Mark your calendars for Saturday September 2 and prepare to be immersed in history from 10am to 4.30pm!
Our guided tours will explore Trench 1, where visitors to our first open day will be able to see the progress we have made. This will be followed by a visit to the newly opened Trench 3 containing archaeology below the current water level (water will be pumped out of the trench during the day!).
The interactive activities will take place in Abbey Gardens. We hope to see you there!
We’re delighted to announce the acquisition of new offices in the centre of Newark! The office space combines contemporary aesthetics with the essence of the market town’s charm. As an added bonus staff now have easy access to local coffee shops, sandwich bars, and other food outlets as well as a cinema!
This clay tobacco pipe, which reads ‘PEACE 1856’, commemorates the treaty of Paris which ended the Crimean War. The pipe was made in Winchester at the Bridge Street kiln site by Richard Goodall who ran the site from 1860 until at least 1914. The pipe mould has a long and complex history; it was originally used by James Chamberlain and lacked the shields, which were added after the 1856 peace treaty. The mould was then passed on to Richard Goodall, probably via his father, Richard Sr., and occurs in the 1860s deposits from his kiln site in Winchester, so it was clearly in production for some time after the event commemorated. We may well come across more pipes from this kiln site in our ongoing work at the Central Winchester regeneration site!
On Saturday we welcomed visitors to our first open day at the Central Winchester Regeneration site to see what we’ve found so far. We had to dodge a few showers to take groups from our display of finds and posters in Abbey Gardens to see Trench 1 with the medieval and Victorian remains that we’ve uncovered.
Don’t worry if you missed it, there are two more open days coming up on September 2nd and October 7th, where we’ll unveil more discoveries and explore new trenches!
Meet Rowan, who was lucky enough to find the Roman ‘Darlington Eagle’ on their first ever site as a commercial archaeologist!
For the Festival of Archaeology Rowan shares the thrill of finding this amazing artefact and why they love working in commercial archaeology. Rowan outlines theories about the eagle put forward so far… is it the Lost eagle of the ninth, off a helmet or military standard, or is it simply scrap metal? Is it a brazier or part of an oil lamp? What do you think?
In Roman Britain brooches were worn as symbols of identity. They revealed various aspects of an individual’s life such as where they came from, and their status and position in society.
This type, in the form of a sitting cockerel, is thought to indicate that the wearer was a devotee of the cult of Mercury. These are usually found individually, so this pair, recovered from a pit fill in Suffolk, is a remarkable find.
Our first open morning at the Central Winchester Regeneration site is on 29 July – come along and see what we’ve found! Guided tours will start and finish at our stall in Abbey Gardens and attendees will get a chance to view some of the finds from the excavation.
On 26th July PCA joined the CWR Archaeology Panel to discuss the Central Winchester Regeneration project. PCA regional manager Paul McCulloch revealed that after the Victorian alley from last week’s update was recorded, a thick layer of soil was removed to expose a wall, which is part of a medieval building fronting onto Tanner Street. These remains lie just 1m below the carpark. On one side of the wall, the building’s backyard is represented by a layer of cobbles covered in oyster shell. On the other side a layer rich in roofing slate fragments is possible evidence of the building’s demise.
It’s wall to wall archaeology in Trench 1! But who lived in this building? By comparing the archaeology with documentary evidence, we can probably find out. Winchester’s secrets are coming to light!
Watch the full update here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpnp3g9m_5U&t=1860s
This summer we had the pleasure of hosting, James, a Year 12 student from Epsom, Surrey, for a week of work experience at our London office. James said he felt warmly welcomed by the team and had a great time. He loved that he was undertaking “hands on” work and found it really interesting and he particularly enjoyed learning from the timber specialist. James is hoping to study a course at University that includes an element of archaeology and is also hoping he can return for another placement at PCA next summer.
Thanks for spending the week with us, James, and thanks for the positive feedback. Reaching out to young people like you is one of PCA’s key objectives and we look forward to giving many others the opportunity to learn about and enjoy archaeology.
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