Two local divers unearthed ancient treasures from the murky depths of a previously unexplored Roman well back in 1990.
Alistair Pryer, of Greenway Road, Taunton, and 'Dig' Hastilow, of Southfield, Kingston St Mary, both aged 30 at the time, disappeared down the 60-foot well at the centuries-old Weycroft Hall at Axminster.
They were lowered 45 feet down the narrow shaft of the well.
Alistair described it as like "going down into a dark abyss".
Then they used aqualungs to dive through the freezing water to the bottom, where they groped around for items discarded down the well over the years.
And when they surfaced, to be greeted by anxious relatives, assistants and onlookers, the duo were carrying a collection of artefacts – coins, costume jewellery, old bones, ammunition, and firearms, including a silver revolver.
The collection was then expected to be studied by experts, who said the well was used by soldiers who manned a Roman encampment on the site, which lies along the route of the famous Roman road, the Fosse Way.
The dive was carried out with the permission of Sir Michael Newton, whose family had owned the 600-year-old hall since 1969.
Alistair, a sports and recreation officer at St Loye’s College in Exeter, and Dig, a race tyre engineer, were experienced cave divers, and Dig was a member of the Somerset section of the Cave Diving Group.
They said the dive went successfully except for a couple of hitches with their diving equipment.
And the experience was slightly marred by the fact that Alistair was burgled on New Year’s Eve, when among the items stolen was a camera containing shots of the dive.
However, Alistair and Dig planned to dive the well again, as they believed it still held many more treasures.
And they said they also wanted to try to find the secret passages believed to honeycomb the hall, which was once a favourite stopover for Sir Walter Raleigh.
Alistair also hit the news in 1985 when he was among a 20-strong party selected for a month-long visit to India by the national YMCA.
The trip, which included working with Mother Theresa at her mission for the destitute and dying in Calcutta (renamed to Kolkata in 2001), was filmed by the BBC for its Everyman programme.
