| Yet more time at Foxes hill |
| 23/3/2025 |
| Amazing - three Sundays in a row at Foxes Hill. As we move east from the footpath so the finds are becoming less in number and variety. More glazed redware, of course, and post med brick and tile together with stoneware. Also blue & white transfer ware and clay pipe stems. However there are still early looking pots which may be Roman in origin and for the first time a worked flint. Although next Sunday is Mothering Sunday we hope to carry on and finish the field before crop growth becomes an issue. | |  |
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| Lots more pottery from Foxes Hill |
| 16/3/2025 |
| Apart from the early pottery shown before we had a good collection of post-med wares as well. As the photograph shows there were lots of glazed redwares to be found. There were also lots of different types - stoneware, modern flowerpot, blue & white transfer ware and cream ware. The handle looks like it came from a Staffordshire combed ware vessel. Finally there were lots of clay pipe stems and this single early bowl. | |  |
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| A second day on Foxes Hill |
| 16/3/2025 |
| The weather continues to smile on us, two weekends in a row. As we move east across the field the pottery mix remains pretty much the same. The photograph shows more sand tempered wares that look very medieval, especially the large strap handle with a deep groove running along it. There were a couple of flints that look like primary flakes but the majority of flints appear unworked. | |  |
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| More pottery from Foxes Hill |
| 9/3/2025 |
| Some of the post med pottery from our first walk down Foxes Hill. As the photo shows we had lots of GRE, some Staffordshire combed ware, slip ware from Harlow, salt glazed stoneware, cream ware and quite a few clay pipe stems. We left quantities of post med tile and brick on the field. The disappointment was the upper parts of the hill were covered in flint but not a piece was recognized as being worked or burnt. | |  |
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| SUSAN MAY |
| 16/3/2025 |
We have received the sad news that Susan May, one of the founding members of the group, passed away at home on Wednesday 12th March after a short illness. Sue was a long-time and efficient secretary of the group, a diligent researcher of documents, a careful excavator and enthusiastic field walker who found even the smallest of artefacts.
She will be missed by all. | |  |
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| Finds from Foxes Hill, Orwell |
| 9/3/2025 |
| Our field walking last Sunday produced quite a number of finds dating to all periods. Notable among the earlier finds were the parts of three strap handles that look very medieval in appearance, as shown in the photograph. There was also significant numbers of post medieval pottery and also post med brick and tile. | |  |
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| Hooray - field walking at last |
| 9/3/2025 |
| As the photograph shows we finally got to go field walking in sunny conditions with a gentle warm breeze and dry soil conditions. The hill near the main road at Orwell was just right and 12 people thoroughly enjoyed the conditions, although the walk up the hill was hard work. Who said Cambridgeshire doesn't have hills!!!! Let's hope next weekend is as good so we might finish the field. | |  |
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| Field walking restart |
| 5/3/2025 |
| Message from Mike Coles:
HURRAH
We will be back to fieldwalking this coming Sunday the 9th March, start at 10.00 and should finish about 12.30.
Parking will be at Rectory Farm on the Wimpole NT estate and the field, Fox Hill, belongs to Mr Gadsby. For those who have not walked with us before - just bring suitable footwear and clothing, it could be cold. We will need to walk back along the lane to get to the field, so quite a bit of walking, and the field has a sharp slope to the north which will be a bit of a challenge.
It is possible that there could be roman finds next to the roman road and possibly struck flint on the top of the slope - I cannot guarantee this ! |
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| Still no progress in 2025 for our field walking program |
| 16/2/2025 |
| Visits to Eltisley and Orwell Hill have shown just how saturated the ground is and hence the reason we are still unable to get field walking. We have permission to walk at Orwell Hill and also the RSPB site at Knapwell but the conditions still defeat us. It is hard to remember such a slow start to a walking year, but conditions may be a little better next weekend so keep your fingers crossed. |
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| Presentation of the Val Whittaker prize |
| 5/2/2025 |
| Our new President's first action was to present the Val Whittaker prize to the winning student, as shown in the photograph. Balint Beremenyi from Emmanuel College won it with his paper entitled "The Seal of the Necropolis in the MAA Cambridge". His excellent presentation described the Seal and documented efforts to date it with reference to its iconography and to similar objects. | |  |
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| Our new President |
| 6/2/2025 |
| As we go into our 2025 season, we do so with a new President following Dr. Paul Spoerry's reirement from the role. Stephen Macaulay has links with CAFG going back many years and we welcome him to our group. His role as Regional Manager for Oxford Archaeology (Cambridge Office) enables us to continue using their Bar Hill premises for our finds processing and Wednesday meetings. We also benefit from his years of experience of the local archaeology scene and his leadership of the continuing Jigsaw Community. |
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| Developments in the 2025 field walking program |
| 27/1/2025 |
| After many delays, storms and other bad weather, we finally hope to soon be field walking at the RSPB site in Knapwell. The documentation has been completed and sent for final approval so, weather permitting, we may be walking on 2nd Feb. Please keep a lookout for further information on the website and by email. |
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| Christmas greetings 2024 |
| 17/12/2024 |
| Wishing all our members and web followers a Happy Christmas and a better 2025 for field walking. This year has not been the best for field walking due to the gales, very wet fields and changes in farming practices. However we hope for a more normal year next year and lots of exciting finds. | |  |
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| Back on the chalk at Ickleton after a long break |
| 17/11/2024 |
| At last a site to walk and, despite the dire weather forecast earlier in the week, some good weather. Ground conditions were a little bumpy and dusty but we were walking again. However, not many finds, although we left a lot of small pieces of broken tile on the ground. The finds were mostly a mixture of glazed and unglazed post medieval redwares, as the photo shows. There were also a small number of other post med ware, such as transfer print and whitewares. Lots of flint but only a small number identified as flakes. The majority of surface items were the potatoes left behind after harvesting - in the very old days these would have been gleaned by local people. | |  |
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| CAS Conference |
| 9/11/2024 |
| Last Saturday saw the CAS Conference occur in a new venue at the Cripps Library. As part of the presentations CAFG gave a lecture (through Tom Midgeley) on our work at Wimpole over the last few years. We also had a poster presentation about our 2024 Parterre Gardens excavation, together with a few of the finds. | |  |
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