Digging up the past reveals fascinating finds

FRIENDS of Castleshaw Roman Forts (FCRF) are close to calling time on a dig that has lifted the lid on the rich history of the area.

Around 300 local schoolchildren and 150 adult volunteers have taken part, trained and led by a small team of archaeologists from the University of Salford.

FCRF organised the dig through a £70,000 funding grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the four-week excavation will cease on Friday. The project, entitled “Redefining Roman Castleshaw: Understanding and Sharing our Past” re-excavated old trenches in the northern half of the fort.

Group chairman Colin Berry said: “We are very grateful to Heritage Lottery for awarding us the funds. We couldn’t have done this without them getting involved.

“The main areas we wanted to look at were the roads, both forts and the civilian area. We’ve had large community engagement with the project, involving schools and volunteers from the local area.

“We hope to have enough information to model what the old fort and the area surrounding it would look like with these findings going on display.”

The finds show signs of continuous occupation of the Castleshaw Valley since the middle of the Stone Age. The excavations have revealed six separate Roman roads, the fort east gateway, rampart and ditches, remains of barrack blocks and a workshop.

The dig has also reinvestigated the site of a pit full of prehistoric pottery found during excavations in 1963.

A fascinating range of finds have been revealed, from prehistoric flint tools to fine Roman tableware.