural areas.

Both Jason and George have worked with ‘The Time Team’ on a couple of occasions, and a programme made at Warboys earlier this year will be shown in the autumn. They thoroughly enjoyed this experience, and said how well they were looked after, in terms of tea, coffee and good meals! When asked how they came to be on the dig they explained that there is a ‘network’ of local archaeologists, and that they were contacted and asked to help. Unfortunately they were in the background, but we may be able to catch a glimpse of them! They were responsible for finding part of a medieval ecclesiastical seal, an exciting find, as until then it was not known whether the site had any monastic connections.

They are not only interested in ancient history, but Jason has recently been helping research material for the Cambridgeshire edition of the ‘War in the Skies’ series by Julian Evan-Hart. They were able to supply information, and remains of planes, including Battle of Britain cartridge cases, found in the Melbourn area.

George on a Time Team dig

continued on page 38 top left

Both are interested in enthusing people about their hobby, and, when his grandchildren were at the Primary School, George put together a “Touchable’ collection of Roman artefacts which was very well received. Jason’s 4 year old daughter is already a skilled metal detector wielder, and has her own machine!

Currently they are putting together collections for both Royston Museum and Shire Hall, which can be handled by young archaeologists.

In the past they have organised detecting ‘parties’ for charity, and raised a significant sum of money for Bassingbourn Church. They are very keen to have access to more sites to investigate, and will be grateful to hear from anyone who has available land. In the case of a charity event, a small charge is made for each detectorist. They carry insurance to cover such occasions.

They offer a free service to anyone who has lost a small valuable item of jewellery, such as a ring; as long as the owner has a good idea of where it was lost!

George has a large collection of bottles and flagons used in our locality, and is more than happy to identify them for you.

They also give slide lectures to schools and U3A groups. Contact George and Jason by phoning Jason Baker on 01763 220279

‘Portable Antiquities Scheme’ www.finds.org.uk The local officer at Shire Hall is Lizzie Gill 01223 717573 Editor

He did not bother using his swords until he was out in the open; he just ploughed them down. As soon as he was out of the tower, he became death to the Devil’s minions. He beheaded them, gutted them, hacked limbs off them, or split them down the middle. It made no difference: they all fell before him. None of them touched his armour or him, not with axe, sword, spear or any other weapon.

For a whole two hours, this carnage continued. He did not tire. The Devil’s minions eventually managed to encircle him and then a dozen of them charged him. When they had fallen, another dozen came. A thousand fell and they still charged. Ten thousand, and still they came. For seven days and seven nights he fought. He fought until, of the 13 million who began the siege, only a thousand remained; more than seven million had died by his sword.

The minions of the Devil came to fear him, more than they feared the Devil. They refused to attack him. Too many had fallen to him and thus the Devil, angered beyond reason, challenged the ‘man’ to a duel. The fight lasted seven blows; seven blows to the Devil. The eighth would have been Its end if It had not fled. It fled in the knowledge that Its creator wanted It dead, in the knowledge that Its greatest fear was a reality. And in the knowledge that the one thing that It could never beat had come to get It, to kill, destroy, obliterate the Devil. It fled.

Sorry but I have to read my favourite bit. Don’t worry, it’s only three lines.

For millions of ‘planet lives’ he has walked the universe and over the years he has thwarted the Devil’s plans countless times. He is said to wear dull-gold armour which, when the sunlight catches it, shines. Electric blue.

Well, there you have it: the start of my story. If you want to find out about the rest then you will have to read it. I hope I have filled in some of the blanks. Now if you will excuse me then I will go and carry on with the letter to the Lord of the Time Tower, expressing my gratitude for the new and very artfully penned copy of the Qawa an Miun.

Epilogue

“Well I did it, I wrote down every word he said.” “Well done. And you let him add bits he felt were necessary?” “Yes, he just added a load of footnotes and told me that I had done well to keep up with him.” “Well then, you have written it out in neat, haven’t you?” “Yes and I have added all the other things, like a title and… do you think I should add this?” “What?” “You know what we are saying here. It’s just that I have written it all down and I’m still writing it down.” “I think that it is for you to decide for yourself. I just gave you the idea.” “I think I shall.” “Then go add it to the story.” “Yes, marm!”

9 Yes, very artfully done it was. Well my old copy really did need replacing. It was in at least seven pieces and was held together by a mile of string.

by Rebecca Buggey - MVC

January 1st 2007 So, here I am again, looking forward to another year in my newly awarded “4-star” B & B. I can’t believe all that hard work paid off. Now I can just relax and look after my guests. Talking of which, I’ve been slaving over them since six o’clock this morning. I’ve cooked breakfast - yet another full English! - cleaned the rooms, washed sheets, tidied the farmhouse, fed the chickens and made two bookings for February. Just like any other day really! January 2nd 2007 When I stepped outside this morning to collect some eggs for breakfast, I couldn’t quite believe my eyes. It had actually snowed! Every day for the past two weeks the weather forecast has been for snow, snow and more snow yet all we’ve had is rain. But today, as far as the eye could see, was soft white powdery snow. As I crunched across the courtyard, the crisp cold air sent shivers down my spine. There was an almost magical feel about the farm. Snowflakes sparkling like diamonds melted on my rosy cheeks and the surrounding North York Moors looked as if someone had dusted them with icing sugar. It was beautiful.

I quickly found myself back in the toasty farmhouse. Alan had lit the fire and the warmness spread through my body like melting butter. As I padded along the hallway, I bumped into the young family staying on the top floor. I smiled and wished them a good day but I felt a little stab in my heart. Seeing those young bubbly children with smiles spread across their faces, looking forward to playing in the snow, reminded me for the first time in 10 years how I could never have any of my own… January 3rd 2007 A very peculiar thing happened to me today. I was busy cleaning the room where the young family had been staying (they left this morning) and when I looked under the bed, I found one of my steak knives. I was very shocked to find it there but I figured one of the children had taken it from the kitchen to play with. I must remember not to leave knives lying around. Anyway, I took it downstairs and washed it. It was a real shame that I couldn’t scrub those browny-red stains off it, as that was my most expensive kitchen knife. I ended up throwing it away, of course, wrapping it in kitchen roll before putting it in the dustbin. It really was quite upsetting. January 5th 2007 Today wasn’t really a great day. At about 10 o’clock I went up to room number 4, off the first floor landing. The couple who’d been staying there had left in the early hours of the morning to avoid the motorway rush hour on their way home to Cardiff. Anyway, I was just setting about my usual routine: stripping the beds, getting out new linen, cleaning the bathroom and hoovering the floor, when I noticed something rather odd. There were small puddles of blood all round the white sink. At first I was quite shocked as it is not very often guests leave blood around their B & B rooms, but in the end I put it down to one of them cutting themselves with a razor blade by accident and forgetting to clear it up, and thought nothing more of it.

The other not-so-nice thing that happened today was this afternoon when my husband, Alan, came into the farmhouse to ask me for my help. I was rather shocked by this, as normally I don’t see Alan from 6 in the morning to 6 at night. Being a farmer, he always has something to do, whether it’s milking the cows, feeding the animals or fixing tractors. I get really lonely, all on my own in the farmhouse day after day with only the dog for company.

Well, I followed Alan outside, pleased to be giving him a hand. I wasn’t so pleased, however, when he told me I’d be feeding the pigs their weekly treat of hearts and livers. It was by far the most disgusting thing I have ever done in my entire life. They were slimy and messy and covered in blood. Next time Alan asks me to do something on the farm I’ll say I’m too busy. Husbands, who’d have ‘em, eh?! January 6th 2007 Blast! My tumble dryer has broken down again! That’s the second time in a month. The trouble with living on a farm in the middle of nowhere is that I will now have to wait about a week for someone to come out and fix it. So today I had to brave the freezing cold and go and hang the washing out on the line. Even though it was only a few pillowcases and some dressing gown belts, my fingers felt as they were going to fall off. Oh well, I suppose I deserve it for buying only a cheap machine from the market.

January 8th 2007 I’m not feeling too well so I’ve decided to stay in bed, as there’s not much to do today. It’s another beautiful day; the view from my window is wonderful. The early morning frost is sparkling on the icy branches of the surrounding trees. The bright sun is shining on the white rolling hills. Everything is so pure and clean it almost doesn’t look real. As the glowing sunbeams stream into my room, I can’t help but feel goose bumps from the sheer tranquillity and beauty of nature.

I give a lazy yawn and switch on the TV. Oh, it’s the news, how boring! But it suddenly grabs my attention as the shocking headline is read out: “Three families missing, all last seen in North Yorkshire.”

I’ve just decided that I’m going to stay with my sister in Spain for a while. Now, where did I leave my passport? I don’t think there’s any point in telling anyone. I just have to get there as soon as possible…

This document has been seized by North Yorkshire Police in connection with the arrest, on January 8th 2007, of Mrs J Simmons, accused of murdering Mr A. Simmons and 9 guests at Wood Farm B & B. Items also seized as evidence: Steak knife Pillowcases Dressing gown belts Human hearts and livers found in freezer