Working with our Partners the University of Lincoln and Lincolnshire County Council, the 2019 season focused on a site at the universities Riseholme Campus. The initiative was launched in Mar 19 at an event at The Collection in Lincoln. We were able to gain £20,000 funding from the Armed Forces Covenant and contracted Network Archaeology to undertake the professional archaeology for us.

Participants then commenced their programme with us, initial activities included a tour of Roman Lincoln, archaeological, geophysical and field-walking surveys as well as a series of classroom sessions that introduced participants to archaeological finds and methods. These activities culminated in eight days of research excavations on a suspected Roman site at the University of Lincoln’s Riseholme campus.

Data from the geophysical survey and the field-walking conducted by the volunteers helped archaeologists decide where to place a total of seven archaeological trenches. These revealed the remains of out-buildings of a Roman farm, these were excavated by the Wings to the Past participants under the supervision of archaeologists from Network Archaeology with frequent visits from the Wings to the Past academics including Professor Carenza Lewis (Professor for the Public Understanding of Research, University of Lincoln), Professor Simon James (Professor of Archaeology, University of Leicester) and Dr Adam Daubney. Our other founding Steering Group members worked alongside Network Archaeology.  

The excavations showed that most of the artefacts dated to the third and fourth centuries AD, but there was also evidence for activity dating to the first and second centuries AD. The longevity of the site may be explained by its close proximity to the major Roman road, Ermine Street and to Lincoln, one of the most important cities in Britain in the Roman period, and Riseholme’s involvement in regional trade was demonstrated by a significant collection of coins recovered during the excavation (mostly Roman forgeries!). The excavations also recovered a small amount of more recent pottery spanning the period from 400 AD – 1700 AD, hinting at continued human activity around the site, although the small numbers of sherds recovered makes it unlikely there was a large settlement in the immediate vicinity.

Overall 60 volunteers took part in the excavations, including 10 Royal Air Force families (who had at least one parent serving in the RAF or other military service), the Royal Air Force families were also joined by members of the local community. There was a vast age range involved, with the youngest member being 6 months and the oldest an octogenarian. Feedback was 100% positive, and provided valuable insight into the ways in which people benefitted. Comments highlighted how volunteers enjoyed learning new skills and working with experts, with one member remarking that they had:

“... forgotten the joy of talking to enthusiastic experts. A real pleasure to be part of this team.”

Others were grateful that it allowed them to learn about the history of a county they had lived and worked in for their entire life: 

'...They helped me learn new things and discover my Lincolnshire past.'

Finally, it allowed many to decompress, unwind and recharge, both physically but more importantly mentally, with volunteers remarking:

'I have certainly learnt many new skills and have also met some lovely people. ...our daughter has benefited a lot from being exposed to different environments outside of her comfort zone.'

'Didn’t approach the project for any other reason
than the heritage/history but found a sense of peace whilst participating. Forced me, and us as a family, to slow down, re-focus and spend time together without distractions. I was surprised at the positive mental health impact.'

This, of course, was the primary aim of Wings to the Past.

The project also included workshops, lectures, open days and a live broadcast from the site by BBC Radio Lincolnshire. An open day including display of finds and a tour of the trenches was held at the end of the final week of excavations. A one-day pop-up exhibition of finds was held as part of the University of Lincoln’s contribution to the Being Human festival of humanities research at The Collection in Lincoln on 23rd November 2019