Archaeology
| Meeting time | Monthly 1st Tuesday 10:00am-12:00 noon |
| Venue | Springwood Community Centre (see map) And various locations for visits and field trips |
| Enquiries | Email groups@waterloovilleu3a.org.uk Use our contacts page Or visit the Groups table at any Coffee Morning or General Meeting If the group is full, your name can be added to the Waiting List and you will be offered a space when you reach the top. |
This group started in May 2018
This group covers any aspects of the subject that the members decide they are interested in. There is a mixture of practical experiences where possible, together with expert speakers, videos and visits to sites and museums of interest.
Some of our 2024/25 visits and field trips
Dorchester
Cotswolds
Cranborne Chase
2024 presentations and visits :
Modern technology and how it has moved Archaeology forward
Doggerland
Richborough Roman Fort
A History of Archaeology part 1
A History of Archaeology part 2
The archaeology of Cranborne Chase
Visit to Cranborne Chase and Down Farm museum
Pommelte : revisit to the German Stoneheange - the most recent findings
Bog Bodies, Crannogs, Brochs and Lake Villages
Idsworth : Old Idsworth – what we thought we knew and what we now know about its history. “Old Idsworth is believed to be the site of a deserted Medieval village. The Chichester & District Archaeology Society has carried out extensive work in the surrounding area in an effort to find the remains. The results of geophysical surveys and an excavation are revealed with an explanation as to how these throw new light on the history of Old Idsworth.
The Galloway Hoard - from finding through conservation to display.
Anatolia
Christmas archaeology quiz, round up of the year and 2025 planning
Previous years' topics have included :
Agrigenta, Valley of Temples, Sicily
Emergence of Man
Archaeology on Cyprus
In the Footsteps of St. Paul
Guided walk of Silchester lead by County Archaeologist
Opportunities to join the Meon Valley Heritage & Archaeology Group on their Summer excavation
The Imperial Villa of Cassalles, Sicily
Visit to London for U3A Romans day including a visit to the Mithraeum
Archaeology in the Meon Valley
The Excavations of Troy
Visit to the Troy exhibition at the British Museum
Zoom meetings :
“The King of Bling” – The Prittlewell Princely Burial
Pömmelte-the German Stonehenge
The Archaeology of Langstone Harbour
Star Carr : Mesolithic site in Yorkshire
Monthly meetings :
New Grange and the Neolithic sites of County Meath
Neolithic Monuments
Taulas and Tailots -The Archaeology of Menorca
The Ancient Ports of Rome - Ostia and Portus
Göbeklitepe a site in Turkey that turns archaeology on its head!
The Galloway Hoard; Amenhotep 1; The Birdlip Graves
The World of Stonehenge Exhibition 2022
A group of 19 were all set to visit the exhibition at the British Museum in March. Unfortunately, due to Covid, only nine actually made it!
Visit to Butser Ancient Farm 2022
Members and friends of the group visited Butser Ancient Farm following a talk by a group member on Iron Age Farming. There are a variety of houses from prehistoric, Romano-British and Anglo Saxon in this open air museum.
The aim of the archaeologists working at Butser is to use experimental archaeology to test out theories about the past using practical experiments. They explore how things archaeologists find may have been constructed, made or used in order to better understand life in the past, using tools and materials contemporary to the age of a particular construction.
When a dwelling begins to reach the end of its life, the way in which it decays is also studied.
In the partial reconstruction of the Romano British villa at Sparsholt, we were shown a length of very fine woven cloth made by one of the archaeologists. This had taken months to create using the contemporary technology.
Study day - November 2019
Five members of the group took part in a Roman London Study day at the Guildhall Art Gallery. We were based in the lower floor of the gallery which houses the remains of the 2nd century, stone-built amphitheatre.
We made Roman oil lamps based on originals from all over the Roman Empire and spent time with an archaeologist who explained the history of Londinium.
The day finished with a visit to the Temple of Mithras and the gallery of artefacts uncovered during excavations.
Visit to Silchester - June 2019
We visited Silchester, the site of a large Roman settlement. The County Archaeologist gave us a guided tour of the site’s remaining features : the well-preserved walls and the amphitheatre.
Visit to the site of Verulamium, St Albans - October 2018
We visited St. Albans and had a guided tour of the Roman theatre and later visited the Verulamium Museum. The trip was arranged to follow up a presentation given by group member on the theme of “Theatre in the Classical Age”
