Mellor Vicarage Dig - Openday 2004

The Marple Website is pleased to announce that the Archaeological Dig at The Old Vicarage, Mellor, will once again be open to the public on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th September between 11.00 am and 4.00 pm. An entry fee of Ł3.00 for adults and 50p for children will be charged with all proceeds in aid of the Mellor Archaeological Trust.

If you would like to take part in activities on the site as a volunteer this summer, please get in touch with Ann Hearle

To involve the local community in the Mellor site investigations, survey work and education and community outreach by means of topographical and geophysical surveys of the site, computer modeling to produce 3-D models interpreting the site, a booklet, a web site, open days, site tours, demonstrations of archaeological techniques and interpretation panels. All aspects of the project will provide opportunities for direct involvement by local groups, schools or members of the community.

PROPOSALS FOR THE 2005 SEASON OF EXCAVATION AT MELLOR
Extracts from report by University of Manchester Field Archaeology Centre (Jan 2005)

The Trench 18 excavation team inspect the Iron Age ditch first
excavated by the inhabitants of Mellor over 2,000 years ago

Area A
Building on the excavation carried out within Area A, a large open area trench will be placed within the confines of the lawn behind the Old Vicarage. An area to the south of Trench 1 will be excavated. It is intended that this trench will try to establish the exact alignment of the defensive ditch and the presence of the palisade. It will also look to see if there is any evidence of an entrance way and to further examine the area around the large storage or post pit, discovered in 2001, for further archaeological evidence relating to the settlement within the inner ditch.

Area B
Over the past 6 years a number of trenches have been placed within Area B to identify the extent and nature of the outer enclosure ditch. A small segment of Trench 27 which was excavated and backfilled will be re-opened to provide an excavated example of the outer enclosure ditch for guided tours on the open days.

A number of trenches have been placed over the enclosure ditch in Area B. However very little information is known regarding the area in between the outer enclosure ditch and the inner enclosure ditch. A trench in this area of land would attempt to identify and record any archaeological features which are present. It may not be necessary to excavate any archaeological features found within the trench its main purpose being to gain an understanding of the extent and density of archaeological features in this area. This trench would also attempt to locate the interface between natural bedrock and the boulder clay and see what effect if any the different surfaces have in regard to the density, type and survival of archaeological features.

Area C
The east end of Trench 26 contained a large number of complex interconnected features. It was clear that many of these continued beyond the north edge of Trench 26. In order to gain a fuller understanding of the size, date and function of these features it is hoped to re open approximately 5m of the 2004 trench and to expand it north and east. This will allow for the exact parameters of the numerous curving round house gullies to be identified along with the immediate area around where the Bronze Age flint dagger was recovered to see if there are any associated Bronze Age contexts or burials as indicative of this example of find.

An area towards the western extent of Trench 26 will be opened in an attempt to establish whether the features seen in the north western corner of the trench are part of the drip gullies associated with Iron Age round house.

Area D
In 2003 a series of trial trenches were excavated in this area which seemed to suggest the presence of the enclosure ditch running east to west. The potential ditch was not excavated in any of the trenches and so the interpretation is not certain. It is hoped to re open the two trial trenches which seemed to contain an entrance through the ditch. The purpose of this trench would be to gain information on the date and nature of the feature identified in the trial trenches in order to more fully assess the likelihood of it being part of the Iron Age enclosure system.

Area E
Following the discovery of a ditch in Area E, further geophysical analysis will be conducted prior to the 2005 excavation season. It is hoped to locate at least one further trench over the line of this ditch with the intention of providing information about its date and function.

Promote the investigation, interpretation and preservation of the archaeology of the area surrounding Mellor Church and of other parts of Mellor, Stockport, in the County of Greater Manchester. Organise displays, educational activities, or other means of bringing information on the history and archaeology to the notice of the public.

The Trust has had great success in raising funds from Heritage Lottery grants and from revenue raised on open days and other events held during the year.

All the excavation is carried out by volunteers who in 2004 were guided by three professional archaeologists from the University of Manchester Archaeological Unit and Don Reid a highly experienced archaeologist and member of the Mellor Archaeological Trust. In 2004 over 100 individuals volunteered their time to help with the excavations and open weekend. Over the six weeks of excavation, and, despite the terrible August weather, there were on average 20 people per day volunteering on the excavations.

The annual open weekends started in 1999 as a single day, which attracted over 800 visitors. It has now expanded to cover a whole weekend towards the end of the excavations. To date over 6,500 visitors have attended the open weekends, which includes an updated colour booklet about the site, guided site tours and various displays, and activities organised and run by the Mellor Archaeological Trust and staffed by members of the local community and the Friends Of The Mellor Archaeological Trust. One of the highlights is the replica Iron Age round house built by students of the Ridge Danyers College as part of the European Community Culture Programme, the Mnesonyme Project. This year's open weekend is on the 3rd and 4th of September.

In recent years we have been fortunate enough to have had the services of a professional visitor's survey. This showed that in 2004 1,309 people attended the Open Weekend. As well as providing evidence that there was good support from people living in Greater Manchester it also showed that the event attracted tourists from the Midlands, Yorkshire and Cumbria. In addition 2004 saw an increase in the number of societies and groups visiting the excavations through the season, these included the Huddersfield Archaeology Society and the Flintshire Historical Society from North Wales. One area of the project that we will be looking to develop in 2005 is providing more opportunities for disabled people to visit and become involved in the excavations.

The open weekend attracts great media interest and regularly appears on regional television news programmes. As well as the publicity and community involvement the success of this event is vital to the funding of the project. The Trust has commissioned a professional company to make a film record of the excavations each year called Ancient Mellor Revealed. In 2003 the excavation was the subject of a BBC Radio 4 programme and also appeared in Current Archaeology, the country's most popular archaeology magazine.

One of the highlights of 2004 was the recognition the project at Mellor received through its success in the prestigious British Archaeology Awards. The awards are run through the Council for British Archaeology and the list of sponsors illustrates the huge range of organisations and companies involved in archaeology including English Heritage, Tarmac Group, The Institute of Field Archaeologists and Transco. There are 15 categories of awards covering all aspects of archaeology and heritage which attract hundreds of entries from all over the country. The entrants in each category are assessed by judges and a short list of finalists in each category is announced. Mellor entered in two categories - The 2002 video of the excavation made by Chris Mann of Mannmade productions was entered for the Channel 4 Award for non broadcast video and the project itself for the Pitt Rivers Award for best amateur project. Mellor reached the final in both categories. This year the awards ceremony was held at the University of Belfast and well as the 100 or so finalists it was attended by its President Lord Montagu of Beaulieu and many representatives from television archaeology.

Although Mellor did not win the awards it entered for to come runner up in both categories is an achievement that everyone involved with the excavation can take a great deal of pride in.

The Mellor archaeological project is also publicised through numerous lectures and talks given by members of the Trust, UMAU and GMAU. In 2003 Mellor organised a Study Day on the Iron Age and Romano-British period in the region. This was held in the Parish Centre and attended by some of the leading archaeologists and specialists in the field. In 2005 the Mellor Archaeological Trust, UMAU and GMAU will publish a monograph containing the research papers given at this event. In 2004 the Parish Centre was used to hold the Council for British Archaeology's regional annual conference which was hosted by the Mellor Archaeology Trust.

The excavation has developed a close working relationship with Stockport Museums Service. The Museums Service has provided equipment and advice to help set up displays for the open weekends. In return the excavation is assisting the Museums Service in developing the 'Story of Stockport' exhibition.

Mellor has close relations with the AS & A level archaeology courses at Ridge Danyers College. The excavations at Mellor have benefited greatly over the years from having many of the colleges highly motivated students volunteer on site. In return the students gain valuable practical experience in field archaeology. It has been most gratifying to see some of the volunteers continue their interest in archaeology either by studying at university or working or volunteering on other sites.

Most universities run their own training excavations the vast majority of which require living away from home. For some students either the timing or location may make it impossible to attend and particularly in the case of mature students it may not be possible to spend a fortnight away from home. A number of universities across the country recognise the standard of archaeological training provided at Mellor as fulfilling the practical requirements for their students' coursework. While Mellor is not primarily a training excavation we have been able to provide places for students from many universities who live in this area and have not been able to attend their universities training excavation.

In 2004 UMAU's Education Officer developed the site as an educational resource by arranging a series of site activities for pupils from local school. UMAU and the Mellor Archaeological Trust will be working hard in 2005 to develop the educational potential of the excavations. We will do this at a formal level by liaising with local schools and informally by increasing the opportunities for children to participate in the excavations.

The excavation is a key part of UMAU's commitment to community archaeology in Greater Manchester. In 2003 and 2004 this included working with Access Heritage and Stockport Parks on excavations on Strines Farmhouse at Brinnington in Reddish Vale. Each year the excavation allowed over 200 local school pupils to participate in an archaeological dig during the week. On the Saturday a 'Drop In' day attracted over 40 volunteers.

In 1999 the Mellor Archaeological Trust was set up to develop funding for the excavations and control the work. As described in section 2 the Trust has had great success in raising funds from Heritage Lottery grants and from revenue raised on open weekend and other events held during the year and the Trust will continue to pursue these sources of funding. The successful co-operation between the Trust, GMAU and UMAU has led to Mellor becoming an exemplar of the use of Heritage Lottery funding for community archaeological projects. However none of the excavations would have been possible without the annual financial support given by Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council. Since its discovery the scope of the excavations at Mellor has grown each year. The number of volunteers and the level of community involvement in 2004 were only made possible by the continuing support of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council. The Council has assisted the excavation for the past six years. For each of the past two years the Council has generously contributed Ł6,000 to the running of the project. We hope that Stockport MBC will be able to continue this level of support for the 2005 season. This financial assistance has allowed UMAU to dedicate a third professional archaeologist to the excavation. This will allow us to maintain the ratio of professional archaeologists and volunteers which made 2004 so successful. We would also be able to continue our 'Open Door' policy to volunteers on the dig rather than having to implement a quota and rota system that would inevitably lead to some people being disappointed. This policy means that we are able to open more trenches and so learn more about the site. With the continued support of Stockport MBC we are confident that the 2005 season at Mellor will be as exciting and successful as 2004.