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Next Branch
Meeting
Last Meeting of 2002
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Xmas Party: Theme: Hunters and
Warriors -
"The Victory Feast"
A Great time
was had by all, indulging in the usual party activities and the
annual multi-layer "Sweets or Question" passing the parcel game!
Thanks to everyone who came in fancy dress and to our two winners
of the best outfit competition. Your leaders and Team members had
as much fun as you did! |
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November meeting
Report
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At the
start of the meeting a brief presentation was given by David Stokes on the
October
Field Walking event, using his lap-top PC and
Geo-plot software to illustrate the finds distribution from the
surveyed areas.
The meeting
then divided with the Junior members continuing their Egyptian House
project with Alan but due to time constraints the Egyptian 3 theme
(boats) was only discussed but the planned project was postponed.
The Senior members enjoyed a presentation by guest speaker
Debbie Tabner from
The
Archaeology Centre, Bagshot.
Below is a summary of that presentation, titled:
"Down to the
Natural"
The aim of this presentation
was to give an insight into the subject of geology. The geological
influences of the landscape shape people’s lives in terms of
available natural resources such as building stones, soils for
agriculture and materials that can be used for stone tool making and
decorative objects.
The presentation first considered the
nature of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks and compared
their textures by observation with hand lenses. The location of the
different rock types was shown with a brief explanation about
geological maps and their uses in archaeology. Geophysical
techniques in archaeological investigations have been developed from
those used in geology. Examples of their use in geology were
illustrated to show the origins from very large scale surveying to
the small scale required for archaeology. Finally, artefacts from
the collection of Surrey Heath Archaeological and Heritage Trust
were used to demonstrate the use of geology in identification and
provenance of objects, for example, stone tools, a Romano-British
jet ring and pottery and the implications for lifestyle and trade. |
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October meeting
Report
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Field
Walking
There was change
of location from Cobham Common to a site in Windlesham, Surrey.
We are most grateful to David Stokes
for arranging and presenting this event. David gave a brief
report
to the November meeting
on the results of the morning's activities. Below is a summary
of that report:
Field Walking Training Event at
Windlesham
The purpose of the day was both
to teach a range of techniques for field walking and to
investigate a site that has archaeological possibilities from
the Pre-historic to Modern. For this event the Central Southern
England Branch of the Young Archaeologists’ Club was hosted by
the Surrey Heath Archaeological and Heritage Trust. It was part
of an ongoing training programme teaching surface surveying
which started with Resistivity Surveying.
In
the morning the YACs were taught and practised Intensive Cell
Walking. They covered 3000 square metres divided into 10 metre
squares. Their finds were analysed, recorded and the
distribution plotted by adults from the Trust. In
the afternoon session the whole farm was field sample surveyed;
this time using Line Walking techniques.
The most important find was
evidence of ancient iron working. A great deal of iron slag was
found in a spot close to the river. Nearby archaeological
investigations indicate that this is likely to date from the
Iron Age to early Saxon. As well as some nice little medicine
bottles, a surprising amount of broken knives and forks were
found. This puzzled even the experts until the local farmer
explained that the area had once been a pig farm. Thus a regular
supply of pig swill was required, which
was tipped into a macerator and
spread on the land as compost.
It
would seem that the swill also contained cutlery - a way to
avoid washing-up! |
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September meeting Report
| The
Junior members continued the Egyption theme set
by Megan Price at the June meeting and dealt with
Houses in Ancient Egypt. A project to build a
house of the period was started, after completion
of outstanding Henge and Hunter's House projects.
The project will be completed at the November
meeting. The Senior members looked at
Non-invasive Techniques of Archaeology and
participated in a Practical Demonstration using a
Resistivity meter. |
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There
were no meetings in July & August - but see
activities below
June meeting Report
| Having
shared her experiences with us on Peru last year
Megan Price now took us on a journey through
Ancient Egypt and recalled her experiences on a
recent expedition. We were also introduced to the
culture and the written language, which used
symbols rather than text. A practical session
after break gave Members the opportunity to be an
Egyptian scribe! |
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May meeting
Report
The coach trip to Avebury, Silbury Hill and West Kennet
Long Barrow
your comments please !
| A
very enjoyable day was obviously had by everyone
from the various comments received, including a
card with photographs! A Big thank you also from
the Branch Team to all who attended for arriving
on time at the Archaeology Centre, enabling a
prompt departure. We would still like to hear
from you with
your comments on the day. |
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April
meeting Report
| The
meeting started with a video presentation on
"Stonehenge", which was a 50 minute
programme after which the mid-break was taken.
This was in substitution for the shorter English
Heritage video on "Henges" which for
technical reasons was unavailable. After the
break; the Junior Members continued with their
"Hunter's House" project to completion
and a start was made, in pairs, on the
"Building a Henge" project. It is
expected that this project will be completed at
the June meeting. The Senior members had a great
time learning the correct methods of
"Pottery Reconstruction", the special
techniques to be used and using the
"right" type of glue! Here was the
opportunity to have-a-go, which everyone did! It
was interesting to see the results! We welcomed a number of
prospective Branch members and also had a visit
from Rowena and her team of the new Spelthorne
Branch, which is due to open in the Autumn.
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March
meeting Report
| Carol
White gave a fascinating glimpse into what is
called the Bronze Age. Describing the features
that you may find at a site and how to recognise
them. Carol referred to present day examples that
can be visited. These included Avebury, Silbury
Hill and the West Kennet Long Barrow, all of
which we shall be
visiting in May. Carol's presentation
continued after the Break but for the last hour,
Carol talked to the Senior Members about
Experimental Archaeology and the Junior Members
continued with their "Hunter's House"
project. Due to the restricted time available,
none of the Houses were completed so this project
will now continue to completion at the April
meeting. |
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February
meeting Report:
| There was a last minute
change in Guest Speaker Our thanks to Peter Harp
for his presentation, ably assisted by Brian
Wood. They gave us an insight into not only
making and identifying the different types of
Stone Age tools but also described their current
excavation site in Surrey, the difficulties and
miss-interpretation that may occur.
We look forward
to seeing the group photographs that were taken
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January
meeting Report:
| The
year started off with an introduction to the
Stone Age and the meeting with a video about
Grimes Graves in Norfolk. The Junior Members then
set about the task of constructing their
individual 'Hunter's Houses'. The Senior Members
were introduced to the world of Dating Techniques
by Tamasin and under her guidance worked examples
using Radiocarbondating and Dendrodating formula. |
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