The Boston Big Dig
In June 2011 Lincolnshire County Council, in partnership with Heritage Trust Lincolnshire and Boston Borough Council, were successful in winning a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to run an archaeological excavation in the Market Place in Boston. When the excavation took place in July and August 2011, volunteers from the local community got the chance to get involved in the digging, and there were may other activities that the public could enjoy. What happened is all in an article that you can read by following this link. The article was written by Network Archaeology, who did a fantastic job in supervising and training volunteers, organising the events and activities and keeping visitors to the Market Place informed about what was being found.
Once the digging was complete we had teams of volunteers working on interpretation for information panels to be installed in the Market Place, leaflets and a display for St Botolph’s Church. At the same time a folk musician visited local schools in Boston and held folk music writing workshops with the children, who all wrote their own lyrics and music. They all thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
The best finds from the excavation came back to Boston in the summer of 2012 for a display in the Guildhall. The exhibition opened on the same day as the Medieval Fayre was held on 20th May to celebrate the success of the Big Dig.
The Fayre had Medieval and Tudor re-enactors and stall holders including: The Knights of Skirbeck, demonstrations of pottery, weaving, woodturning and Medieval Music. There were performances by local folk musicians of local traditional folk music and songs written by local school children alongside a performance of ‘Priscilla Biggadyke – The Musical’. There was a Lincolnshire Hog Roast and refreshments to buy as well as plenty of entertainment throughout the day.
