Excavations reveal
more Roman treasures
EXCLUSIVE by James Balme
ARCHAEOLOGICAL excavations in the grounds of Stockton Heath primary school near Warrington have continued to reveal even more evidence of the Roman past of the area.
Work taking place in advance of controversial proposals to demolish the school building which dates back to Victorian times, a Roman road including sandstone kerbs that have remained in position for almost two thousand years have been found.
Other discoveries include coins, brooches and even hobnails from Roman boots recovered by metal detectorist Colin Sharratt who has been working closely with the archaeologists for many years.
Colin said: ?I have been searching the site at least three days a week as part of the archaeological work. So far I have recovered numerous artefacts including Roman coins and bronze metalwork. Many of the finds are on the surface of the Roman road and are therefore in context have been there since the day they were dropped or lost.?
Leigh Dodds, site director for Earthworks Archaeological Services also revealed important finds including a roman sieve used for cooking and made by a local potter in the Wilderspool area, and even quern stones used for grinding corn into flour during Roman times.
Leigh said: ?The quern stone fragments are quite unusual and are made of volcanic rock. They were found rammed into a post-hole that would have supported upright timbers of a building. Re-using materials in such a way was common practice in Roman times.?
But as well as all the important finds coming out of the ground amazing evidence of a disaster at the settlement has been unearthed.
Dr Fiona Grant who is currently acting as site Supervisor at the excavations explained: ?We have found evidence of a large timber Roman building but what is exciting is that it was clearly destroyed by fire. We have found burnt material that suggests a wall that has fallen on its side as the result of collapsing during intense heat. We can only assume that this was the result of an accidental fire rather than a deliberate act. Fires were quite common in those days with timber frames and open fires.?
Excavations are planned to continue for at least another two weeks before the site is cleared for building work to begin. Following the forthcoming demolition of the school further excavations will have to take place underneath the area that the school occupied.
Wardens aim to make
town a safer place
A NEW team of Neighbourhood Wardens has hit the streets in areas across the town, as part an initiative to make Warrington safer.
They are part of the Stronger Together in Warrington project which is focussed on the Bewsey, Dallam, Blackbrook Grasmere/Greenwood and Longford areas.
The team operates on the street, in schools and community centres and they are on patrol between 10am and 9pm aiming to make residents feel safer, reducing anti-social behaviour and helping out in the community.
Wardens can help report faulty street lights, vandalism, graffiti or damaged pavements and provide shed alarms and door chains for elderly or vulnerable residents. They also run cycle training and road safety for children.
The team already has several success stories to tell. They reunited a missing toddler with his parents and put their first aid training to use by helping a resident who had collapsed in the street with heart problems.
Wardens can help with many problems and most importantly, are there to listen and chat to residents.
Coun Liz Smith, the borough council?s executive member for neighbourhoods, said: “The neighbourhood wardens were introduced to help residents feel safer and more reassured in their area -and so far they’ve done a tremendous job. Feedback from everyone in the Stronger Together areas has shown that they’ve already made a difference, so keep up the good work!”
For more information on Stronger Together in Warrington, visit www.warrington.gov.uk/strongertogether
Holiday club focuses
on a green theme
by staff reporter
A HOLIDAY club for Warrington children is touching on environmental issues this summer.
Wastewatchers will include crafts, drama, music, Bible stories (on DVD) and a puppet theatre.
Team games will add to the excitement and the children can watch their teams’ progress over the week on an electronic scoreboard. With group names like Energy Savers, Eco Warriors and Ozone Busters, their minds will focus on the central theme of the week and there will be opportunity for the children to bring in specific items for recycling.
The venue for the club is Stockton Heath Christian Fellowship, which has held similar clubs for the past 15 years.
Organiser John Dolan said: ?As with previous clubs, Wastewatchers will be action-packed and fast-moving. The clubs are a great attraction to children, some of whom come year after year. Those who are beyond the clubs’ age group now work as teenage helpers.?
Last year’s club, Pyramid Rock, attracted more than 70 children and the church is hoping for a similar response this year.
Wastewatchers is being held during the week July 23-27 from 6pm-7.45pm each evening and caters for children aged 5-11. Information leaflets have been supplied to several schools in the area. Bookings need to be made in advance either by e-mail to [email protected] or by telephone to 01925 604384.
Diana’s skills could
brighten up town
by staff reporter
AN award-winning aromatherapist could brighten up Warrington lives with her exceptional skills.
Diana Harding, from Rixton, a mature student at Warrington Collegiate, entered the National Skills for Excellence Competition in Advanced Aromatherapy level 3 and has now been awarded the bronze medal.
The Body Shop worker, who attends the Saturday morning class, had yellow as the colour theme for her entry and course leader Val McCowen is happy with her student’s success.
She said: “Diana previously studied holistic facial massage, colour therapy and reiki at Warrington Collegiate and brought elements of all these to her competition entry.
“Diana’s intuitive work and treatment is of exceptionally high standard.”
Beauty and holistic deputy head Helen Farrow said class tutors should also be praised.
“Congratulations to Diana Harding and well done to Val McCowen and Carolyn Clair for yet another award.
“Their hard work has paid off.”
Euro MP calls for ban
on Brazilian beef
by Lesley Wilkinson
A CALL for a Europe-wide ban on Brazilian beef has been made by Warrington-based Euro MP Brian Simpson.
He is Labour spokesman on agriculture in the European Parliament believes cattle from areas affected by foot and mouth disease are being moved to non-affected areas so that they could be exported.
Irish investigators had reporter issues with serious implications for food hygiene in Britain and the EU.
Mr Simpson said the report highlighted that the tracing of cattle was unreliable, with animal tags removed to facilitate illegal movement and many cows, whose history was unknown, being sent for export.
He said: “Our farmers operate to the highest international standards of food safety, yet countries like Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia, all foot and mouth high-risk countries, have no standards, no traceability, no control on animal medicines and can still export to the EU.”
The MEP said other countries like the USA, Australia, Japan and New Zealand, had already banned beef from Brazil. In 2006, more than 300,000 tonnes of Brazilian beef was imported into the EU and a lot came to Britain.
He added: “This report proves that the EU has been too slow to recognise that a problem exists regarding Brazilian beef. Brazil fails to meet EU standards, traceability is non-existent, foot and mouth controls are a joke and environmen
tal degradation is widespread. Yet no action is being taken to protect consumers.”
Anti-social behaviour
on the police agenda
by staff reporter
ANTI-social behaviour and parking problems will be top of the agenda at the next community action meeting in Whitecross, Warrington.
They were the two main issues raised by residents at the last community action meeting in the area and locals can find out what success has been achieved at the next meeting tomorrow (Tuesday).
“This is a great opportunity to find out what has been going on in the local area over the past few weeks,” said PCSO Kath Harkin, of the Warrington Central Neighbourhood Policing Unit. “We would encourage residents of all ages to come along and meet their local officers.”
Local councillors and representatives from partner agencies will also be on hand to talk to anyone who attends the meeting. Residents will be able to share their views on the concerns affecting their quality of life. They will then be asked to vote on their policing priority for the next nine weeks.
PCSO Harkin said: “By letting us know what issues are having an impact we can see which problems are affecting the quality of life of residents in the area. We can then focus our attention on what is important to the local community.”
The meeting takes place at Whitecross Community centre in Lexden Street at 7pm.
