Peterborough Archaeology

From cattle and spelt to sheep, barley and rabbits
2026-05-18 19:30 UTC
From cattle and spelt to sheep, barley and rabbits: settlement and land use change in the East Anglian Breckland from the end of Roman Britain to the post-medieval
Speaker: Thomas Lucking, Pre-Construct Archaeology
A talk organised by the Histon & Impington Archaeology Group
Also available online

Sawtry Archaeology - Projects
2026-06-01 19:00
Sawtry Archaeology – Project Updates
Speaker: Kevin Redgate
Kevin has served as a field officer in his time with FRAG, but also holds active roles with the Sawtry History Society. Kevin will be giving an overview of the location, history & heritage, reason for investigating and investigations undertaken for each of the society’s projects.
Sawtry Archaeology is a group within Sawtry History Society that is committed to investigating the archaeological record of Sawtry and neighbouring communities, and presenting interpreted findings in the public domain in order to enrich the communal heritage.
Some of you may have joined Kevin on one or more of these events and there will be more opportunities to join in of the course of this year as well.
The next planned excavation is at Alconbury Weston on 13th June

DIG OPPORTUNITY - Alconbury Weston
2026-06-13 - 2026-06-16
An event organised by Sawtry Archaeology
Visit their website for application forms and more information:
https://sawtryarchaeology.wixsite.com/my-site/events
Survey Aims and Strategy
This is the second session of the fourth season of archaeological investigation on Safefield Farm, which is a continuation of the desktop survey (Season 1) and earlier excavations undertaken in Oct 22 (Season 2), throughout 2025 (Season 3), and the earlier session of this current season. The purpose of this session is to complete the recording of Trench 1, continue the excavations in both Trench 2 and Test Pit 2, and identify potential locations for further evaluation excavations elsewhere within Hermitage Wood. It will also continue the endeavour to locate the accumulated Roman/Romano-British pottery assemblage discovered by Landowners Historical Research Group (LHRG) detectorists.
Opportunities
This excavation will give volunteers with excavation experience the opportunity to develop their excavation skills and techniques, and will give volunteers with no excavation experience the opportunity to learn the principles of archaeological excavation, and basic skills and techniques.

Elton - Walk Through Time
2026-07-23 18:45
An Elton Walk Through Time
Led by Professor Stephen Upex
This event is organised by Elton Parish Council
Pre-booking is required – See poster below

MidNAG Excavation at Nassington - 2026
2026-08-15 - 2026-08-29
Excavation of a Roman Farmstead and its surroundings near Nassington
This is an event organised by MidNAG. Full details and application form are on their website
Since 2015 the Middle Nene Archaeological Group has conducted community excavations at this site.
This small piece of Northamptonshire shows evidence of prehistoric land use superseded by a Roman farmstead, similar to excavations at Orton Longueville in the 1960s.
Part of the site appears to have undergone a major redevelopment phase with the construction of a rectangular building, some 7m wide and 13m long, constructed on trench foundations filled with limestone rubble, from around 120 AD, and another with a herringbone-pitched foundation from approximately 230 AD, indicating occupation ended in the early 5th century.
The aim is to continue to investigate the site and its economic context through open-area excavations and targeted trenching, deepening our understanding of the region’s history and its place in a national context.

Hereward the Wake
2026-10-05 19:00
Hereward the Wake
This talk gives a brief survey of our authentic sources of information about Hereward and the most recent research on his parentage and the status of his family in pre-Conquest England. This is followed by a narrative account of his life as evidenced by these sources illustrating how, in common with many heroic narratives, the surviving stories of his early life combine mythical and semi-magical incidents with authentic historical events. Then follows his banishment from England, his military career and marriage in Flanders, his return to England in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest and his resistance to the invaders with the involvement of Morcar, the Northern rebels and King Swein of Denmark, culminating with an account of his leadership of the last resistance to King William with the Isle of Ely as his base. The talk ends with a survey of current theories about Hereward’s subsequent survival and the manner of his death, and a consideration of what we are looking for in our heroes and why public awareness of them can rise and fall over time.
Speaker: Mike Lynch
Mike was born in Manchester and read English Language and Literature at Oxford University. He taught English for several years in schools and colleges and was subsequently called to the Bar at the Middle Temple, specialising as a consultant in Employment Law. He is married with two grown-up children and for many years lived in Staffordshire where he served as a County Councillor. Now retired, he lives in the Cambridge area and teaches courses on Dickens, Jane Austen and George Eliot at the University of the Third Age in Cambridge. He is a member of the Dickens Fellowship and a member of the Royal Society of Literature. He is currently working on a book of limericks. Since he came to live in the Cambridge area Mike has developed an interest in the life and achievements of one local hero, Hereward the Wake, and has delivered several lectures on this illustrious figure.
FREE for FRAG Members
Non-members welcome – £5 cash, payable on the night
(card payment not currently possible)
The Venue for FRAG Talks is:
University Centre Peterborough
Park Crescent
PE1 4DZ
What3words: https://w3w.co/grants.liner.slime
This is NOT the new university building in the centre of the city, but is on a shared campus with Peterborough College and is accessed from Park Crescent.
There is on-site parking available.
The lecture theatre is on the first floor; a lift is available.
Google Map

Fantastic beasts and where to find them
2026-11-02 19:00
Fantastic beasts and where to find them
Details to follow
Speaker:
Dr Susan Kilburn

FREE for FRAG Members
Non-members welcome – £5 cash, payable on the night
(card payment not currently possible)
The Venue for FRAG Talks is:
University Centre Peterborough
Park Crescent
PE1 4DZ
What3words: https://w3w.co/grants.liner.slime
This is NOT the new university building in the centre of the city, but is on a shared campus with Peterborough College and is accessed from Park Crescent.
There is on-site parking available.
The lecture theatre is on the first floor; a lift is available.
Google Map

History of Fletton Brickworks
2026-12-07 19:00
History of Fletton Brickworks
Building the ‘Brickopolis’. The expansion of Fletton: a story of brickyards, railways and people
Speaker:
Dr Sadie McMullon
