Peterborough Archaeology

CBA Festival of Archaeology
2020-07-11 - 2020-07-19
A series of Online Events from the Council for British Archaeology

Oliver Cromwell's House - Ely
2020-07-28 - 2020-08-25
A socially distanced Outdoor Tour organised by Visit Ely
Every Tuesday from July 28th to Aug 25th. Advance booking required.

The Anglo-Saxon Agricultural Revolution in Norfolk
2020-11-14
An all day online conference by Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project (SHARP)

The Relationship between the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds and the Town
2021-01-23 | ON-LINE
NON-FRAG EVENT
Abstract: This online talk will examine how, focussed on the shrine of St Edmund, the abbey and town developed from their Anglo-Saxon origins into the Norman period. It will consider the archaeological evidence for the growth of the built environment as wealth was generated and expansion took place, in this period of cultural change.
Biography: Dr Abby Antrobus is a Senior Archaeological Officer at Suffolk County Council where she provides advice on the archaeological implications of development across Suffolk, particularly in the county’s towns. Her doctoral thesis was on the development of Bury St Edmunds.

Revealing Rock Art in Kilmartin Glen
2021-01-25 17:30 - 19:00 UTC | ON-LINE
NON – FRAG EVENT
The Origins of Achnabreck: Revealing Rock Art in Kilmartin Glen, Scotland
About the talk: Achnabreck is a massive rock outcrop and one of the most extensive rock art sites in Britain. It is part of a major group of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments located in Kilmartin Glen on the west coast of Scotland. Photogrammetric analysis has brought to light hundreds of previously unrecorded carvings displaying unusual designs which have parallels in Irish passage tomb art. Many of these carvings were cut across by the later addition of cup and ring markings. Evidence for superimposition is rare at open-air rock art sites, revealing fresh insights into the origins and interpretation of Achnabreck.
About Aaron: Aaron Watson investigates Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments and has undertaken fieldwork at rock art sites across Scotland and the north of England. He is an Interpretation and Engagement Manager at Kilmartin Museum in Argyll and an Honorary Research Fellow in Archaeology at Durham University.

Research Themes in the Bronze Age of Eastern England
2021-02-13 15:00 - 16:00 | ON-LINE
Scene Changes: Research Themes in the Bronze Age of Eastern England
First in a series of five online talks about Bronze Age Britain organised by the Nene Valley Archaeological Trust
Speaker – Chris Evans, Executive Director, Cambridge Archaeological Unit
Please note it is essential to pre-book from the NVAT website. Places are limited. The talks are free though donations are encouraged.

Current Archaeology Live
2021-02-26 - 2021-02-28 | ON-LINE
The Current Archaeology conference usually attracts high calibre speakers addressing topical subjects.
In order to make the event as accessible as possible this year, all the talks will be pre-recorded and then uploaded to the Current Archaeology YouTube channel for you to enjoy at your leisure during the conference weekend. To join in, simply visit this webpage where you will find the links to the talks once they go live, or go directly to YouTube at www.youtube.com/c/CurrentArchaeology on the weekend of 26-28 February. The videos will be available all weekend

Stonehenge: the last hurrah?
2021-03-20 15:00 - 16:00 | ON-LINE
Stonehenge: the last hurrah? Constructing monuments at the Neolithic – early Bronze Age transition
Second in a series of five online talks about Bronze Age Britain organised by the Nene Valley Archaeological Trust
Speaker – Susan Greaney, PhD Research Student, Cardiff University
Please note it is essential to pre-book from the NVAT website. Places are limited. The talks are free though donations are encouraged.

Cheddar Man & Genetic Prehistory
2021-04-22 19:00 | ON-LINE
Cheddar Man and the Genetic Prehistory of Britain
Speaker: Dr Tom Booth of the Crick Institute
The first Flag Fen Archaeology Lecture of 2021, organised by City Culture Peterborough

Out of the River - Inventories of routine from Must Farm
2021-04-24 15:00 - 16:00 | ON-LINE
Third in a series of five online talks about Bronze Age Britain organised by the NVAT. The speaker is Mark Knight, Senior Project Officer, Cambridge Archaeological Unit

Later Prehistoric and Roman North West Cambridge
2021-04-26 | ON-LINE
Colonising Inlands: Later Prehistoric and Roman North West Cambridge
Organised by Histon & Impington Archaeology Group (HIAG)
Speaker: Chris Evans, Director, Cambridge Archaeological Unit

This talk is based on excavations between Huntingdon Rd and Madingley Road. These revealed occupation of north west Cambridge from 3500 to 1500 years ago from Bronze Age burials to a high-status Roman Villa, alongside what was the main Roman Road from Colchester to Cambridge and through the midlands to Chester – a superhighway of its time..
This talk will outline the results of more than 20 years of fieldwork in the University’s West Cambridge lands. Focusing on the importance of water-supply resourcing, it will address the dynamics of inland colonization during the Bronze Age and the nature of its subsequent Iron Age utilization. It will also review the many Roman-Period settlements that have now been dug there. Including a villa, eight farmsteads and a major roadside centre, the programme has provided major insights into Roman Cambridge’s hinterlands. Indeed, it now amount to one of the most comprehensive excavation programmes of the Roman countryside anywhere undertaken.

Ritual Offerings in Prehistory?
2021-05-06 19:00 | ON-LINE
Ritual Offerings in Prehistory? Understanding Bronze Age bronze and gold hoards in Britain and beyond…and why Flag Fen remains special!
Speaker: Dr Ben Roberts, Archaeology Department of the University of Durham
The second Flag Fen Archaeology Lecture of 2021, organised by City Culture Peterborough

Secret Britain: Unearthing our Mysterious Past
2021-05-20 19:00 | ON-LINE
Secret Britain: Unearthing our Mysterious Past
Speaker: Mary-Ann Ochota
The third Flag Fen Archaeology Lecture of 2021, organised by City Culture Peterborough

Old Swords in Early Medieval England
2021-05-27 19:00 | ON-LINE
Respect your Elders: Old Swords in Early Medieval England
Speaker: Dr Sue Brunning, Curator of European Early Medieval & Sutton Hoo Collections at the British Museum
The fourth Flag Fen Archaeology Lecture of 2021, organised by City Culture Peterborough

Archaeology through the Eye of the Artist
2021-06-17 18:30 | ON-LINE
This event is organised by the St Kyneburgha Building Preservation Trust.
Dr Paul Stamper will guide us through the impact that artists have on our understanding of archaeology and how that has changed through the centuries.
Paul has worked on England’s historic environment for over 35 years, using all types of evidence: landscapes, buildings, archaeological remains, and documents. He is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Department of English Local History at the University of Leicester.
For the free zoom link email the trust: castorchurchtrust@gmail.com
There is no charge. However, if you have enjoyed the talk you will be asked to make a donation to the Trust.

VISIT: Guided Walk around Fotheringhay
2021-06-26 11:00
Learn about the historic village of Fotheringhay from local archaeologist, Dr Stephen Upex.
The story of Fotheringhay can be seen in its buildings and local landscape. This guided walk will also help you understand the clues to look for when exploring the history of other locations.
This outdoor event will involve a gentle stroll lasting 60 to 90 minutes. Walking will be predominantly on pavements but may include rough tracks and grass. Numbers will be limited to 25. Following the walk we hope there may be an opportunity, for those who wish, to enjoy an outdoor pub lunch at the Falcon. All participants need to pre-register.
FRAG members will be given priority until 16th June. Thereafter it will be first come, first served for all.
Free for FRAG Members
£5 for Non Members
SORRY – THERE ARE NO MORE PLACES AVAILABLE
Dr Stephen Upex has written on a wide variety of topics related to British landscape history and archaeology and his interests range from prehistoric settlement, Roman and Saxon farming to medieval open fields systems. He has excavated widely and wrote a book on the Romans in the East of England. A new book on the Romans in the Peterborough area is due to be published soon. Stephen lectures at the University of Cambridge, is a member of the Chartered Institute for Field Archaeologists and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

Open Mic & FRAG AGM
2021-09-06 19:00 | Parkway Sports Club, Maskew Avenue, Peterborough, PE1 2AS
We re-start our regular programme of talks with this event postponed from April 2020. The evening will be in two parts. First we need to catch up with the brief formalities of our Annual General Meeting then we have an “Open Mic” session delivered by FRAG members.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
All are welcome to attend and help shape the development of the group. The AGM is likely to last less than 30 mins.
Agenda
Minutes of Last AGM (2019)

OPEN MIC
This is a chance for FRAG members to share recent or favourite archaeology stories. Places visited. Objects found. Digs, Museums, Exhibitions etc, etc. Each “talk” will be 5 to 10 minutes. This part of the evening will last for about an hour.
A number of members have offered to talk on topics of their choice. Expect to learn more about:

Dating English houses from exterior features
The Archaeology of Bulgaria
The medieval Manor House of Longthorpe
Roman Face Pots

FREE for FRAG Members

VISIT: Sawtry Abbey
2021-09-12 10:30
REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT HAS NOW CLOSED
Sawtry Abbey was a Cistercian monastery consecrated in 1238. The abbey never achieved great prominence but it was visited by Kings, and in 1536 Catherine of Aragon’s body rested there when her funeral cortege broke its journey from Kimbolton Castle to Peterborough.
During the visit you will be able to relate the remaining lumps and bumps in the landscape to the original design of the abbey. You will also learn about the origins and spread of the Cistercian Order.
This outdoor event will involve a stroll lasting 60 to 90 minutes. Walking will be on tracks and an uneven, largely over-grown field. The presence of cattle mean dogs and under-16s cannot join the visit. There are no toilet facilities. All participants need to pre-register. Numbers will be capped
Registration will open on Saturday 21st August. FRAG members will be given priority until 28th August. Thereafter it will be first come, first served for all. Register using the form below.
Free for FRAG Members
£5 for Non Members (to be collected at the event)
Since 2016 a project by the Sawtry History Society has been undertaking research including a resistivity survey to verify earlier records of the abbey. The project has been led by Kevin Redgate and Phil Hill who will be our guides for this visit.
You can find out more background about the abbey both on the Peterborough Archaeology website – and on the Sawtry Archaeology website where there are a series of “leaflets” available.

Histon - Test Pitting Opportunity
2021-09-16 - 2021-09-19
The Histon & Impington Archaeology Group (HIAG) are looking for diggers to help with a test-pitting project.
The Abbey Farm site is close to the original Anglo-Saxon settlement of Histon.
No experience required.
Preliminary Dates:
Thursday 16th to Sunday 19th September
Thursday 21st to Sunday 24th October
Anyone interested needs to contact HIAG – hisimp.archaeology.group@gmail.com

EXCAVATION: Fane Road Roman Villa
2021-10-08 - 2021-10-12
EXCAVATION: Fane Road Allotments – Roman Villa
A large Roman villa was discovered in 2011 prior to construction of new houses between Itter Crescent and Fane Road. The Heritage Lottery funded ‘Romans of Fane Road’ excavation was undertaken in 2014. Since then FRAG has undertaken further archaeological excavations on the Fane Road Allotment Site to ascertain the full extent of the building.
This will be our first chance to return to the features partially revealed in our May 2019 excavation.
FRAG Members Only
(though members of FR Allotment Association, and JIGSAW affiliated groups may also participate)
If you are interested to participate please download the application form and submit to fieldofficer@peterborougharchaeology.org. Kevin Redgate will be in touch.
Venue
Fane Road Allotments, Fane Road, Peterborough. Access will be via the gate off the footpath on the Itter Park side of the allotments.
Dates & Times
Friday 8th October to Tuesday 12th October from 8.00am to 4.30pm daily.
Excavation Strategy
Firstly, to determine the east and north extents of the wall revealed in the May 19 excavation in order to identify any returns (north or south) and/or any intermediate wall junctions.
Secondly, attempt to locate the east Iron-Age boundary ditch revealed by the 2012 commercial excavation to extend into the allotments east of the track that terminates on the north fence-line.
Further Information
Application
All participants must complete the application form and have their attendance confirmed.
Download Application Form

Archaeology Ireland - Online Conference
2021-10-16 13:00
Nexus—people and places through time
Examining ancient and historic connections
Connections – the many ways by which people in the past reached out to others and shared cultures, activities and experiences – will be under the spotlight at the fourth annual National Monuments Service conference on archaeological and cultural heritage.
The Archaeology Ireland Conference will take place online on 16 October from 13.00 to 19.00. Attendance is free but prior registration is required.
Experts from Ireland, Scotland, Sweden and the United States will explore the many ways people met and mingled in the past. Topics include trackways through bogs, ancient pathways, shared Neolithic monuments across the Irish Sea, commemorating difficult pasts and the ghosts of place right up to brewing in the 16th century and the abandoned relics of Ireland’s lost railway networks. They will examine Physical Connections, Pathways of Discovery, Social Connection, and Connecting the Past and the Present.

Peterborough Historic Environment Record
2021-11-01 19:00 | Parkway Sports Club, Maskew Avenue, Peterborough, PE1 2AS
The HER (Historic Environment Record) contains all available information on known scheduled and unscheduled archaeological remains within Peterborough Unitary Authority. Peterborough HER digitally maintains three types of record, namely monuments of all periods (from finds’ spots to earthworks), events (investigative fieldwork such as excavations or surveys) and sources/archives.
The HER database is a valuable source of information for anyone interested in researching local archaeology and history. The ways in which it is maintained and accessed has been evolving in recent years.
Rebecca Casa-Hatton will explain how the HER is used by the planning department of the council – and how it can help both professional and amateur archaeologists.
Speaker: Dr Rebecca Casa-Hatton, City of Peterborough Archaeologist
FREE for FRAG Members

Must Farm - The Big Picture
2021-12-06 19:00 | Paston and Gunthorpe Community Centre, Hallfields Lane, Peterborough, PE4 7YH
The excavation of 3 late Bronze Age roundhouses took place in 2015 and 2016. Now that the post excavation work is complete and the monographs in the pipeline, project director Mark Knight is able to tell the full narrative. How were long-established settlements being affected by rising water levels? How did the Must Farm settlement come to be there? How were the people living? How was the settlement destroyed? What parallels can we see in southern Britain – and in continental Europe?
It was in the summer of 1999 that decaying timbers were discovered protruding out of the southern face of the brick pit at Must Farm, between Peterborough and Whittlesey. Investigations in 2004 and 2006 revealed the site to be late Bronze Age (1300-800BC) and to comprise a succession of large timber structures spanning an ancient watercourse. A fleet of eight beautifully preserved prehistoric log-boats were amongst the earlier finds. It was in 2016 that the site hit the headlines and was dubbed “Britain’s Pompeii”. Certainly, the excavation of 3 stilted roundhouses which burnt down soon after construction – with much of their timbers and contents preserved in the mud below – has greatly extended our knowledge of everyday life at that time.
Speaker – Mark Knight, Senior Project Officer, Cambridge Archaeological Unit
FREE for FRAG Members
NB Please note this is NOT AT OUR USUAL VENUE!
(But it’s not far away, there should be plenty of parking, and it’s a larger room)
Please maintain social distancing where possible and wear a face covering if you wish
Google Maps – Paston and Gunthorpe Community Centre

Raising the Roof at Oxburgh Hall
2021-12-14
Raising the Roof at Oxburgh Hall: Rafters, Rats and Treasures
A Peterborough Museum Society Event

Guthlac & Anchor Church Field
2022-01-11 19:30 | ON-LINE
Greedy Comers to the Waste: Guthlac and the Archaeology of Anchor Church Field, Crowland
In August 2021, a team of archaeologists from Newcastle University and the University of Sheffield undertook an excavation at Anchor Church Field, Crowland.
Background on the Crowland excavation
Speaker – Dr Duncan Wright, Lecturer in Medieval Archaeology at Newcastle University
This is a Fen Edge Archaeology Group event. If you would like to attend this Zoom talk, please send an email to the contact address below.

Northamptonshire’s Historic Landscape
2022-01-28

The Water Newton Treasure
2022-02-07 19:00 | Parkway Sports Club, Maskew Avenue, Peterborough, PE1 2AS
The Water Newton Treasure – Religion or Ritual?
A hoard of 9 silver vessels and 19 plaques was discovered in 1975. The hoard was found on the site of the walled Roman town of Durobrivae and is now housed in the British Museum. What exactly is the Water Newton treasure?
It dates from no later than the fourth century AD and many of the objects include Christian symbols. The hoard is widely regarded as the earliest known group of Christian silver.
Phil Hill will explain where and how the hoard was found – and what it tells us about both Durobrivae and early Christianity in Britain.
You can find an introductory overview on our website.
Speaker: Phil Hill, FRAG Site Officer and Assistant Supervisor with Oxford Archaeology East
FREE for FRAG Members

Dating in the Iron Age
2022-02-14 | ON-LINE
Dating in the Iron Age: brooches, bones and Bayesian with Dr Sophia Adams, British Museum
A HIAG event

Hill Top, Alconbury - Resistivity Survey
2022-02-18 - 2022-02-21
There is an opportunity to help with a further resistivity survey near Alconbury. Sawtry History Society has an ongoing project to define the location and extent of a possible Romano-British settlement.
Visit the Sawtry Archaeology website for more details and an application form if you wish to take part.
https://sawtryarchaeology.wixsite.com/my-site/17-1
FRAG members will be welcomed, even those who do not have prior experience.

Brooches, Beds, and Burials
2022-02-22 | ON-LINE
Brooches, Beds and Burials: the Early Medieval Eastern Region in its European Context
A CBA East Event
