J. Caesar was ‘ere

Could digging up the past reveal an island’s link to the conqueror of Gaul?

Six years ago, the local electricity company was digging a trench next to the road that leads from my local beach across the middle of the island of Alderney towards the Victorian forts on the north coast. They found stuff they really weren’t expecting.

No, not ancient bodies preserved in the sandy loam. These were found two years later. But the guys with the shovels were smart enough to alert our local museums and the archaeologists who work with them.

These historians already suspected an Iron Age settlement in the area and possibly a later Roman presence in the shadow of the 4th Century fort that still stands overlooking Longis bay. But until the electricity company conveniently hit the stonework they weren’t sure exactly where to explore.

A series of archaeological digs later revealed several large buildings and an Iron Age burial site. We brought up the first bodies four years ago, complete with neck-torcs and bracelets, before the pandemic struck and we had to call it off while the world got its mojo back.

A full team of eager archaeologists is back on the Island from Coronation weekend, led by the Channel Islands’ own archaeological royalty, Drs Jason Monaghan and Phil de Jersey, who have been unravelling the history of this area since 2017. What they’ll be doing is following the results of a Ground Penetrating Radar survey conducted by Dr Rob Fry of Reading University and volunteers (me included) during last year’s dig at the Roman Fort.

Unravelling the data has taken months but now we know the whole area is peppered with archaeological features up to three metres below the surface. Definitely Roman and Iron Age. Here are the results at 1.5m.

The area is crowded with what looks like archaeological features. Some will relate to German WWII occupation activity or the installation of modern utilities, especially in front of the Fort (bottom right). This year’s dig will be the start of a three-year project to learn more about the Roman and Iron Age settlements on the Common.

‘We have discovered that an extensive Iron Age cemetery lies at the west end of the common, and it includes the graves of wealthy individuals,’ says Dr Monaghan. ‘Built over the top of it is a Roman settlement in an excellent state of preservation. This is a site of European importance.’

Ever the historical fiction author looking for an idea to spark Novel Number 8, I have latched on to a further opinion voiced by Dr Monoghan: the Iron Age cemetery could have been in use from as early as the seventh century BC until the Romans took control of the region around 56 BC.

Aha. 56 BC? Lady luck follows this author around like a fairy sprinkling magic dust on my wishful thinking.

My next series will begin with a focus on an island where Celtic heroes of old were brought in their crossing to the hereafter and laid to rest along with their treasure and an entourage of loyal if extremely unfortunate slaves and servants. All overseen by a Goddess cult. An island then rudely acquired by Caesar in 56 BC as a top-secret location to plot the downfall of northern Gaul and his subsequent invasions of Britain.

Suddenly not so far-fetched as it sounds. Thank you Dr Monaghan! You read it here first…

So, do watch this space and catch up on my novels so far here or visit my website.

You can follow @DigAlderney progress on Facebook or Twitter. By the way, Alderney Electricity are still fans and always support the digs, as they are again this year along with others including the States of Alderney.

Time for Crime?

Great thriller writers create settings which put readers at the heart of every scene, sharing the sights, sounds, smells and textures with the protagonist. They create complex characters who are both credible and relatable so readers care what happens to them – both good and bad.

And then they develop the plot, weaving their stories in and out, keeping us guessing and drawing us in.

Three best-selling crime thriller writers visit Alderney on June 10 to tell all as guests of The Alderney Literary Trust.

Sponsored by investments group Ravenscroft, authors Kate Rhodes, Elly Griffiths and Jane Casey will talk about the essential elements of their compelling crime thrillers.

Kate Rhodes’ current series is based in the Isles of Scilly in a landscape that will be familiar to anyone living on or visiting Alderney. She will talk about how the setting – the sea, the landscape, the weather, the small community – brings the terrifying story in her latest novel The Brutal Tide to life. Elly Griffiths, author of the internationally successful Ruth Galloway series, will explore character in ‘The mind of a murderer’. And Jane Casey, whose latest thriller The Close has been described as ‘dangerously addictive’, will reveal her golden rules for devising ‘A killer plot’.

Three hour-long sessions in which the authors reveal the inspiration for their atmospheric settings, complex characters and twisty plots. Each talk is £10pp, or £27pp for all three, and is free to 16-year-olds and under.

There’s also a special workshop for those who would like to learn more about writing a thriller. Kate Rhodes will lead a ‘Starting to Write Crime Fiction’ course limited to 20 people. Tickets for this course are £25pp and also free to 16-year-olds and under.

Full details here.