Untitled - Council for British Archaeology

MILTON KEYNES DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
ANNUAL REPORT ON ARCHAEOLOGY 1979
INTRODUCTION - D. C. Mynard
One year ago MKAN,
our main link with those intereited in
the work and progress of the Unit, changed fti format to
an attractive A5 booklet with a topical cover for each issue.-
All of the three local archaeol9gical societies noW,use it
as their own Newsletter, and distiibnie it tii-tilêir Memjiers.
As a consequence MKAN has grown in circulation Liming the
last year and we have received requests for copiês from,
far and wide. Its often trèncilantj editorfals hSvé alsidys
stimulated discussion, and occasionally, controversy, which
has spilled over into tilê tiie-focal
, The-Unit has also reached 'the!pubrird by means of .a;
travelling exhibition of the results of recent,êlecavations,
which visited local libraries.and.culminated with a,month
at the County Museum in June And july-wheie, with-the
advantagê orbetter secuiity, it was augmen'ted'with finds.
1979 has been a year of change's d 'certainly this, is
true of our archaeological programme. Halfway through the
year, just as our major excavations were getting under way,
a new site was discovered when the contractors began stripping
the Pennylands housing development. Initially seen as a
largely destroyed Iron Age site, the site rapidly showed
its potential when two dark patches were identified as Saxon
grubenhauser. Limited work was carried out on the area
already under construction and through the co-operation
and goodwill of the Corporation architect, John Seed, and
Messrs. Mowlems, we got as much information as was possible
in the circumstances. Armed with the knowledge that the
site extended to the south and east, we were able to take
advantage of early site stripping in those areas and adjust
our programme and labour force to enable us to excavate the
site to a reasonable standard.
Pennylands was certainly our best site last year and
accordingly was chosen for our Open Weekend, (as soon as
site security allowed). The bleak November weather meant
that fewer people visited than in previous years, but those
who did found their keenness well rewarded.
The local press and our local radio station all showed
particular interest in the site and we are grateful to
them for holding back the news of its discovery until much
of it had been excavated. This was necessary since the
contractor would not have welcomed large numbers of visitors
and we were apprehensive about unofficial visits by treasure
hunters.