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National Museums Liverpool Blog - Community dig at Leasowe Lighthouse

 Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Community dig at Leasowe Lighthouse


Wednesday 10 October 07

Over the last couple of weeks our Field Archaeology Unit has been working on a community dig at Leasowe on the Wirral. Here's a report from Dr Liz Stewart, curator of archaeology and the historic environment, on the progress so far.


excavated area of briock floor

"We are now half way through the community dig and are finding the remains of some buildings which once stood next to the lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1763. A late eighteenth or nineteenth century stable and coach-house is shown in some early photographs and on old plans but the excavation has revealed more detail about how it was built and used at different times in the past.

There were initially some ideas that the floor of the building was slate, and flat slates were found, but small holes in them suggested they had been used as roof tiles, and then as they were lifted a brick floor started to be revealed underneath.

The brick floors to each of the rooms are now cleaned, and it is clear that they are made from bricks of different sizes, possibly suggesting different dates, the stable against the lighthouse being earlier than the coach-house.

Darkening of areas of the floor and small pieces of coal suggest that the outbuildings were used as a coal store rather than a stable towards then end of their existence. The buildings were demolished in the early twentieth century.

The dig continues until 19 October and the next phase may reveal earlier phases of buildings, or possibly even earlier use of the site."


Posted by Sam | 10/10/2007 12:29   | Comments [0]

Posted in: museum of liverpool

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