Archaeology @ Harewood

On Thursday Class 4 was fortunate enough to experience a day of hands on and interactive learning alongside archaeologists and historians who are currently working on the excavation of Gawthorpe Hall in the grounds of Harewood House.

We started the day looking at the tools archaeologists use and techniques they use to decide where the dig should begin.

We found out that Gawthorpe Hall was a medieval manor house.  It had a number of owners including the Lascelles family who made money from owning sugar plantations in Barbados and from the slave trade. The family wanted a bigger and grander home to reflect their wealth and had a new house built further up the hill - Harewood House. Gawthorpe Hall was destroyed and Capability Brown, who designed the gardens at Harewood, landscaped over the remains of the house where they have remained hidden until now.

We had an informative tour of the site and spent the afternoon sorting artefacts into categories and carefully cleaning them so they could be formally recorded for the dig.

We found pottery, shells, piping and lots of interesting bones including this piece of jaw with teeth. The children were all totally enthralled and inspired by all the activities. The sun shone for us and we had the added excitement of the BBC filming and interviewing us!

Please feel free to come up to class 4 to see all the photos from the trip – and keep an eye on your gardens, Mrs Lockwood and I cannot be responsible for class 4 pupils digging up your flower beds!!!!