Festival of British archaeology - Mons Pool (Besthorpe/Collingham)

Just a reminder that the Mons Pool Excavation will be open to the public this weekend, on SUNDAY 24th July, between 10.30am and 3.30pm. The site will be signposted from Collingham.

There will be guided tours of the site, and the opportunity to see some of the finds and talk to the archaeologists. There will also be 2 guided walks of the neighbouring nature reserve; one leaving at 10.30am, the other leaving at 2pm.

Please be aware that this is a working excavation site, so you are advised to wear appropriate sturdy footwear.

Dig - Budding archaeologists can get their hands dirty (Besthorpe)

PEOPLE can try their hand at digging into the past this summer.


Community archaeologists from Notts County Council have organised a two-week community dig at Besthorpe Quarry near Newark.

It will take place over two weeks from August 8 to 19.

Up to 20 people will be able to take part each day, joining the community archaeologists, professionals from the University of Salford's Archaeology Unit, and volunteers from community groups in Manchester.

The event is part of the Trent Vale Landscape Partnership project, to celebrate the heritage of Trent Valley between Newark and West Stockwith.

Main partner Notts Wildlife Trust is overseeing the creation of new wetland habitat at Besthorpe Nature Reserve, a former gravel extraction site near Besthorpe Quarry.

There will be an open day at the reserve on Saturday, July 23, as part of the Festival of British Archaeology.

For more information about the events email Emily Gillott at emily.gillot@nottscc.gov.uk.

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Budding-archaeologists-hands-dirty/story-12877082-detail/story.html

Website - Notts County Council Community Archaeology

Nottinghamshire County Council have recently updated their Community Archaeology website at http://www3.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/learning/history/archaeology/communityarchaeology/ this is much more accessible than the previous incarnations.  It includes details of their forthcoming work including the dig on the Romano-British site at Besthorpe in August

There is also a new online volunteering form at 

https://secure.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/learningandwork/historyheritage/communityarchaeology/contactcommunityarchaeology/. This will help them to get more volunteers and is a great way to get updates on what's happening in our county.  Please join as the more people willing to help will hopefully mean they will do more projects in the future

Event - Quarry artefacts shedding light on lives of our early ancestors (Besthorpe Quarry)

ROMAN coffin nails and Bronze Age pottery found at a Notts quarry are shedding light on the lives of our early ancestors.

The discoveries are part of collection of artefacts gathered during investigations at Lafarge Aggregates & Concrete UK's Besthorpe sand and gravel site near Newark.

Last year Roman bodies were unearthed during a visit by the excavation team from the University of Salford's Centre for Applied Archaeology.

A team has worked on the site since 1996, digging up, storing, cataloguing and studying as part of the ongoing programme of works required under extraction conditions.

Adam Thompson, principal archaeologist, said: "From these discoveries we think the site may have been used to supply by the Roman army, but we are yet to prove that.

"We have also found at least nine burials. In some cases only the coffin nails have survived but in others there are parts of the skeleton. In one grave we found a head and body which weren't attached."

All human remains have been stabilised at a special unit at the York Archaeological Trust where experts should be able to at least determine the sex and age of the dead before the remains are re-interred.

This year the site will be the subject of an open day on Saturday, July 23, as part of the Festival of British Archaeology, and 'community dig' will also run from August 8 to 19.

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Quarry-artefacts-shedding-light-lives-early/story-12802055-detail/story.html

Event - Nottinghamshire Community Archaeology Riverside Audits 2011

Monday 28th March - Normanton Parish

Meet by the church in Normanton on Trent.  From there we will drive closer to the section of riverbank we will be looking at. 

Friday 1st April - Normanton Parish. ***CANCELLED***

Meet by the church in Normanton on Trent.  From there we will drive closer to the section of riverbank we will be looking at.

Monday 4th April - Fledborough

Meet by the church in Fledborough.

Tuesday 5th April - Winthorpe

Meet near the Winthorpe Railway Crossing, to the North of the village.  They will be walking down the Trent Valley Way.

Wednesday 6th April - Besthorpe

To the south of the village is a road called Trent Lane, which heads towards Besthorpe Wharf.  We will meet along there.

The CA team will meet each day at 10.30am.  They will provide hot water and cups.  Please wear sturdy shoes and appropriate clothing, and remember to bring adequate lunch and liquid with you.  This type of survey tends to involve a lot of walking, so expect to walk 3 miles or more on a survey day.  They aim to finish around 3 each day.

Please let them know if you would like to come along to any of the above dates.  Also it would be helpful to provide a mobile number if you have one, just in case they need to change where we are meeting or cancel for any reason.

Due to the nature of the survey there will rarely be times when we can park in car parks or similar.  As such, please take care and be courteous when pulling up on roadsides.  Make sure there is room for vehicles to pass and that you are not obstructing any gates or entrances.  Please also take extra care when crossing the roads.