27/06/11
For the first time ever Eastbourne Museum Service is organising a summer archaeological excavation offering residents the chance to get hands on with history and discover the heritage of a key piece of land in Eastbourne town centre.
The community excavation will take place at GrangeGardens from 16-31 July 2011 as part of the national CBA Festival of British Archaeology and is being run in partnership with Eastbourne Natural History and Archaeology Society (ENHAS) and supported by the BBC’s learning project ‘Hands on History – Dig!’
The town’s Museum Service is calling for volunteers to come forward and help discover the history of GrangeGardens for the first time with the site not thought to have been excavated before.
Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism and Leisure Cllr Neil Stanley said “We are very excited to launch our first community summer excavation and offer the chance for residents to get involved in the project and help with the dig. It really is a once in a lifetime chance for our community to discover the history of a significant piece of land on our doorstep and I am intrigued by what we may discover!”
Those interested in volunteering for the excavation can find out more by emailing localhistory@eastbourne.gov.uk or calling 01323 415396 but places are limited and budding archaeologists are encouraged to register their interest early. Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Museum Officer for Eastbourne Borough Council Jo Seaman, who is organising the event, said “We are extremely grateful to the Duke of Devonshire, the Trustees of the Compton Estate and the residents living near the Gardens for supporting us and allowing us to investigate this site. As this area has been relatively undisturbed we should be able to learn a great deal about the early history of this part of the town. This sort of project is so important to me as I believe that actually getting your hands dirty and getting involved with your local heritage can create a much better understanding and appreciation of the environment that surrounds you and the past that went before us.”
Although GrangeGardens is private property with no public access, permission has been granted for it to be open most days between 11am - 1pm and 2pm -4pm during the excavation period for guided tours and a chance to find out what has been discovered. The Eastbourne Museum Service will also be working with local schools to organise visits to the site and the chance for children to have a go at real archaeological detective work.
A series of other activities are being organised to coincide with the excavation, including historical craft demonstrations and a Finds Identification Roadshow with the expert Finds Liaisons Officer for Sussex. Visitors to the site will also be able to pick up some fun ‘Hands on History – Dig!’ group activity sticker packs and badges.
The excavation is the latest project being run by the Eastbourne Museum Service who have been quietly working on a major audit of the impressive archaeological and local history collections that have been under wraps since the closure of the old Towner Gallery in 2005 and are now stored in the basement of the Town Hall.
After a successful appeal for more volunteers last autumn, the Museum Service has been increasing its visibility, through educational outreach work and taking objects from the collection out to local schools with more than 600 school children already benefiting from the programme.
With more than 90 new volunteers signed up to help with collection based projects, the Museum Service is keen to bring archaeology and heritage to an even wider audience. For more information and to find out about volunteering call 01323 415396.
