Archaeologists to look at Roman fort in Alderney

Picture by David Nash. 20-05-21 Open day at the Nunnery for States of Alderney Members . Alderney

Subject to Covid restrictions, it is hoped that a team of Channel Island and UK volunteers, led by former Guernsey Museums director Dr Jason Monaghan, will head to the northern isle.

Dig Alderney – a charity set up to further archaeological projects in the island – had originally intended to conduct further geophysical survey work on an Iron Age and Roman settlement site on Longis Common, but the pandemic has pushed that work back to 2022.

Instead they will focus on the Nunnery – a well-preserved Roman fort.

There are several areas the archaeological team intend to examine. The first is the sun room, which was one of the few areas undisturbed during the German Occupation.

This could reveal the juncture of the Roman south wall with the medieval east wall and might help establish when the fort’s east Roman wall fell onto Longis beach below. It might also establish when the site’s gun ramp was built.

Alderney made the national news recently when details were released about a major burial site which was discovered at Longis Common four years ago.

Archaeologists found that the site was used for hundreds of years, from between 750BC to 238AD.

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