No. 642 September 2024 Edited by Sandra Claggett
HADAS DIARY – Forthcoming Lectures and Events
Lectures are normally face-to-face, though lectures in winter may be on Zoom. Lectures are held in the Drawing Room, Avenue House, 17 East End Road, Finchley N3 3QE, 7.45 for 8pm. Buses 13, 125, 143, 326 and 460 pass close by, and it is a five to ten-minute walk from Finchley Central Station on the Barnet Branch of the Northern Line. Bus 382 also passes close to Finchley Central Station. We also on the new SuperLoop Bus, SL10. Tea/Coffee/biscuits are available for purchase after the talk.
Tuesday 10th September (please note change of talk)
West Heath II Lectures and book launch
As members will be aware the latest book published by HADAS in April 2024 was the phase II 1984 – 1986 part of the dig, an important Mesolithic site found on Hampstead Heath and excavated by this society. This talk will explain how the new book evolved, how it was assembled, designed and published. Unfortunately, Myfanwy Stewart the author cannot attend so members of the ‘Fieldwork Team’ will speak on various elements including how the flints were treated to museum standards with some these on display. The book is offered free to members who will be able to collect it from the talk.
It is planned that the lecture will consist of the following aspects.
An introduction and the origin of the book production, what HADAS do with the finds, the Mesolithic landscape in London and what the London Archaeology Archive Research Centre (LAARC) do when they receive the finds.
There will also be wine and nibbles provided for this event.
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Tuesday 8th October 2024
Beacon of the Past, Hillforts Project
Dr Wendy Morrison, Manager, Chilterns Heritage & Archaeology Partnership (CHAP)
Tuesday the 12th of November 2024 tbc
HADAS Christmas Party Sunday the 1st of December 2024
We will be holding the HADAS Christmas party in the Salon at Avenue House from 2.30 pm. There will be a selection of seasonal food available as a finger buffet and a quiz. The price will be kept at the same as for last year at £20 pp. Further information and booking forms will be sent out soon so please keep the date for now.
HADAS Involvement
If you would like to be more involved with the society please consider the following:
Would you like to help with activities, events or excavations. If so please contact the email address for the Chair chairman@hadas.org.uk stating what you are interested in and/or have previous experience in:
HADAS Newsletter Editors
Any members who would like to be added to the monthly HADAS Editor rota can you please contact Sue Willetts on sue.willetts@london.ac.uk or susanwilletts64@gmail.com
HADAS Auditor
Our previous auditor, unfortunately, has had to retire so if you are an auditor or feel that you can recommend someone for HADAS which is a registered charity please let us know.
Festival of Archaeology July 2024 – some talks now on YouTube by Sue Willetts
This is Archaeology: Roots in Time – Shaping Woodland for the Future with Nina O’Hare
Discover how the award-winning Roots in Time project combines heritage, community, and sustainability. Dive into the fascinating Iron Age and Roman archaeology uncovered during geophysical surveys in Worcestershire and the community project that followed. Watch here: This is Archaeology: Roots in Time – shaping woodland for the future (youtube.com)
The Baths Conceal So Many Secret Joys – The Uncovering Roman Carlisle Project
This talk explores the impact of the Uncovering Roman Carlisle community project particularly the experiences of the volunteers who enabled it to happen, the artefacts they discovered and object biographies they helped create. Watch here: This is Archaeology: The Baths Conceal So Many Secret Joys – The Uncovering Roman Carlisle Project (youtube.com)
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The Neolithic Studies Group (NSG) weekend trip an overview by Sandra Claggett
This year’s NSG weekend was to the region of North and East Yorkshire. It started with an evening of lectures discussing the Swale-Ure archaeological landscape. Although it might not be thought of first as an area rich in archaeology within a 24 mile area among other sites are 12 henges, three curses and a timber circle. Below is a brief overview of some of the highlights. Further reading information is provided following this article for those who would like more detail.
The first site visited was the Devil’s Arrows these 3 standing stones are 6.9m, 6.7m and 5.5m high. There are striations from weathering on the stone surface. Excavations date the site using Grooved ware pottery and worked flint to the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age (Manby, King and Vyner 2003, 94-5).
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Another highlight included being given permission to enter all three Thornborough Henges which for the first time are united in ownership now belonging to Historic England. These Henges are in varying states of preservation.
Thornborough North is the best preserved it is a Type 11 henge with an external diameter of approximately 244m. It has ditches 2m or more in depth and banks of 3m high it also incorporates 2 entrance ways.
The centre Thornborough ditch has an external area of 238m with banks up to 4.6m which are between 2 ditches.
South has been deliberately bulldozed and has an external diameter of approximately 244m. (Information provided by Dr Watson and the NSG weekend guide).
Very striking was the Rudston Monolith which is the largest standing stone in Britain at over 8m high and 5m in circumference. The depth below ground is unknown but is could be 3/4 of the height above ground. It is comprised of moor grit mix and something that I had wanted to see for some time. The previous pagan site where Rudston monolith stands was chosen to be the site of the current All Saints Church in East Yorkshire. The Venerable Bede recorded how Christianity is said to have come to Rudston in 615 A.D. Edwin chief of the Parisii wanted to marry Ethelburga the daughter of a chieftain in Kent however Edwin and his whole tribe would have to convert to Christianity this later happened. Information provided by W.W.Gatenby in the All Saints Church booklet.
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Rudston is special in having perhaps 5 cursuses in a small area. The most extant is cursus A which is 2.7km long with an external width of between 60-80m. It is possible that these were all built in the fourth century BC as other cursus monuments in Britain. Also that they would have had internal ditches and external banks. The purpose of these cursuses is considered to be ritual and as processional routes. (Loveday and Brophy 2015).
Further information
Brophy, K (2015) Reading between the lines: the Neolithic cursus monuments of Scotland. Routledge
Loveday, R (2006) Inscribed across the landscape: the cursus enigma. Tempus
Manby, TG, King, A & Vyner, BE (2003), ‘The Neolithic and Bronze Ages: a Time of Early Agriculture’, in Manby, TG, Moorhouse, S & Ottaway, P, The Archaeology of Yorkshire. An assessment at the beginning of the 21st century. Yorkshire Archaeological Society Occasional Paper No. 3. Leeds, 35-116.
Websites
Devil’s Arrows – Boroughbridge Town Council
Thornborough Henges Gifted to the Nation | Historic England
OPS22 Hopscotch Pottery Report 25.2.2024 by Melvyn Dresner
Continuation of this Report mentioned in the August HADAS Newsletter
Repeat of the Overview and new information on Context 001
This site produced pottery from the 14th century into 20th century. We can define four context by pottery finds. Context 001 dating to 18th and 19th century, with material into the late 20th century. Context 002 is late 16th century into 18th century, based on clay pipes could be 1660 to 1670. Context 003 dates to 14th or 16th century. The earliest date is 1340 to 1350 and could extend into later into the 16th century. Context 005 has a very small assemblage of three sherds, may not call it an assemblage, however, the overlap date of the three pottery types is 1340 to 1350, similar to context 003.
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The date range of all the pottery in this context is 1560 to 1900. The sample size of recovered material maybe too small to determine the statistical significance. There were 115 sherds recovered from this context, representing 77 vessels, pottery weighs 1360 grams, plus 1433 grams of sanitary ware.
We could identify two possible terminus post quem dates, of 1780 (TPW and TGW H) and 1820 (YELL SLIP), with latest date of 1900 being more open than suggested by the date ranges below. This context though below top soil includes plastics that can dated to the 1980s, Baby Gonzo, Muppet character from 1984 onwards.
Pottery Types identified in this context
PMR 1560 – 1900
TGW H 1680 – 1800
ENGS 1700 – 1900
BBAS 1770 – 1900
TPW 1780 – 1900
REFW 1805 – 1900
TPW2 1807 – 1900
YELL 1820 – 1900
YELL SLIP 1820 – 1900
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English Stoneware, ENGS, bottle
Transfer printed refined whiteware
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Note: Psyche, the Greek goddess of the soul often depicted with butterfly wings.
Refined whiteware, REFW, egg cup
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Ceramic building material, including sanitary ware, bathroom related markings “Made in England” and “Standard” indicate post 1900
All pottery identified in Context 001 is British made, mainly in London. The other bulk material from this context includes plastics; light bulb and electrical components; as well as children’s bicycle parts (bicycle bell and pedals); Baby Gonzo – a plastic toy; and wall tiles made by Pilkington, who begun making tiles from 1893
(source: Pilkington’s – Salford Museum & Art Gallery )
Baby Gonzo, muppet character, first TV appearance in 1984, in the The Muppets Take Manhattan, probably a toy give away from fast food store, McDonalds. (source: Baby Gonzo | Muppet Wiki | Fandom)
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Contributors
Thanks to this month’s contributors Eric Morgan, Sue Loveday, Sue Willetts and Melvyn Dresner
OTHER SOCIETIES’ EVENTS
Not All Societies or Organisations have returned to Pre-Covid Conditions. Please check with them before planning to attend.
Friday 20th September, 7 pm. C.O.L.A.S. St Olave’s Church, Hart Street, London, EC3R 7NB. Talk also on Zoom. The Secret Micro-Archaeological World of Pollen and Other Pesky Palynomorphs: Recent work in London. By Dr. Jane Wheeler (P.C.A). Please book via Eventbrite. Visit www.colas.org.uk Hadas may send out link details to its members. Visitors £3 at the Church.
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Saturday 21st September. Society for Medieval Archaeology. British Museum, Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3DG. Artefacts, Landscapes and Collaborative Research Conference. Hosted jointly with The Portable Antiquities Scheme. Keynote lectures on Medieval Ritual Objects in the Landscape. Given by Roberta Gilchrist on Mapping Meaningful Deposition. Also on Daily Life, Disaster and Discovery: small metal finds from the drowned land in the Netherlands given by Anne Marieke Willemsen with other speakers covering a wide range of subjects, site and regions. Tickets cost £20 for members of The Society for Medieval Archaeology and £45 for non-members. For details and booking please visit www.medievalarchaeology.co.uk/events/conferences.
Friday 11th October, 7.30 pm. Enfield Archaeological Society. Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane/Junction Chase Side, Enfield, EN2 0AJ. Newgate Street Excavations. Talk by Kathy Davidson. Please visit www.enfarch.soc.org For further details. Non Members £1.50. Refreshments 7 pm.
Monday 14th October, 3 pm. Barnet Museum and Local History Society. St. John the Baptist Church, Chipping Barnet, Corner High Street/Wood Street, Barnet. EN5 4BW. The Trans- Atlantic Slave Trade – What’s Barnet Got to Do with It? Talk by Dennis Bird (Barnet L.H.S.) Please visit www.barnetmuseum.com.
Thursday 17th October. 8pm. Historical Association-Hampstead and NW London Branch. Fellowship House, 136A Willifield Way, London, NW11 6YD. (off Finchley Road, Temple Fortune). Spies and British Prime Ministers. Talk by Professor Richard Aldrich. Hopefully also on zoom. Please email Mandy Caller on mandycaller@gmail.com or telephone 07818 063594 for details of link and how to pay (there may be a voluntary charge of £5). Refreshments available afterwards.
Friday 18th October, 7 pm. C.O.L.A.S. Address as for 20th September 2024. Also on Zoom. Merchants, Fishermen, Ferrymen, Bargees and a Seagull on Life and Work in Roman Pisa. Talk by Ian Jones (E.A.S.Chair). Please book via Eventbrite. Visit www.colas.org.uk, HADAS my send out link details to its members. Visitors £3 at the Church.
Thursday 31st October, 7.30 pm. Finchley Society. Drawing Room, Avenue (Stephens’) House, 17 East End Road, London. N3 3QE. The Soane Museum. Jean Scott Memorial Lecture given by Jonty Stern (Finchley Society and Guide on its Antiquities Furniture, Sculptures, Architectural Models and Paintings. For further details please visit www.finchleysociety.org.uk Non-members £2 at the door. Refreshments in the interval.
Hendon and District Archaeological Society
Chairman Sandra Claggett, c/o Avenue House, 17 East End Road, Finchley N3 3QE
email: chairman@hadas.org.uk
Hon. Secretary Janet Mortimer, 34, Cloister Road, Childs Hill, London NW2 2NP
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(07449 978121) email: secretary@hadas.org.uk
Hon. Treasurer Roger Chapman, 50, Summerlee Avenue, London N2 9QP
(07855 304488) email: treasurer@hadas.org.uk
Membership Sec. Jim Nelhams, 61, Potters Road Barnet EN5 5HS (020 8449 7076)
email: membership@hadas.org.uk
Website at: www.hadas.org.uk –
join the HADAS email discussion group via the website.
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