News

We were delighted to return to St Mary’s Church, Houghton, last weekend to share the findings from our recent below-ground works with the local community.

The talk, by Michael Joyce and Will Stafford, explored the history of the church and the surrounding area, drawing connections between the archaeological discoveries and the village’s medieval past. The event was well attended, with the audience engaging enthusiastically through questions and discussion.

The Rector, Geoff Boucher, praised the event, commenting:

“Just the atmosphere in the building and the questions that were asked indicated to me that the presentation was very well received. It was engaging on the local level and the wider historical level. There was also a wholesome sense of completion to the project in the churchyard and a sharing with the community that all had been done professionally, respectfully, caringly. There were plenty of positive comments on the evening and since which confirm how much the evening was appreciated. A proper coming together of the local community in the church building which maybe our medieval forebears would have recognised.”

The weekend concluded with the rededication ceremony, led by the Bishop of Ely, marking an important milestone in the ongoing care and preservation of St Mary’s Church.

As part of the project, our team also documented several unique features, including a previously forgotten Eucharist inscription, identified by Will during the recording at the church.

These photos capture both the history of St Mary’s and the warmth of the community that came together to celebrate it. Many thanks to everyone who joined us.

Laura Desrosiers-Whalley and Lawrence Morgan-Shelbourne will be presenting at the Lithic Studies Society Conference this week, discussing preliminary findings from our recent excavations at West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds.

The 2024 fieldwork revealed a sealed Early Neolithic midden deposit rich in flint and pottery, offering an exceptional glimpse into activity around 3800 BC. From a large, naturally formed hollow, over 1,400 struck flints were recovered, alongside a substantial assemblage of Carinated Bowl tradition ceramics, some of the earliest pottery used by farming communities in Britain.

The flint assemblage includes both knapping debris and retouched pieces, but evidence suggests tool-making was not taking place on site. Instead, the material appears to have been accumulated through middening.

Radiocarbon dates place this activity firmly within the earliest Neolithic horizon, providing a rare opportunity to explore how early communities made, used, and discarded their tools. The site has important implications for understanding Early Neolithic depositional practices and the relationship between lithic and ceramic assemblages across southern Britain.

Join Laura and Lawrence at the conference to hear more about this remarkable site and its significance for Early Neolithic studies.

📍 Voluntary Action Leicestershire (VAL), Leicester
🗓 7–8 November 2025

A quick update: our public information board for Plot 9a, First Street South, Manchester is now up on site.

It shares details of the archaeological work carried out ahead of Ask’s development of this major office building, which will be the Government Property Agency (GPA) new hub in Manchester.

It’s great to see it in place, helping connect the area’s industrial past with its latest phase of regeneration.

Thanks to everyone involved in producing and installing the board.

Join us this Saturday for Milton Keynes Archaeology Day!

PCA will be out in force at this year’s event, with a full display and hands-on activities in the morning, plus an afternoon talk by Mark Hinman, Judy Mlynarska and Jenn Hulse:
“Cups, Coins, and Cows: Unravelling the Late Iron Age at MK East.”

When: 1 November 2025 10am-3.30pm

Where: Church of Christ the Cornerstone, 300 Saxon Gate, Central Milton Keynes, MK9 2ES

Tickets: The event is FREE and open to ALL

Programme: Download here

Alistair Douglas will be presenting PCA’s work at Bermondsey Square in a lecture hosted by LAMAS next month.

Date: 11 November 2025

Time: 18:30–19:30

Venue: Lecture Theatre G6, Institute of Archaeology, UCL, 31-34 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0PY

The lecture will be available via zoom as well as in person, click here to book

.

Alistair’s lecture will explore the full story of Bermondsey Square, from its earliest occupation to its later urban development, revealed through 20 years of excavation from 1998-2018.

The earliest evidence shows Bermondsey as a prehistoric eyot, with scattered pits and pottery fragments attesting to Iron Age settlement. Roman-period activity appears largely agricultural, though later Roman robber trenches and substantial ceramic building material, including opus signinum, suggest sizeable masonry structures to the north of the square in the area of Stevens Street.

Saxon traces include fragmentary wall foundations, small finds, and coinage which may be the first archaeological evidence for a middle Saxon minster at Bermondsey. By the 10th century, a small apsidal church had been built, accompanied by nearby inhumations, marking the site’s emergence as a Christian centre.

The medieval period brought the most dramatic transformations. Excavations revealed extensive foundations of the Cluniac Priory and its development into the Benedictine abbey of St Saviour, which remained a dominant feature of Bermondsey until its dissolution in the 16th century.

After the dissolution, the site entered a new phase under Robert Southwell and later Sir Thomas Pope, who constructed an impressive Tudor mansion with a double courtyard and a separate eastern range added in the 17th century. Later excavations uncovered a Presbyterian cemetery, reflecting Bermondsey’s unique history as a hub of religious dissent. By the 18th century, King John’s Court had been developed for artisan housing, offering fascinating insights into the area’s social history through archaeology, topography, and documents.

Our monograph Bermondsey Square: Prehistoric and Roman Settlement, Medieval Abbey and Post-Medieval Mansion Volume 1 is available to buy here