Untitled - Council for British Archaeology

POST-EXCAVATION
CONSERVATION - Sue Marshall
Approximately 300 finds 'or groups of finds were treated
in 19790 The Unit's excavations did not, in general produce
the same problems,this year as last, but the consolidation
of the unfired loom weights from Pennylands was not without
its tricky moments. At Little Woolstone Church, a cast of
the incised lid of a stone coffin was taken using latex.
The church also produced, as might have been expected, both
plain and painted window glass and wall plaster. Treatment
of finds from the 1978 Bancroft Villa excavations continued,
mostly glass, bronze and wall plaster in quantity, and
material of all sorts continued to arrive from Caldecotte.
The fragile iron chest from Bancroft villa needed, for
its best preservation, to be kept in an environment with a
low relative humidity. The Unit specially designed a showcase,
sealed from the outside environment, containing a
concealed drawer holding trays of silica gel, a drying agent,
which keeps the relative humidity stable at 30-40%.
SCHOOLS LIAISON - Ros Tyrrell
We have helped a number of teachers with a Variety of
different types of archaeology projects. For instance,
Falconhurst School did a study of Little Woolstone Village,
where we had an excavation. They tackled an impressive
selection of creative aspects as well as careful observation
and recording. They also helped us wash some of the finds
from the excavation they visited. Some students from
Stantonbury were interested in the methods we used in
archaeology, so we went out and looked at the various
sites being dug and the different ways of treating them.
A class of six-year-olds were reading 'Stig of the Dump'
and their teacher asked me to show them some real flint
tools. They were really impressed with the sharpness of
the flint. In fact, several teachers have asked me to take
finds to show their classes.
On a different level we are helping two students from
Ousedale School who are doing 'A' level local history projects
on an aspect of Great Linford's history, and on the Romans in
Milton Keynes.
PUBLICATION
During the year further steps were taken towards the
preparation of the reports of excavation by the Milton Keynes
Development Corporation's Unit in Milton Keynes in a monograph
series. The first of these monographs, which will contain
reports on excavations of Roman sites in the north of the
designated area, including the villa in Bancroft grid square,
and other settlements at Wymbush, Wood Corner and Stantonbury,
is scheduled to be available in the spring or summer of 1981.
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