Children in Blacon have displayed a Roman coin unearthed in their school grounds in a ‘museum’ at St Theresa’s Catholic Primary School.
Youngsters from the Kipling Road school took part in an archaeological dig near their school and have since created a ‘museum’ to share their finds with others.
The dig, led by Big Heritage in September 2015, was instigated to discover more about the history of Blacon, including the 18th century Blacon Hall.
The school had four test pits dug in the grounds and a further four excavated in the sports field, which pupils and parents helped to examine, becoming archaeologists for the day, digging the pits, sieving the soil to find artefacts and then washing the artefacts so that specialists could examine them.
Last month the company, which works with museums, educational organisations and communities, visited the school for the final part of Blacon’s Big Dig project.
The Year 4 children became curators for the day, creating a museum for the school. They had to examine some of the artefacts found in the dig, identify what they were and their date. They then had to decide if they were going to be put in our museum for the rest of the school to see.
The pupils got to hold and examine every artefact, including a Roman coin dating from the 4th century AD, portraying the Empress Helena on one side and the Pax Romana on the reverse, minted in Trier, Germany. Headteacher Nicola Kirkman thanked Year 4 teacher and history subject leader Nicola Sowerby for co-ordinating the work for the project.
