Newsletter, May/June 2009

Dear All,
 
We have spent several weeks now investigating what began as a single very unique furnace set into a prehistoric landscape. A work area stuffed with slag lurked nearby. Then it turned into a furnace set into the wall of a potential Iron Age/older Bronze Age roundhouse which in turn might be linked with a prehistoric defensive/show-off status embankment. THEN, it gained a twin furnace a few metres away outside the roundhouse ... and signs of hammerscale a breath away downwind on the embankment. And now the trench was so exciting and big that we needed all hands on deck to open it up and make a real impact on it.
 
On other days over the last few weeks we've done more surveying and digging with Kev and we held our AGM on 13th May. We can report that the Project is well on track (and even ahead of ourselves) and we are also delighted to report that, although Michael Thorman has had to resign as Chair due to family commitments up in Hexham, Charles Smith has taken up the baton. Thank you, Charles. Jim Brophy continues as Project Co-ordinator, Andrew Hovell as Treasurer, Janis Heward as Committee Member and myself as Secretary.

Tuesday 21st July: As part of the national 2009 Festival of British Archaeology, we shall be giving guided walks around our very special Iron Age and Medieval iron working features on the site - hopefully plenty of you will come on site as usual that day and we hope to have an excellent trench open and being worked on for our guests to view. One walk will be 10am to 12.30 and the second at 14.00 to 16.30. All are welcome. Please contact me at gill@iron-age.org to book a place on one of the walks.
 
All the very best,
 
Gill
 
Gillian Hovell, Secretary, Iron-Age (Nidderdale) Project
gill@iron-age.org
 
As ever, may we remind you all that the site is on an exposed hillside and waterproofs/suncream and stout footwear are definitely required.
May we stress that the site is on private property with no public right of way - access must be accompanied by a group leader at all times.