Exciting news here in Stamford Bridge. We are beginning our very first archaeological excavation to find out where the actual battle took place, its a long road - but we are finally on the way!
We aim to track backwards to the romamn road systems around the area, the reason being that the saxons would probably have used any existing roads and tracks network and crossing points (with a new bridge). So if we can confirm the roman crossing places on the river derwent then we can retrace the battle moves, high ground etc. We dont have an exact description of the battle site thru contemporary accounts, as Stamford Bridge was such a small place, not worthy of even a mention in the 1086 Domesday book.
Our problem is the other roman crossing point about a mile downstream near to Low Catton, is this one earlier or a later one than the traditional crossing point in the village? - well, this is what we need to find out.
Heres a few pics of the first days excavating...watch this space!
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| Being told the basics of survey and geophysing |
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| Off we go.... |
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| The digger gets stuck in....we needed about 18ins of Victorian farming topsoil to be removed |
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| Down to the nitty gritty, |
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| Our dilemma, which is the crossing point where the battle centred on? |
