Bees 'could deter vandals' at Greenfield heritage park

Heritage park bosses could use bees to act as a deterrent to stop vandal attacks on historic buildings.

They are looking for sustainable ways to protect old mill buildings at Greenfield Valley Heritage Park, near Holywell, Flintshire.

One idea already tabled is using bees to deter people from going into the protected buildings.

A planning application is due to be submitted to Flintshire council to erect fencing around some of the sites.

An area around Greenfield Mill had to close last summer due to concerns it was in a dangerous condition, with surrounding footpaths also shut to walkers.

Park manager Chris Wright said the deterioration was partly due to age as well as vandal attacks.

He said it would be difficult to deter people determined to get into buildings on the free access public site, making the idea to use bees "seem sensible".

He hopes a beekeeping group could use the land to produce honey, with the bees themselves helping to pollinate wildflower meadows which could also be created in the area.

"They could be a deterrent," said Barbara Chick, publicity officer for the Welsh Beekeepers' Association.

"I haven't heard of them being used as security bees."

However, she pointed out there may be health and safety issues if someone was stung and said she would not agree to their use as a security measure.

Planning permission to erect fencing around Greenfield Mill is to be sought to allow paths to reopen while discussions continue about how to stop the further decline of buildings, while managing and encouraging wildlife around them.

Mr Wright said the main issue had always been striking a balance between the environment and wildlife on one hand and historical and industrial concerns on the other.

 He said aerial photos recently uncovered from the 1930s show little flora and fauna, whereas today the whole site was covered in trees and vegetation.

 And there has been proof of otters using the water course and ponds which served the old mills in the valley close to St Winefride's holy well, as well as sightings of a goshawk and other birds of prey.

 The 70-acre (28 hectares) heritage park, which includes a museum and farm, is owned by Flintshire council and managed by trustees from The Greenfield Valley Trust.

Infamous tunnel discovered during Nottingham cave survey

Archaeologists in Nottingham say they have uncovered the true site of one of the country's most infamous caves.

Mortimer's Hole is reputed to be the route by which Edward III's troops entered the city's castle to capture Roger de Mortimer, in 1313.

The young Edward is said to have suspected Mortimer of been involved in the murder of his father, Edward II.

The official entrance of Mortimer's Hole is next to Brewhouse Yard but archaeologists now believe the real tunnel originates in a garden in the Park Estate.

The discovery was made during the Nottingham Caves Survey, a two-year project in which a laser scanner is being used to produce a three-dimensional record of Nottingham's sandstone caves.

University of Nottingham archaeologist Dr David Walker said: "It's almost certainly the real Mortimer's Hole."

"Early documents talk of a secret passage which the modern one certainly wasn't because it was used for carting stuff up from the River Leen to the castle," he said. "The documents all fit with this tiny sliver of a blocked cave which runs into a man's garden."

Roger de Mortimer was sent to the Tower and then hanged on 29 November 1330.

The archaeologist believes the real Mortimer's Hole is a tunnel currently known as the North-Western Passage.

From the house on Castle Grove in the Park Estate, the passage stretches for 30-40 metres and is partly filled with rubble.

Dr Walker said, once you get past the debris, the full height of the tunnel is exposed and there are rock cut steps at the bottom and an arch at the top.

The passage would have emerged in the former Middle Bailey, now the Castle Green, but it is now blocked.

Commenting on the new discovery Dave Green, the man in charge of heritage sites for Nottingham City Council said: "History is always controversial and full of differing opinions and ideas.

"We will look forward to presenting this new information alongside the stories we have always told on our cave tours and leave for the public to choose for themselves which is the real Mortimer's Hole."

The Nottingham Caves Survey began in March 2010.

The team from Trent and Peak Archaeology are producing a record of more than 500 sandstone caves around Nottingham.

So far the team have fully surveyed 35 caves.

"It's been quite a lot of work but it's only a dent in the 500 or so in the city," said Dr Walker.

To be able to survey the caves the archaeologists need to manoeuvre their equipment through the passages.

"We think there's probably about 150 in the city that are still accessible, so we've made a reasonable stab at that.

"We've done quite a wide range of caves in that time in terms of age and uses, from domestic caves to pub cellars to sand mines and tunnels under the castle," he said.

The project, costing £250,000, has been funded by the Greater Nottingham Partnership, East Midlands Development Agency, English Heritage, the University of Nottingham and Nottingham City Council.

View all of the amazing pictures here!

From BBC

 

Hereford ditch provides information on ancient boundaries

Last summer, I spent a week near Hereford excavating an Iron Age Hill Fort with the Time Team crew.  It was my first experience with "banks and ditches" and I learned a lot about the way they were employed throughout history.  It's no surprise then that this article caught my attention:

A Bronze Age earth ditch has been found in Hereford which archaeologists say may have been used to mark the city's old tax boundary.

It is 5m (16ft) deep in places and was found using aerial, laser scanning equipment to map the land's contours.

The ditch has been filled in with earth over the years and now resembles only a slight depression at ground level.

It runs from Aubrey Street to the River Wye via King Street and may have marked the limit of the king's jurisdiction.

Site archaeologists said Norman settlements inside the ditch probably fell under the king's jurisdiction and tax district, while land outside of the ditch beside Hereford Cathedral belonged to the bishop.

Dr Keith Ray, Herefordshire's county archaeologist, said digital mapping had also produced images of Hereford by night, which highlight the city's open spaces and dense pattern of narrow alleyways in the historic centre.

He said: "The study concludes that Hereford has one of the best-preserved historic city centres anywhere in England, in which medieval neighbourhoods can still be traced to this day."

From BBC

Visit Herefordshire Archaeology

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Did you know: Hereford was once the site of a castle, Hereford Castle, which rivalled that of Windsor in size and scale. This was a base for repelling Welsh attacks and a secure stronghold for English kings such as King Henry IV when on campaign in the Welsh Marches against Owain Glyndŵr. The castle was dismantled in the 1700s and landscaped into Castle Green.

A Less Than Sexy Amphitheatre

Do you ever stop to think about those small areas of archaeology that get overlooked? Recently, I have done some work on an amphitheatre in Chester, UK. Far from the Colosseum it is nonetheless fascinating. Here are a few of my favourite facts to illuminate your knowledge.

1. The games may not have been on the same grand scale as they were in Rome but they were certainly of similar type. Blocks found to tie animals to suggest beast hunts.

2. The amphitheatre was assumed to be built for the legion XX Valeria Victrix which was housed at Chester – the problem is that it is too large for just them. The locals must have liked the games to.

3. Despite being on the fringes of empire the building is among the most elaborate in the northern provinces.

4. The legion that built and used it also contributed to Hadrian’s Wall.

5. A number of finds attest the type of games taking place – a sword hilt is one of the most exciting.

It may not seem all that sexy at first but I think it’s kind of cool that Gladiators lived and performed in England in a setting about as far removed from Russell Crowe as you can get. The best thing is the remains of the Amphitheatre are open to the public and free. So if you ever manage to take that trip to northern England, give it a go! If you're like me you’ll visit during a huge rain storm – not very pleasant you might think – but very realistic. The soldiers at Chester would have had to put up with these conditions day in day out so one feels like they got a good experience! The point here is that we are all so obsessed with the “sexy” gladiators of Rome we rarely think of those elsewhere in the Empire – and we should.

Comments Welcome

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You can find out more about the Chester Amphitheatre here.