Abstract
IN view of recent developments in the study of British archaeology and prehistory in the period preceding the Roman invasion, considerable interest is attached to the announcement that the earthworks which—crown the slopes of the Wrekin in Shropshire are to be excavated by the Society of Antiquaries of London in co-operation with the Shropshire Archaeological Society. It is thought probable that the Wrekin was the headquarters of the tribe of the Gornovii before they were removed by the Romans to the riverside site of Vifoconium or Uriconium, the modem Wroxetef, some time about A.D. 60-70, mueh as the tribesmen were reittoved from Maiden Castle to Dorchester in the same period. Uriconium itself, the Roman site, has recently been excavated by Miss Kathleen Kenyon, and it is now the opinion of archaeologists that the time has come to investigate the earlier site. It will be a mattei? of interest to see whether the suggestion thrown out by Dr. R. E. Mortimer Wheeler of an indication in his recent-excavations in southern Brittany pointing in the direction of Shropshire is in any-way borne out by the results of the investigation now contemplated. Permission for the work has been given by Lord Barnard, the owner, and the work will be under the direction of Miss Kenyon. Excavation will begin in the current year, and it is hoped will be completed in 1940. A committee has been appointed for the purpose of raising funds to meet the cost of excavation, of which Mr. A. W. Clapham, president of the Society of Antiquaries, is chairman, with Sir Charles Marston and Sir Frederic Kenyon as vice-chairmen, while among the members of the committee are Lord Harlech, Lord Powis, Lord Baldwin, Sir Charles Peers, Dr. R. E. Mortimer Wheeler and Mr. J. P. Bushe-Fox. Contributions to the excavation fund may be sent to the Assistant Secretary, Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W.I.
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Pre-Roman Archæology in Shropshire. Nature 143, 1059–1060 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/1431059b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1431059b0