The Lizard, Cornwall is home to a host of historic sites, many of which are in a state of decline. Although scheduled as monuments and protected by legislation, these sites are rarely well known and almost never properly understood.
Concerned about the potential loss of some of the physical remains of over 4,000 years of Cornish history, in late 2017 the Meneage Archaeology Group (MAG), based on the Lizard, and the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership (AONB) at Cornwall Council joined forces to begin to reverse this decline and increase awareness and enjoyment of these places.
James Gossip, Chairperson of MAG and Senior Archaeologist at Cornwall Archaeological Unit, and Chris Coldwell, Project Development Officer at the AONB Partnership, will talk about sites on the Lizard and their joint work to stabilise them for future generations.
James Gossip is an experienced field archaeologist and surveyor, who has directed various major excavations throughout Cornwall including Tremough, Truro College and Richard Lander School. James’s specific areas of interest include fogous (late prehistoric Cornish souterrains) and the development of community archaeology projects.
Chris Coldwell trained initially as a town planner and later as a project and programme manager and has spent most of his 29 years of work delivering projects with a range of bodies in West Cumbria, Blackburn and Plymouth, as well as Cornwall.