Festival of British Archaeology Blog
Tuesday 11th August 2009
Not quite all! Belatedly here are images and a report from lovely leafy Cheshire…
On Saturday the 2nd of August the Wilmslow Community Archaeology Group organised an open day in St Bartholomew’s Church in Wilmslow town centre to celebrate the Festival of British Archaeology and to showcase to visitors all the hard work they have been doing over the past months. The group, which is entirely run by volunteers, have been studying and investigating the many periods and aspects of St Bartholomew’s Church including recording the churchyard (and rediscovering lost graves in the process), investigating the (much older than the current church) crypt, and consulting archival sources.
The open day provided a number of activities and displays, including a display of photographs from the research project itself, guided tours of the church, and a family history expert, who proved extremely popular with visitors. Interestingly, the project members themselves have already had numerous requests from overseas for photographs of sections of the church’s graveyard, from descendants of those who once lived (and then died) there. What made the open day particularly lovely was the fact that every aspect of it was decided upon and planned by the volunteers themselves, who were extremely and rightly proud of what they have achieved so far - community archaeology in action!
Submitted by Suzie Thomas, Community Archaeology Support Officer
Monday 3rd August 2009
Well, that’s all folks, after just one more report from London…
The last weekend in the Festival of British Archaeology 2009 was a flurry of activity. On Saturday I was down in Orpington in Kent, finding out about their Roman bath house site which is only open to view on two days a year. Plus I also went along to the site of the Rose Theatre on the Southbank – a really important Elizabethan theatre, the discovery of which had a huge impact on the lives of every archaeologist working in Britain today. And to round things off on Sunday I was in Finchley, north London to meet the Hendon and District Archaeological Society, watch a demonstration of Roman cookery and take a look at their amazing collection of artefacts from their excavations.
Orpington Roman bath house first. Along with the Anglo-Saxon re-enactors (a Saxon cemetery lies beside the Roman site), there were a team of experts from the Orpington and District Archaeological Society and the Bromley Museum Service on hand to talk people around the site and give a little more detail about the interesting history of the town. Depending on the weather, they were expecting between 200 and 400 local people to take a look around. The Roman bath house in St Mary Cray, Orpington comes with a whole host of management and display dilemmas. It’s obviously an important part of the history of the town, yet its location on the outskirts of Orpington means it’s a long way from the museum and any staff who might be able to help people make sense of the remains and monitor the site. Hence it stays locked up for 363 days a year. What would you do with a site like this?
After Orpington it was back on the train to London Bridge and a short stroll along the Southbank to the Rose Theatre. The surprise discovery of the Rose in 1989 forced the government to change its policy on the treatment of archaeological remains during the planning process. What we know as PPG16 came about as a direct result of the discovery of the Rose Theatre and the campaign that was started to save it. Dustin Hoffman, Sir Ian Mckellen and many others joined together with archaeologists and members of the public to fight for the preservation of the site. It now occupies the lower ground floors of an anonymous office block but it is sometimes open to visit – it even hosts plays on the site! There are some ambitious plans for the site, including its total re-excavation. They have a smart website with pictures that show what it’s like inside (it was too dark for my camera to work properly!).
Pepe Pryke, one of the volunteers committed to promoting and preserving the Rose, gave excellent talks through the weekend which helped give the many visitors a sense of what it was like to be on the site more than 400 years ago. You can visit the Rose as part of a Globe Theatre tour or you can queue up with the crowds when they open for the next Open House Weekend.
Sunday afternoon was dedicated to the Hendon and District Archaeological Society, one of the most active local archaeology societies in London. On the right you can see Rose Baillie showing people how the Romans would have cooked. The onlookers had a taste (as was stressed, at their own risk!) and the general consensus seemed to be: ‘yum’. The picture beneath shows Don Cooper from HADAS explaining something about the fantastic local artefacts that the society had on display. Of particular interest were some mortaria (Roman bowls used for grinding) which bore the signs of heavy use but were preserved in excellent condition.
It’s been a busy few weeks for me. From reading this page I hope you can see what a fantastic opportunity the Festival of British Archaeology provides to get out there and sample a huge variety of sites, displays, activities and talks (many of which are absoluetly free!). Perhaps it’s time to start thinking about what you’ll be doing for the Festival in 2010?!
James Doeser, Communications Assistant, CBA
Friday 31st July 2009
Yesterday I was back on the foreshore for the second time in this year’s Festival of British Archaeology. This time it was a family foreshore walk at Queenhithe, perhaps more commonly known as “that bit of beach under the north end of the Millennium Bridge”.
This was all part of a series of events run by the Museum of London. Andy Hawkins from the Thames Explorer Trust was our guide to the archaeology of the foreshore. This was much less muddy than the walk in Fulham (see below) and the foreshore was littered with a huge amount of archaeology. Most of it was fairly recent stuff but all of it was of interest, and every artefact told you something about the lives of Londoners through the centuries (and millennia – somebody found a prehistoric flint scraper!)
Some of the youngsters had fun chalking their names on the wall of the riverbank, creating some very temporary graffiti (the tide would wash it clean for the next day).
I’ve got a busy weekend ahead, with a trip to Orpington Roman Bathhouse, a look around the Rose Theatre on the Southbank and an instruction in Roman cookery in Finchley, look out for reports on those on Monday!
James Doeser, Communications Assistant, CBA
Wednesday 29th July 2009
Were any of you awake at 1am this morning to see Mike Pitts on the Fourth Plinth for the Festival? I was, and thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle. Mike had been generously loaned ten stone objects from around the country which had stories to tell of Britain’s past. From a stone tool of 700,000BC to a gun flint from 1800 and a ‘modern’ stone from his own garden, Mike explained each piece in turn and displayed them in perspex cube boxes. You can see an explanation of each of the objects chosen on Mike’s website. You can watch a video of Mike’s hour on the Plinth here.
Dan Hull, Head of Information & Communications, CBA
Tuesday 28th July 2009
Mike Pitts, editor of British Archaeology magazine, stands atop the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in London at 1am tomorrow morning, and will be representing archaeology somehow (though the details remain a secret!). You can catch the coverage live here: http://www.oneandother.co.uk
We’re into the second week of the Festival now and already event organisers have sent in some excellent pictures to the CBA of the activities taking place around the country. Here you can see a team of volunteers explaining what’s what at the Weoley Castle Open Day run by Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and the Feldon Archaeological Society, off to a damp start during the Burton Dassett Environs Project. We’ll put all of your fabulous snaps up on the Festival pages once the fortnight comes to an end – keep them coming in!
Coverage of the Festival in the national media continues. One of the most surprising so far has been the Salvation Army’s stalwart newspaper The War Cry (complete with biblical references to guide us through the Festival!)
Meanwhile, the CBA team returned from the Festival of History yesterday after a super-busy weekend down at Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire. Photos will follow shortly, but I understand that all 600 oranges were indeed mummified (see below!), and the Festival of History organisers estimate that 10,000 visitors were there on the Saturday alone.
Dan Hull, Head of Information & Communications, CBA
Friday 24th July 2009
Down here in Kent…
For those of you who live in southeast London, or near the London end of the fair county of Kent, I can recommend getting yourself to Orpington at some point on Sunday – and maybe again the next weekend.
There are two events being run in the town, both relating to some rather substantial Roman remains: a bath house and a villa.
I went to see the villa myself today and if you find yourself in need of some indoors archaeology (yes – it’s possible!) on Sunday then Crofton Roman Villa, next to Orpington train station, is the place to be. You lucky youngsters will get the chance to meet some real Romans, dress up Roman style, and play some Roman games. Their regular entry charges (just £2/£1 – and free for YAC members) apply.
I’ll be heading back out to Orpington the weekend after next to have a look at the Roman Bath House on Poverest Road. It’s only open one weekend a year so the 1st and 2nd Aug, the last weekend in the Festival of British Archaeology 2009, will be your only opportunity to have a good look at it. I understand there’ll be some Anglo-Saxons to talk to… better be on my guard.
James Doeser, Communications Assistant, CBA
Friday 24th July 2009
Many of the CBA and YAC staff are on their way to the Festival of History this weekend so it’s pretty quiet in the York office. Amid all the preparations (loading an ‘Egyptian’ sarcophagus into the van, for example, along with the necessary equipment to mummify at least 600 oranges), Wendi snatched a few moments to write us this report:
Last weekend saw an exciting range of activities take place at Loggerheads Country Park: Denbighshire Countryside Services, the Heather and Hillforts Project, and the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust joined forces to offer families a fantastic range of hands-on activities; there was also the chance to meet an Early Medieval re-enactment group. Highlights included trying to reconstruct a hillfort from a giant jigsaw, shield making, guessing the mystery artefacts, brooch making, helmet making and the chance for children to join in with a shield wall charge! Great fun was had by all and the past was certainly brought to life!
Wendi Terry, Acting Head of YAC
Thursday 23rd July 2009
The Thames Discovery Programme were out on the foreshore beside Fulham Palace, southwest London this morning. More than 50 people were getting stuck into the river’s archaeology as part of an event in the Festival of British Archaeology.
After being primed by the TDP’s Nathalie Cohen (seen here on the right briefing the visitors) we all made our way onto the mud. Down some slippery steps we went and within minutes people were turning up all kinds of interesting artefacts. With guidance from experts from the TDP and a team of FROG-trained helpers on hand, we all quickly tried to learn how to identify pottery types and everyone kept their eye out for bits of clay pipe.
The TDP were examining a bizarre feature embedded in the foreshore mud (shown here on the right) and were flummoxed as to what it might be. Careful analysis and recording may yet shed some light on the meaning of the feature.
Lorna Richardson, Outreach Officer with the TDP said she was really pleased with the numbers of people who came along. She said, “It shows how popular the project is, and how little opportunity there is for people to get close to the archaeology of London. Hopefully events like today’s will encourage more supervised excursions where people can be allowed onto the foreshore.”
And there’s more…
This afternoon I headed down south to the Cuming Museum, a smart little local museum run by Southwark Council. Hannah Guthrie from the museum was helping local children make their own fake pilgrim badges, as modelled so delightfully by Hannah in the picture on the right! The museum has small stash of these badges which were made in the the 19th century by notorious forgers “Billy and Charley” and bought by profilific collector Henry Cuming to become part of what he described as “his vast and varied collections of natural and artificial curiosities.”
If you want to see more of the objects from the Cuming Museum, and find out more about the local area, you can visit the museum which is open Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10am to 5pm. Or you could go along to an event they have planned for this coming Saturday entitled The Lost Zoo of Walworth! It sounds amazing. Head to Pasley Park, Manor Place SE17 from midday to see what it’s all about.
James Doeser, Communications Assistant, CBA
Wednesday 22nd July 2009
There’s a huge amount of Festival activity going on in London this year. As ever, much of this centres on the long ribbon of the River Thames and its constantly changing foreshore. The Museum of London is running lots of events focusing on the river entitled London’s River Revealed, details of which can be found here. The recently established Thames Discovery Programme is also running a series of events, and the Kingston upon Thames Archaeological Society is hosting some lectures to celebrate its 40th anniversary, and hosting a tour of the underground conduit which once supplied water to Hampton Court. To the east, the Greenwich Heritage Centre will be displaying their intriguing selection of finds, and off to the west, you can explore the Fulham foreshore tomorrow morning at 11. Often one of the most popular festival events each year, the Tower of London will again be inviting us to come along this weekend and explore the foreshore beneath the Tower with the help of local experts.
If you visit any of these events, drop us a line and tell us how it went…
Dan Hull, Head of Information & Communications, CBA
Tuesday 21 July 2009
It’s a busy day in York today with the ‘official’ launch of the Festival taking place with the Culture Minister at Hungate, and then on to DIG and the Jorvik. Fingers crossed that the rain holds off, though I’m sure ministerial umbrellas can be deployed if necessary.
Here are some Festival highlights taking place around the country today:
- This morning, the Cornwall Archaeological Society are leading a tour of Goonhilly Downs, The Lizard, taking in a ‘snapshot through time, from the Mesolithic to WWII. Walking boots recommended’!
- Somerset Heritage Service is running an ‘Archaeology and Archives’ session this evening: ‘Find out how to research sites using records from the archives.’
- Richard Knox from Leicestershire County Council is doing a talk on ‘Time Team in Leicestershire’, all about the Stonton Wyville Survey and the Time Team dig that investigated one of the Anglo-Saxon sites there.
- In Sherwood Forest, an evening walk will lead you round the archaeology of this National Nature Reserve, led by Emily Gillott of Nottinghamshire County Council.
- At Nuneaton in Warwickshire, the Burbage Heritage and Tourism Group present ‘The Way we Were’, a collection of local prehistoric artefacts featuring ‘cultural rock art, stone jewellery and tools used by groups situated by the local river’.
- My personal favourite is the ‘Archaeological sites of the Duddon Valley’ in the Lake District. This guided walk, run by the Lake District National Park Authority, introduces visitors to some of the archaeological sites in this beautiful valley, including a Bronze Age ring cairn and medieval longhouse. At 8km, not for the faint-hearted!
If you’re about to head off to one of the Festival events in your area, or have just returned are want to report back, please do contact us and we’ll include your news on the blog.
Dan Hull, Head of Information & Communications, CBA
Sunday 19 July 2009
Down in London the Festival of British Archaeology is off to a fantastic start. I have just spent the afternoon at Forty Hall in Enfield north London where they were hosting a Tudor-themed weekend.
Forty Hall is on the site of Elsyng Palace, one of the least well-known about Tudor palaces of Henry VIII. It was only discovered in 1963.
This weekend Forty Hall hosted a Tudor encampment with displays of crafts, cooking and performances.
Enfield Museum Service teamed up with the Enfield Archaeological Society to get everyone interested in the amazing history of Enfield. Pictured on the right is Jan Metcalfe from the Museum Service explaining what finds the archaeologists have uncovered lately.
Enfield Archaeological Society opened up a trench in the gardens of Forty Hall in front of a crowd of interested onlookers. Dr Martin Dearne, director of the excavation said “we are investigating some interesting geophysics results which seem to show a curving feature across the site”. By Sunday afternoon the archaeologists had already found evidence of Iron Age and 12th century pottery. They had also uncovered part of the gravel courtyard from the Tudor palace.
Enfield has a really active archaeological society. “We have been back here every summer since 2004” said Dr Dearne, “and this is our fifth excavation of the year”
James Doeser, Communications Assistant, CBA
Friday 17 July 2009
Archaeology never ceases to grab the imagination, even of hard-bitten newspaper editors. Both the Guardian and the Telegraph have just run stories about the Festival, and we also feature in the editorial of today’s Guardian (although the editor claims, amusingly, that ‘mostly archaeology is a sedate and confusing process’!)
I’ll also be talking to BBC Radio Bristol tomorrow morning at around 11.30, before heading off into the streets of York to an event at All Saints’ Church. Some of the finest medieval stained glass in Europe is being explained by Dr Robert Richards, a man who has spent many years examining and interpreting the medieval visions relayed by the windows. The tour will be followed by a 600-year old mass, recently revealed by researchers at the University of York.
Dan Hull, Head of Information and Communications, CBA
Wednesday 15 July 2009
News coverage for the Festival has, to put it mildly, ‘stepped up’ this week. We’ve had articles in the Times, Grazia, Country Life, and in a huge range of local papers, websites, magazines and newsletters. The Festival is being launched by Culture Minister Barbara Follett next week, set to coincide with a big announcement about York’s archaeology (all will be revealed!) As ever, it can prove tricky pinning down these busy government-types, but the schedule’s now lined up nicely (fingers crossed!)
Meanwhile, we’ve been talking to jounalists, radio stations and web managers asking for our Festival favourites, suggested news ‘angles’ and pictures. It’s always hard to know quite how widely all this news is being transmitted, but it certainly feels like we’re getting the word out far and wide.
Dan Hull, Head of Information and Communications, CBA
Next years Festival dates have been confirmed as Saturday 17th July–Sunday 1st August - please put the dates in your diary and let everyone know about it! If you’re interested in holding an event, do contact us for more information or visit the organiser information section.
Sophie Cringle, Marketing and Events Officer, CBA
Tuesday 14 July 2009
I think I’ve had the last of the events registered for this year and all details are now live on the web listings! The total number of events is now somewhere in the region of 640 – a huge leap from last years fantastic 470 events, and as a result times have been very busy indeed… At the Festival HQ in York, work on the Festival has been pretty much flat out since people started registering their events back in February, and with only 5 days to go until the Festival starts, it’s still not letting up!
The last week has consisted of final mailings to event organisers, sending out CBA and Young Archaeologists’ Club leaflets so that everyone is given the chance to pursue their interest in archaeology once the Festival is over - yesterday the last of 60,000 leaflets were sent out!
Today I’ll be making final amends and additions to the website and dealing with any enquiries from the press about the Festival, supplying images and events details.
Sophie Cringle, Marketing and Events Officer, CBA
Friday 10 July 2009
Welcome to the Festival blog!
Here, we’ll be documenting some of the exciting developments taking place in the final build-up to the Festival. We’ll also cover some of the amazing events taking place all over the country, although it’ll be hard for this one little blog to do justice to the sheer scale and variety of the Festival this year. We think - and no one has yet been able to tell us otherwise - that the 2009 Festival is the biggest such event taking place anywhere in the world, with an estimated 300,000 people taking part in more than 600 events all over the UK.
Our fantastic team of Festival organisers all over the country have worked really hard getting their various excavations, hands-on activities, performances, shows and walks set up, rehearsed, ‘safety-checked’ and advertised. The CBA can only take a tiny amount of the credit, and we’re really grateful to the hundreds of individuals and organisations who make the Festival possible.
So hang on tight over the next week as the final stages of planning take place, and as we head into the Festival itself…
Dan Hull, Head of Information and Communications, CBA
