L’Ancresse dig unearths burnt bone and charcoal
BURNT BONE and charcoal have been uncovered on L’Ancresse Common at the start of an archaeological dig.
Laurie Waite and Donovan Hawley from Clifton Antiquarian Club have been exploring mounds on L’Ancresse Common which could be Bronze Age burial sites.
Mr Waite said the dig had not started well, when they put in a trench in the mound by the L’Ancresse bus terminus on Sunday, which was the least promising site.
‘We found a mass of limpet shells in two different layers, together with some ormers and further down some mussels,’ he said.
However there was no sign of any human activity.
So yesterday they moved to the mounds across the road from the former L’Ancresse Lodge. There they found several pieces of charcoal and burnt bone, which can hopefully be carbon dated.
‘We found the items pretty quickly – about 20cm down,’ Mr Waite said.
The soil is quite sandy, so easy to dig. However there are concerns that the area might have been dug before and the spoil put back. This is based on the fact that the burnt items were so near the surface and there was a depression in the mound, which could indicate it had been tampered with. However there are no records showing that the area had been dug before.
Mr Waite said they were hoping to speak to La Societe Guernesiaise to see if they could borrow some equipment to do a geophysical survey of the area.
The exploratory digs are taking place to decide whether the common would be a good place for a
more detailed dig next summer.
States archaeologist Phil de Jersey said it was great to find out more about the area.
‘The main reason it is quite exciting is because it gives us a chance to investigate stuff that would be fairly low on our list of priorities, as it is not a development site,’ he said.
‘We certainly welcome their work.’
Mr Waite said they were very grateful to the States and the Vale Commons Council for their support.
The dig is taking place on the common until Friday.
