During
the Summer term 2005 pupils from Beaufront First School joined
archaeologists and students from Newcastle University to take
part in an excavation in the school grounds.
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For
several years children had been digging up bits of Victorian pottery
from the copse that was once the midden or rubbish tip for the
local farm. |
| Two metre-square
test pits were excavated in this area and two more were dug in
the school playing field. |
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As part of their
preparation the children learnt about health and safety, the importance
of planning and recording, as well as the basic excavation techniques.
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| They
filmed each other with camcorders to create their own unique record
of the event. |
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Philippa
Walton, the Finds Liaison Officer for the North East of England,
visited the school and looked at the finds from the dig. She showed
the children how to carefully wash and record them.
The
children were particularly excited to find two fragments of medieval
pottery. Jugs from the same period are on display in the Museum
of Antiquities. |
| To
find out more about the Big Dig visit ‘How We Know What
We Know’. |
