Archaeology studies at Fairlynch get a boost
A
rare set of volumes of the Devon Archaeological Society has been offered to
Fairlynch, enriching the Museum’s resources in the Priscilla Carter Room.
Local
resident Jack Major, who has donated the volumes, is delighted that the set
will remain together rather than be split up, especially as it includes the
much earlier Proceedings of the Devon
Archaeological Exploration Society beginning with volume 1 from 1929.
Amateur archaeologist George Carter, right, with friends
The
collection is of considerable interest to Fairlynch as it contains two volumes
dating from 1935 and 1936 in which articles by Budleigh Salterton amateur
archaeologist George Carter about the pebble mounds of Woodbury Common were
published.
Professor Chris Tilley, seen here explaining the significance of the Bronze Age Jacob's Well site a few miles north of Budleigh Salterton
Chris Tilley, Professor of
Anthropology & Archaeology at UCL, has helped to re-evaluate George
Carter’s research in the light of current investigation into the Woodbury
Common sites. “He
did not have much time or patience with establishment archaeological ideas and
positions and fell out with some of the leading archaeologists of his day who
did not appreciate the value of his work,” comments Professor Tilley. “Sadly he
is now a forgotten figure in British archaeology. He was a man with ideas and
interpretative approaches well ahead of his time.”
Professor Tilley’s commentary on
the East Devon Pebblebeds Project at http://www.pebblebedsproject.org.uk
has given Carter his rightful place in local Bronze Age archaeological studies.
“His work is central to the Pebblebeds Project because nobody else has ever
excavated a pebble cairn before or since or tried to interpret their meaning
and significance. Spurned by the archaeological establishment, Carter may well
have the last laugh from his grave! Eighty years later most of what we know
about the prehistory of the Pebblebed heathlands is due solely to his efforts.”
It
was George Carter’s daughter Priscilla who co-founded Fairlynch Museum in 1967.
Long before then, George Carter had gathered together a collection of
locally-found items of geological and archaeological interest, most of which
found their way into the present Priscilla Carter Room.
Cared
for by Fairlynch volunteers and archaeology enthusiasts Angela and Tony Colmer
the collection was properly catalogued and attractively displayed. Angela's
death in 2007 followed by that of her husband four years later was a major blow
for the Museum.
If you would like to be involved with the
Priscilla Carter Room’s archaeological collection please contact Nicky (Tel:
01392 874535 Mobile: 07967 909967 or
Email: Nicky.hewitt12@btinternet.com)
Proceedings of the
Devon Archaeological Exploration Society 1929-38; 1946-58. (Total of 23 volumes)
Transactions of the
Devon Archaeological Exploration Society 1963-64; (Total of 2 volumes)
Proceedings of the
Devon Archaeological Society 1966-83; 1985-2005; 2007-12. (Total of 45 volumes)
Published articles in the
collection which relate to the Lower Otter Valley include the following:
Carter, G. Unreported mounds on Woodbury Common (1936)
Carter, G. The pebble mounds of Aylesbeare Common (1938)
Smith, E. Notes
on a series of flints from Woodbury Common
(1956)
Pollard, S. Neolithic
and Dark Age settlements on High Peak, Sidmouth,
Devon (1965/1966)
Pollard,
S. Radiocarbon
dating, Neolithic and Dark Age settlements on High Peak, Sidmouth, Devon (1967)
Miles,
H. Excavations at Woodbury Castle, East
Devon, 1971 (1975)
Brown,
S. & Holbrook, N. A Roman site at
Otterton Point (1989)
Joy, B.
& Quinnell, H. A Beaker wrist-guard
from Woodbury Common (1993)
Taylor,
J. - The
Colaton Raleigh gold bracelet hoard and its significance to the interpretation
of the later Bronze Age (1999)
Tilley, Chris - Jacob’s Well, Black Hill: a Bronze Age Water
Shrine on Woodbury Common (2009)
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