Excavation - Mons Pool (Nottinghamshire)

Mons Pool Excavation

Mons Pool Excavation, near Collingham, will be open to Nottinghamshire’s Community archaeology volunteer diggers once again this year. For those who don't know the site, it is a multi-period settlement by the River Trent near Collingham (photos from previous years are up in the 'see what we do' section on the NCC website). It's a multi-period settlement stretching from the Late Roman period all the way back into Stone Age prehistory. It's a really great site, owned by LaFarge and excavated by the University of Salford. Excavation has taken place there for several years as the site is due to become a quarry. For the past few years Community Archaeology has worked with the University of Salford's team to open the site to volunteers, through the Heritage Lottery Funded Trent Vale project. This year is the LAST YEAR of excavation on the site, so this will be your last chance to contribute to the exploration of this settlement.

30th July to 3rd August - Archaeological Field School
This week is the Field School week. If you are interested in really getting to grips with archaeological fieldwork and learning about all the processes, then this week is for you! If you want to attend the field school you will be asked to come for the full 5 days, during which time they will take you through the processes of excavation and hopefully give you a really good grounding. This week will be ideal for the student or keen amateur. No experience necessary.

6th August to 17th August - Volunteer Excavation Fortnight
This fortnight is for anyone to come along to, whether you want to try your hand at excavation just for a day, or if you want to come for a longer period. No experience is necessary as we will take you through the processes. Please note; this is a commercial site and as such Community Archaeology are unable to offer weekend sessions.

18th August - Open Day
The dig site will be open to visitors, with finds on display and guided tours of the archaeology.

During the excavation there will be a variety of workshops for volunteers to get involved in, as well as the opportunity to help reconstruct one of the Roman pottery kilns found on the site. More details will be available as we get closer to July.

E-mail community.archaelogy@nottscc.gov.uk you would like to take part, or if you want to book. Spaces are limited and will be allocated on a first-come-first served basis. The excavation is unsuitable for young children, and anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Book - Stone Age Nottinghamshire

There's a new book out about Nottinghamshire; the first of a series that will be produced by the County Council.

 

Stone Age Nottinghamshire

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stone-Age-Nottinghamshire-David-Budge/dp/0902751700/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324037225&sr=8-1

 

A brand new book on the Stone Age in Nottinghamshire and in Britain as a whole.  Although written with Nottinghamshire case studies this is also a fantastic general book.  It covers flint tool technologies, methods of manufacture, changes in hunting practices, religion and ritual, domestic dwellings and settlement patterns in the prehistoric landscape and environment.... a fantastic guide for the beginner, interested amateur, academic, student, and professional alike.

 

It is available from amazon now! 

 

Via NCC Community archaeology

Book - New book about Nottinghamshire in the Stone Age

If you've ever wondered what life was like in Nottinghamshire during the Stone Age, our new book should be on your reading list.

‘Stone Age Nottinghamshire’ has been written by the Council’s conservation and heritage staff David Budge and Chris Robinson, and edited by Virginia Baddeley. It is published by the council’s libraries, archives and information publications group.

The book is the first in a planned series of popular guides to the archaeology of Nottinghamshire. It will be launched at a special event by County Councillor John Cottee, cabinet member for culture and community.

Councillor Cottee said: "Nottinghamshire County Council is delighted to be able to continue to promote the county’s archaeological and historical heritage. The book is well illustrated with photographs including some impressive images of the art and finds from the Creswell Crags caves. It should appeal to both the general reader and also the specialist.”
 

The Stone Age
The guide covers the period known as the Stone Age, because metals had not yet been discovered and tools made of stone were widely used instead. This period comprises the following ages which are all covered in the book: Palaeolithic (meaning old Stone Age), Mesolithic (middle Stone Age) and Neolithic (new Stone Age).

Creswell Crags, a dramatic limestone gorge close to the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire border, is an appropriate setting for the guide’s launch. Archaeological and environmental evidence excavated from the caves show the caves provided shelter for nomadic human groups through a crucial period of human evolution between 55,000 and 10,000 years ago, and stone, bone and ivory tools from the caves reveal Middle and Upper Palaeolithic occupation.

Buy the book
You can buy a copy of ‘Stone Age Nottinghamshire’ from major libraries in the county for £7.50.

You can also order a copy by post by sending a cheque for £10.50 (including £3.00 for postage and packaging) payable to Nottinghamshire County Council to: Libraries, Archives and Information, 4th Floor, County Hall, West Bridgford, Nottingham, NG2 7QP.

Dig - Farm dig sheds light on city’s Roman trade links (Whirlow Hall farm)

AT FIRST it seemed like many other archaeological digs, giving little more than a clouded glimpse into the past.

But the excavations have now provided a fascinating window on a Roman Sheffield that no one realised had ever existed.

Archaeologists who started the history project back in April in a field on the edge of Sheffield initially found traces left by Stone Age hunter-gatherers, but there were few surprises. Trenches yielded evidence of the foundations of medieval buildings and stone tools were also discovered.

However, the experts who arrived at Whirlow Hall Farm in the spring were soon to make a massive discovery when suddenly a whole new layer of history was unearthed. The decision to undertake a geophysical survey earlier this summer revealed what appeared to be a large, ditched enclosure.

Archaeologists told the Yorkshire Post at the time they suspected the site might be Iron Age or Romano-British. But yesterday they revealed that since then magnificent finds have confirmed the area is even more significant.

Speaking at the site, director Dr Clive Waddington said: “The realisation just came completely out of the blue. The enclosure is actually about 70 metres (230ft) square so it’s quite a big monument, and would have been home to a wide variety of activities.

“We have discovered Roman pottery and evidence of gatepost holders around the entrance which suggest it would have had large gates and would have been a big, complex site. The pottery we have discovered is from around Britain and there are also examples which would have been imported from Gaul, which is modern day France. This shows that the occupants weren’t just farmers but were also traders.

“The site lies alongside what was a packhorse route from Sheffield to Manchester, and the location of this farmstead suggests the route was also in use during the Roman period. It probably linked to a Roman road which ran from Manchester, to Hope in the Peak District and then down to Sheffield on its way to Doncaster.

“The people who lived here would have traded farm goods and produce with Roman travellers using the route. It conjures up a picture of the place being really busy and being used as a Roman trading post.”

Dr Waddington, of Derbyshire-based Archaeological Research Services, said the discovery was particularly exciting because at present there was little or no recorded evidence of this period in the Sheffield area.

Volunteers involved in the dig have also recently discovered what the experts believe may be Roman coins, but they have to be examined by specialists before a confirmation of their date can be made.

The archaeological project had been commissioned by the Whirlow Hall Farm Trust, a charity which runs the site as a city farm to encourage local children to learn about agricultural lifestyles and rural pursuits. Dr Waddington said that he had no idea that when it began that it would result in the discovery of such a “high status” and important Roman site.

About 100 volunteers have been involved in the dig so far, and although work on the first phase ended yesterday, it is now planned to extend the project, with further test pits planned for November. It is as yet unclear whether the people who lived on the farmstead were themselves of Roman origin or native Britons of the time although Dr Waddington said the evidence suggested they were Roman.

He said: “Initial assessment suggests the site dates from the second century AD, the period of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, times when the Roman emperors were very interested in Britain. The discovery that the farmstead was so large and important came as a complete surprise because when you stand and look at this field there is nothing on the surface to suggest that there is anything like this.

“There have not been any Roman discoveries made anywhere in Sheffield for many, many years, and this is really helping to fill in that historical jigsaw and help flesh out what has been a poorly understood period.”

Dr Waddington said the latest discovery at has been a series of lead fragments, which suggest that there may also have been an industrial dimension to the site, which lies on the south-western edge of Sheffield.

Staff at the farm trust said that once the project was complete, all the findings would be used to create a heritage trail and a programme of heritage walks and talks.

From: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/main-section/farm_dig_sheds_light_on_city_s_roman_trade_links_1_3647879