Archaeological finds - glass bottles & shoe parts, 1972

Extract from The Archaeology of the Borough of Swindon by Bernard Phillips

published by Hobnob Press, 2021

'The earliest archaeological investigations (at Lydiard Park) occurred in 1972 when Swindon Archaeological Society assisted by RAF divers examined stone walling and flooring discovered at the edge of the lake. From overlying debris came seventeenth and eighteenth century pottery; leather shoes, wine bottles; window glass, wooden artefacts (including a seventeenth-century bowling ball), metal work and a carved stone hand from a statue.'

It was unclear at the time whether the structural remains were originally part of a boathouse or a relict of the former 17th century walled terraced gardens which extended across the whole of the lawn, leading from the House to down to the water's edge.'

The glass bottles have acquired an iridescence due to their being buried for so many years. The iridescence is caused by alkalis, or soluble salts which are leached from the buried glass by slightly acidic water present in the soil. This in turn causes the formation of very fine layers which can delaminate or flake off, creating a prism effect.

See Items of Interest - Bowling ball, 17th Century