<![CDATA[A settlement in Nottinghamshire that was once famous as the village of Robin Hood is set to be excavated in order to understand more about the history and culture of the time. According to legends, Edwinstowe was the village where Robin Hood married Maid Marian at the St. Mary’s Church. Edwinstowe, “Holy Place of Edwin”, was named after King Edwin of Northumbria who died in the battle of Hatfield in the year 633. The village was also said to be quite close to Major Oak, the famous shelter for Robin Hood and his band of merry men. More than 100 volunteers have already enrolled themselves for what is being touted as the nation’s greatest ever community excavation. According to Andy Gaunt, the director of Mercian Archaeological Services, also stated that 2 Australian nationals were also traveling all the way from Australia to become a part of the dig. And that’s not all. The group also consists of 2 people with learning disabilities, the Newark and District Young Archaeological Club and the local Beavers group. Moreover, there are plans to involve the local adult education groups, schools and care homes as well. Andy states that the village is also home to the Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve and its world famous Oak Tree. This tree is known to date back almost 1000 years and it is considered to be the greatest of all oaks in the forest. The Oak also became popular in folklore as the hiding place of Robin Hood, thereby making it the most popular tree in all of England. Andy further states that the group is trying to establish how the village developed over time. He believes that digging 1 meter pits in various lawns and gardens will allow them to understand different areas of the village. He also expects to uncover a number of ancient artifacts from different periods that shall help the researchers in establishing dates for the construction of the different parts of Edwinstowe. Experts believe that fragments of medieval era pottery would be the best find as it would allow them to date the different areas. The Edwinstowe excavation began on 14th July and is expected to be completed by 25th July. Edwinstowe is a typical forest village and understanding its growth and development over time will allow experts to understand how different villages grew with the changing times. This free community excavation project has already made major waves across the world. More than 100 individual volunteers have been celebrating the Festival of British Archaeology over a period of 13 days by trying to uncover one of its best kept secrets. This has helped the project to grab headlines across the world as well. Project members will be posting regular updates about their findings and discoveries on Facebook and Twitter and any Robin Hood fan interested to know more about the project can easily follow them on one of the two social networking channels. ]]>
Robin Hood’S Village Being Excavated in Nottinghamshire
