Search for ancient bones before houses are built (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Search for ancient bones before houses are built

The ancient remains which were reburied at Pockeredge Farm during the second world warCHIPPENHAM NEWS: The hunt for the remains of a teenage girl dating back to the second century could end next month if diggers are allowed to move on to land which is being developed for housing.

Historians say the remains of the girl, aged between 16 and 20, should be found before a 600-home development at Pocker-edge Farm and Peel Circus, Corsham, covers them up forever.

The Ministry of Defence discovered the Roman skeleton in 1942 when they were building research laboratories.

But the coffin was reburied and has not been found despite an archaeological dig in 2000.

Don Stevenson, of Hatton Way which overlooks the land, said the skeleton must be found and wants a site meeting to be organised to discuss ways of unearthing it.

"We want the site to be investigated before it is lost forever," he said. "It would make a wonderful exhibit for the Corsham museum because it is still intact."

An article written for the Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine two years after the discovery in 1944 explained how workmen stumbled upon the coffin which had been cut from Bath stone.

It is buried close to Zone F which has been singled out as an area most contaminated with substances left by the research laboratories, including asbestos and picric acid.

Mr Stevenson and his wife Doreen have been campaigning against the development, fearing the potentially dangerous chemicals are being released as soil is ploughed up.

A dig by Wessex Archaeology in 2000 failed to find the coffin, but ancient animal bones and fragments of Roman pottery were discovered.

Mr Stevenson believes experts were looking in the wrong place even though the grid reference was given to experts in 1942.

Andrew Manning, of Wessex Archaeology, who was the project officer on the site three years ago after being commissioned to investigate the land by Persimmon Homes, said artifacts were found.

"Bits and pieces were found during the Second World War but because of the war time conditions they had other considerations," he said.

"There is a lot of Roman history in Corsham. The developer did the right thing asking for a site investigation."

County archaeologist Roy Canham has been in contact with Persimmon, and is confident the developer will allow another attempt to find the skeleton, possibly in March.

"It is a little bit of local history so it would be nice to try to get it out of the ground rather than the developer sweeping over and destroying it," he said. "I think there is about a 50-50 chance of finding it. It should only take two to three hours to have a look so there is no danger of the development being held up."

A Persimmon Homes spoke-sman said: "We are currently in discussion with the county council's archaeologist over the possibility of under-taking some additional highly-targeted exca-vations this Spring."