Archaeologists unearthing Iron Age history with Norton Disney excavation

An archaeological excavation is under way to discover a village’s Iron Age history.

The Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group, in partnership with Allen Archaeology, has excavated a 20 metre by 20 metre trench near the Roman villa site in Norton Disney.

The area is known to have been an Iron Age industrial site, with previous excavations unearthing tools from more than 2,000 years ago.

Group chairman Richard Parker said: “It will hopefully tell us a little more of the story about the area before the Roman villa.

“The primary focus is on the Iron Age industrial activity.

“We hope to find evidence of smithing, as we know it was a large industrial site.”

The project is set to take two weeks, as the group’s 20 volunteers search for artefacts by hand after plant equipment began the dig on Monday.

The public will also be able to see the work for themselves at an open day on Saturday, get a closer look at the site, off Folly Lane, and see some of the group’s finds.

After the excavation ends, a report will be commissioned to detail the artefacts and history of the area.

Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group also celebrated the tricentenary of Lincolnshire antiquarian William Stukeley yesterday.

He wrote a book describing the journey down the Fosse Way, from Lincoln to Newark.

It described Collingham, the River Fleet and Norton Disney as having a Roman pottery.

He also drew the view from Potter Hill, one of the oldest recorded historic landscapes in Lincolnshire.

To celebrate, the group held a tea party with a William Stukeley themed cake, and declared the date William Stukeley Day in Norton Disney.

It is also planning an event at Newark Museum later in the year to mark the tricentenary.