| Annual General Meeting |
| The AGM on 5th April 2017 resolved to increase subscriptions for 2017/18 to £12 for individual membership and £18 for families. Officers and committee remain unchanged, |
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| Another successful dig at Wimpole |
| 25/6/2017 |
Well, what a successful weekend. After hacking our way through the jungle we started investigating the isolated bricks on Saturday. This revealed a debris field of lots of bricks, broken ones as well as complete ones, which appear to be late 18th/early 19th C in date. As we dug down we started to reveal the beginnings of a wall in the middle of the cut in the pond bank. More bricks to the north of this on the edge of the bank leading down into the pond were more jumbled but appeared to be another wall.
Sunday was very eventful - the southern wall kept going down (12 courses of brick to date) and surprised us by being curved lower down (see the photograph) with a return wall on the eastern side. This is a substantial piece of work and we can only guess how deep the brickwork goes. No sign yet of any outflow pipe, but we are still well above the pond water level so not unexpected. Angus Wainwright will visit to decide how to proceed - we are already 1 metre below the bottom of the original cut. More information as it arrives. | |  |
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| While digging we were astonished by the number of butterflies, such as marbled whites, meadow browns etc, flying around. The photo shows how camouflaged they are set against a meadow grassland background. There were also quantities of pyramidal orchids flowering together with a few bee orchids (see the Facebook page). It is so good to see such a varied environment with its attendant wildlife doing so well at Wimpole. | |  |
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| Another interesting find from the past |
| 16/6/2017 |
During our current re-assessment of finds from old sites, we are finding some interesting things amongst them. The photo here shows a part of a brown stoneware bottle neck. Stoneware bottles like this were used during the 19th and early 20th century to house a variety of beverages, such as beer, lemonade and ginger beer.
This type of bottle find is actually quite unusual, although we often recover parts of pots and jars. A common type is the Keiller Marmalade pot. | |  |
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The style of bottle shown in the lower photograph was mostly used to contain ginger beer. Stoneware bottles fell out of favour by the 1920's when the availability of mass produced glass bottles made them less desirable. There were also concerns about the cleanliness of stoneware bottles as you couldn't see inside them. Originally this had been seen as desirable in order to hide the presence of any unsightly sediments lying at the bottom of the bottle.
Prior to circa 1890 most stoneware ginger beer bottles had the manufacturer's name, contents and advertising slogans impressed into the surface. Bottles dating after this time are more likely to have the details printed on to the surface. | |  |
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| An interesting find amongst our old sites |
| 19/5/2017 |
We are currently re-assessing some of the boxes of finds from old sites and finding some interesting things amongst them. The photo here shows a highly decorated piece of salt-glazed stoneware, with a pattern that appears to represent leaves inside a segmented circular border.
After some research, the piece can be confirmed as a part of a probable 17th C Bellarmine jug. The second photo shows a complete jug and the medallion on the centre line, also called a daisy wheel in some places, which is very similar to that on our piece. A characteristic feature is the bearded face mask in relief on the lower part of the long neck (this gave it its German name - Bartmann meaning "bearded man"). | |  |
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They were made in various sizes of jugs, bottles and large pitchers for holding drink and food. Originally made in Germany near Cologne during the 16th and 17th C, they were also copied in England and again in the 19th C during a revival in German stoneware production.
The name Bellarmine is said to be due to an association with Cardinal Roberto Bellarmino who was a detested Catholic opponent of Protestantism in Germany and the Low Countries during the 16th C. It is suggested that the jug was so named by Dutch and English Protestants to ridicule the cardinal who was also known for his anti-alcohol stance. | |  |
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| Our summer activity at Wimpole in 2017 |
| 12/5/2017 |
Our main occupation at Wimpole this summer centres on Johnson's Pond which sits on the same hill as The Folly (as shown in this extract from the RCHM document on Wimpole). It is believed to be the reservoir that fed the fountain that stood behind the Hall (and which we have excavated in the past).
The National Trust archaeologist Angus Wainright has speculated that a sluice gate must have been used to control the flow of water to the fountain, although there is no record of any such feature being located near the pond.
Our job is to cut back the vegetation in a gully leading from the pond in the general direction of the fountain area and investigate whether some bricks seen in the area are part of a sluice structure. The dates for our first effort are the 24th/25th June, with subsequent work depending on what we find. We may also make a further effort at locating the pipeline that led from Johnson's Pond towards the fountain if we have time. | |  |
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| One of our "oddities" |
| 19/4/2017 |
While field walking we often pick up what we call our "oddities", i.e. something not man made but often of a geological nature. One such item from our recent field walking at Childerley is shown in the photograph. At first we thought it might be a burnt piece of bone but its weight said it was probably a fossil.
A quick trip into the Sidgwick Museum and some friendly help says it is a fossilised piece of mammalian bone dating from the Ice Age some 20,000 years ago. It may be associated with the rounded red sandstone pebbles we find in these fields which we know are glacial erratics from the Ice Age.
This is not the only fossil we have found recently - a number of ammonites derived from the Ampthill/Kimmeridge clays underlying Knapwell have also been found. Perhaps more about them another day. | |  |
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| CAFG display opens at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology |
| 10/4/2017 |
Last year Dr. Jody Joy, senior curator at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology here in Cambridge (shown in the photograph), extended an invitation to the group to have a display cabinet in the museum to showcase our contribution to Cambridgeshire's archaeology. Members have worked with him and his staff to bring this about and on Monday 10th April the display was unveiled for the first time.
Thanks to Robert and John the cabinet highlights examples of our work in a very successful way. A new trifold leaflet about the group and its work was produced to accompany the display. | |  |
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| Our display at the Museum in Downing Street, Cambridge is in a temporary exhibitions case on the ground floor – behind and to the left of the case facing you at the entrance. Do go and have a look. | |  |
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| Seeking the Romans |
| 9/4/2017 |
Moving north from Hanging Field, Childerley, we hoped to find the Romans carrying on into the next field. However, there were only a few pieces, not enough to equate to a settlement, in fact not very much pottery of any date.
This was the last field walking of the Spring session as Easter holidays approach. We are planning some possible excavations over the summer months but will return to field walking some time in September. Many thanks to the members who have been out in all conditions this period and also to the landowners without whose permission we would not have a hobby. |
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