A £1,000 CONTRIBUTION to further archaeology work in Calstock has been made by the parish council. Members of the council's finance committee agreed to donate the money to help the team, who found a Roman fort in the village in January, identify items from the site. Exeter University archaeologist Chris Smart and colleague Peter Claughton, an historian, gave a fascinating talk about the discovery at the annual parish meeting in Calstock last week, which was attended by around 30 people. Parish council members had described the rare and significant find as one of the biggest things to have ever happened in Calstock and were keen to see the work continue. The £3,000 appeal launched by Exeter University's fundraising foundation will pay for the dating of the pottery found at the site and indentification of preserved cereal grains. It will reveal the answers as to when the fort was used and what the Roman soldiers were eating at the time. Roman forts are very rare in Cornwall and archaeologists are hoping they will find out why the Romans were in the Calstock area. Could it have been because of the rich mineral resources? Peter Claughton will be in Calstock again on May 24 where he will give a talk in the village hall at 7pm. He is inviting local people to bring in any artefacts they have found in Calstock from 3pm onwards that might help the team piece together the history of the site next to St Andrew's Church. It is thought that the parish gravediggers may have found some bits of pottery over the years.
