Can you dig it? Yes we can… archaeology Open Day is a hit.
Our July Open Day had an archaeological theme and featured special guests CADAS (Coventry and District Archaeological Society).
Alongside all the usual tours of the house, there was a small test pit in the garden and a variety of finds including pottery fragments, broken bricks and bone pieces were recovered. The day proved a huge success with visitors:
Nick, Rugby – “Third visit and just as enjoyable”
Visitors from Thailand and Coventry – “Very interesting. Brought to life by the guides”
Alex, aged 5 – “Awesome!” One of our younger visitors, Alex was fascinated by the archaeological dig, and proved that the site holds something of interest for all ages.
Thank you to all our visitors for coming along!
There was also a display of items from the original dig in the 1990s, which took place before the restoration of The Weaver’s House, this included a Martincamp flask which is very unusual to find in such good condition. This type of rounded pottery flask is named after the village of Martincamp in Normandy, where production centred, though similar pieces were made in England. In fact there appears to have been production in Ticknall.
The Martincamp flask
We think this particular flask is 16th century. Perhaps a type issued to soldiers as it is unglazed and quite roughly finished; glazed and decorative flasks would have been for the higher ranks.
The display of objects from the 1990s dig.
A big thank you to Adrian from CADAS for leading on the dig. If you are interested in finding out more about CADAS, visit their website.
Our next Open Day will be Summer Fun in the Garden on Saturday 17 August. We’re hoping that all the flowers and herbs in bloom will bring lots of butterflies to spot for the Big Butterfly Count. Find out more.
This will also be the last chance this year to see the replica loom in our upstairs solar room (as we close this area for Heritage Open Days).
