Surprised (From Herald Series)

Surprised

9:00am Wednesday 24th June 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

Sir, I was very surprised at the tone taken by last week’s front-page Wallingford Herald article on the Kinecroft excavation.

As the archaeologist responsible for reinstatement, I can tell you that the ground was initially restored to a high standard.

The town council then did an excellent job in re-seeding the area. I visited the site a month later to check the state of the site. There was no subsidence at that stage and the grass was growing fine. The same was true of the Bullcroft trench (a photo is provided showing the Bullcroft trench recovering well four months after the excavation).

Omitted from the article was any mention of subsequent events, when vehicles carrying fairground equipment were tracked over the vulnerable area in Kinecroft.

This inevitably killed the grass and created deep ruts, which then had to be filled in. I had no control over that phase of reinstatement. Whatever imported material was used to fill the ruts was, perhaps, the source of many of the surface stones, and the reason why no further grass would grow.

Clearly we need to re-think our reinstatement strategy to take account of the heavy usage of the Kinecroft for festivals and other popular events. It is important to learn from past mistakes and work together to produce a better reinstatement this year.

We do not always get things right. But the article implied shoddy practice and lack of care which must be refuted. Archaeologists take great pride in their work and a strong professional interest in trying to ensure that sites are reinstated properly.

Matt Edgeworth Leicester A Member of the Institute of Field Archaeologists

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)