VICE President Isobel Rider welcomed members to the May meeting of Bourne Valley WI. Notices were given about various items of interest, including a plea for photos of ‘Hidden Corners of Wiltshire’ for the 2016 WI Calendar.

A Coffee Morning will be held on June 18 at the President’s house. The Resolution for the A.G.M. at the Albert Hall was discussed, and a vote was taken, on the assessment of needs for long term care. Isobel then introduced Laura Joiner from Wessex Archaeology who gave a most interesting talk on the recent excavations at Barrow Clump, near Figheldean.

Barrow Clump came under the auspices of English Heritage in 2003/04 and is a site of special interest and the excavations could only take place because it was under threat, the badgers were destroying it!

Barrow Clump is a multi-phased site with evidence of burials from the Neolithic, Bronze Age and Saxon eras.

A geophysical survey showed lots of features and a large number of burials. The many finds were mainly from the graves, and included bone pins, beads, a sword and a unique drinking vessel.

There is evidence of flint-knapping on the site. So far 75 graves have been found covering the 3 phases. they are not Christian burials. The excavations involved local school children, who showed great interest in the proceedings, which also involved the M.O.D. (the site is within the firing range) and a lot of army personnel took part as part of a re-settling and rehabilitation project. Members were shown some of the objects found and were able to see slides of the excavations.

Laura answered many questions and it was agreed that it had been a very interesting meeting, which ended with the usual tea and cakes.