Crosby’s Soroptimists have been going back in time.
The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside (LWT) is planning education workshops. These form part of the Mesolithic and Modern Life project at Lunt Meadows Nature Reserve. SI Crosby is a long-term partner with LWT.
The Soroptimists are joining other volunteers in developing sessions that can be rolled out as part of the project’s learning programme. Topics include prehistoric crafts and archaeology techniques.
Soroptimist Chris Chua-Short said: “The initial workshop, on prehistoric crafts, was led by Barry Taylor and Amy Gray Jones, Senior Lecturers in Archaeology at the University of Chester.
“They gave us an insight into life in Mesolithic times, then explained how to make some traditional Mesolithic items. We started with cording using nettle and some other tree bark. Certainly, we weren’t as skilled as people 9,000 years ago! However, it was challenging and fascinating, and we learned a lot.”
‘Wet sieving’ is archaeological technique that could form part of the project. Ron Cowell, Curator of Prehistoric Archaeology at the Museum of Liverpool leads this phase of development. The workshops build on the museum’s research at Lunt.
“Pouring water through a sieve full of soil deposits from Lunt’s Mesolithic site was a bit messy,” said Soroptimist Margaret Davidson. “However, spotting tiny fragments of flint, chert and hazelnut shells as they were revealed in the sieve was quite exciting. We were the first people to see these items in thousands of years.
“We learned how to record the findings. Gradually these records can be plotted out and form a ‘picture’ of the people’s lives at Lunt Meadows in Mesolithic times.”
Drop-in family sessions attracted many people during the autumn half-term holiday. All the children enjoyed sieving, searching for artefacts – however tiny – and finding out about the hunter-gatherers who once lived at Lunt.