Archaeological dig to take place near Whitchurch
An archaeological investigation will be carried out tomorrow at one of Shropshire Wildlife Trust's newest nature reserves.
The dig will take place on the reserve at Prees Heath Common, near Whitchurch, which is very close to the site of a First World War troop hospital that once housed hundreds of wounded soldiers.
The project is being run by the Heritage Lottery funded Meres & Mosses Landscape Partnership Scheme (LPS) and is receiving technical support from the Whitchurch Heritage Centre volunteer team.
An excavator has been loaned by Vernon’s Plant Hire to thinly scrape a few small parts of the site surface.
Kirsty Brown, from the Meres & Mosses LPS team, said: “Prees Heath Common is rich in wildlife and history.
"We hope that scraping back to bare ground will expose interesting archaeology, and by removing some of the more invasive vegetation it will provide an important habitat for the unusual plants and insects of the common to colonise. It’s a real win-win.
“We don’t know what archaeology we might find; the common was an important military camp in World War One and an airfield in World War Two.
"We’re particularly hoping for World War One artefacts as this period is less well documented and any finds would be great to help commemorate its centenary.”
Any artefacts uncovered will go to Whitchurch Heritage Centre to be conserved and exhibited.
