Our students have many opportunities to take part in excavations during their studies. Below is a brief report on Archaeology students Polly Harris and Munazzah Khalid who took part in the Nidderdale project.
The remains of Lodge sit in stunning scenery above Yorkshire Water’s Scar House reservoir at the top of Upper Nidderdale. Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the excavation is an important part of the Landscape Partnership’s work to look after Upper Nidderdale’s heritage and help people understand the area’s past and present.
The village has its roots as a medieval grange farm linked to Byland Abbey. It appears on 16th century maps and was continually occupied up until its abandonment in the early 20th century when Scar House reservoir was built to provide drinking water for Bradford. Untouched since, the settlement survives only as a ghostly outline of tumbled dry-stone walls marking the outline of the houses.
During two weeks in July local volunteers and students from the University of Bradford, led by Solstice Heritage, excavated the remains of one of the houses and a small area of garden. Many of the finds dated to the 19th century and included a pocket watch. Fragments of later Medieval pottery provide a link to the sites Medieval origins.
Polly Harris planning on site
Munazzah Khalid
Louise Brown, Historic Nidderdale Project Officer (uppernidderdale.org.uk)
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