It is no understatement to say 2018 was an important year for Norton Disney’s archaeology. Perhaps a landmark year to compare with 1933 when the Roman villa was discovered? At the beginning of 2018 the local archaeology was a bit unloved, a bit unappreciated and in serious danger of being destroyed. The wider area of … More 2018 Was An Important and Good Year For Norton Disney’s Archaeology
Whats also generally not appreciated is the invisible border in this area between Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. … More Welcome to the borderlands of Lincs and Notts (People Have Been In Potter(s) Hill A lot Longer Than You Think!)
Those of you following the story of Norton Disney’s archaeological “big reveal” may be thinking things have gone a bit quiet lately. Well the developer is keeping quiet. Who knows what their own two April and May geophysics surveys of the villa field and the excavation report on Villa Farm show. They are some what … More Something Special Is Happening on 3rd September
Although technically Lincolnshire County Council closed for comments on 22nd June on the Villa Farm planning application, its not widely known you can continue to comment up to the date of the planning committee. My own group, the Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group have commented and you can read their comments on the council’s … More The Gods of Old Are Marshalling Their Forces!
Recent coin find nearby By now many of you will be aware the developer and owner of the Villa Farm site at Norton Disney has submitted their plans to Lincolnshire County Council to built a gigantic animal rendering plant. Planning Application PL/0036/18 Presently the public can comment on the proposals up to 22nd June. Indeed … More Lets Start Asking Some Difficult Questions. The Narrative Is Not Correct.
Yes I can hear you say, its another picture of nothing special, but it is evidence of more iron smelting, but this time at Brills Farm the other side of the Villa Farm site. If you read my previous post on smelting you will know that there is extensive evidence of Middle Iron Age smelting all … More Ok I Know It Does Not Look Like Much But It Is Significant Archaeology
Back on 8th June 1933 Mr Osbert Guy Stanhope Crawford, better known as OGS Crawford, a pioneer in the use of aerial photography in the investigation of archaeology, over flew Abbey Field in Norton Disney where the Roman Villa is. The photos he took on that summer’s day are now stored at Historic England’s aerial … More Is Abbey Field About To Reveal It’s Secrets?
Brills Farm sits on the edge of the escarpment of Potters Hill, Norton Disney looking down on to Newark on Trent and the Trent Valley. It is best seen from the air and over the years various aerial photographs have been taken of the site. The modern day site is dominated by a modern farm … More Brills Farm, A Rare Thing, a Lincolnshire Iron Age Hill Fort
Over the past couple of weeks I have been looking at where the Iron Age settlement at Potters Hill, Norton Disney fits in with the rest of the Iron Age in Lincolnshire. I have been lucky enough to speak at length with Dr Peter Chowne who has excavated sites in Lincolnshire from this period. Peter … More The Ghosts Of The Iron Age Are Telling Us Something Important About Norton Disney
Cambridge University Air Photos The previous article on aerial photography, “The Eye From The 1960s Sky Tells Us Even More” seems to have proved very popular. In it I showed the Iron Age archaeology in and around Brills Farm hill fort. There was also a reference in it to another aerial photograph of Abbey Field … More The Eye In The 1959 Sky Shows Us The Roman Villa And Lots Of Other Things Too
Those of you local to Norton Disney may have seen in the last day or so that the Newark Advertiser has carried quite a large article about my call to see better protection of the archaeology surrounding the Roman villa. I am rather pleased for obvious reasons that there has been some raising of the … More The At Risk Archaeology of Norton Disney Hits The News
One of the tools that has been used for many decades in archaeology is aerial photography. Often photographs taken over the parched British countryside in high summer reveal so much of the hidden treasures of history buried below. You will know how this works yourself in the garden when the grass dries up over buried … More The Eye From the 1960s Sky Tells Us Even More
Ok, I can tell already you are asking, why is this lump of what ever it is important? If you read my earlier blog called “Funny What You Find In A Romano British Landscape” you will know it’s the left over material from iron production. Aka “slag”. As I said in that blog samples went … More Evidence of An Iron Age Scunthorpe?
If you have been reading this blog you may recall I also detailed the hunt for some missing skeletons, and a skull from the 1934/5 excavations. “So What Did Happen To The Skeletons That Were Found?. You might also want to read the about the significance of these skeletons found in the villa ruins in … More Still On The Trail Of The Missing Skeletons (It Just Got Complicated)
Recently I was given permission by a local land owner to look for some archaeology relating to the villa I was walking with a colleague when we came across something at the side of a field that looked distinctly out of place. Looking a bit like a large bit of pumice stone we both scratched … More Funny What You Come Across In A Romano British Landscape
