Our next meeting is on Monday 23rd January at the West Ashton Village Hall at
8:05 (because a Yoga group has the hall up to 8:00 and so we have to allow them
time to leave).
This month we have a very interesting talk by Brian Oldroyd who is exploring the
possibility that in the Minoan period, the islands Thira/Santorini and Crete
could a have been the basis of the tale of Atlantis.
The philosophy of the Trowbridge Archaeology Group is that archaeology should be as accessible as possible to as many people as possible.
Archaeology is defined as 'the study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of physical remains' (Oxford English Dictionary 2003).
In Wiltshire we are lucky enough to be surrounded by some world class archaeology, however very little investigation has been undertaken in the Trowbridge area. Whilst the group has no plans to carry out its own excavations in the immediate future a schedule of talks, visits and non-destructive investigation is being organized.
Previous events
22nd January 2008 - Inaugural meeting - Dr Joshua Pollard - Stonehenge Riverside Project
26th Febuary 2008 - Roy Canham - subject to be confirmed
8th March 2008 - Family Visit to Avebury - Walk, talk with friendly archaeologist Dr Lucy Rider
25th March 2008 - Tim Robey -An introduction to British Archaeology Part 1
5th April 2008 - Get up close and personal with flints - hands on experience ay the "Negotiating Avebury" Project with Dr Joshua Pollard
29th April 2008 - Dr Simon Draper - Language and the Landscape: Place names and Archaeology in Roman and Anglo-saxon Wiltshire
20th May 2008 - Tim Robery - An introduction to British Archaeology Part 2
29th May 2008 - "Coast"
23rd September 2008 - Julian Richards - Stonehenge, the story so far
28th October2008 - Cotswold Archaeology - Staverton Dig Report
25th November 2008 - Dr Andrew Reynolds from UCL - Anglo Saxon Execution Burials
24th Febuary 2009 - Dr Josh Pollard - Update on the Stonehenge Riverside Project
Monday 23rd May 2011
at West Ashton Village Hall at 7:30Ceri Lambdin from the Bath and Camerton Archaeological Society will be coming to give us a talk on her research at Paulton villa entitled - 'The lost Roman villa of Paulton'.
She has been interested in archaeology, particularly the Roman period since she was a child growing up in Bath and regularly travelling up and down the Fosseway. She started a part-time degree at Bristol University in 1998, finally finishing in 2005 and graduating in February 2006. She is now doing a distance learning MA with the University of Leicester and has been Secretary of BACAS since 2000.
Paulton Villa was the subject of her degree dissertation. The site was first discovered by Rev. Skinner in 1820, but no exact location was ever defined by him, then William Wedlake of BACAS in the 1970s but again no exact location. Since then however Paulton Villa has been referred to as a double villa complex but there is no clear evidence for what was there. So with fieldwalking and geophysics she searched for the site and found it and was able to literally get a better picture of what it was and where it was. The talk really demonatrates how much information can be gleaned about a site without digging a single inch.
This sounds like a very interesting talk as it covers a lot of aspects of archaeology so I hope you will be to come.
Monday 27th June 2011
We will be doing a walk around the archaeological sites in Wingfield and then calling in at the Poplars afterwards. Anyone who doesn't fancy the walk can join us there afterwards if they wish.
Monday 26th September 2011 at 8:00
at West Ashton Village Hall
We are holding a "Members Meeting" although non-members and past members will be very welcome.
The aim of the evening is for everyone who can to bring something, or to talk about something that they have done to do with Archaeology at some time. Keith will be talking about a competition he entered and some basic flint tools he made and Mary will be bringing some items from her dig-at-the-bottom-her-garden.
We hope that everyone can get to know each other better.
Monday 24th October 2011
at 8:00
at the Bear at Staverton
Come for a drink and a chat. It usually turns out to be a really pleasant evening.
Monday November 28th at the West Ashton Village Hall at 8:05
What an odd time you might think - well, a Yoga
group has the hall up to 8:00 and so we have to allow them time to leave.
Keith Turner will be doing the talk this month. Some of you might have heard some of
it before, but he is beavering away adding lots of new stuff.
The title is "Foula - the Island at the Edge of the World".
This is the story of how a chance remark led to two archaeological expeditions
by amateur archaeologists from the BACAS group to the Shetland Island of Foula,
one of Great Britain’s most remote permanently inhabited islands. The
discoveries were completely unexpected, and a hugely important.
The talk will include some background of the island itself and details of the
research, surveys and findings.
It is above all the story that ordinary people can do extraordinary things.
Membership
Adult membership - £15 per annum
Children (under 18) - free
Children
The group welcomes families and hopes to foster childrens' interest by
holding some events which will be suitable for all age groups to
participate in. Children can become associate members (free of charge). All children (under 18's) must be accompanied by a
responsible adult member (parent or guardian) who is responsible for
their safety, care and conduct whilst with the group.
Member conduct
Members of the group are expected to behave responsibly and respect the
archaeology, artefacts and landscape of the area. Finds should be
reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme
as appropriate under current guidelines. Anyone felt to be bringing the
group into disrepute may be asked to surrender their membership by the
committee.