Tuesday, 01 March 2011 16:40
Forestry excavations
Last year saw excavations take place on Forestry Commission land. On the South East corner of Delamere Forest is the Iron Age Hillfort of Eddisbury, the most important fort along the Central Cheshire Ridge.
Constructed around 200BC, it is easy to appreciate the fort's strategic position with its steep slopes and extensive views over the forest and beyond. Around 100AD the Romans destroyed the fort, as they possibly saw Eddisbury as a threat to their new road to Chester. The site was possibly reoccupied in Saxon times, when Vikings were a threat from the nortwest. It is said that King Alfred the Great's daughter Aethelflaeda instigated the rebuilding of the fort, and for some time took up residence there.
In the summer of 2010 with the help of volunteers , excavations of the ramparts were undertaken with the guidance of archeologists. A large gated entrance was exposed, complete with post holes which would have supported a large structure on the ramparts, as well as foundations of guard houses. Large amounts of charcoal were found, and together with other samples, have been sent away for carbon dating, the results of which are eagerly awaited, and should help to answer the many questions over the forts demise.
In the south west corner of the forest, in Nettleford Wood, there are remains of the Roman Road, complete with a junction. This was the main road from Chester to Manchester for many centuries, and was the equivalent of todays M56. It fell out of use during the Turnpike era in the 1700s, when the roads we know today were constructed.
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Images of the excavation
Lynne makes this comment
7 March 2011