Dr. Martin Rundkvist is a Swedish archaeologist, journal editor, public speaker, chairman of the Swedish Skeptics Society, atheist, lefty liberal, bookworm, and father of two.
The Department of History and Archaeology in Chester is moving from their lovely but run-down Georgian building at the north city gate to the main campus. So I spent most of today helping with the move: shifting finds from a Tudor manor site at Stokenham in Devon and excavation gear. On our way to the excavation site we then stopped to check out the Pontcysyllte aqueduct, an amazing 195-year-old piece of hydraulic engineering where a transportation canal has been made to cross a river 38 metres above its surface. The afternoon's fieldwork was interrupted and finally cut short by torrential rain, but I had the time to metal detect a new trench out in the ploughed field beside the barrow, and found a piece of a line-decorated lead object. Then back to Gwersyllt for some excellent Bengali food delivered to the door and an unsuccessful attempt to find a geocache near the railway station.
Photograph by Akke Monasso from Wikipedia.
[More about archaeology, wales; arkeologi, Wales.]
Comments
OT: The New York Times site has an interactive map showing interesting archeological sites in New York City. I thought it was a nice way to present the information.
Sometime I must make it to Wales. *sigh*
Posted by: Origuy | July 22, 2010 11:30 PM
For a second I thought I was reading a different blog, and that you were talking about the Paulinskill Viaduct in NJ (which also has a town called Chester).
Posted by: Thadd | July 23, 2010 12:07 AM
What have the Romans, er, Georgians ever done for us? :)
Posted by: codero | July 23, 2010 1:21 AM
I have visited Chester, back when I was a student backpacking around the British Isles, and if I head over to The Frontal Cortex (unfortunately no longer on SB), maybe I will learn why I have NO MEMORY of this aqueduct.
Posted by: Deborah | July 23, 2010 3:56 PM
It's half an hour from Chester by car, on the other side of the Welsh border.
Posted by: Martin R | July 24, 2010 2:43 AM
I walked over that aqueduct last month. It's worth going out of your way for.
Posted by: chris y | July 24, 2010 11:59 AM