Our 65 Tonne “Archeological Dig”

Breaking the Back of the “Archaeological Dig”: What was once a three foot mound of 65 tonnes of building rubble, soil and rubbish bulldozed on top of graves is now on target for total removal during the coming months.

The “Archaeological Dig” is our name for the 65 Tonnes of soil, waste and broken stones bulldozed onto the left hand part of the “Old Section” in 1993 (and topped up with further dumped materials in subsequent years). We started reclaiming this area on Valentine’s Day 2023 and have uncovered both intact and broken gravestones.

Work parties on three days in the middle of May 2025 removed a further three tonnes, with all the usable soil sieved, recycled and moved by wheelbarrow up a designated walkway for future use by our grave rebuilders.

In most of the “Old Section” area covered by the dumped material we have reached or are close to reaching the original ground level and is now starting to narrow the walkway and recycle the soil that it is formed from our clearance.

Work is continuing across the summer months to complete this work and prepare the area for landscaping and the positioning of the recovered memorials.

Our collection of 20 year old indestructible crisp packets uncovered in this work continues to grow……