Telling tales of Middlewich's past (From Middlewich Guardian)

Telling tales of Middlewich's past

12:00pm Saturday 24th July 2010 in News By David Morgan

RELICS from Middlewich’s past have been selected from thousands of archaeological finds in the region to tell the story of Cheshire East.

Heritage experts have selected 10 artefacts to form the basis of a new booklet to celebrate the Festival of British Archaeology, which runs until August 1.

Items chosen from Middlewich include a Roman camp stool, a bronze, iron and wood artefact found during excavations in the 1960s A fragment of a Roman military bronze certificate found in 1939 called the Middlewich Diploma has also made the list.

It was issued by Emperor Trajan in 105 AD to a soldier on the completion of 25 years’ service.

Budding historians can learn about these items in Middlewich Library in Lewin Street where the camp stool is being displayed.

The Middlewich Diploma will also be placed in the library in the next few days after restoration work is complete.

Clr Andy Knowles, cabinet member for Cheshire East Council, said: “This is an exciting initiative which highlights the wealth of fascinating archaeological artefacts that have been unearthed in Cheshire East – and the richness of our local history.

“Hopefully this will inspire people of all ages not only to explore the many historic treasures found in our museums but also to get out and about and explore our landscape on foot to discover and connect with our past.”

Dr Jill Collens, project manager, added: “Some of the objects selected are rare and unusual, others are more commonplace but all help us to understand more about how our ancestors lived.”

The booklets are available at Middlewich Library. The leaflet also shows an Iron Age gold coin, from Warmingham with the disjointed image of a horse.

Middlewich has been a settlement since the Roman times.

It originally was given the name Salinae because of its surrounding salt deposits and became a major Roman site for salt production.