A community archaeology project at HMP Erlestoke in Wiltshire has uncovered a collection of Mesolithic flints and artefacts from later periods, while giving prisoners the opportunity to take part in archaeological research on the prison site.
The “Digging for Erlestoke” project was supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and led by Leigh Chalmers, heritage inclusion manager at Wessex Archaeology. It follows a small excavation carried out at the site in 1963, when the institution had a different use and finds dating to the Bronze Age were recovered.
Because of the restrictions associated with the prison location, work was limited to specific areas south of the former 18th-century manor house, which is now occupied by the Education Centre. Participants took part in site-history research, risk-assessment training and ground-penetrating radar surveys conducted with geophysicists. They also attended ecology sessions and made bird and bat boxes for the prison grounds.
In September 2023, eight men worked with archaeologists Lee, Steve and Eva during four weeks of test-pitting. By the end of the excavation phase, they had learned to mark out and dig test pits, select suitable tools, identify changes in stratigraphy, record plans and carry out initial processing and identification of finds, according to Wessex Archaeology.
The recovered material included Mesolithic flints, Romano-British pottery, medieval pottery fragments, 18th-century glass and part of a clay pipe. The finds were subsequently processed and recorded, and inspired artwork produced through sessions with a finds illustrator and artist Sue Martin. These included enlarged paintings based on the flints and pottery.
Elizabeth Williams, education manager at HMP Erlestoke, said the project had been incorporated into activities including mathematics, horticulture, art and library development. She described archaeology as particularly accessible because it was taking place on site and connected with the participants’ past, present and future.
Independent evaluators will assess the project’s potential effects on the wellbeing of the men involved. The next stage is for participants to write the post-excavation report so the discoveries can be added to the Mesolithic archaeological record of the area. Plans are also being developed to share the findings with the wider community.
