Archaeology Service Unveils A History Of Cheshire East – in 10 Objects

Ten objects have been selected from the thousands of archaeological finds from across Cheshire East – to tell the story of our area.

It coincides with the start of the national Festival of British Archaeology 2010, which runs from Saturday July 17 to Sunday August 1.

The 10 East Cheshire objects range from a prehistoric Bronze Age cremation urn and famous bogland murder victim Lindow Man to a hoard of coins from the 17th century.

The 10 artefacts are highlighted in a handout entitled ‘The archaeology of Cheshire East in 10 objects’. It has been produced by the Archaeology Planning Advisory Service, which serves both Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester councils.

Councillor Andy Knowles, Cabinet member with responsibility for health and wellbeing, said: “This is an exciting initiative which highlights the wealth of fascinating archaeological artefacts that have been unearthed in Cheshire East – and the richness of our local history.

“Hopefully this will inspire people of all ages not only to explore the many historic treasures found in our museums but also to get out and about and explore our landscape on foot to discover and connect with our past.”

Dr Jill Collens, project manager at Cheshire APAS, said: “Some of the objects selected are rare and unusual, others are more commonplace but all help us to understand more about how our ancestors lived.”

The handouts are available at Nantwich and Congleton museums and Middlewich Library, where the artefacts are on display during the festival.

The leaflets are also available at other local libraries and can be downloaded at:

http://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/environment_and_planning/planning/archaeology.aspx

Further information on the rich and varied archaeology of Cheshire East can be found at:

http://rcp.cheshire.gov.uk/

Each year the Council for British Archaeology coordinates the Festival of British Archaeology. Now in its 20th year, it is an annual celebration of heritage organised and held by museums, local societies, national and countryside parks and heritage organisations across the UK.

Cheshire East Heritage Champion councillor Rachel Bailey said: “This inspiring initiative and the festival as a whole present everyone with the opportunity to learn about their local heritage, to see archaeology in action and to get involved.”

A list of events to be held in Cheshire during the festival can be found on the website: http://festival.britarch.ac.uk

Cheshire East has 108 scheduled monuments, 10 areas of archaeological potential, more than 6,000 sites of archaeological importance and more than 8,000 historic landscape characterisation records.