Volunteers help preserve The Wrekin’s history
Wednesday 5th October 2011, 7:34PM BST.
Work to save 5,000 years of history on top of The Wrekin has been hailed a success by volunteers.
Restoration teams have spent the last few days working to protect the remains of a Bronze Age barrow and an Iron Age fort, 1,335ft above the Shropshire plain.
Pete Lambert, from Shropshire Wildlife Trust, said The Wrekin held a special place in the history of the area which needed to be preserved for future generations.
He said: “We have been working for three days to repair the effects of millions of feet tramping up to the summit.
“We have been repairing a Bronze Age barrow exposed by erosion which could have been built as a burial chamber 5,000 years ago.
“We are covering it with matting and then sowing it with grass seed to protect it from further damage.
“It was starting to become very exposed so we needed to seal in that bit of archaeology.”
The Wrekin was once home to the Celtic Cornovii tribe which built the fort and called it their capital. It sprawled the summit of the hill and covered about 20 acres.
Mr Lambert added: “Hell Gate, the earthwork entrance created by the Cornovii, has also suffered extensive erosion and is being restored.
“The Wrekin is also regaining a little height this week. The triangulation point had dropped about one-and-a-half feet over the last few years as its stone base had worn away. We have had more than 10 volunteers working very hard to build it up again, a fantastic landmark seen from hilltops around and beyond the county,” he said.
Pete Lambert, Wrekin Forestry Officer with two Wrekin Forest volunteers, Phil Jones and Nigel Cane-Honeysett repairing the pathway on The Wrekin
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