This has not been a vintage few months for discoveries in the city, but more details are being added constantly to the wealth of information that we have on the city, and all this information is entered into a database that we hope to make available on-line in the near future. One of the parts of town where development is producing new discoveries is the St Catherines area. The walls and burials found on the site of nos 45-47 may belong to the chapel of the hospital, previously believed to have stood much nearer to the city walls. More work is to take place in this locality shortly, and a number of other investigations are expected off lower High Street.

We can probably now see the light at the end of the tunnel for the ten- volume Lincoln Archaeological Studies series. The page proofs of the report on the finds from the well at St Paul-in-the-Bail are currently being checked. This contains a large collection of mainly mid to late 17th-century items, including material dumped into the well from the clear up following the Civil War fighting in 1644 and 1648. Among it are two pieces of architectural sculpture that we can, remarkably, identify as having been hacked off the Shrine of Little St Hugh in the cathedral, as well as items from nearby schools and inns. The volume on the Lower City is close to completion, and work is starting on revising those on Roman pottery and glass.

In the next few months, as the scheme to upgrade the ‘public realm’ in the so-called ‘Cultural Quarter’ is completed, improvements to a number of historic buildings are to be made, including the Constitutional Club and, we hope, Greyfriars.

Progress on repair and improved presentation of the Roman and medieval monuments in the city is only happening at a gradual pace, but we do now look forward to better presentation of the Roman east gate in the forecourt of the Lincoln Hotel. A timeline and interpretation panel have been provided at Monks Abbey, and the remains themselves are due to undergo some repairs shortly. We still need to find the funds to pay for the interpretation panels at the Commons which we have designed along with the County Council’s Countryside section. Improved ’access’ also means that via the internet these days, and we have enhanced the heritage pages on the City Council’s web-site: they should be uploaded by the end of October.

Talks 07-08
Those of you who came to our September talk will be aware that Andrew White was struck down by a bout of illness and had to cancel at short notice. We hope that he will be able to treat us to his account of Whitby in 2008. Glyn Coppack kindly stepped in and gave us an up to date and informed account of important research on Lincolnshire’s monasteries. All this research will result in a book in the not too distant future. November’s talk will be entitled ‘The Long Road North’, an account of archaeology on a long-distance pipeline, and the speaker will be Stuart Noon of Network Archaeology.

The Xmas event will take place on Tuesday 11 December, with a meal slightly different from that of previous years and some new entertainers. See the booking form that comes with this newsletter.

I am now well advanced with arranging the talks for 2008. As usual, I shall deliver the first in the series, on Wednesday 23 January. On this occasion, the subject will be the archaeology of the lower walled city at Lincoln, on which I am in the process of finalising a huge volume of excavation reports.

I am pleased to say that our 19 March talk, by Professor Ian Haynes of Newcastle University, will be a joint one with the Roman Society – for the first time in the city. (Normally these joint events take place at a university.) Ian’s subject - ‘Finding Bacchus in Transylvania’- will be based on his extensive researches in the Eastern European provinces of the Roman Empire.

In April 16, an old friend, Professor Malcolm Todd, who did so much distinguished work in the East Midlands while at Nottingham University, will be speaking about his research on Roman mining in the Mendips.

In October, another old friend, Dominic Perring, will be here to speak to us. A copy of the full programme for 2008 will appear with the January newsletter.

Next year’s outings will include Rufford Abbey (17 May), Northumbria (18-21 July), and Thornton Abbey/Barton on Humber (mid September).

FLARE has agreed to make grants to enable geophysical survey on the site of a medieval tile kiln just south of the river near to Washingborough, and provisionally also to check the line of the Roman Ermine Street as it crosses South Common.

Other events to note:

Details of a talk by Julian Richards on Tuesday 13 November are enclosed with this newsletter.

On Thursday 15 November, David Stocker will be speaking to Lincoln Civic Trust at St Mary’s Guildhall about the origin of that building, which, according to David’s interpretation published in 1991, is celebrating its 850th birthday this year. There will be a charge of £2, to include refreshments.

On Saturday 17 November, there will be an all-day session at The Collection on new research on Medieval Lincolnshire. Conference fee: £15.00. Contact Mark Williams at Heritage Lincolnshire (01529-461618) for details.

On Saturday 24 November, the Survey of Lincoln will be holding an open meeting at St Mary’s Guildhall from 10am to approximately 12.30. There will be brief accounts of some recent historical and archaeological research in the city and related matters.

Mick Jones