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.
To coincide with The Council for British Archaeology’s Festival of Archaeology (15-30 July), there will be two events where you can find out more about our work on the Central Winchester Regeneration site.
ONLINE: Wednesday 26 July at 2pm on Teams – PCA will join the CWR Archaeology Panel to discuss the project, joined by Keith Wilkinson from the University of Winchester who will have a radiocarbon dating update. There will be a panel discussion and the opportunity to ask questions.
Watch the presentation and Q&A here
IN PERSON: Saturday 29 July – Join us for guided tours of Trench 1 (next to Coitbury House). The 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. Meet at the PCA Gazebo in Abbey Gardens anytime between 10am and 1pm.
The Central Winchester Regeneration site has come alive! Work began on Monday 17th July with excavation in the car park next to St Clement’s surgery on Tanner Street. The site has been buzzing with the arrival of fencing and equipment, including the ‘Big Orange Trowel’. A start has been made on Trench 1 next to Coitbury House, with the asphalt and modern layers removed under the watchful eye of Shane Maher.
This revealed a section of what we think is an alleyway that ran behind the gardens of a terrace called Forder’s Buildings, which is first shown on the 1st Ordnance Survey map of 1871 and on maps up to the 1960s, when the winds of change swept away remnants of Victorian housing from the heart of the city.
We will be welcoming volunteers on Wednesdays and Thursdays to help process finds from our excavations at the Central Winchester Regeneration site.
Wednesday will be Environmental processing at the University of Winchester; Thursday will be finds processing at the PCA Winchester office.
Use this form to book your place, please provide any relevant information, such as disabilities or other abilities, that would contribute to your volunteering experience. Once booking has been made, you will receive an email to the address used in the booking, which will include detailed instructions on location, timings, etc.
Great to see PCA mentioned in this lovely article in the Yorkshire Post about Jim’s new book. Congratulations Jim, it sounds fantastic!
PCA Director Peter Moore will be leading an archaeological tour to celebrate the Festival of Archaeology this year, with CBA London, around Borough/London Bridge Station. This walk will take you on a time-travelling journey through this historically significant area.
Date and Time: Sunday, 23rd July at 3pm
Join him to explore the sites in this area, where archaeological excavations have uncovered evidence of 2000 years of occupation. Discover the remains of a Roman bath house, Saxon boundaries, a medieval hospital, and a rich post-medieval domestic and light industrial urban landscape.
Most of these sites are the result of joint excavations by Oxford Archaeology and Pre-Construct Archaeology as part of the Thameslink and London Bridge Station Improvement project, as well as other excavations conducted by Pre-Construct Archaeology and MoLA.
Booking is now open but only a few spaces remain!
If you have queries about the event, contact becky.wallower@dial.pipex.com
This year’s Festival of Archaeology runs from 15th to 30th July.
We are delighted to announce our involvement in the Central Winchester Regeneration Project, as detailed in Winchester City Council’s press-release.
The development site is a potential archaeological goldmine with the possibility to address a number of current objectives in research into all periods of the city’s past.
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Our investigation will comprise four trenches in what is now the bus station, in the north-eastern part of the historic core of Winchester. The trenches target a deep, well-preserved waterlogged archaeological sequence (demonstrated by geoarchaeological boreholes) and aims to inform development proposals for CWR that have yet to be drawn up. In fact, the archaeology will drive and inform the development proposals, and it is intended, longer term, to preserve as much of the archaeological sequence as possible.
What we expect to find is evidence of the Roman, Anglo-Saxon, medieval and post-medieval town – a classic urban archaeological sequence. As the water table in this area is unusually high, around 1.6m BGL, the site has the added potential of exceptional preservation of organic artefacts and palaeoenvironmental material which will provide invaluable insights… but this will also pose intriguing challenges!
On 26 July PCA will be joined by the CWR Archaeology Panel in an online event to share details of the programme, the purpose of the work and what’s been happening so far. We will provide regular social media updates and intend to hold open days on site.
The first public open day will be on Saturday 29th July.
Cllr Martin Tod, Leader of Winchester City Council, (pictured above right, with Paul McCulloch and Tracy Matthews, Historic Environment Officer) says:
“I’m incredibly excited to see this work starting. Our city has such a rich record of its history and there’s been brilliant archaeological work over the years too – but there’s still so much more to learn. I know many of us share a strong interest in our city’s past and so I am delighted that PCA’s community event programme will give people the chance to find out more about the work they’re doing and this relatively under-researched part of Winchester.
But while many of us are fascinated by our past, we also must look to our future. These works also take us one step further towards regenerating one of the most rundown parts of our city – but doing so that reflects our pride in our city’s heritage and history.”
Paul McCulloch, PCA Winchester Regional Manager says:
“We are delighted to be able to assist the Council in finding out about the archaeology of the CWR site and in providing information that will help toward its redevelopment. The site offers a special archaeological opportunity to investigate well-preserved remains of Winchester’s Roman, Anglo-Saxon, medieval and more recent past that can be used to help in the design and setting of its regeneration.”
Huge congratulations to John Shepherd (our Roman Archaeology specialist) who spends his spare time working as a tour guide for Andante Travels.
John has won the Wanderlust World Guide Award 2023 for History and Culture!
See the ceremony and results here:
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