Canterbury Archaeological Trust and the Sussex School of Archaeology are running their already popular training courses for 2015, each including field school opportunities for anybody interested at Folkestone and Plumpton Roman villas respectively.

Check out their websites for more details:

http://www.canterburytrust.co.uk/community_archaeology/east-wear-bay/

http://www.canterburytrust.co.uk/community_archaeology/archaeology-courses/

http://www.sussexarchaeology.org/#!summer-term-2015/c1un

 

Surrey History Centre, Woking: Saturday 14th November 2015

Our understanding of the Mesolithic in Britain has increased substantially in recent times due to the considerable contributions made by commercial and community archaeology alongside continued academic attention. This day conference brings together talks from each of these sectors, revealing new discoveries being made on the Mesolithic in the South-East of Britain and introducing some of the fascinating insights emerging from projects focussed upon the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition from other areas of the country.

Arrival and registration 9:30

Dr Martyn Allen (Chair, CBA South-East), 10:15: Introduction to the day

Professor Martin Bell (University of Reading), 10:20: The Mesolithic of the Wetland and Coastal Edge in Southern Britain

Coffee 11:00

Phil Jones (Surrey County Archaeology Unit), 11:20: Mesolithic Remains at Bletchingley and Mesolithic Surrey

Garry Momber (Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology), 11:50: Mesolithic Technology at Bouldnor Cliff: Was it 2,000 Years Ahead of its Time?

Mike Donnelly (Oxford Archaeology), 12:20: New Mesolithic Discoveries on the Bexhill Relief Road Scheme, Kent

Lunch and posters 12:50 – CBA South East Annual General Meeting 13:30

Dr Fraser Sturt (Uni. Southampton) and Dr Duncan Garrow (Uni. Reading), 14:00: Stepping Stones to the Neolithic: Seafaring, Connectivity and the Mesolithic/Neolithic Transition

Dr Jodie Lewis (University of Worcester), 14:30: Caves, Springs and Depositing Things: Approaching the Mesolithic and Neolithic in the South West

Coffee 15:00

Dr Rick Schulting (University of Oxford), 15:30: Violent Times in the Neolithic? A Review of the British Evidence

Don Henson (University of York), 16:00: Public Engagement in the Mesolithic and Neolithic

 

Tickets: £16.00 for CBA South-East members/£20.00 for non-members

*** Applications for student bursaries are also available ***

For further details and booking information, please visit our website at http://www.cbasouth-east.org/events/cbase-annual-conference/ or email the organiser, Dr Martyn Allen, at m.g.allen@reading.ac.uk

For full schedule flyer see: CBASE_PrehSoc_Mesolithic_conference_2015

The Tudor Archbishops of Canterbury at Knole and Otford:  A Great Hall Lecture

Great Hall, Knole, Sevenoaks

Mon 11 May, 7pm

Alden Gregory, Curator of Royal Palaces will provide an insight into the day-to-day life of a Tudor Archbishop’s palace.  Looking at the two great Kentish palaces at Knole and Otford during the early 16th century, his talk will consider why the Archbishop of Canterbury needed two such large palaces so close together.
Adult £7.50

On Saturday May 16^th Community Archaeology in Kent will be holding an archaeology exhibition as part of the Shorne Woods Country Park Open Day: Come and see finds from ten years of community archaeology at Shorne Woods Country Park. Meet the archaeologists and try your hand at Flint knapping! https://www.facebook.com/events/1384910378488483

An Introduction to Rose Hill Wood – Saturday, 28^th March – Rose Hill Wood, Sittingbourne – 10am to 4pm

Why is Rose Hill Wood such an important place in Sittingbourne’s history and what purpose does it serve now?  Come and find out why as we are joined by the Historical Research Group of Sittingbourne.  There will be displays showing what we already know about the grand house that was at Rose Hill as well as the chance to see archaeologists in action as they start to unearth the foundations of the building so that its position can be mapped and we can understand more about what it was like there.  You can also find out more about the wildlife that now thrives in the woodland and how to get involved in the Woodland Wildlife Hidden History Project.

The event will be a drop in session so you can come along at any time to see what’s going on.

The North Downs YAC group will be attending that day.

Meeting point: Car park area on Andrews Walk next to Gore Court Cricket Club, ME10 1QU.  Signs will direct you from there.  Here is a map: http://bit.ly/RoseHillWoods

The Tudor and Early Stuart Country House in Sussex c.1500-1640

Saturday 9 May 2015

King’s Church, Lewes

By 1640, as the country began its slide towards the Civil War which effectively ended the reign of Charles I, many country house owners in Sussex and elsewhere had taken advantage of the preceding long period of stability to extend existing houses or build new ones, increasing prosperity and bringing about greater awareness of European fashions. A considerable number of these houses survive in Sussex, although many have been substantially altered and a few, such as Wiston and Firle, greatly reduced in size because they were simply too big. Some were demolished in the later 1700s and early 1800s due to the amalgamation of large estates. Halland and Michelgrove (in the parish of Clapham) were amongst these. The themes of this conference include how and why these houses were built and paid for, the influences on their design and setting and the rules (or ordinances) used to help the big households to run smoothly and no doubt to help accommodate the costly favour of a Royal visit. The impact of alterations and changes in role will be explored by the case studies of specific houses during the afternoon.

Booking information

Advance booking is strongly recommended as there is no guarantee there will be places available on the door. Registration on the day opens at 9.30am when you can sign in and receive your copy of the delegate handbook. The ticket price includes a light lunch and coffee and tea on arrival and in the breaks. If you have special dietary requirements or particular access needs, these can be accommodated with advance notice. There will be a bookstall on site.

Please see http://sussexpast.co.uk/become-a-member/conferences-events for booking details

Sussex School of Archaeology

Saturday 21 March 2015

With a theme of The Archaeology of Fields (Further details to follow)

Huxley Lecture Room, University of Brighton

http://www.sussexarchaeology.org/#!events/c22ae

Saturday, February 28, 2015 – 09:30 to 17:00

Peace Memorial Hall, Woodfield Lane, Ashtead, KT21 2BE

The Research Committee has arranged the Annual Symposium for 2015 with a range of speakers on Surrey topics, including David Williams, Martin Higgins, Phil Jones, David Stone, Gerry Thacker, Dan Swift/Simon Stevens, Emma Corke and Peter Burgess. Prof. Alan Crocker will also be demonstrating papermaking during the lunch break. Displays from groups will be on show and new exhibitors are welcome – as usual the displays will have the chance to be judged for the Margary Award.

Please see http://www.surreyarchaeology.org.uk/node/914 for full programme and booking details

11th April – Teston Roman villa and Tonbridge Castle Tour, Kent

Download flyer here

and click here for the full 2015 Tour schedule

Public notice by CBA South-East of changes to Specialist Services in West Sussex

From the end of March 2015, West Sussex County Council will be ending their provision of specialist archaeological services (advice and monitoring) to six of the seven District Council Planning Departments in West Sussex. A WSCC Statement about these changes, together with replies to some of concerns raised at the Sussex Archaeology Forum last October, has been added to this website. CBA South-East is very concerned about these changes and is actively campaigning alongside the national CBA and other local societies to ensure that the six affected Districts (i.e. not Chichester, which has its own archaeologist) have arranged for new archaeological advice providers to be in place from April 1st. Such advice is mandated by national planning policy and plays a key role in the screening, determination and mitigation of development which impacts the historic environment.

The WSCC statement can be downloaded here.