Archaeology in France

[vervialle]

Its been great to read all your replies and no I would never be bored by any of them, its such a great subject, I have always peered very enviously at people involved in the digs where I live, but always thought you had to have a degree in History to get involved, It must be really exciting to participate, so keep your stories comming,I am facsinated.

[Mpprh]

Hi

I guess it depends where you live ?

We've got many digs going on around us.

The most interesting is in Lattes. They have preserved the area formerly occupied by the port of Lattes. Never heard of it? It had a population of 13,000 in 800BC. That makes it bigger than Marseille, Sete, Agde and other old cities.

They have gone down through 8 layers, and found an Etruscan burial plot. Problem is, this is the only evidence of an Etruscan colony, so they are now digging further in another part of the plot. It could just be a single Etruscan merchants family burial plot ? The glass artifacts, buried in amphora are in perfect condition - it is worth visiting the museum.

They have found Greek and Roman cities here, but they are quite new ?

Peter

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dwmcn]

I've neve been concerned about people on forums knowing my name, so I am David McNickle. I worked for the Biddles in Winchester in 1970-71 as a lowly digger, then for the City Rescue Archaeologist there,  Ken Qualman from 1972-?1975 or 1976. I Biddled at Repton for nine seasons as a superviser, head planner and sometimes surveyor in three trenches, mostly on the mound in the vicar's garden (Tr 8?) My plan of the burials in the mound has appeared on two TV programs. I worked here at St. Albans from 1982-84 as head planner and surveyor on the Cathedral Orchard site. I met my wife here and have lived here for 22 years. A local archaeologist told me that she just got a large Biddle book about Nonesuch, a site he did when he was 19. There is hope for Repton and St. Albans yet. He lectured here at the Cathedral recently and is still the Cathedral archaeologist. I believe that I still have several Repton digger's lists somewhere. Wasn't trench 10 an extension of trench 8 run by Hamish Roberton? I talked to his mother last Sunday. He is now married to a woman with two children and has two more with her. They live in Gloucester and Hamish is a dentist.

To return to French issues, we holiday there most summers, Dordogne this year, and do the occasional day trip to Calais for shopping and lunch. We would like to but a house in the region near Sarlat, but must either sell up here or win the lottery first. 

[dwmcn]

Yeah, digging for eight hours on a cold, wet day is really exciting.  Of course, there is always the pub afterwards.

[Blanche Neige]

dwmcn wrote the following post at 08/05/2006 17:02:

" The sites I worked on in GB: Winchester, "

As a student I worked on sites there in the mid 1960s, great fun, were you there then?

Edit: Martin (?) Biddle, yes, I remember him. Probably most memorable were the evenings we all spent at the local pub, walks up St Catherine's hill and life on the ex. army camp just outside the town.

[Missy]

[quote user="vervialle"] Have just watched time team on television in the U.K and it got me thinking about france, I have never seen an archaeological dig in France in fifteen years and have travelled all over France, I know in england we are probably more enthusiastic about it, especially where I live near Colchester with its roman origins, we always have a dig going on somewhere in Colchester especially when a building is being pulled down.Just interested if anyone else has seen one in France.[/quote]

 

France doesn't have the publicity machine behind a look-alike French Tony Robinson. Before all these 'Time Team' digs, I had not much heard of any archeological digs going on anywhere in UK.

There are digs going on but more discreet which is understandable in many ways.

Archeology, I think, has only become more popular because of Baldrick. What an (un)fortunate way to have become famous... I can see it written on his grave stone! for people in year 3006 digging it and speculate about his life and achievements...

[tmto]

There is often information about recent archeological discoveries in local newspapers. Also every time I have been to Lyon I've noticed something new has been discovered - not long ago they found 3 Roman barges (remarkably well preserved) in the silt in the banks of the Rhone. And recently here in Marseille they discovered the earliest Christian church ever to be found in France (this was while digging up one of the city's busiest arteries to make way for a new tramway system). So based on what I've seen, reading local newspapers and wandering around towns and cities would be my advice!

[dwmcn]

I worked on the Brook Street site in 1970-71. Then stayed to work for the City Rescue Archaeologist until 1976?. Did you stay in the Carfax Hotel, St. Marys School, the house on North Walls, or were you local?

[Blanche Neige]

dwmcn wrote the following post at 09/05/2006 16:32:

I worked on the Brook Street site in 1970-71

 

Brook St. Terrace (?), I was ahead of you and just a mere  Art student passing time during summer holidays. I was there in the mid 60s, we stayed on the old army camp outside the town.

[dwmcn]

Blanche Neige

Upper, Middle, and Lower Brook Street in the middle of town, near Sainsburys. Did you work on the Lankhills School Roman cemetery site with the school students?

[Hoddy]

David, I remember you. You were much more important than me - I just dug the graves and drew them afterwards. I did my best to avoid working in finds.

Trench 10 was an extension of Trench 8 and the first year I was there it was supervised by an American called Rik Harrington. He was married in the church that winter. Hamish took over afterwards. I knew that he had qualified as a dentist, and I last heard of him working in Lichfield ages ago. I met his mother when I did some late digging outside the cathedral at St Alban's which  was in the early 90s.

Hoddy

[Wendy]

They  still maintain an active digging site at Tautavel, outside of Perpignan. Thats where they have the Museum of Prehistory.

[dwmcn]

Hoddy,

That would be Rick Harrington of Rick and Julie Pfeiffer. They were originally 'Earthworms' (Earthwatch volunteers who were conned out of mucho money to dig.). Julie helped me lay out the site here on the Cathedral Orchard in 1982. The last I heard, they were living in Chichester, but that was years ago. I haven't worked for the Biddles since my last year in Repton because of a 'falling out' we had over the way they treated Helen Bamford. Hamish's mum is into healing and homeopathic medicine and is off to a conference in Russia. Probably taking her American Indian guide with her.

Back to France. There is an interesting article about fungus growing in the original Lascaux caves. I visited Lascaux 2 some years ago. Very interesting. The article is at http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article363120.ece

PS I wasn't more important, just more experienced. When I started with the Biddles, I did nothing but dig. I also tried to avoid potshed work.

PPS Earthwatch still exists and continues to take your money if you want to do all sorts of things from counting butterflies to digging. There are six digs in Europe this year, but none in France. England, Poland, Spain, and Italy are included. Google Earthwatch Expeditions.

 

 

[Blanche Neige]

Apologies for the late reply ( I have been away in France)

I worked at Lower Brook Street 1960s. We students were accommodated on an old ex army camp outside Winchester and bussed in each day.

Ashley Terrace was another sight with a song to go with it that went something like this:-

"Brenda works on Ashley Terrace, wears her hipsters gets embarrassed,

don't throw your dirt against our garden wall, (refrain)

then we will tunnel under and with a crash like thunder,

down will come the dirt against her garden wall."

(Sung to the tune of the Scots Porridge Oats ad.)

I don't know who Brenda (one of the students) was and wonder where she is now. Obviously there was a neighbouring home owner who objected to the dig. Goodness knows why I can still remember this song after all these years. There were always some good sing songs in the pub garden in the evenings.

A long time ago and in my youth! [8-|]

Happy days![:)]