Brislington
Community Archaeology Project
With its Roman villa, Saxon name, and high status medieval and Tudor pilgrimages, Brislington is full of interest for the historian and archaeologist alike. Archaeology offers serious fun for all the family, and is particularly helpful for children learning about history, the environment, social issues etc; and for adults interested in understanding the presence of the past, putting down roots, protecting our heritage, and costituting our legacy.
You may not live in a particularly old house, but the ground on which it stands is certainly ancient, and probably contains many relics of life centuries ago. Most flower beds and vegetable plots contain small items that each has a story to tell about Brislington's past. These are particularly easy to find after rainy weather, when the artefacts sit nicely washed on the surface of the soil.
Start by collecting all the bits of pottery you can see in your garden — often, the more boring it looks, the older and more interesting it is!
There's no need to feel discouraged if you only turn up a few bits — each year as we weed and dig-over the soil we will only unearth a small fraction of the artefacts your garden contains. Archaeological finds will keep cropping up for decades, even centuries.
All you need to do is this... Every time you see a piece of pottery, pick it up and put it in a safe place (try to keep finds from your front and back gardens separate, and labelled). Then, give them a good wash — edges as well as faces — and contact us to arrange free identification of your finds.
By identifying these finds for you, BCAP offers you the chance to understand the history of your home in a new light.
Download our garden finds factsheet (this is a .PDF file, you can download free software to read it at Adobe).
Credits
Text — Ken Taylor (updated 24.08.09)