NEWSLETTER 203; FEBRUARY 1988 Edited by: Liz Sagues

DIARY

An expanded list of HADAS events this time, to allow diaries to be marked in advance of publication of the programme card -it will appear, promises Dorothy Newbury, as soon as all dates are confirmed, and she apologises for the delay.

Tuesday February 2 The Romans in Rumania, by Dr Margaret Roxan

Dr Roxan, FSA, will be known to- many members who attended her evening classes over the years –or -travelled–with—hex on foreign visits. Her present position is Honorary Research Fellow in the department of the Archaeology of the Roman Provinces at the Institute of Archaeology and her particular interest is the Roman Army, especially the auxiliary army of the Principate.

On her lecture subject, she provides the following introductions A large part of the modern state of Rumania was annexed to form the Roman province (later provinces) of Dacia in AD 106. Trajan’s column in Rome was erected to commemorate the conquest of Dacia by that military emperor; its reliefs are justly world famous. Rumanian archaeologists are working very hard to uncover the traces- of Trajan’s wars of conquest, but they have also discovered some fascinating remains of pre-Roman Dacia, as well as the traces of Roman occupation which spanned the years AD 106-270. The talk will be’ accompanied by slides of these excavations in progress, as well as some of the fascinating objects found in them, which are now in museums.

Tuesday March 1 Tythe Maps, by Geraldine Beech, Assistant Keeper, Map Department, Public Record Office.

Tuesday April 5 Archaeology and the Great Fire of London 1666, by Gustav Milne

Saturday April 23 Morning tour of St Lawrence Whitchurch, Edgware, by Sheila Woodward

Tuesday May 10 Annual General Meeting

Saturday May 14 Outing to .Windsor, led by Ted Sammes

SATURDAY JUNE 11th Flag Fan, Peterborough with Dr Francis Pryor

Saturday July 16 Coach tour of Docklands

September (to be confirmed) Derbyshire weekend, led by Peter Griffiths

Saturday September 10 or 17 Charterhouse tour, led by Mary 0’Connell

Tuesday October 4 Recent Excavations at Waltham Abbey, by Peter Huggins

Saturday October 8 Stepney walk, led by Muriel Large

Tuesday November 1 Excavations at the Mint, by Peter Mills

Tuesday January 3, 1989 Egypt in the Pyramid Era, by George Hart

All lectures are at the Central Library, The Burroughs, Hendon, 8pm for 8.30pm. Coffee is available, and a books selection.

ELEVEN DECADES OF CONSERVATION; POLICY AND PROBLEMS

Muriel Large reports on the January lecture

HADAS made a good start to 1988 with a talk by one of its members, Philip Venning, who is Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, on the work in which he is involved – work not without its problems. One of these is how far “conservation” should go: right back to the original building or accepting later but still historic accretions? An example was the Norman building in which Oliver Cromwell went to school, so restored in Victorian times that at first glance it appeared a pastiche of itself.

Ruskin, Morris and Carlyle were all alarmed by the worthy but misguided intentions of restorers of their time, and set up the society in 1877 to pursue an enlightened policy – a policy continually under review. Since 1877 the scope of conservation has spread so that now it covers prehistoric and Roman sites and also 20th century buildings – such as the Schreiber House, Hampstead, built in 1962 and regarded as a fine example of its period, and the Electric Palace, the earliest cinema in Harwich. Mr Venning stressed the importance of preserving the interior as well as the basic fabric and regretted the stripping of the 18th-century interior of Fournier Street mosque, in Spitalfields, originally a Huguenot chapel.

It could also be highly desirable to preserve a group of buildings which were undistinguished individually but together formed a significant and irreplaceable area. A manor house in Cornwall had one very ordinary-looking wing until it was examined with a knowledgeable eye. It was the oldest inhabited building in Great Britain, far older than the rest of the house, and dated back to the time of the Conquest.

Even royal properties needed careful watching, a floor of medieval tiles in part of the Tower of London having been recently at risk, and so could be churches and chapels. Among religious bodies, only the Anglican Church had its own assessment system overall and even .so the wishes and means of a devoted but shrinking congregation could conflict with a wish to preserve a historic and beautiful building which was falling into decay.

Conservation, we learned, could help destroy the character of a building if the car parks and ticket offices needed to raise funds were insensitively sited, and we were told of the anomaly of the Old Curiosity Shop in Holborn, where commercialism had nevertheless helped to preserve a genuine 16th century shop although its connection with Dickens was tenuous. Caerphilly Castle was another instance, where some reconstruction had taken place, but, done carefully and with expert knowledge, could arguably be “said to have’ enhanced its atmosphere and importance.

The training of young men in old crafts would seem to be highly commendable when buildings were crying out for thatchers, for example, but what if it led to a standardisation of styles so’ that the East Anglian method could appear where it had not been before; yes, it was keeping a traditional roof on a cottage but at some cost to the final appearance if the cottage was in Somerset.

Mr Venning’s talk stimulated several questions, not least on the sore point of what examples of present-day architecture would be worth handing on to posterity, as well as the problems of over-visiting and consequent erosion. One could only applaud the work of the SPAB and feel relieved that one did not have to cope with its problems.

THE EMPEROR’S TERRACOTTA WARRIORS

Sheila Woodward finds Eastern promise is realised

Few archaeological discoveries have fired the imagination as powerfully as the uncovering of the array of terracotta warriors guarding the tomb of the first Emperor of China. It has all the necessary elements of excitement; the chance finding in 1974 of the first figures by farmers digging a well, the gradual realisation of the size of the mausoleum (over 7,000 figures to date, and digging continues) and the appreciation of the exquisite workmanship of these sculpted terracotta life-size soldiers with their horses and weapons.

We have all seen photographs and read accounts of this wonderful site. Now for a few brief weeks (until February 20) we have an opportunity to see some of these figures in London and a HADAS party visited the exhibition at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Old Hall, Vincent Square, Westminster, on January 12.

There have been criticisms in the press of the small size of the exhibition; only nine figures, two horses and a dozen or so assorted exhibits such as weapons and weights. In fact, I found the limitation in size an advantage. Each figure is so exquisitely detailed and so fascinating that it repays long, slow study, and one had leisure to digest and appreciate what one had seen.

The display is excellent and the recorded commentary on the individual headsets provided was most helpful. There is an introductory section, with pictures and maps, which sets the scene historically and geographically and leads into the single hall in which all the figures are displayed.

The Emperor Zheng in whose honour the figures were made, seems to have been a most unpleasant character, and the potter-sculptors who worked on the figures were slaves and convicts. Yet the overall impression of the exhibition is of beauty and joy in craftsmanship. Each warrior-figure is an individual, his face and expression quite distinctive. Every detail of clothing is lovingly included: the rivets of the iron-mail coats, the tread on the sole of a boot. The chariot-horse strains forward so that his shoulders take the weight of the (now-vanished) chariot, his tail carefully tied up so that, it cannot catch in the chariot wheels.

There is a reconstructed cross-bow, of which only the bronze trigger mechanism remained, and batch of bronze bolts or arrowheads, coated in chromium for durability and hardness. A bronze sword was similarly coated and one realises how advanced technologically the Chinese Empire was in the third century BC.

One cannot at this exhibition experience the majesty and magnificence of the whole tomb complex of Emperor Zheng, with serried ranks of terracotta warriors stretching over a vast area. Instead, one can begin to appreciate and marvel at the artistic sensitivity and delicate technical skills of the artisans of the Qin Empire. An exciting, enjoyable and most worthwhile visit: thank you, Dorothy!

ARCHAEOLOGY AND’THE ROOTS OF LANGUAGE Peter Pickering answers a HADAS challenge

The November Newsletter suggested that someone might write an appreciation for HADAS members of Professor Colin Renfrew’s new book Archaeology and Language. Comparative philology was a subject which fascinated me when I studied it – or rather the ancient Greek dialects – 30 years ago, and I therefore ventured to take up Christine Arnott’s challenge.

The fact that requires explanation is that languages with similarities – in grammar and/or vocabulary – which seem very unlikely to be chance ones are spoken, or appear on inscriptions, in parts of the world as distant as Ireland and Chinese Turkestan. The question is how and when this came about.

The textbook I used – Buck’s Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin – says; “What region was the common centre… has been a notorious subject of discussion, with theories ranging from the Scandinavian Peninsula to central Asia. No conclusive evidence is available or is likely to be forthcoming. But” the best working hypothesis is that which favours the region extending north of the Black Sea- and the Caucasus.”

But the Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Language, published last year, is much less uncertain (which is interesting, since it is not in other respects traditionalist). It says: “Archaeological evidence has shown the existence of a semi-nomadic population living in the steppe regions of South Russia around 4000 BC, who began to spread into the Danube area of Europe and beyond from around 3500 BC… The Celts emerged in south central Europe around the fifth century BC, speaking common Celtic. In a series of waves they spread throughout the rest of Europe.”

It is the view set out in the Cambridge encyclopaedia that Professor Renfrew challenges. His account of the various Indo- European languages accords closely with what I learnt – there has been no major new discovery since the (probable) decipherment of the Mycenaean Linear B in the 1950s. Nor (though at one point he seems tempted to) does he dissent from the basic tenet of comparative philology, that one language descends from another and linguistic change is not random, but follows observable regularities (as Latin “pater” is to English “father”, so is Latin “piscis” to English “fish”).

He emphasises that languages are not totally discrete entities, which split up or change suddenly into other totally discrete ones (people did not speak Latin one year and Italian the next and, despite education, Italian and French blur at the border). But this is not a new point, and it is nonetheless true that there are languages just as there are species of animals, defined by mutual intelligibility or interbreeding, despite partial understanding between speakers of different languages and hybridisation between different species.

What Professor Renfrew does not accept is that the Indo-European languages were spread, through migrations or invasions, by people identifiable with a particular physical type or using a particular type of pottery or burial custom, from around the beginning of the Bronze Age.

He argues that they spread from Anatolia, with farming itself, from the seventh millennium BC, by a slow expansion, as people set up their own homes a few miles away from their parents’ farms, into areas inhabited previously by Mesolithic people. The languages of these Mesolithic people may have been the ancestors of Basque, Etruscan and perhaps Pictish. Professor Renfrew suggests that an Indo-European language, which developed in Celtic, was spoken in Britain from before 4000 BC. In India also the Indus Valley civilisation may have had an Indo-European language, and collapsed from internal strains, not in the wake of an invasion of Aryans, as the traditional view has it. Only Tocharian, isolated in Chinese Turkestan, may, Professor Renfrew believes, have been carried by nomads.

I found Professor Renfrew’s thesis attractive and plausible and not perhaps as revolutionary as he seems to expect, I am not competent to judge his archaeological arguments, though I do not like some jargon words such as “processual” or the constant use of the word “model” to denote what seems to me to be a good, old-fashioned “theory”. I am a little worried at finding the cradle of the Indo- European languages in Eastern Anatolia, where the Hittite language was spoken, since the greater part of that language’s vocabulary is not Indo-European (though its grammatical inflexions are); one would not naturally expect the language remaining in the cradle area to be a deviant.

And one must not be too critical of those who have believed in mass migrations or conquests as the mechanism that spread Indo-European from Ireland to India, since we know how much such mechanisms have spread Latin, Arabic, Turkish, Spanish and English, in their turn, across vast tracts of the globe.

A MEDIEVAL SURVIVAL

Deirdre Barrie makes a surprising discovery in the City

It is truly astonishing to find such a large, little-publicised and historic site in the City of London as the Charterhouse. The Master’s house is early Georgian, built on the 15th century entrance gateway to the original monastery. Behind lies an imposing complex of buildings including a splendid Tudor town house, parts of the original monastery (including a recently-discovered monk’s cell) and a Jacobean school-cum-“hospital” or home for impoverished gentlemen or scholars.

Originally the gentlemen were “decrepit or old Captaynes either at Sea or Land, Souldiers maymed or ympotent, decayed Marchaunts, men fallen into decaye through Shipwrecke, Casualtie or Fyer or such evill Accident, those that have been Captives under the Turkes etc.” The buildings of Sutton’s Hospital are still home to more than 30 retired gentlemen today.

The buildings were the original site of Charterhouse School before it moved to Godalming in 1872. John Wesley, Baden-Powell and Thackeray were “Old Carthusians”.

There is no space here to describe the fascinating detail of the buildings, the chapel formed from the chapter house of the monastery, the great hall with its impressive English renaissance screen, the atmospheric rooms and interesting works of art.

It was here that Elizabeth I stayed for the first five days of her reign, and from here she went out to her coronation. In the very splendid Great Chamber with its Flemish tapestries, 16th century plaster gilded ceiling and painted chimney-piece, James I created some 130 knights in one afternoon. Sir Thomas More knew the earlier monastery well, and had had thoughts of becoming a monk,

In 1535 the prior of the monastery was executed for refusing to acknowledge Henry VIII as head of the Church. One of his arms was fastened above the gate as a dire warning to the monks. It is said that hundreds of years later earnest schoolboys peered up at the archway, hoping to perceive the nail-hole.

HADAS members will have the opportunity to see the Charterhouse in September, under the guidance of Mary O’Connell. See Diary for preliminary information; full details later.

A HAPPY CHRISTMAS

A message of thanks from George Ingram

I read with much interest the report by Marjorie Errington on the visit to the Museum of London on December 9 when Dr Francis Sheppard gave a talk on the history of the two museums which were united in 1975.

This was followed by an enjoyable repast at The Crowders Well – I was very sorry I could not attend on this occasion, but a few days later I was delighted to receive from the postman (and Ted Sammes), a large envelope which contained a menu card on which many members of the party had written little messages,. May I take this opportunity to express my very grateful thanks to all concerned for this unique memento, which brought to mind many happy times spent together, in our common interests in archaeology and local history. May the society continue to flourish!

RAILWAY REMAINS

John Crowther describes a lost line and modern plans for it

There are still clues to the railway that used to run from Mill Hill East to Edgware, in spite of modern building and the coming of the Ml.

A short stretch of the railway’s line, between Deans Lane, Burnt Oak, and Mill Hill Broadway Station, is going to be made, jointly by the London Borough of Barnet and the London Wildlife Trust, into a nature reserve. What, I wonder, is going to happen to the rest of the land, much of which is simply lying waste at present, but can easily be seen on a road map. Some has been built on, some is being used as allotments, some is going to extend Lyndhurst Park, but all that leaves some promising land which might someday provide an extension of the nature reserve habitats.

There had been a proposal by Barnet to open a walkway along the land. This fell through. Then the GLC described it as “a site of borough importance” and said that “although sites of a similar quality may be found elsewhere in London, damage to a site of borough importance would imply a significant loss to that borough”. But you know what happened to the GLC… Still there is no public access.

Actually, it could be this very privacy which makes it interesting to the wildlife enthusiasts – a wide variety of plants and animals is already on the site, which is claimed to be- a valuable wildlife refuge within a suburban area. The archaeological and educational interests still have to be put there.

It is a “suburban” area because it is hemmed in by roads, offices, houses, railways and the Ml. “Suburban” also points to the big snag – refuse tipping. Brick rubble is all right, it is good for insects and the like- all other litter needs to be removed as a high priority. This one-off operation would let the site recover quickly and local residents will be asked to enjoy the site, not to deface it.

As for archaeology, already there is a blind subway in Deans Lane, a bridge over nothing at Lyndhurst Park, a line of poplars in Langley Park and the shapes of residential streets all over the place. All are good clues – the railway is by no means dead.

THE BEGINNINGS OF AGRICULTURE; UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

Professor David Harris, professor of Human Environment at the Institute of Archaeology, posed some of them on January 21, when he launched the University of London Extra-Mural Department’s new Thursday lecture series, Stock and Crop; Aspects of Early Domestication.

Inquiry into agriculture’s beginnings, he said, went back to classical Greek times, perhaps even earlier, he said, and most recently centred on two theories, the “revolutionary” – that it all happened quickly, in a limited number of centres and diffused out from them – and the “gradualist” – that it arose in fits and starts, most likely in many different places at many different times. Gradualism was now most in favour, but the case remained far from proved. Hoped-for precision from radio-carbon dating had not been realised, though the new accelerator mass spectrometer technique was finally providing dates for actual fragments of plant and animal bone remains.

He looked at the evidence that could be gathered from people still living primitive lifestyles and from the most important of current sites – notably Tell Abu Hureyra in Syria. “The earlier idea that agriculture was in some way an inevitable process has been reversed,” he argued. “The problem now is not why did it not happen earlier, but why did it happen at all. Why are we not all hunter gatherers, because it is so much easier a life?”

The challenge now facing archaeologists was to devise the right questions to ask of the archaeological remains, to turn theories into fact.

Other lecturers in the series include Tony Legge (February 4) and Warwick Bray (February ll), while the subjects span the world, taking in India, the Andes and Africa as well as Europe and the Near East. Lectures are each Thursday until March 10, at the Institute of Archaeology, Gordon Square, Bloomsbury, at 7pm, price £2.50 a time.

COPPER-BOTTOMED ISLAND

The wealth of Cyprus in antiquity was built on copper, and there’s no mistaking the importance of the mineral in the new A.G. Leventis Gallery of Cypriot Antiquities, – latest of the British Museum’s Greek and Roman galleries to be refurbished, The display is entirely new, though some of the individual objects have been seen before, and it is arranged thematically rather than by period. Such an arrangement, argues Veronica Tatton-Brown, the BM Cypriot specialist responsible, makes the occasional gap in the chronological sequence less obvious and, more importantly, it presents Cyprus’s past in a way that should be more appealing to visitors.

And there is much that appeals, the larger objects free of inhibiting glass cases, the smaller ones well displayed. Themes range from flora and fauna to weapons and warfare, taking in others’ such as trade arid manufacture, writing and the human form en route, all covering the period 4?500BC to 330AD. The gallery is a permanent one, and should be open normal museum hours.

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Newsletter

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This Month’s HADAS lecture: Tuesday. February 3rd.
Hoards & Hillforts: Ireland in the First Millennium B.C. Harold Mytum B.A

Mr. Mytum is a Sir James Knott Research Fellow at the University of Newcastle-on-Tyne and is at present researching the small enclosed farmsteads of the Iron Age and Roman Period in Western Britain and in Ireland. The Iron Age in Ireland was the subject of his recent Oxford Doctoral Thesis. He has carried out excavations in Wales and this summer will be continuing his field survey in Ireland. Many members are interested in this field and have been pressing for a lecture on the subject. It has been difficult to arrange one and we are very fortunate to have secured the help of Mr. Mytum. This may be one of those occasions when it is just as well to arrive early and make sure of a seat Further Lectures, March 3rd: Sutton Hoo. Kenneth Whitehorn, B.A. April 7th: Greek Royal Art. Malcolm Gulledge. M.A., Ph.D. If you have time before March 3rd, you might like to refresh your memory of the Sutton Hoo burial. This display has just returned from Sweden and.is (temporarily) again on display at The British Museum
THE MINI MART. A REMINDER FROM CHRISTINE ARNOTT 7TH FEBRUARY, 1981.

Will members please note the imminence of our fund-raising effort at the Henry Burden Hall (opposite the Hendon Library), The Burroughs, N.W.4, from 10.a.m, until noon. While we hope that you will all come and bring your friends to browse among the books or buy the home-made produce or find a treasure among the bric-a-brac or the Nearly New clothes, we still need contributions towards the establishment of our stalls! These can, be brought to the February lecture, or you can contact Christine Arnott (455-2751) or Dorothy Newbury (203-0950) for collection. Please search through your home for anything you do not need that we may be able to sell. We hope to see as many of you as possible:- its all great fun and in a good cause.
A BARGAIN FOR THE EARLY BIRD.

Christine has a small photocopier which she intends, generously, to put in the Sale. If you would like to know more about it and perhaps make an offer before the Sale date, please ring 203-0950.

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OUR JANUARY LECTURE.
QASR IBRIM: A FORTRESS ON THE NILE. Dr. John Alexander. Report by Dorothy Rodgers.

Dr. Alexander introduction to his lecture outlined the site of Qasr Ibrim and its archaeological background. Ibrim, a Nubian fortress below the first cataract, is situated between Aswan and Wadi Halaf. Originally Nile based, it is now isolated on a pro montory surrounded by the lake formed by the Aswan Dam. It is exceedingly rich in archaeological material. For some years it has been the centre of a long-term British project organised through the Egyptian Exploration Society. Formerly Professor Plumley, now retired, was Director of the excavations. The baton has passed to Dr. Alexander who comments that sufficient work remains to occupy at least another decade. Ibrim lies in a frontier zone between two farming complexes going back to the 4th millenium B.C. – wheat-growing in the north, millet-growing in the south. Both crops were grown in the Ibrim area which was subject to incursion by various human physical types. Probably the sactia (animal driven water-wheel) was used for irrigation purposes. This has not yet been investigated. Two bonuses have greatly assisted the interpretation of archaeological evidence: 1) intact stratified levels 2) desiccative stemming of decay – particularly important in examination of organic material. Levels. From top to bottom the sequence runs: Islamic (Bosnian) – Christian – Roman – Ptolemaic – Meroitic – New Kingdom. The Bosnians were ousted in the 19th century A.D. The site therefore reveals continuous occupation for over 3,000 years. Dr. Alexander thinks increasing nomadic domination after Roman times is probably more attributable to the arrival of the camel than to the decline of the Roman Empire. Organic material.This abounds – including 30,000 pieces of cloth, 7-8,000 manuscripts (some over 2 metres long) with writing in Meroitic, Greek, Latin, Coptic, Arabic and Turkish. Animal skin and dung are well preserved. There is much basketry. Islamic matted timber roofs, some burnt, demonstrate fire hazard. Christianity arrived in the 5th or 6th century. Ibrim possessed a cathedral – a mediaeval bishop was buried with his letters of consecration. Fine lance-heads illustrate new weaponry. In Islamic levels horse dung is IN – pig dung is OUT! Ibrim had a Muslim shrine. New trade routes were developed. Dr. Alexander concentrated on the 1,200 year span covering Meroitic, Ptolemaic and Roman periods. In the 7th century P.C. the Kush victory over Egypt led to the establishment of Meroe in Sudan as the centre of the new independent kingdom. Slides of the period included the Taharqa temple and statue (with Nubian characteristics) – also the ‘mini’ pyramids with mortuary temples of the Meroitic kings. Pottery with floral and animal designs further emphasised Meroitic continuation of ancient Egyptian tradition. In Ptolemaic levels coins were found, also fine pottery, easily distinguishable for chronology. In Roman levels there were 2,000 wine amphorae, sandals, belts, arrow- heads and traces of roads. The main surprises of last season’s excavation lay in Ptolemaic and Roman levels. Of particular interest was the Roman bastion – overlooking what was then the Nile – from which ballistae could bombard hostile craft. Water erosion at adjoining frontier wall foundations revealed total Roman construction throughout with typical refuse fill- but also highlighted the pressing rescue function of the Ibrim excavations. Possible cultural influence on remoter African areas has not yet been proved. A packed house of smiling faces demonstrated the sincere welcome extended to Dr. Alexander. Characteristically, he made us feel he was equally pleased to see us: This was a warm and stimulating New Year occasion for HADAS.
HADAS GOES ON SHOW .

Our new exhibition at Church Farm House Museum, Pinning Down the Past, opens on the last day of this month and continues through March and April to May 4. Do come along and see it as soon as you can – and encourage your non-member friends to look in too. Many members have already added their names to the rota, which Nell Penny is organizing, to provide stewards at the exhibition on each Saturday and Sunday afternoon. It you haven’t volunteered yet and would like to, give Mrs. Penny a ring on 458-1689 – she’ll be delighted to hear from you. In the last Newsletter we mentioned some of the displays which the exhibition will contain: here are details of a few more; “Many A Dig …” will gather together information, photos and finds from several HADAS digs at Highgate, Hendon End and Finchley. Also hope to include a little material from the first HADAS dig of all – at Church End Farm, Hendon (now part of the Technical College grounds which took place in the early 1960’s. “The Roman Gourmet” will demonstrate some of the research undertaken for the 1979 Roman banquet; and “Our Earliest Industry” will give the background to the work of Romano-British potters at Brockley Hill. At the other side of the time scale, industrial archaeology offers a display called “Soft Drinks and Flying.” “Then and Now” is a collection of photos and postcards which illustrate the great changes. that have occurred in the Borough in this century; while “Take a Long Trip …”may show you yourself relaxing the HADAS way – if you joined any of our longer outings to such places as Bristol, Wales or Orkney.
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Those were the days. by P. Reboul. HADAS Occasional. Paper No.5.

HADAS members, who have been enjoying Percy Reboul’s transcripts in the pages of the News Letter, will be delighted to learn that the whole collection is now in print. Publication, day is February 1st. These excursions into the recent past, the first thirty years of the century, already have a devoted readership. My own well-thumbed copies of the News Letter travel as far as Gloucestershire, to waken memories of early days in the West Country and they spark off useful recollections of Finchley in friends nearer at hand. For those of us old enough to remember milk kits and dippers, scrubbed wooden shop floors, and Woodbines at five for twopence our delight in reading is tempered, not unpleasantly, by a sense of galloping obsolescence. Our own lives, our present, it seems, is being swept at great speed into the past and might indeed have slipped into the unrecorded past, save for the dedication of such people as Percy Reboul, wisely, he wields his editorial powers very sparingly. He admits that Memory is fickle: these are not chapters of history based on records and diligent research. They are vivid and detailed recollections of life and work as it seemed to one bricklayer, to one postman, in our district, in the early years of this century. Who was Mr. Floyd who kept his dairy herd where ‘Whetstone Police Station now stands? Which was his farm? Did all the beat policeman in London have the same curious method of ‘marking’ banks and jeweller’s shops for signs of intrusion? These, among many questions, open up lines of research and return us to the records with a new zest. In these days of relative ease and prosperity, the constant references to long hours, brutally hard work and miserable wages strike the reader with great force, casual and uncomplaining though the tone may be!

“I went to work, cleaning for a local doctor, for which I got 2s. 6d. per day.— I can’t remember buying a new dress.” “In 1910 a milkman worked 11 or 12 hours a day, 7 days a week — for 25 shillings a week, with another 25 shillings made on fiddles.– You worked Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and you could not go sick, otherwise your book-keeping would be discovered.” “Generally (this is a nurse at Wellhouse Hospital) we started at 7 a.m and finished at 4:30 p.m., with one day off a month we were paid, I think, £26 a year. It seems more like the Dark Ages than the early twentieth century in our comfortable borough. We watch the lone P.0 pushing a corpse on his barrow all the way from Cricklewood Lane to Edgware General Hospital, the dentist trying out a new anaesthetic on reluctant patients – with varying success. These fragments of our past might well have been lost forever. In his informative introduction, Mr. Reboul gives credit to the unobtrusive modern cassette recorder for its part in the success of this rescue operation and it is true that the recent scaling-down of high quality recording equipment makes the procedure less formal, relaxes and reassures the speaker. Yet, as some of us know well, this is only half the battle. Interviewing with one eye on the clock or the recorder, asking questions which determine their own answers – or invite simply Yes and No, breaking in on a creative silence —- the man with his hand on the press buttons can mar all. This little booklet bears in every line the mark of the expert, an invisible presence, alert and responsive, drawing forth the treasures of the recent past. You will enjoy every line, – and not only you but many of your friends whose interest in local history may be slight: it is of general interest, beautifully produced, with tiny line drawings by Mary Spiegelhalter. At 95p, postage 20p per order, it costs little more than a birthday card and would make an excellent small gift. Copies will be on sale at the Church Farm Exhibition and at lectures: they can also be ordered by post: see attached order form. Please give Those were the Days the wide publicity it deserves. I.M.
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Tailpiece: not for serious archaeologists.

My neighbour, Jane MacIntyre, as a child, saw a Bull in a China Shop in Ballards Lane. The Bull,—- well, the bullock, was on his way to the slaughterhouse behind Semple’s, the butcher’s. The China Shop was opposite, on the corner of the Station Approach. Years later, on holiday in France, she saw a Mouse run up the Clock. Truly. I.M.
CALLING ALL UNDER- 18 MEMBERS. a note from BRYAN HACKETT,

who serves on the HADAS Committee as Under-18 representative. In order to organize arrangements for Junior Members, I have to find out what sort of activities would interest you most, e.g., outings to museums, non-HADAS digs and other interesting places; or specially organised talks, fields walks, digging or research, also it would be useful to know your favourite period in archaeology. Junior Members have been offered a special talk by Mrs. Lorimer (West Heath Site Supervisor) before the next digging season starts at West Heath, so we can learn all about the site. At this meeting we could discuss what we would like to do as Junior Members. I will let you know later the date) time and place. Please telephone or write to me (Bryan Hackett, 31, Temple Fortune Hill, N.W.11,7XL 455-9019 – (weekends or weekdays between 6-9 p.m., are most convenient for phoning,) and tell me (a) if you would be interested in coming to the meeting and what your best days and times are; and (b) if you have any views about other activities.
A COLLECTION OF BYGONES.

Do you remember Green Shield Stamps? What did you do with your two and a quarter books when Green Shbld and later Argos ceased to accept them? Where are those crumpled strips of pink or blue trading stamps which used to nest in the old tea caddy? You thought they were worthless? No one wanted them any more? YOU WERE WRONG. All trading stamps maintain their cash value and any you can find, of any provenance, will be welcomed by our Treasurer, Jeremy Clynes, who can convert them into much needed extra funds. Bring them to lectures or send them to him at 66, Hampstead N.441. 7XX.
ANOTHER NEW SHIRE TITLE.

In November the News Letter reviewed two new Shire Titles. Now here are details, provided by Helen O’Brien, of a third. Later Stone Implements by Michael Pitts. This short book, which covers the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, sets out to “explore the sort of questions which should be asked of prehistoric lithic material in order to gain an advance of knowledge.” The basic raw materials – and methods of obtaining them – techniques of manufacture, distribution and possible use of stone implements are described in detail and reasons for changes in style considered. Michael Pitts shows how it is now possible, by means of petrological analysis, to establish the source of some raw materials; and how this information raises questions of distribution or methods of “trade”. He also discusses new ideas about stone tool use which have been raised by experimental tool-making and microwear studies. The book is well illustrated,both by photographs and diagrams, and can be recommended either as an introduction to the subject or as an additional book for stone tool enthusiasts.
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West Heath Dig. Report for the 1980 Season. by Daphne Lorimer.

Despite a bad early summer, the 1980 season, at West Heath, produced some very interesting and satisfactory results. Seven trenches (XIIH,XIIIJ,XIVK,XIIIL,XIVM, XIIIN and XIIR) were continued from 1979 and finished, while thirteen trenches (IX and XIH,XII and XIVJ,XII and XIVL,XIIIM,XIIN,XIIP,XIIS,XII and XIIIT and XXXU were opened and excavated entirely during the season. this means that the entire area at risk from erosion has been investigated. Further investigations of the bank, itself, in the region of XO and XIO revealed a banana-shaped pit approximately 180 cms long by 90 cms wide by 90 cms deep. It contained a considerable number of struck flakes and a quantity of large pieces of charcoal at the lowest levels. It is very similar to the pits found on Mesolithic sites in Cumbria and Ireland and is under intensive investigations including, it is hoped, C14 dating. Smaller pits have been found in other parts of the site, the pit in XIIIN being particularly interesting as the charcoal contained in it may possibly belong to an earlier aforestation. The recognizable tool types excavated during the season number over IOO,together with over 50 cores and a number of pieces bearing miscellaneous retouch. The total number of flakes excavated has not yet been calculated. Further investigations by Jacqueline E. Pearce of the Department of Urban Archaeology, of the small, much abraided sherds of coarse, hand-made pottery found during the first season, indicate that they may possibly belong to the Pagan Anglo- Saxon period (5th – 7th century, or 8th century at latest,) and are representative of a domestic assemblage. Sixty members of HADAS worked on the dig, during the season with great skill and dedication. It is hoped that a short fairly intensive dig will be undertaken towards the end of next summer in order to answer some of the still outstanding questions.
CONFERENCE NEWS.

The 18th Annual Conference of London Archaeologists will take place at the Museum of London on Saturday March 21st, from 11 a.m. – 5:45 p.m. The morning lectures will be devoted to current exenvation.and research in the London area, including a talk on London’S Samian ware supplies and another on Palaeolithic flints in the Museum of London. In the afternoon there will be two speakers – both big fish in the archaeological pond: J.J.v.iymer, talking on the Palaeolithic in the Thames valley; and Professor Christopher Hawkes, on the Thames in later prehistory.. The Conference will have a more prehistoric slant than many conferences of recent years. Tickets (which include tea, but not lunch) cost £10.50 (for LAMAS members) and 12:50 (for non-members). Apply to LAMAS Archaeological Conference, c/o Museum of London, London Wail, E.C.21 5HN, enclosing a stamped addressed envelope. A warning: tickets usually go like hot cakes.
WORKSHOPS.

The next series of Museum of London wokshops starts on February 5th. It contains, as usual, a number of interesting subjects, particularly: Feb.5. Archaeological Photography ” 19. Anglo Saxon Metalwork Mar.5. Europe’s Earliest Spectacles – a new find from the City ” 19. Shoes and Footwear Apr.20 Tobacco and Smoking in Stuart London ” 9. The Conservation of Waterlogged Finds. Workshops are on Thursdays, starting 1:10 p.m. They take place in the Education Department and are informal – usually 25 to 30 people, who have a chance to meet the Museum’s specialist staff and to see and handle objects from the collections. Another happy hunting ground for HADAS is at Knuston Hall Adult Education College near Irchester, Northants. It runs weekend and longer courses which have been attended by many HADAS members. Knuston’s latest programme includes thefollowing: Apr. 10-16 A week’s course in Field Archaeology May. 29-31 Weekend on Roads and Trackways July. 10-12 Hedgerows: Archaeology and History 10-12 History of English Landscape Garden, 17c – 20o 27 to Aug. 9 The Pleasures of Heraldry Aug. 21-23 History of the English Landscape 21-23 Geology of Nenc Valley Oct. 2-4 Handwriting of Elizabethan and Stuart Documents Further details are obtainable from the Principal at Knuston (please enclose a stamped addressed envelope.)

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THE HENDON FARTHING OF 1666

The HADAS Newsletter circulates fraternally at Council meetings of neighbouring Camden History Society, and being Hendon (Mill Hill) born and bred – though long resident in Hampstead – I take in all I can as it goes by. In No 113 (July 1980) my eye was caught by Edward Sammes’ most interesting Church Terrace Report No 6 about Farthings through the Ages. This referred briefly to the many different local trade-token farthings issued all over the country in Commonwealth and Restoration times to remedy the lack of official small change. A great many different local halfpennies and some pennies were issued too. But the little farthing issued actually in Hendon in 1666 was perhaps not strictly relevant to the Church Terrace project, and probably for that reason was not mentioned in that context. Nevertheless, being a local issue, it might interest Hendon readers. I have attempted the accompanying sketch of a specimen I have, showing it about 34- times actual size – and I hope such a line drawing will suit your Newsletter. (I say ‘I have’ meaning ‘which the Bank has,’ for Hamp stead seems to attract burglars, and a Hendon farthing is not easily replaced). The coin itself looks to me more like darkened copper than brass. It is small, about 16 mm, nearly 4 in. in diameter – almost the size of today’s halfpenny The inscription declares the issuer of “1666” to be “IOHN GREENE IN HENDON MALTMAN.” Initials “I M G,” in a triangle with 3 at apex, mean the issuer was a Mr I or J Greene and his wife a Mrs M Greene. Such family triangles of initials were common in 17th c England, especially on token coins. The Hendon Parish Registers revealed the burial of a John Greene on May 18 1668. To check that the man buried was not merely a namesake, I next hunted out his Will and got a photocopy. The testator describes himself as a maltman of Hendon, which tallies. Further, he refers to “Mary my beloved wife” which tallies with the M on the coin. The village had also its halfpennies, though my own specimen of the little local one issued in Restoration Hendon by “IOHN ALLIN,” attributed to 1669, is too worn for a similar line-sketch – and anyhow the article by Mr Sammes was about farthings. Seen far more often are the familiar and better-made Hendon token halfpennies issued at the end of the following century. They show on one face a ohurch probably representing St Mary’s, and the date 1794; and on the other side usually a greyhound or a bust of David Garrick. However, for this second period of tokens I have seen no Hendon farthing recorded. Yours sincerely, PHILIP D GREENALL