Explore local history and archaeology at Wintringham community event

4 October 2022
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Urban&Civic, master developer for Wintringham, has teamed up with Oxford Archaeology East, Museum of London Archaeology and St Neots Museum to help bring the history of the place and local area to life, for St Neots’ newest community and its neighbours.

Urban&Civic, master developer for the new development at Wintringham, has teamed up with Oxford Archaeology East, Museum of London Archaeology and St Neots Museum to help bring the history of the place and local area to life, for St Neots’ newest community and its neighbours.

The Heritage Day – from 11am to 3pm on Saturday 15 October – will bring the past to life through interactive activities, displays, presentations and Iron Age reenactors. The family friendly event has something for all ages and interests. Oxford Archaeology East will be presenting the latest findings from their extensive excavation of Wintringham, over the last 10 months.  Their work, which has been focused on the area that will become the second phase of Wintringham, has revealed evidence of Iron Age and Roman settlements.

There will be the chance to hear from the team who have been excavating on the site and see finds that have not been on public display before, including an early Bronze Age flint knife and pottery found within a Roman kiln.  There will also be hands-on family activities including pottery making, mosaic designs and an indoor ‘dig pit’ for budding archaeologists.

The event will be held at Wintringham Primary Academy, the development’s first primary school, whose shape was inspired by the historic round houses that were such a key part of the Iron Age landscape around us.

Alongside the new finds on display, Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) will be bringing its new “museum in a box” containing artefacts from to prepare for the road’s upgrade, as well as basket weaving and hand spinning activities, both ancient crafts evidenced in the archaeology.

St Neots Museum has a fascinating array of exhibits on the area’s past through the centuries and will be bringing its Exhibition Treasure for the Gods display, an exhibition about Loves Farm and Kimbolton Coin hoard, and Romano-British pottery artefacts.

Christine Littlewood, Community Development Lead for Wintringham, said: “Our last Heritage Day was really popular with the local community, so we’re delighted to be back with an update from the most recent finds, as well as our amazing models showing Iron Age Wintringham.   The archaeology experts and activities will help people learn about everyday life and our reenactors will showcase the equipment and materials used by families travelling in an Iron Age camp. We hope the event gives people a chance to connect with the history that has shaped the landscape all around us and help us also to embed it in the future of the new community.”

The drop-in event is free and all are welcome. If you cannot make it but would like to find out more about Wintringham’s fascinating past, visit https://wintringham.org/archaeology/


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