by Nigel S
OK, this article is mainly about non-prehistoric stuff but my excuse is that it didn’t start that way as I visited the village of Kempsey in Worcestershire to see the ramparts of an Iron Age promontory hill fort, just west of the church and close to the River Severn. Not spectacular these days but real enough. I chatted to the priest and he made me feel silly by saying some of it might be the “bund”, the very recent flood defences, but I don’t think the bit in the picture is, at least.
What caught my eye though was this, adjacent to the churchyard…..
It was erected by the locals following the discovery of 42 ancient graves during the construction of the flood defences and it contains the inscription: “Marking the reburial of our Saxon and Mediaeval ancestors 800-1300 BC”. The actual interment was just the other side of the fence, within the churchyard, but the stone was erected outside the fence so that passing ramblers would be able to see it. That strikes me as a great example of a village taking the trouble to mark its past, a past that is still connected to the present in some ways: as the priest pointed out, those who had been re-buried would all have been familiar with this …
Not all of Kempsey’s past is cherished though. Some of it is being exploited IMHO. First (like every village by now probably), Kempsey has been visited by metal detectorists under the unique Bonkers British legal umbrella which says they needn’t tell anyone about 99.98% of the historical finds they come across. One wonders just how much cultural knowledge of its past that has cost Kempsey bearing in mind that ARCHI UK, the database aimed at metal detectorists, lists 271 archaeological and historical sites within 10 km of the centre of the village!
Second, over on the other side of the village from the church there’s this new estate being developed ….
Note the name, Saxon Meadows. I bet there’s a new estate near you with a similar name. Being a bit of a cynic I read it as: “We’re probably destroying archaeology but this name shows we really care”! In the event they found a bit of Roman but no Saxon. Still, it’s the apparent caring that matters – although some gestures of caring in Kempsey are more obviously genuine than others!
The Heritage Journal 
6 comments
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14/09/2015 at 16:02
Quaifier
I thinks it is an important thing to mark an inhumation that has been relocated as in theory, the burial place was for perpetuity. It also indicates the notable, personal history of an area.
15/09/2015 at 07:13
Nigel S
I fully agree.
16/09/2015 at 17:01
Rob
Nice to see Kempsey’s heritage appreciated! Yes, your photo does show the edge of the Iron Age fort by the Severn. It originally stretched into the residential streets to the north of the church in a ‘lozenge’ shape, but the topography there was much-changed by 19th century gravel-digging (which yielded some spectacular finds, described in this book: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=VjU2AAAAMAAJ&rdid=book-VjU2AAAAMAAJ&rdot=1)
The excavations that led to the discovery and re-burial of the Saxon and medieval remains are nearing publication. There’s an article here with some background info, pictures and plans: http://www.explorethepast.co.uk/2014/05/treasures-from-worcestershires-past-25.html
It was once an important Saxon Minster and medieval Bishops’ Palace. Though, as you note, the excavations at the north of the village on the site of the new development produced all sorts of discoveries, picked up in initial evaluations and then fully excavated: prehistoric, Roman, medieval, post-med… but no Saxon! Post-excavation work is ongoing.
It’s a village with a long and intriguing history, nestled on gravel terraces above the river, on an ancient river crossing point and a major north-south road. I’ve led a few guided walks there, and it always amazes people how much of the historic landscape is still there to be seen, from WW2 decoys and defences right back to medieval field systems and Bronze Age barrows.
20/09/2015 at 05:58
heritageaction
Many thanks for all that Rob. We met at the community dig in Kidderminster. Anything else like that going on at present?
23/09/2015 at 12:41
Rob
We’re not involved with any current community digs at the moment, but early this year we were involved with the Abberley Lives project: https://abberleylives.wordpress.com/ , which did turn up some tasty prehistoric finds. There’ve been lots of other interesting projects going on nearby, including the NT’s Brockhampton project: https://summerofarchaeology.wordpress.com/ , and lots more ideas in the pipeline!
23/09/2015 at 19:56
heritageaction
Thanks for that. Any future community digs, please tip us off, we’d like to visit and feature them. We don’t cover enough.