News

Back in May, field archaeologists Luke Hall and Anna Robson from PCA Durham had the pleasure of visiting St Helen’s Primary School in Hartlepool to talk about the excavations taking place on their school field ahead of construction of a new school building.

Luke and Anna led a whole-school assembly and delivered an in-depth object-handling session to Years 5 and 6. They shared site photographs, real artefacts, and historical sources to show the children what the excavation was uncovering, while also passing on their enthusiasm for archaeology and why it matters. During the object-handling session, pupils and teachers got stuck into object identification, working together to identify a selection of finds and place them on a timeline from youngest to oldest.

A particular highlight was the enthusiasm shown by the older pupils, some of whom are considering archaeology as a future career, and the excitement of handling real objects and some of the tools we use, like our trowels.

We’re grateful to Galliford Try and St Helen’s School for all their help in facilitating these outreach sessions.

PCA recently carried out an assessment of stone from a collapsed section of wall in Hyde, Winchester, working alongside specialist Dr Kevin Hayward and local heritage group Hyde900.

The wall, which probably dates to the late 1540s, includes reused masonry from Hyde Abbey, demolished following the Reformation. Among the fallen material were carved fragments and plain dressed blocks, now recorded as part of the groundwork for a Listed Building application.

Our thanks to Hyde900 and their volunteers for their support on site.

We’re delighted that Becket’s Chapel in South Norfolk has been recognised with a 2025 AABC Conservation Award as part of the Civic Trust Awards. Established in 2014, these awards honour projects that set the standard for historic building conservation, making a lasting impact on the built environment.

The work at Becket’s Chapel shows how sensitive conservation can balance old and new, keeping historic sites relevant and valued by the community. During the project, PCA revealed key evidence of the chapel’s medieval origins, as well as later changes that reflect how the building adapted to new uses over time. Well-preserved masonry and foundations helped to trace the architectural evolution of the site, while artefacts like medieval ceramics and coffin fittings provide further glimpses into its past.

Becket’s Chapel has long been a part of South Norfolk’s heritage, with roots stretching back to the medieval period and a continuous thread of religious and community use. The recent conservation work not only preserves this history but also keeps the building as a familiar landmark for future generations.

PCA is proud to have been involved in the project, bringing archaeological insights to a complex and rewarding scheme, and with Stage 2 still to come, we’re looking forward to uncovering even more of Becket’s Chapel’s story.

Spring LAF – Monday 19th May, 6pm
📍 UCL Institute of Archaeology, 31-34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY

There will be a great variety of speakers:

• Jacqui Pearce (MOLA), a leading specialist in medieval and later ceramics, will explore the global reach of Bartmann jugs (or Bellarmine ware). These distinctive German vessels have been unearthed worldwide, and Jacqui will discuss a new project pushing the boundaries of Bartmann research beyond north-west Europe.
• Mike Curnow, Project Officer at MOLA, will present the intriguing findings from Tideway Site 4: Barn Elms. Once a thriving mid-late Iron Age settlement, the site was occupied for centuries before its decline around the 1st century BC. Evidence suggests this unassuming sports field may once have been a wealthy oppidum.
• Andrew Mayfield will share insights from the four-year community archaeology programme he’s been leading in Greenwich Park. Highlights include the excavation of a WWII air raid shelter, recent works on the Grand Ascent as part of the Greenwich Park Revealed project, and ongoing investigations around the Roman temple precinct.

As usual, the conversation continues at the pub afterwards.

This footage captures Phase 2 of PCA’s excavation at Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, part of a phased programme of archaeological work being carried out for EDP, on behalf of Spitfire Bespoke Homes Ltd.

The site is revealing a Romano-British ladder enclosure system on the edge of settlement. The adjacent area (Phase 1) has already been excavated and is now under development. In the coming weeks, excavation will move beyond the Heras fencing into Phase 3, where we hope to uncover more of the settlement itself.

Thanks to SUMO Geosurveys for the fantastic footage.

PCA has made a remarkable discovery at Monksfields in Cambridgeshire – a Middle Neolithic cremation burial, the first ever recorded on the western Cambridgeshire claylands and only the second known in the county. Such burials remain a rare and poorly recognised phenomenon in the UK.

The cremated remains of two people, an adolescent or adult and a child, were found in a small pit without an urn, grave goods, or visible monument. Radiocarbon dating places the burial between 3364 and 3102 cal. BC (SUERC-130643 (GU69945)), offering a rare insight into life (and death) over 5,000 years ago.

The burial, just below a ridgeline with views over the Fox Brook (a tributary of the River Great Ouse), adds a crucial piece to the puzzle of Neolithic Cambridgeshire. Although it may not look spectacular, it represents a significant shift in our understanding of Neolithic traditions. Increasingly, non-monumental deposits of human remains are recognised as a significant yet underrepresented aspect of Neolithic funerary practices in Britain. A recent study documented just 46 such features across all of mainland Britain, highlighting how rare these discoveries are (Rowland & Thompson 2024).

The LAMAS (London and Middlesex Archaeology Society) annual conference will be a hybrid event again this year – in person at the Museum of London Docklands, with an option watch the lectures online. It takes place on Saturday 15th March, and tickets are now available here.

Harry Platts will be presenting the results of PCA excavations in Stratford. His talk A Late-Medieval Tannery at Stratford will explore evidence of leather production, from horncores to oak bark, parasite eggs to tanning pits. Harry will outline the development of the tannery, its connection to Stratford’s shifting economy and its ultimate decline in the 16th century. PCA will have a stall at the event if you want to pick up any of our current publications.

In the meantime, you can explore more about the site through these interpretation panels: