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Armorican coin of Group 1, with design derived from the stater of Philip of Macedon. (Drawing by N. L. V. Rybot, reproduced by courtesy of the Société Jersiaise). groups, and a professionally trained geologist, he is respected as the leading authority on the island's geology and antiquities. He pointed out the suddenness with which valuable material can still disappear unrecorded, but for the vigilance of a few. A recent example was the discovery of a fine megalithic tomb and avenue of stones, disturbed by the construction of the gas works in St. Helier, which Dr. Mourant succeeded in recording, with the help of the chief engineer, (now the manager). Much of the monument is still there; some stones were dumped before their importance was recognised, but most of the stones of the avenue were saved for the Museum. Of particular interest was the fact that both over and under the remains were beds of peat, of which samples were taken; pollen and radiocarbon analysis of these should give results that might— partly at least—alleviate the loss of a spectacular monument. That rapid action is usually possible was shown again this Easter. It was reported to the Museum that in a cave thoroughly cleared and closely watched by Mr. Drew and others, recent tides had exposed a further small fragment of bone in the fossil beach, deep in the cliff. The unusually low spring tide of Easter Sunday enabled an official party of us to make the arduous ascent from the rocks to recover it. The bone—a jawbone—may well prove to be that of cervus elaphus jerseyensis Zeuner, a small deer peculiar to the island, and extinct since prehistoric times. Constant watching is needed to protect these caves from the depredations of souvenir-hunters. Training Needed Dr. Mourant emphasised the urgent need for more trained archaeologists in the island to direct full-scale rescue excavation. It has not been practicable for Dr. McBurney to offer formal training at La Cotte to those few local volunteers who have been privileged to take part; and experience in cave deposits is of limited value on Neolithic and later sites, for which a rather different type of training is needed. But the appeal has not gone unheard: in 1970 Southampton University will be sponsoring a Residential Training school in Archaeology in the island, perhaps linked to the proposed joint study of megalithic sites in Brittany in 1969 by the extra-mural departments of Bristol and Southampton. In the meantime, recording and surveying the known remains is a full-time pursuit for those with the time and energy to spend on it. For a tourist-conscious island, Jersey takes its ancient monuments very much for granted. It is true that, lying between the spheres of French and British Universities the Channel Islands have been neglected by almost all scholars but their own. Sir Thomas Kendrick and Jacquetta Hawkes broke new ground in their monumental twovolume The Archaeology of the Channel Islands, as long ago as 1928 (Guernsey) and 1937 (Jersey); but one has only to read the brief relevant section of Dr. Glyn Daniel's eight-year-old The Prehistoric Chamber Tombs of France, another pioneer work, to appreciate the lines on which a new study should proceed. A detailed gazetter of the monuments has been compiled by Dr. Mourant for the Jersey Society in London* ; but it remains a regrettable fact that there is no guide-book available for visitors to the island. As late as the 19th century it could be said that "Various remains of Druidical structures are observable on this island". In the 20th, Daniel referred to the culture of the megalith builders as "rich, brilliant and luxuriant". One may well wonder what the scholars of the next phase of archaeological activity in the island will have to say of their own forebears. * Obtainable from: Mr. D. Sarre, 39 Addison Road, London, W.11 (2/6d. post free). 228
page 11
T HE remains of several bridges are known from Roman Bri­ tain. Sometimes all that remains are the abutments that show where a bridge must have existed. At other times traces are found in the beds of rivers, sometimes, as with the several bridges on Hadrians Wall, in the form of masonry piers, but more often in the form of wooden stakes driven into the river bed. But the discovery not only of the foundations, but also of part of the superstructure of a bridge on dry land in the middle of a gravel pit is as unexpected as it is welcome. The bridge was one on the Roman road that ran from Huntingdon north-westwards to Leicester, a distance of about 45 miles (Margary route 57a). About halfway along near Thrapston, in the Parish of Aldwincle (Grid Ref. SP 999 801), it crossed the River Nene, at this point a not inconsiderable river, today some 25 yards wide, and flowing from south-west to north-east. However the river has been shifting its course to the right (south-east), so that the bridge was some distance away from the present bed. The River Nene has in fact been canalised and now runs in a completely new course several hundred yards to the south-east, and the old bed is now occupied by a little tributary called Harper's Brook. The left bank of this is now 35 to 40 yards from the right bank of the river in Roman times. The bridge was constructed by driving piles into the bed of the stream, and then constructing a framework of timber on top, some running along, and others across the bridge. Planking was then laid on top, and it appears that metalling was laid on top of this. The best illustration of this appears above, where one each of the cross beams and the longitudinal beams survived, still joined together in position on top of one of the piles. However this was not part of the actual bridge, but of the abutment to the bridge, for the cross beams appear to be lying on solid metalling that had collapsed from the The timbers of the abutment to the bridge show the construction, with the longitudinal beam slotting into the two cross beams. On the left is one of the sloping buttress posts, while the remains of the earlier bridge can be seen projecting out of the lower section, beneath the longitudinal beam. Photos: G. Clayson ALDWINCLE ROMAN BRIDGE earlier bridges—the river in the meanwhile having shifted towards the other bank. The surviving cross beam suggests that the width of the abutment was approximately 21 ft., and the five piles on which it was held firm averaged 5 ft. apart. However the actual bridge itself may have been slightly narrower, for it was carried on groups of five piles set at an average of 4 ft. apart from each other. These rows of five piles appeared to be set at intervals of 9 to 10 ft. across the bridge. The length of the bridge is unknown, though the piles were followed for at least 50 ft. across the old river bed, and probably extend further. The Aldwinkle bridge had three periods, and most of the piles were in groups of three, one of which was always larger than the others. The original structure presumably dates to the first century, as a few sherds of Samian were found in a stratified position. It was a solid affair—very different from the makeshift character of the later bridges. At the south-east (siltedup) end part of this early bridge had collapsed into the accumulating silt and was buried, and the later bridges were built on top of it. Indeed, it could be proved to be the earliest, for the piles of both the later bridges had been driven through, or up to, the collapsed timber: two of these piles had iron tips which were still in position. Fortunately, the parts of the collapsed timbers that had been preserved gave some indication of how the bridge had been built. (See the illustration overleaf, with the 229

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Armorican coin of Group 1, with design derived from the stater of Philip of Macedon. (Drawing by N. L. V. Rybot, reproduced by courtesy of the Société Jersiaise).

groups, and a professionally trained geologist, he is respected as the leading authority on the island's geology and antiquities. He pointed out the suddenness with which valuable material can still disappear unrecorded, but for the vigilance of a few. A recent example was the discovery of a fine megalithic tomb and avenue of stones, disturbed by the construction of the gas works in St. Helier, which Dr. Mourant succeeded in recording, with the help of the chief engineer, (now the manager). Much of the monument is still there; some stones were dumped before their importance was recognised, but most of the stones of the avenue were saved for the Museum. Of particular interest was the fact that both over and under the remains were beds of peat, of which samples were taken; pollen and radiocarbon analysis of these should give results that might— partly at least—alleviate the loss of a spectacular monument.

That rapid action is usually possible was shown again this Easter. It was reported to the Museum that in a cave thoroughly cleared and closely watched by Mr. Drew and others, recent tides had exposed a further small fragment of bone in the fossil beach, deep in the cliff. The unusually low spring tide of Easter Sunday enabled an official party of us to make the arduous ascent from the rocks to recover it.

The bone—a jawbone—may well prove to be that of cervus elaphus jerseyensis Zeuner, a small deer peculiar to the island, and extinct since prehistoric times. Constant watching is needed to protect these caves from the depredations of souvenir-hunters.

Training Needed

Dr. Mourant emphasised the urgent need for more trained archaeologists in the island to direct full-scale rescue excavation. It has not been practicable for Dr. McBurney to offer formal training at La Cotte to those few local volunteers who have been privileged to take part; and experience in cave deposits is of limited value on Neolithic and later sites, for which a rather different type of training is needed. But the appeal has not gone unheard: in 1970 Southampton University will be sponsoring a Residential Training school in Archaeology in the island, perhaps linked to the proposed joint study of megalithic sites in Brittany in 1969 by the extra-mural departments of Bristol and Southampton. In the meantime, recording and surveying the known remains is a full-time pursuit for those with the time and energy to spend on it.

For a tourist-conscious island, Jersey takes its ancient monuments very much for granted. It is true that, lying between the spheres of French and British Universities the Channel Islands have been neglected by almost all scholars but their own. Sir Thomas Kendrick and Jacquetta Hawkes broke new ground in their monumental twovolume The Archaeology of the Channel Islands, as long ago as 1928 (Guernsey) and 1937 (Jersey); but one has only to read the brief relevant section of Dr. Glyn Daniel's eight-year-old The Prehistoric Chamber Tombs of France, another pioneer work, to appreciate the lines on which a new study should proceed. A detailed gazetter of the monuments has been compiled by Dr. Mourant for the Jersey Society in London* ; but it remains a regrettable fact that there is no guide-book available for visitors to the island.

As late as the 19th century it could be said that "Various remains of Druidical structures are observable on this island". In the 20th, Daniel referred to the culture of the megalith builders as "rich, brilliant and luxuriant". One may well wonder what the scholars of the next phase of archaeological activity in the island will have to say of their own forebears.

* Obtainable from: Mr. D. Sarre, 39 Addison Road, London, W.11 (2/6d. post free).

228

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