| 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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| Weather forecast cancels our field walking |
| 8/2/2020 |
Storm Ciara has caused us to cancel our planned field walking at Abbey Farm, Ickleton as the wind conditions will make walking difficult.
So here are some views of the puddingstone quern we found last weekend. The stone is the lower half of a small hand operated quern and made of Hertfordshire Pudding Stone. Visible by the right hand end of the scale is the drilled spindle hole that centred and located the upper stone. | |  |
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The second photograph shows the side profile which identifies it as a bun-shaped quern of East Anglian form (as defined by Curwen in 1941). It is likely to be of late Iron Age or early Roman date. This is interesting in view of the lack of Iron Age or Roman pottery recovered so far during our field walking.
For more information on querns go to the Reports page where there is an article about querns and quern stones. | |  |
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| First field walking in Ickleton |
| 26/1/2020 |
Our first field walking at Ickleton was quite a change to recent work. The field was littered with flint and post medieval tile and brick which made finding worked or burnt flints quite difficult. The ground conditions were fine and the sunny weather appreciated by all. The photograph shows some of the flints we did find - including 3 nice blades, 2 burnt flints and something that looks remarkably like a flint used with a flint lock gun.
On the pottery side, there was a quantity of glazed redware finds dating to the 18th/19th C to go with the masses of mostly tile. Some of the redware had slipware decoration which could date to the 17th C. | |  |
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| More walking at Impington |
| 19/1/2020 |
This weekend we continued walking at Impington with our Histon colleagues on the site rumoured to contain exciting things like banjo enclosures and Iron Age enclosures. Again, the ground conditions were fine, but the bright low angle sun again made visibility more difficult. There were quantities of stoneware pots and white glazed pottery but only a few finds of any age.
Next weekend we are starting at Ickleton near the Abbey Farm site where we carried out our excavation last year. |
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| Just a taster of future activity |
| 13/1/2020 |
| Today we were out at Ickleton discussing our excavation plans and also to look at potential field walking sites. A field called The Mash was the first target, a field full of flint and which produced the nice flint blade shown here. There was also some pottery that looked medieval in date so all to look forward to when we finish helping out at Impington. | |  |
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| Walking at Impington |
| 12/1/2020 |
This weekend we went walking at Impington where our Histon colleagues had a site rumoured to contain exciting things like banjo enclosures and Iron Age enclosures. Shown in the photo, the ground conditions were fine, although the bright low angle sun made visibility more difficult. Lots of finds bags but only a relatively few finds from the distant past.
We will return next weekend to try and finish off the field. | |  |
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| Another finds haul at Eltisley |
| 5/1/2020 |
Our final day at Eltisley produced another bumper crop of finds, although we were prevented walking part of the field due to the muddy conditions. The photograph shows just a small sample of the finds. The handles just keep coming, with another pricked design but also a fluted one not seen before. The shell and flint tempered material still represent the major part of our finds. This time there was also a lot of post-medieval material, including a small amount of blue and white transfer printed ware.
A scatter plot seems to suggest these finds are scattered over most of the field but with a concentration along the middle and west end along the present housing line. Not shown in the photo are the large number of golf balls lying over the field, a feature of a number of the sites we walk in all areas of South Cambs. | |  |
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| Greetings to all members and associates |
| 22/12/2019 |
Let's hope Father Christmas gets the request for no more rain but doesn't send us any of the white stuff!!!
Thanks to all those people who have been walking in 2019 and for people like Oxford Archaeology East who do so much to support us. Happy Christmas and a successful New Year to everyone. | |  |
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| Field walking at Eltisley very rewarding, despiter the ground conditions. |
| 15/12/2019 |
The weather conspired again, some of the ground was like porridge but we managed to walk a lot of the remaining area - and the finds just kept coming. The photograph shows just some of them. The surprise was the Roman pieces that look like they are Samian (but just might be Romano-British copies). There were masses of shell tempered pieces which may be Roman or later and the post med finds included most of a stoneware ink pot. The interesting thing is how these finds are spread all over the field but not in such quantities in any one place to say here was a settlement.
Now we have a well earned Christmas break and hope to come back refreshed in the new year. Let's hope my request to Santa for some decent weather in 2020 gets heard. | |  |
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| The weather wins again |
| 10/11/2019 |
| The weather was sunny, the wind a little chill but the sodden ground meant a high risk of damaging the growing crop - so no walking at the weekend. We hope to carry on this Sunday but early weather predictions are not so good. However, who knows, they may be different on Saturday. |
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| Interesting finds at a new venue |
| 1/12/2019 |
This weekend took place at a new site to the west of the county, at Eltisley on a field near Manor Farm. We were hoping for some medieval finds on the field nearest the moated site - but things did not turn out quite as expected. The photograph shows a selection of the finds - they ranged from the medieval lovely shell tempered handle with pricked decoration, the shell tempered rim and plenty of oyster shells. However, they were all some way from the moated site. There was also a piece of lava quern stone, glazed redwares, a stoneware neck of a bottle and a little blue and white transfer printed ware.
Next Sunday we will attempt to finish this particular field and to see where the medieval finds lead us. | |  |
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A close up view of the medieval shell tempered handle with a pricked decoration. | |  |
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| 40th Anniversary and Val Whittaker Prize Presentation |
On 6th November 2019 we held a social event at the McDonald Institute to celebrate the Group's 40th anniversary and presented Leigha Crothall,a Cambridge University undergraduate, with the Val Whittaker Memorial Prize for 2019. Leigha's winning paper was on glass trade beads. To read Leigha's paper click here. Photo - Leigha being presented with the award by the chairman.
To read Barrie Fuller, our chairman's words and thanks to those who have supported the Group, made at the event, click here.
Sadly we have to report the death of our treasurer, Dudley Pusey, the following day. Dudley was a long-term member of the Group and will be greatly missed.
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| The finds at Clopton just keep coming |
| 10/11/2019 |
A fine Sunday for a change but the ground was really muddy after yet more overnight rain. The finds just keep coming from the field as we have now covered from the top of the ridge to the A603 and about 100m west of the scheduled area.
As the photos show we have recovered lots more lava quernstone, this thinner (3.3cm thick) piece has a round hole cut through it and may be a top stone. The side shown has a pecked surface | |  |
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| The other finds, shown in the other photo, span quite a period, from the prehistoric flint blade, through lots of shell tempered wares, a handle, through various early glazed wares to some blue and white transfer ware. The finds are getting fewer in number as we go west but a brief look further out in the field still revealed more pottery so more visits still required to find the end. | |  |
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| More finds from our Clopton collection |
| 5/11/2019 |
As we process some of the Clopton finds, we find some slightly unusual things amongst the masses of pot handles and rims. The twisted rope handle is not a common find, nor the large handle in a grey fabric. Among the finds is what appears to be a Hedingham base (on the left). What we have got is masses of shell (and some grit) tempered pottery, as the photograph illustrates.
On this field we have yet to find where the pottery finds peter out at the presumed edge of the settlement. More visits needed and lots of work for our expert to sort through. | |  |
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| Another bonanza day on the Clopton hill |
| 31/10/2019 |
Another day, another 9kg of finds to process. As we moved west out into the field there was not much sign that the finds spread was decreasing, however down near the main road there was definitely a reduction. The finds were basically the same as the previous visit. What was noticeable was the number of pieces of lava quern stone, including the one in the photograph. This has a diameter greater than 40cm and is 5cm thick, thus suggesting it was a hand quern and that it was a bottom stone. The grooving was still very clear and not so worn.
We now have a major processing exercise to undertake - and we still have a lot of field unwalked. Just how much material remains on the field we don't know but it suggests that Clopton village extended a lot further west than the small area that was scheduled. | |  |
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| Further down the hill at Clopton |
| 29/10/2019 |
Today we returned to Clopton to field walk on the field that is to the west of the medieval village site and runs down the hill to the main road. It was astounding - a group of four picked up material that weighed in at nearly 18kg. The material was masses of medieval pottery (including lots of rims and some bases), lots of bones, lava quernstones, Roman tile and Samian ware. The photo shows just some of the rims and the decorated Roman flue tile. This tile is unusual as it is a much more complex pattern than the usual wavy lines and was obviously applied by a stamp.
This mass of material will take some considerable time to process but we intend going out again and moving further west in the field to see where the finds decrease or stop. | |  |
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