Turnpike Car Park Delay

Turnpike Car Park Delay

AudlemOnline has been given exclusive access to discoveries on the newly acquired Turnpike Field.

Recent soil samples and electro-magnetic surveys suggest there is evidence of ancient ruins beneath the area where the new Car Park is intended to go.

We also understand that underground metal detectors have suggested that there is buried treasure in the building, similar to the Staffordshire hoard recently uncovered near the A5 in the Midlands.

Professor of Archaeology A. P. Rilscherz, at Keele suggests that this may be Viking loot and treasure buried by the invading army as they retreated after their defeat at the Battle of Tettenhall in AD910, pursued by the Mercians led by the redoubtable Queen Aethelflaed, daughter of King Alfred the Great.

It is recorded in the AngloSaxon Chronicle that Scergeat was one of the fortiified Burhs created by Aethelflaed in her campaign, but historians have long debated where this was. The placename suggests the "shire gate" or passage where the shires meet – Audlem ideally qualifies for this, lying as it does at the junction of Cheshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire.

The exact location is being kept under wraps at this point, by the Parish Council, who are busy debating what to do with the potential multi-million pound windfall. Opinion appears to be evenly divided between a new state-of-the-art multi-storey office block for the Parish Council, or a Brazilian striker for the Audlem Football team.

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