The Swandro Autumn Newsletter…….Life Returns…
by Bernie Bell - 10:20 on 22 October 2024
The Swandro Autumn Newsletter…….
“Welcome to our autumn update, really does feel very autumnal here as we are lashed by Storm Ashley, which later on tonight will be bringing us winds of Force 8 gusting to Force 12 expecting to peak at around 74mph. This, combined with this weekend's big spring tides, may well cause some coastal flooding and damage, just hoping the site doesn't get hit too hard.
On a more cheerful note here we have one of the star finds from this year's excavation, a whalebone weaving batten, found by Jackie McKinley on her first day back on site.
The best find of the dig this year was without doubt a finely ground stone disc, dating from the period known as the Roman Iron Age (i.e. what would be Roman Britain if the Romans had got this far north). For more information on the find, use and background information check out the dig diary entry.
The photos don't really do it justice as you can't get the feel of it, the smooth polish really has to be felt, it also has a beautiful sheen when wet.
We are intending to return to Swandro for another (probably final) season in 2025, our dates should hopefully be from Monday 16th June until Friday 8th August. If you are planning to visit us then aiming to avoid the first and last weeks would ensure that the site is looking its best (as it does in the end of season overhead below!) after uncovering and before closing up again.
In other news we have produced a new pdf booklet 'A Race Against Time The Story of Swandro' for the Rousay, Egilsay and Wyre Heritage SCIO, which has been distributed to the residents of all three islands. This is a concise summary of the work at Swandro to date in an easy to read format. In addition to this new publication we have both past season and specialist reports available for free download on our website.
Storm Ashley is now really picking up outside, working itself up to the main event overnight, so better get this newsletter sent off before the power goes out (a common occurrence when the weather gets a bit interesting). We'll just have to hope for the best on site, with a bit of luck the storm will dump extra rock rather than take away too much, but we won't know until we can get back on site next year.
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Life Returns…
To rivers across the Globe……..
https://x.com/RobGMacfarlane/status/1847230762765926763
It can be done!
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