| AGM 2019 |
The AGM on 3rd April 2019 resolved to retain subscriptions for 2019/20 at £12 for individual membership and £18 for families.
Mike Coles has taken over the role of field officer, but as co-ordinator only: members are encouraged to search out fieldwalking sites. Other officers and committee remain unchanged, Terry Dymott becoming an ordinary committee member. |
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| Geophys at our Ickleton site |
| 15/5/2019 |
As the date of our proposed excavation at Ickleton draws closer, the plot shown here is the resistivity plot for the area with our intended trench line. The red(high res) areas of the plot delineate the shape of a roughly square structure? with a much lower res (blue) interior. Our intention is to sample the line across the possible structure to take in both the possible wall and the centre.
We have already laid out a 10m x 2m trench, the next step is immediately before our excavation to get the turf removed with a turf cutter and the topsoil removed by a digger. We will observe both these steps to see any features that may appear. | |  |
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| Another interesting find from Comberton |
| 8/5/2019 |
| The find from Comberton shown in the upper photograph is a piece from a German saltglazed stoneware jug, probably of bulbous form. It is part of a large medallion that would have a crown with bird 'supporters' above a GR cypher washed in blue with a winged cherub beneath. It was made in the Westerwald region of Germany, circa 1715 - 1725. An example of a complete piece is shown in the second photograph.
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| This example of a GR jug dates from the reign of George I of England. The jug has a large medallion on the front flanked by sinuous scrolling foliage on either side. A blackberry wash on the neck with the cobalt colouring of the foliage and the GR cypher. These early jugs were exported in great numbers from Germany to England following the crowning of the first Hanoverians as Kings of England.
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| The walking's over, now the analysis begins |
| 14/4/2019 |
Now that walking is over we have time to look more closely at some of our finds.
The recent walk at Comberton produced a part of a clay pipe bowl which, unusually for Cambridgeshire, had some relief initials on the foot (see photograph courtesy of Stephen Read). The initials are fairly worn but look like I and S and it may be possible to determine the date and its maker (the first name initial is always on the left hand side of the bowl when looked at as if you were smoking the pipe). The stem bore is 6 - 7/64ths and the style is similar to Oswald Type 12.
Now comes the interesting bit - the pipe style and stem bore suggest a pipe from the middle of the 18th C. The maker is more difficult because the letter I was often used for a J on pipes, so John and James often appear as an I (so James Knight = I K). Looking at lists of Cambridge pipe makers, most likely ones date to the mid to late 19th C which is at odds to the style. However, Cessford lists a John Sibley (1752 - 59) and John Saunders (1745). It is not clear that either used initials on their pipes so we cannot be sure who actually made this pipe. It may also be an import from other counties or London (where Oswald lists a number of possible candidates for this period). Clay pipes did not generally travel far from their maker' premises so Sibley or Saunders are still the most likely. | | |
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| What a way to end the Spring season |
| 7/4/2019 |
Sunday was a complete surprise, even after last weekend's surprise. The small field in Comberton was not especially expected to produce much but after the significant medieval finds just across the road, nothing could be ruled out - and so it turned out. The photograph shows just a few of the finds, again a lot of medieval but also some nice post-med like the Westerwald fragment with a large letter "R" visible. There were 97 bags of finds but the prize find has to be the very large shelly-ware rim on the right. This was only one of the many shell tempered wares found. We look forward to cataloguing these finds and getting an expert view on what they are.
These last two weekends have been very welcome after the paucity of finds earlier in the year. Now for a break and a rest before coming back invigorated in the Autumn. | |  |
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| Surprising day at Manor Farm in Comberton |
| 31/3/2019 |
The return to Comberton and Manor Farm was a year after our previous visit - and was it a total surprise!! The field lies on the outskirts of the village but relatively close to an old manor site. However, expectations of lots of finds were low. How wrong can you be - it turned up masses of finds, just some of which are shown in the photograph.
What was surprising was the range of material - from possible Iron Age shelly ware, to Roman Nene Valley ware and other local ware, to medieval glazed redware and slipwares to blue and white transfer ware.
All in all a great weekend of field walking and unexpected finds. | |  |
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One highlight was the two fragments of probable medieval lava quernstone. The photo shows the curved dressing (Lepareux-Couturier type 5) of the grinding surface. The other side has s curved shape in the centre which may be the edge of the grain hopper.
(Lepareux-Couturier, S. 2014. Complex dressing patterns on grinding surfaces of rotary querns and millstones from Antiquity in the Paris Basin, France: state of research and perspectives. AmS-Skrifter 24, 149–158, Stavanger). | |  |
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| Publications concerning CAFG |
| 5/11/2018 |
The group gets a mention in 2 new publications.
In Current Archaeology we have the inside back page (which is devoted to highlighting various local groups) in the latest December issue (as shown in the photograph).
The second is in an article by Bill Franklin in the latest PCAS Vol CVII for 2018, pages 107 - 118. This studies a document relating to Wimpole that came to light as part of the group researches into the estate. | |  |
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