THE Crawford Hall was full for January’s talk, 'Really Ancient Bidford' by Stuart Palmer, head of the Warwickshire Archaeology Department. Mr Palmer told members about their excavations at the building development site on Salford Road.

A small shard of pottery an inch long was found along with some Neolithic flints. Fragments of human bone were located in some charcoal indicating a possible burial site dating back 4000 years. Further excavations exposed burial henges in the form of pits, however, because of the acidic soil very few human remains were found.

Due to its location this rare Warwickshire settlement would not have been visible from the river valley where normally most activity occurred.

Prior to these monumental henges people had worshipped their ancestors however by this period for reasons as yet unknown, they were worshipping celestial bodies. Sadly these sites are now often vanishing under new developments without being recorded.

The Society’s outing on July 9 to the Richard III centre Leicester was announced .

The next meeting is on February 17, “The Land Girls” by Robin Hill and back at St Lawrence’s Church Hall B504DA.

ROBERT MARSHALL