Wealth of artefacts found at Hale Manor Quarry

摘要

A FASCINATING insight into Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman life on the Isle of Wight is being unearthed in a project by Wight Building Materials and archaeologists from Southampton City Council Archaeology Unit. The discovery of hundreds of artefacts has allowed experts to chart a legacy of intensive farming through the Bronze and Iron ages and has also raised the likelihood that the area is hiding an as-yet undiscovered settlement. The collection of prehistoric fragments is being dug up at Hale Manor Quarry, near Arreton, where sand and gravel extraction is subject to strict planning conditions, one of which is to work closely with archaeologists to ensure the site's history - that not already lost to time and the plough over the centuries -is preserved. For the past few years, quarrying has been conducted under the watchful eye of the team from Southampton City Council Archaeology Unit, with each artefact of interest being examined, catalogued, and presented to the Isle of Wight Museum Service, helping to paint a picture of life in the Arreton Valley during the Bronze and Iron ages and during the Roman occupation.