The summer nights are drawing to a close and our autumn/winter programme begins on 14th September with Harvey Sheldon’s talk on the archaeology of Southwark. Our next one-day outing is to Norwich on Saturday 1 October. Details of this and other programme fixtures are included in this newsletter.

Members will recall the theft of our old projector from the Church Hall. This was reported to the police and local second-hand shops and car-boot sales have been checked but all with no success. The old projector, although growing rather noisy, had given us good service over the years. Perhaps an up-dated, state-of-the-art replacement was due, and this has now been purchased. We are once more ready to go!

You may also recall the growing trend for speakers to request a computer and digital projector for ‘power-point’ presentations. The result has been a frantic begging and borrowing, not a little nail-biting, and the frequent need for patience as this new technology seemed so reluctant to respond to our coaxing, experimenting, and appeals for help (human and divine)! At our last committee meeting it was unanimously agreed we should own our own power-point equipment and come armed with all the expertise needed for future stress-free presentations. This too has been done, and the new technology (for us) will be ready for the next speaker who arrives with a compact disc instead of slides. Fingers crossed everyone!

DAVID VALE

Committee members are delighted that all the reconstruction drawings that David entrusted to FLARE (plus some others) have been put on to a compact disc. This is for back-up electronic storage and ready image availability whilst David’s original drawings are kept safe and secure. The c.d. also provides easily available top quality paper copies whenever the need arises. A copy of this c.d. is to be presented to David’s widow, Mary Vale, with FLARE’s thanks and appreciation to them both. Copies of David’s book, ‘Lincoln: A Place in Time’ may be ordered or are available at FLARE meetings. They are also in sale in Lincoln’s bookshops – now including Waterstones.

THE NEW MUSEUM

Members of FLARE and their friends who visited the new museum for a preview in July (over eighty of them) were very impressed with all they saw. It was still very much a building site, with exhibits and displays going-up within a state of seeming chaos. The opening still seemed a long way off, as has proved to be the case. However, we saw enough to know that Lincoln will soon have a museum to be proud of, and well worth the wait. Well done all concerned.

FUTURE OUTINGS

The day-trip to Norwich on 1 October is designed to give members all the information they will need to visit any of the many attractions the city now offers. There is much to see, and a free day to arrange your own programme. The Spring 2006 one-day outing will be to Rushton Hall and Church, Rothwell Market Hall, Triangular Lodge and Lyveden New Bield – all associated with Sir Thomas Tresham and the Tresham Family of Northamptonshire. The buildings are renowned for their Catholic and mystical symbolism. The extensive Elizabethan landscaped gardens at Lyveden are currently being researched and restored by English Heritage. All sites are close to each other, about 90 minutes by coach from Lincoln. The proposed trip to Bristol, during the first week-end in July, is being arranged for us by Bob Jones. The problem will be in selecting from so many areas of interest what can be seen in three days. More news on this later, but make a note in your diaries.

ARCHAEOLOGY DAY 2005

Finally, do not forget the SLHA/University Archaeology Day on 8 October 2005. This year it will be held in the Members’ Lounge on the Lincolnshire Showground, off the A15 starting at 9.45 am. The theme is ‘The Evolution of the Lincolnshire Landscape’ with a wealth of speakers on how our county developed its unique features and characteristics. Application forms from Rodney Callow at Jews Court: Lincoln 521337.

John Wilford
Chairman

CITY ARCHAEOLOGIST'S REPORT

I am pleased to report that there are now clear signs that the city's visible Roman monuments are being put into better order. The 'green shoots' of these improvements are represented by the covering of an amorphous fragment of wall-core in the grounds of the Usher Gallery, and nearby works to clear a way through vegetation to a more impressive fragment adjacent to the Medieval Bishops' Palace. As part of its own programme, Lincoln Cathedral has cleared away material that was obscuring the fragment of mosaic pavement found in the cloisters in 1793. An information panel is being provided.

Within several months, you will notice a plethora of new information panels at strategic points around 'Historic Lincoln', which for these purposes is defined as the upper city and the hillside below. We have been advising on the content of the panels and proof-reading the drafts. This is part of a European initiative on 'Liveable Cities' that involves a number of cities around the North Sea, including Norwich.

One site that will not be graced with a new panel is the fragment of city wall at Cecil Street, which is to be re-covered in the next few months. It is simply too difficult to maintain, and away from the tourist route. In contrast, the gentle decay of the north tower of the Roman east gate outside the Lincoln Hotel has been a matter of concern to residents and visitors alike. I am pleased to report that I have now had further discussions with the hotel, which intends to improve the condition of the monument and its surroundings, and with English Heritage, who may be able to offer grant-aid. The Roman Monuments Conservation Plan has been an essential basis for making progress here (it is now available for sale @ £20).

In the medium term, an initiative involving a number of partners, including both City and County Councils, is to address ways in which we can enhance Lincoln's ability to attract more heritage visits by improving the condition of the historic core. Of course, the new Museum, The Collection, of which more than 60 members had a sneak preview on 22 July, will make a significant contribution here. It is due to open to the public on the official opening date of 4 October.

The original City and County Museum at Greyfriars is currently the subject of a Conservation Plan to help provide guidance for its future use. This study is revealing new information about the historic structure, details of which will be published in due course. In terms of material coming out of the ground in recent weeks, monitoring of a new large housing scheme in the Anchor Street/Gaunt Street area west of lower High Street has perhaps been most productive. Here the service-trenches have revealed several Roman burials, both cremations and inhumations, and two Roman pottery-kilns, both closer to the contemporary river-line than to High Street. At the town end of Wragby Road, at the site of the former Emiliani's car showroom, which is due to be developed for residential purposes, engineering investigations have revealed a complex of stone quarries and shafts which may date back to the medieval period: such features were common in that part of the city. Plotting their full extent and dating them will be difficult!

Mick Jones