11th-hour find dates Shrewsbury church to the Saxons
With just minutes to go until they were forced to shut down the site, archaeologists working on an ancient Shrewsbury church struck gold and discovered proof that it dated back to Anglo-Saxon times.
The four-man team, led by Ledbury-based archaeologist Janey Green, found a wooden post which they believe proves their theory that the Greek Orthodox Church at Sutton Farm, was part of a much larger church which could date back to anywhere between 450 and 1066.
The 15-inch piece of wood, thought to be a door post, will now be analysed and carbon dated to confirm their suspicions.
The find would change the ecclesiastical history of Shropshire and would mean the site, which stands in the heart of a new housing development, would be one of the oldest places of worship in Shrewsbury.
Father Stephen Maxfield, priest of the church, said: "The news that the archaeologists have been able to find a piece of wood that can actually be dated is very exciting. It means that we will be able to prove that an Anglo-Saxon church stood here.
"We now know that the foundations of our existing church were significantly bigger and that it stands on the site of an earlier church. Below that may well have been another church, possibly a Celtic church, but I don't think we will ever resolve that."
It is believed that the church was originally founded to serve the local community by Wenlock Priory. The priory itself was founded around 680 AD.
"We believe it belonged to the Wenlock Abbey and it could have been given to the abbey between 684 and 704AD. There was some sort of church here at the time," Father Stephen said.
"The Saxons didn't use a parish system. Instead they had minsters which were settlements of clergy who would go out to communities. The minster would have been a centre of quite an important village."
The dig, which started in the summer, has uncovered animal burials, human bodies, Stone Age flints and a carved stone which could date back to the Iron Age.
Janey said:
"I had a hunch there was an Anglo-Saxon church here, the site was rumoured to be Anglo-Saxon and the vital piece of evidence that we needed to be able to prove that what we have found is Anglo-Saxon came at the last hour literally."
Funding for the dig came from Taylor Wimpey. The site has now been covered with 400 tons of gravel to create a car park.
