Bourne–Morton Canal facts for kids

The Bourne–Morton Canal is a very old waterway found near Bourne in Lincolnshire, England. In old maps and documents, it was also called the Old Ea. This canal was about 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) long. It was an artificial channel, meaning people built it, to connect the dry land at Bourne to the ancient edge of the sea or a navigable river mouth near Pinchbeck. Today, you can't see any part of the canal on the surface.

What Was the Bourne–Morton Canal?

The Bourne–Morton Canal was an important link in ancient times. It helped people travel and move goods between Bourne and the coast. Imagine a busy highway, but made of water!

How Big Was It?

Archaeologists, who are like history detectives, dug up parts of the canal in the 1990s. They found that it was quite large for its time.

• It was about 2.6 meters (8.5 feet) deep when the tide was high.
• The bottom of the canal was around 6 meters (20 feet) wide.
• At the surface, it spread out to about 10 to 12 meters (33 to 39 feet) wide.

How Old Is This Ancient Waterway?

The Bourne–Morton Canal seems to date back to the time of the Romans. The Romans were known for their amazing engineering skills, building roads, bridges, and canals. However, we don't know many details about this specific Roman canal. It's a bit of a mystery from ancient times!

Finding Traces of the Canal Today

Even though you can't see the canal anymore, its path can still be found. Farmers have worked the land for centuries, but the canal's route remains visible from above.

Cropmarks: Clues from the Sky

The canal's path can be seen as "cropmarks." These are patterns in fields where crops grow differently because of what's buried underneath. For example, crops might grow taller or shorter, or ripen at different times, over the old canal ditch. This creates a straight line that can be seen from an airplane or even on satellite maps.

Following the Path

You can trace the canal's straight line on online satellite maps, stretching from Bourne all the way to Morton Fen.

• The modern road called Spalding Road follows the southern edge of the canal's path for a while, from near Queens Bridge to Meadow Drove.
• After that, the canal's route continues across the fields as those special cropmarks.
• Some farm buildings in Barnes Drove and Morton Fen are built right next to where the canal used to be. This makes people wonder if these farm sites have been used for a very long time, perhaps since the canal was active!

Where Did It Start?

Archaeologists and historians have wondered exactly where the canal started in Bourne. It would make sense for it to connect to dry land near other important Roman features, like the Car Dyke (another Roman canal) or the Roman Road in the town.

If you follow the line of Spalding Road, it leads towards an area called The Austerby. This area has changed a lot over the centuries. It's been rebuilt many times for things like a castle, an abbey, and a railway. Now, it's covered by modern houses. Because of all these changes, it's unlikely that new clues about the canal's exact starting point will be found there.