Archaeological Discovery – Bega Civic Centre Gardens
Recent good rain in Bega has not only alleviated the drought, it has caused minor erosion on some bare dirt in the Bega Civic Centre gardens, exposing a bit of steel, just waiting for someone to trip on. Here’s the story of this archaeological discovery.
Archaeological discovery, an old horse shoe discarded by the Bega blacksmith, many years ago.
A few well placed kicks with a sturdy work boot, soon dislodged a horse shoe. How did it get there?
A Bega district Old Timer once told of the blacksmith’s shop that operated in the area which is now Woolworths car park, just across the lane-way from the site of this archaeological discovery.
Previous investigation as to why nothing would grow in this particular spot revealed cinders from the blacksmiths forge, buried under a thin layer of soil. The Old Timer confirmed that the blacksmith dumped his cinders and other rubbish in the spot of the archaeological discovery.
About half of the horse shoe’s surface area was coated with a thick and tenacious build-up of coarse, gritty dirt, bound to the steel by the rust that has attacked it. Attempts to remove this coating with a chipping hoe failed and a wire brush proved to be of little use also. So rather than spoil this archaeological specimen, it is presented pretty much as it was discovered.
Usually, horse shoes that are found are well worn but this archaeological discovery appears to be a new horse shoe, perhaps used only for a short time. It has some horse shoe nails still in it so it must have had some use. However, the bottom face has quite square corners showing no sign of wear.
An indication of the age of this archaeological discovery is that the Bega Civic Centre took on its current design around 40 years ago with the construction of the Town Hall, the fountain, the numerous garden beds and lawns and the car parks of the centre of our civic pride. It’s unknown at this stage, how long before the construction of the Bega Civic Centre the blacksmith’s shop ceased to function.
