The AGM and exhibition on the A14
Thanks to the creative talents of our members and friends, we were able to mount a display on the walls of the Village Hall in Hemingford Abbotts, showing various responses to the roadworks on the A14 corridor and the impact construction work has had on our environment.
We had:
- A collage of images taken from a hot air balloon flight over the site
- An amazing kite made of re-cycled materials
- Several photographs of the changed landscape, including lopped and uprooted trees
- Poems lamenting the devastation
- A professional artist, Michael Murfin brought in several of his artworks which closed in on workers and materials, showing the massiveness of the scale and the materials.
- Sammy the Snail (pictured below) brought up the rear (of course) keeping to the slow lane and reflecting the ambivalence we all feel towards “progress”
After the business of the AGM, we listened to our guest speaker, Tony Walsh, who has been the Project Manager of the A14 excavations. He explained what has been found during the painstaking excavation of sites opened by construction works.
What did we learn?
- It has been such a large-scale project that archaeologists have had to be recruited from all over Europe
- A great number of animal bones were found, specifically domestic animals i.e. sheep, goats and cows, showing the prevalence of farming in the Ouse valley area
- Saxon finds were predominant
- Burial sites were discovered and some puzzling circles or ‘henges’. No clues have been found to explain their usage. Were they for animals? Were they used for religious rites? Opinion leans to the latter because they were so carefully made
- Detailed reports on what has been discovered will be published. Members will be able to research finds in their own villages in due course
Further learning….?
- We must have a sound system if we are to continue to use a Village Hall for our AGM!
- Cake and bellinis make a very nice way of ending the year
Thank you to all who came and supported the event; special thanks to all contributors, organisers and chair movers.
