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EVENTS

For details of forthcoming events please see the latest editions of the NASNews and eNASNews newsletters.

The Rutland Villa:Beyond the Achilles Mosaic AGM November 2023 and public lecture (poster, 294 kB)
The NAS Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday, 14 November 2022. Doors open at 6:30pm for light refreshements. The AGM will be followed by a public lecture at 7pm by Jeremy Taylor (Lecturer in Archaeology, University of Leicester) who will be speaking about "The Rutland Villa: Beyond the Achilles Mosaic". Everyone welcome and free entry at Chester House Estate, The Threshing Barn, Higham Road, Little Irchester, Wellingborough, NN29 7EZ (use main drive, Lime Avenue, and park behind the ARC).


3000 Years of Life and Death at Overstone Northampton AGM October 2022 and public lecture (poster, 242 kB)
The NAS Annual General Meeting will be held on Monday, 17 October 2022. Doors open at 6:30pm for light refreshements. The AGM will be followed by a public lecture at 7pm by Simon Markus (Project Manager with MOLA Northampton) who will be speaking about "3,000 Years of Life and Death at Overstone, Northampton". Everyone welcome and free entry.


Prittlewell Prince burial goods AGM November 2021 and public lecture (poster, 230 kB)
The NAS Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday, 2 November 2021 online via ZOOM. Details of how to log in to the AGM will be distributed to anyone who has registered in advance by email to NAS196674@gmail.com. The AGM will be followed by a free public lecture by Lyn Blackmore from MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) who will be talking about "The Prittlewell 'Prince' a rich Anglo-Saxon burial in the local and wider context". Everyone welcome and free entry.


Welsh House, Market Square, Northampton AGM January 2021 and public lecture
The NAS Annual General Meeting will be held on Monday, 18 January 2021 online via ZOOM. Details of how to log in to the AGM will be distributed to anyone who has registered in advance by email to NAS196674@gmail.com. The AGM will be followed by a free public lecture by committee member Brian Giggins who will be talking about "The Historic Town Buildings of Northamptonshire". Everyone welcome.


Borough Hill hillfort AGM 2018 and public lecture (poster, pdf, 168 KB)
Tuesday 12th November at the Humfrey Rooms of Northamptonshire Natural History Society, 10 Castillain Terrace, Northampton, NN1 1LD. Light refreshments from 6:30pm. AGM begins at 7pm, followed by a free public lecture commencing at about 7:20pm. The speaker will be Chris Chinnock and his talk is entitled "Borough Hill Hillfort Community Project". Copies of the new journal, volume 40, 2019 will be available for members to collect. All welcome - free entry.


Northamptonshire pottery AGM 2016 and public lecture
Thursday, 26th November at the Humfrey Rooms of Northamptonshire Natural History Society, 10 Castillain Terrace, Northampton, NN1 1LD. Tea, coffee and biscuits from 6:30pm. AGM begins at 7pm, followed by a free public lecture at 7:20pm. The speaker will be Paul Blinkhorn and his talk is entitled "People and Pots in Medieval Northamptonshire". Everyone welcome.


AGM 2015
Thursday, 26th November at the Humfrey Rooms of Northamptonshire Natural History Society, 10 Castillain Terrace, Northampton, NN1 1LD. Tea, coffee and biscuits from 6:30pm. AGM begins at 7pm, followed by the public lecture at 7:20pm. The speaker will be Steve Young, Director of Archaeology for CLASP. The talk is entitled "Continuity and change in the local landscape" and will be about the meaning and significance of the archaeological record derived from CLASP fieldwork associated with the watershed of the River Nene. The focus will be on the period between the late 3rd and early 7th centuries AD.


Northampton Castle postern Castles of the South Midlands: Recent Research
A conference organised by the Council for British Archaeology: South Midlands.
Saturday 25th April 2015 at The Town Hall, 86 Watling Street, Towcester, Northamptonshire, NN12 6BS.
For further details see the programme (pdf, 835KB).

 


Medieval Northampton AGM 2014
Thursday, 6th November at the Humfrey Rooms of Northamptonshire Natural History Society, 10 Castillain Terrace, Northampton, NN1 1LD. Tea, coffee and biscuits from 6:30pm. AGM begins at 7pm, followed by the public lecture at 7:20pm entitled "Medieval Northampton" by John Williams - see poster (pdf, 1.19Mb).

 


Newgate hangingAGM 2013
Thursday, 14th November at the Humfrey Rooms of Northamptonshire Natural History Society, 10 Castillain Terrace, Northampton, NN1 1LD. Tea, coffee and biscuits from 6:30pm. AGM begins at 7pm, followed by the public lecture at 7:30pm entitled "The Criminal Corpse: Disposing of the remains of executed criminals in the 18th Century" by Sarah Tarlow from Leicester University - see poster (pdf, 334 KB).

 


harvesting tapestryAGM 2012
Thursday, 8th November - Doors open 6:30pm for light refreshments. AGM begins at 7pm.
To be held at The Humfrey Rooms of the Northamptonshire Natural History Society, 10 Castillian Terrace, Northampton, NN1 1LD. All welcome and free entry.

Copies of the new journal Northamptonshire Archaeology No.37 (2012) should be available for collection by members and purchase by visitors.

The AGM will be followed by "Why Medieval Peasants are Important" by Christopher Dyer (Leverhulme Research Fellow and Emeritus Professor of Regional and Local History, University of Leicester).

 


Northamptonshire Archaeology Day
Saturday, 6th October 10am - 4pm
Free admission to the Open Day and Museum (donations towards costs would be welcome)
To be held at Wellingborough Museum, 12 Castle Way, Wellingborough NN8 1XB (Free car parking next door adjacent to The Castle Theatre. Light refreshments available at the museum)

viking re-enactmentMeet local archaeologists and historical re-enactors!

Bring along a photograph of your house and ask our building experts to date it!

Northamptonshire Archaeological Society is hosting a public open day to help spread the word that Northamptonshire has a rich and diverse history, and to make people aware of the many local societies that they could become involved with. Members of local archaeological and historical groups will provide displays of their work and finds, and will be on hand to talk to the public about the archaeology and history of Northamptonshire. There will be handouts available and publications for sale. Other groups involved will include: Northamptonshire Archaeological Society, Community Landscape and Survey Project (CLASP), Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group and Northamptonshire Archaeology.

NAS Contact: Andy Chapman, Northamptonshire Archaeological Society
Tel: (work) 01604 825845 Email: achapman @ northamptonshire.gov.uk


archaeological drawingArchaeological Illustration for Beginners
Saturday 8th September 2012 10am – 3pm
at the School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester.

Archaeological illustrator Debbie Miles-Williams will introduce the basics of artefact illustration. This will be followed by an opportunity to draw a selection of archaeological objects in pencil under her guidance. Ten places available. Fee: £20 per person.

To book your place contact:

Carole Bancroft-Turner
01832 275813
info@historic-investigations.co.uk

BuxtonBuxton CBA Weekend Event
September 14th - 16th

The Council for British Archaeology are staging a weekend event to look at the archaeological hertiage of the area. The programme includes a guided tour around Buxton, an exploration of the Bronze Age landscape of Stanton Moor, as well as visits to Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, the Ice Age caves at Cresswell Crags and Bolsover Castle.

Places are limited so book early by downloading the information/booking form (pdf, 320KB) or via the online shop .

 

 

Council for British Archaeology (East Midlands) Conference - "Conflict Archaeology"
Saturday, 17th November at Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre

This day conference will include a series of talks including:

The day concludes with a tour of the Bosworth Heritage Museum. There will be refreshments on arrival and lunches can be booked for a small fee. There will be books for sale at the conference written by the speakers as well as CBA publications. Booking is essential ( download form , pdf, 166KB).

 

geophysical results - Roman IrchesterAGM 2011
The NAS AGM and free Public Lecture will be held on Tuesday, 8th November at The Humfrey Rooms 10 Castilian Terrace, Northampton, NN1 1LD. Doors open at 6.30pm and refreshments will be provided. The AGM begins at 7pm and will be followed by the lecture "Recent work on the Roman small town of Irchester" by Ian Meadows where he will present the results of recent geophysical survey and excavation both within and around the walled Roman town of Irchester.We are grateful to Northampton Natural History Society for welcoming us to their excellent meeting rooms for a third year. For further details regarding the AGM see NASNews October 2011 pages 1-2 (pdf, 1.13Mb).

 


Bellerophon mosaicAGM 2010 (including book launch and public lecture)
The NAS AGM (details, pdf: 425KB) book launch and Public Lecture was held on Tuesday 10th November at The Humfrey Rooms, 10 Castilian Terrace, Northampton, NN1 1LD.

Dennis Jackson book After the meeting there was the launch of an exciting new book about the life and times of renowned local archaeologist, Dennis Jackson, pioneer of modern archaeology in Northamptonshire.

This was followed by the lecture "Roman Villas & Mosaics in Northamptonhsire and region" by Dr David S Neal who is a leading figure in the archaeology of Roman Britain. He has excavated widely, including Stanwick Roman villa in Northamptonshire, and is a regular and characteristically enthusiastic guest with Time Team. He is perhaps most renowned for his monumental research and co-authorship with Stephen Cosh of the corpus of Romano-British mosaics. A highlight of these volumes, now approaching completion, is David’s immensely accurate and detailed painted illustrations. Examples from Northamptonshire include the Bellerophon mosaic from Croughton in the south of the county.


Medieval Wall Paintings of St Mary's Chapel, Bradwell Abbey
Sunday 12th September, 12 - 4.30pm, Tickets £8
This afternoon event gives you the opportunity to explore the chapel followed by a programme of talks and drinks. There will also be free family fun including archery, falconry, a hog roast and various stalls. For further details and to book a place download the flyer and booking form (pdf, 76KB)

village excavationsAnnual General Meeting 2009
The NAS AGM and Public Lecture was held on Tuesday 10th November at The Humfrey Rooms 10 Castilian Terrace, Northampton, NN1 1LD.

The lecture was "Village Origins: Raunds, Furnells Manor and West Cotton" by Andy Chapman (Senior Archaeologist of Northamptonshire Archaeology). Andy was involved in the excavations in Raunds from 1978 to 1989 and has been responsible for bringing both sites to publication. He told the story of these excavations and the major contribution they have made to our understanding of late Saxon village origins.


An archaeological tour of Stanwick Lakes
On Saturday, 12th September, Andy Chapman gave a guided walk of the Nene valley at Stanwick and Raunds touring the former sites of the Neolithic long barrow, the Bronze Age round barrows, the Iron Age settlement, the Roman villa and West Cotton medieval village, all excavated as part of the Raunds Area Project in the 1980s.

NAS Visit to Piddington Roman Villa excavations - 7.00pm, Monday 14th September 2009
Northamptonshire Archaeological Society is grateful to Roy Friendship Taylor and the Upper Nene Archaeological Society (UNAS) for providing a unique opportunity for members to have a guided tour of the Piddington Roman Villa excavations. The visit took place towards the end of the year’s main digging season where we heard the latest information about their most recent discoveries, including new finds for an early Roman military presence. After the site tour there was an opportunity to visit the nearby Piddington Roman Villa Museum (NN7 2DD), which is located on the eastern edge of Piddington village at Chapel End.

The excavations (at SP 7970 5400) are located in fields west of Piddington village. The village is approximately 7 km south of Northampton. Follow the B526 to Hackleton village and then take the turn to Piddington village. Turn right on to Church Street and head in the direction of the parish church. A track leads to the excavations from Church End/Old End (at SP 8015 5450, between house numbers 2 & 4).

Help save the past - for the futureRESCUE AGM and Open Meeting
To mark the tenure of Roy Friendship-Taylor as Chair of RESCUE - The British Archaeological Trust , they held their AGM and open meeting on Saturday, 25th April at Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, Guildhall Road, Northampton as a joint meeting with NAS.





Elstow Moot HallCBA South Midlands Spring Conference
"Grist to the mill: recent work on windmills and watermills"

On Saturday 25th April, the Council for British Archaeology (South Midlands) held their Spring Conference at Church Hall, Elstow, Bedfordshire, starting at 9.30am.

Speakers included:

The conference admission fee, £10 on the door, included the entrance charge to Elstow Moot Hall, which opened especially for the conference.


Prof Stephen Upex's book - "The Romans in the East of England" Annual General Meeting 2008
This was held on Monday, 24th November, The Jeffrey Room, Guildhall, Northampton at 7.00pm and was followed by the annual lecture.

This year our speaker was Professor Stephen Upex who talked about "Roman Settlement & Landscape in the Lower Nene Valley". Copies of Stephen's new book " The Romans in the East of England: Settlement and Landscape in the Lower Nene Valley " were on sale after the lecture.

Northamptonshire Archaeology, Volume 35
The new journal (A4 format and 304 pages in glorious Technicolor) is the longest journal the society has ever produced, including articles ranging from the early Bronze Age to the 1940s.

Northamptonshire Archaeology Open Day
Saturday, 5th April from 10am-4pm at Cogenhoe Village Hall.

Northamptonshire Archaeology Day demonstrationsNorthamptonshire Archaeological Society hosted a public open day to help spread the word that Northamptonshire has a rich and diverse history, and to make people aware of the many local societies that they could become involved with. Members of local archaeological and historical groups provided displays of their work and finds, and were on hand to talk to the public about the archaeology and history of Northamptonshire. There were handouts available and publications for sale. Groups involved included: Northamptonshire Archaeological Society, Upper Nene Archaeological Society , Community Landscape and Survey Project (CLASP), and Northamptonshire Archaeology . Heritage Marketing and Publications ran a bookstall offering second-hand and new archaeology and history books.

To help bring the past to life even more vividly, there were two historical reenactors. Sir Thomas Tresham , a 15th Century knight who rose to high office at court in the reign of King Henry VI, will tell of his duties and his everyday worries about mortgages and writs, as well as the necessities for everyday life, clothes, food and hunting. He was attended by one of his Northampton tenants, Agnes, who pays the rent on time twice a year through earning a modest living making and repairing shoes and manufacturing bone and leather items.


Annual General Meeting 2007:
Download a report on the 2007 AGM here (pdf format, 17KB).

The Annual General Meeting of Northamptonshire Archaeological Society was held at 7pm on Monday 26th November at the Jeffery Room, Guildhall, Northampton. There was a lecture from Bill Boismier , Senior Archaeologist with Northamptonshire Archaeology, to speak on the subject of:

mammoth"Fear and Loathing in the Middle Palaeolithic:
Mammoths at Lynford Quarry, Norfolk, Neanderthal Hunting or Scavenging?"
At Lynford Quarry, Norfolk an old river channel contained the remains of mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, reindeer, horse, bison, wolf, red or arctic fox and brown bear, along with stone handaxes and other tools, all buried under two to three metres of sands and gravels. Well-preserved Middle Palaeolithic open-air sites are exceedingly rare in Europe, making Lynford of national and international importance. However, a key issue of debate is whether the evidence indicates that the Neanderthal population was systematically hunting mammoth or whether they were being opportunistic and scavenging the carcasses of dead mammoths. Bill Boismier directed the excavations at Lynford Quarry and has been preparing the report. At the AGM he will provide us with a presentation of the results and discuss the interpretation of these important but contentious remains of our early ancestors.

Andrew SelkirkAnnual General Meeting 2006:
Download a report on the AGM here (Word format, 36KB).

This was held on Monday 27th November 2006 at the Jeffery Room, Guildhall, Northampton (close to the Museum, at the top of Guildhall Rd in the town centre). The NAS were fortunate to welcome Andrew Selkirk, Editor-in-chief of "Current Archaeology" to give this NAS lecture. After a spell as an accountant, Andrew has gone on to become very well known throughout British archaeology for his having founded & edited the magazine "Current Archaeology" . The magazine has been a great success from the start, covering many and varied aspects of archaeology across the country. Andrew has a particular interest in amateur archaeology, and is Chairman of the Council for Independent Archaeology . He still hugely enjoys travelling round the country, visiting excavations and then writing about them. He is now looking forward to more world travel and writing about the results in Current Archaeology’s new sister magazine, "Current World Archaeology" .

Annual General Meeting 2005
Download a report on the 2005 AGM here (rtf format, 6KB).

Wednesday, 21st September 2005
The CLASP (Community Landscape & Archaeology Survey Project) AGM and Public Open Meeting was held at Bugbrooke Village Community Centre. Also, the first parts of the 'Local People-Local Past' interactive project report are available on the CLASP web site . This project is seeking to define the Romano-British Landscape in several parishes to the west of Northampton adjoining the River Nene and Watling Street.

Annual General Meeting 2004
Download a full report on the 2004 AGM here (pdf format, 173KB).

The AGM 2004 was held on Tuesday, November 30th in the Northampton Guildhall. The date marked the launch of our new publication " Archaeology in Northamptonshire ". There was also a lecture by the well-known archaeologist Dr Francis Pryor entitled "Life in prehistoric Flag Fen: 35 years of research in a nutshell".

Francis is, of course, a long standing member of Northamptonshire Archaeological Society but is also one of Britain's foremost prehistorians and an excellent lecturer who relishes challenging archaeological conventional wisdoms. In recent years Francis has also taken on a new role, that of TV presenter with his most recent series on the Dark Ages being shown recently on Channel 4. Francis discovered the survival of extensive Bronze Age remains in the side of a drainage ditch at Flag Fen in 1982. Since then the site has gone on to become Britain's leading Bronze Age centre with a major ongoing archaeological research project combined with innovative visitor centre & archaeological park. Waterlogging has ensured remarkable preservation of the 3000 year old site and its enormous timber built platform and palisade, work on which has radically changed views on the period. The result is the clearest picture yet, of life in the Bronze Age Britain - and all of this on the Northamptonshire border.

Annual General Meeting 2003
On Thursday, 4th December the AGM was held in the Jeffrey Room of The Guildhall, Northampton. Approximately 30 members attended to hear that the NAS membership had grown to 160, largely through contacts made from the NAS website. Volume 30 of the journal was available for collection at the meeting and it was stated that Volume 31 was likely appear at the end of 2004. The Accounts of the Society revealed a surplus of £25,507.59 (compared to £23, 569.17 in the previous year). Following the AGM, Steven Young from University College Northampton gave a lecture on the Whitehall Villa and its landscape.

Annual General Meeting 2002
The AGM of the Society was held on 4 December 2002 in The Guildhall, Northampton, at 7 p.m. and was followed by a lecture by Dr Chris Burgess (Senior Archaeologist, Northamptonshire Archaeology) entitled "The Loch Doon Scandal: An archaeological tale of intrigue and mystery" concerning the World War I aerial gunnery school in Ayrshire.


NOTICES

Official Opening of Piddington Museum
Piddington MuseumPiddinton Museum plaqueTony Robinson opens Piddington MuseumTony Robinson and film crew
On September 4th 2004, Tony Robinson officially opened Piddington Museum in front of a large crowd of invited onlookers. The Upper Nene Archaeological Society (U.N.A.S.) originally bought redundant Wesleyan Chapel in 1992 and have spent the intervening period engaged in restoration and fund raising, which eventually resulted in a substantial grant from the Heritage Lottery Commission. The museum now displays some of the finds that have been made during the long running excavation of the Piddington Villa (25 years and still going strong). Apart from the displays and the finds store, the museum also has a library and study room. At present, the museum is only opening on Sunday afternoons (2pm -5pm) but for further details contact roy@friendship-taylor.freeserve.co.uk

30th Anniversary Photographic Competition
As part of its 30th Anniversary celebrations, Northamptonshire Archaeological Society (NAS) held a modest photographic competition in 2004. Members of NAS, of other local societies in Northamptonshire and anyone else with an involvement or interest in the archaeology of Northamptonshire was invited to enter. details >>

Fieldwork Reports
Fieldwork Reports received by the N.C.C. Historic Environment Team (formerly Northamptonshire Heritage), reproduced by permission. Please note that these reports contain material covered by official copyright:

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The Historic Deer Parks of Northamptonshire
The Northamptonshire Gardens Trust has published a leaflet on historic deer parks in the County, of which 112 have so far been identified. It describes their origins, characteristics, distribution and history. The N.A.S. has a limited number of copies available to members upon application to Graham Gadman, 90 Lower Thrift Street, Northampton NN1 5HP. There is a limit of one per member. Please enclose an S.A.E. large enough to contain a leaflet measuring 21 x 10 cm.