WORCESTERSHIRE Archive and Archaeology Service (WAAS) has been successful in its bid for £95,830 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to deliver Roots in Time.
Roots in Time is a county council programme of archaeological outreach and educational activities, including a community excavation on the new public open space at Norton, near Evesham.
The woodland, wildflower meadows and wetland have been designed to provide multiple environmental benefits, and have been planned around the archaeology.
Cropmarks and geophysical survey show a ritual landscape centred around a Neolithic cursus monument, alongside Iron Age/ Romano-British settlement adjacent to the medieval and modern village of Norton.
The project is a valuable opportunity for local communities to come together, learn new skills and shape their surroundings whilst exploring 5,000 years of continuous landscape use.
Coun Matt Dormer, cabinet member for Communities said: “Learning how places in Worcestershire used to be and building up a picture of what it was like there is something that our archaeology team makes accessible to everybody and this programme is a great example of that.
Coun Tony Miller, cabinet member for the Environment said: “When we began creating the new woodlands in Worcestershire, we wanted our local communities to get involved with them and to take something away from the creation of our green spaces.
“We have many sites in Worcestershire with fantastic origins and discoveries, and I’m looking forward to hearing about this project while the woodland continues to take shape.”
Long term, the project will enhance the visitor experience through permanent interpretation sharing the heritage alongside the environmental benefits of the scheme.
