It was a dynamic week for our Venturers out in Spodden Valley as we took an epic journey into the Lancashire hills to find traces of its ancient hunter-gatherers.
Our team assembled at the Whitworth Heritage Museum, where we were hosted by the delightful Brian who waited on us hand and foot, always seeing to our tea and coffee needs, while also joining in the discussions.
The start of the week saw blustery weather but that was no deterrent to us as we pressed out onto the moors at Brown Wardle Farm. Bullets and a few pieces of chert were found and bagged by a happy team, who learned how to use our Digital Dig Team App and archive. As the week progressed, we headed for higher ground, walking the fields atop and around Knowle Hill and although there were no finds, Venturers learned about flint tools and where to find them.
In the surrounds of Knowle Hill and back again to Brown Wardle, Venturers learned more about flint, and you can catch up that knowledge too – including how to tell if it has been worked by human hands and even whether or not it’s Mesolithic.
Saturday, the weather turned fair and the Venturers spent the afternoon in Littleborough’s History Centre, handling a great assemblage collected from the moors surrounding Whitworth, and heard more from Stuart, David and Stephen about Mesolithic flint, debitage and types of tools.
Sunday drew our field walking to a close with the most beautiful sunshine and a host of laughs as Emily and Stephen, regaled the Venturers with their best end of the week jokes. The moors were a sight, with horseback riders, frog spawn and two brilliant chert finds, all under the Lancashire sun and not a touch of wind!
The week wrapped up with discussions of what we had all learned from the week, while a lot of hearty handshakes were exchanged with stories of the week’s delights. This week of Spodden Valley Revealed, with its merriment, walking and sun is over, but there’s plenty more to come… make sure you’re subscribed to our email list to join the next part of this great big archaeological adventure!
