CONTRACTORS carrying out environmental works at Abbey Weir in Tavistock have this week dug up an unexpected bonus for local historians. A piece of granite, estimated to be around four to five hundredweight, was dragged off the gravel river bed close to Abbey Bridge by a digger last Thursday, when workers were constructing a ramp as part of a major project to ease the migration of salmon to spawning beds further up the river. It is believed by local historians to possibly be one half of an iron mould dating back hundreds of years, which could even have been used to make cannonballs. Other pieces of stone have also been found at the site, one believed to be a window buttress from the old abbey and another a medieval support for a stall post in a shippon or cow shed. A meat hook was also found. The granite block, measuring around four feet by two and one foot deep has two shallow wells indented in the stone, connected by a grooved channel. The mystery artifact was discovered during a joint project by the Environment Agency and South West Water to install automatic screening devices in the River Tavy at Abbey Weir. The screens will prevent smaller fish escaping into the leat system that serves Mary Tavy and Morwellham power stations. The new weir is being constructed in the river to aid salmon travelling to spawning grounds. Dave French, an officer with the Environment Agency, was on the scene at the time. He said: ?We were all excited when we found the slab in the bucket. ?The mould is not the normal thing you would expect to be dredged up in the river out of the gravel. ?We have also found a leather shoe ? who knows what we will find next!? Mr French said that the team were happy to hand their discovery of historic interest to Tavistock Town Council for preservation. Simon Dell, Dartmoor guide and a local history enthusiast for many years, said: ?I reckon it?s an iron mould, possibly to use for an 18 pound cannonball. It?s definitely not a tin mould. ?There used to be a number of iron foundries all along the River Tavy here in the 15th and 16th centuries. ?It might even be a mould from the time of the English Civil War.? Tavistock historian Gerry Woodcock was also excited about the find. He said: ?It is too early to say what its actual function was and how old it is. ?However, being close to the site of a monastery, my first thoughts were that it could have been used for washing purposes, but my instincts tell me that it is more likely to be a mould from a nearby foundry.? Mr Woodcock said that dating the slab was difficult because there had been three or four major works at the weir site, and it could have been put there anytime in the past 200 years. He told the Times: ?My hunch is that it is some kind of mould for metal, such as iron, and possibly for cannonballs. ?There was certainly an iron foundry along the river bank in the mid 19th century, owned by the Pearce Brothers. ?This discovery is certainly of enough historical interest to be preserved for the people of Tavistock.? Mr Woodcock added that one possibility was that the granite slab might indeed have been dispatched by the foundry into the nearby river and ? despite its weight ? strong currents could even have carried it further along the Tavy to the weir. On Friday the granite slab was handed over to Tavistock Town Council from the river bank and transported to the town museum, where it will be be displayed.
