Category Archives: Thanet archaeology

News items about Thanet archaeology

VM_365 Day 8 Taking the mystery out of pottery dating

7th July 2014Archaeology, Education, Thanet archaeology, Uncategorised, VM_365 Projecteditor

Today’s image is of the Pottery Dating game, a simple introduction to understanding how ceramics are used in archaeological investigation to generate knowledge about people and culture in the past. The pottery dating game is one of the activities we have developed to help people understand the basics of archaeological investigation and analysis, which you can try out at our Archaeology for You event.

Developing the ability to make ceramics was one of the most significant inventions of prehistoric people. Everyday pottery vessels, familiar in form and uses to our own, link us in a long chain to first Neolithic potters, with almost every step of the journey marked with innovations in form, fabric and technological advances and retreats.

Studying ceramics in the archaeological record can grow to a full time occupation, with a whole body of subtle detail that a ceramic specialist needs to become familiar with. The scope of interest in ceramic material ranges from the variety of vessels and fabrics present in the archaeological record, to observing how modern potters manipulate clay and construct objects from it. Piecing together the sequence of the potters craft involves tracing cultural cross references, short lived fads and long lived styles that defy the creative urges of the moment in favour of utility, familiarity and tradition.

From the earliest days of archaeological research there has been a recognition that an archaeologist should be familiar with the range of ceramics that are common in their area of research, in the period they study and the geographical regions they focus on. Indexing and sequencing the ceramic types associated with a field of study is a basic building block in establishing regional time lines and tracing common ways of life.

How does the pottery dating game work?

To become familiar with the methods used to analyse ceramics, there’s no substitute for hands on experience. But, as in many unfamiliar activities. people are not confident of their own abilities and are nervous about making mistakes. The pottery dating game is a confidence building exercise which shows that we all have the skills of reasoning and observation that form the foundation of the systems used to analyse and classify ceramics.

The dating game box contains a set of sherds of pottery ranging in date from the early prehistoric to the modern era, all with distinctive characteristics. We invite you, without any previous experience of archaeological pottery, to place the sherds in the order from earliest to latest according to your own ideas and experience. Before we compare the sequence you decide on with the order and dating given by an expert in archaeological ceramics, we ask you to explain the observations and decisions you made in ordering the sherds.

How close do you think you might get to the actual sequence on the first go? How do your observations fit with those of experienced ceramic archaeologists? Perhaps you know more about the technology and craft of the past than you think you do…

VM_365 Day 7 Cutting edge of prehistoric and modern toolmaking

6th July 2014Archaeology, Thanet archaeology, Uncategorised, VM_365 Projecteditor

Image of a worked flint tool and its modern equivalent, a utility knife. — Worked flint tool and its modern equivalent, a utility knife.

Our image today is of a worked flint flake, with its modern equivalent a utility knife.

Over spans of thousands of years, human history is mainly reconstructed from the discovery of similar flint tools, or the other variations on the scale and sophistication of objects that represent the flint-workers art.

Each of these tools represents intentional alteration and manipulation of the properties of flint, or other stones available in other parts of the world, to create cutting edges in the material that can be utilised for many purposes. Archaeologists have generated models of both the creative skills that went into each tool and the functions and social circumstances they were used in, individually or as part of a tool kit that can be recognised and classified in the archaeological record.

To a great extent prehistoric humans are known only by recognising the dexterity and technological repertoire of their tools, through analysing or recreating the actions that went into creating each one. Cultural and social organisation in these periods is projected from the way that tools are grouped into sets and distributed over space and time.

Each flint, like the one in the image, preserves the action of a single unknown maker at a single point in time. The study of these actions, and the products of each of the makers, collectively preserves an echo of the whole way of life of an ancient society.

VM_365 Day 6 Buildings are archaeology too!

5th July 2014Archaeology, Education, Post Medieval, Ramsgate, Thanet archaeology, Uncategorised, VM_365 Projecteditor

VM 6

You might think that this pair of Grade II Iisted brick and flint cottages with their Flemish style gables are tucked away in the Kent countryside. These lovely buildings are in fact hidden away behind the shops of Queen Street in Ramsgate. Accessed through a narrow passage called Queens Court they are a hidden gem of the townscape and a window through which we can see something of 17th century Ramsgate.

VM_365 Starts Here

30th June 2014Archaeology, Art Inspired by the Past, Education, Thanet archaeology, Uncategorised, VM_365 Project, What's going on?editor

An Image a day from the Virtual Museum of Thanet’s Archaeology

Our VM_365 project will present one image a day, each day for the next year, on themes related to our Virtual Museum of Thanet’s Archaeology.

As archaeologists we often have a camera handy to record those unexpected moments when something new emerges from the ground, or from our collection of artefacts. Whether its capturing an image outdoors on a site, or in one of the darker recesses of the museum storage boxes or having the opportunity to take a fresh look at something we take for granted, we will post an in image in our project each day.

Choosing the image we post each day will be a chance to stretch our imagination in illustrating the world of archaeology and our important local heritage. Over the course of the year we may develop themes with a series of pictures, or just take a one off chance to explore a subject.

We have some ideas in mind already of images we want to show, others will come to us as the project goes on. Some of our images may be taken quickly, capturing a valuable moment as the opportunity arises and some will use the rich resources of images we have in our archives. Whatever the circumstances the project will present something interesting, fun and thought provoking each day.

Check in through our Twitter and FaceBook pages, or here on our journal where you will find more notes or detailed background to the images.

We would love to have your feedback and comments on the images over the duration of VM_365, we start today!

The first image we would like you to see is the new VM_365 logo which will accompany the images over the year. Like it?

Our first image, the new VM_356 Logo

Archaeology for You – 12th July 2014

16th June 2014Archaeology, Archaeology for You, Education, National Festival of Archaeology, Thanet archaeology, Uncategorised, What's going on?editor

Archaeological activities for all ages for the National Festival of Archaeology

Archaeology for You is the Trust’s annual event to celebrate the National Festival of Archaeology, which is organised each year by the Council for British Archaeology. Once again in 2014 Archaeology for You will be held in the Gardens of the Powell-Cotton Museum, on Saturday the 12th of July from 10am to 5pm.

Teaching skelton display

If you ever wonder how archaeologists can say what they do about the past, you can find out at Archaeology for You. There are many hands on activities demonstrating the principles and methods of archaeological investigation, exploring digging methods, site recording and the process of reading the evidence of the finds from a site, giving you the basics of archaeological investigation.

To bring to life the people of the past re-enactors from De Bello Canzio, a group specialising in Iron Age and Roman life, will show how archaeological evidence is used to explore costumes, tools, weapons to reconstruct the way of life of the Iron Age and Roman people.

There are no age limits to learning at Archaeology for You, there’s something for everyone in each of the activities from the youngest to the oldest.

The Trust for Thanet Archaeology is an education charity, with the mission to explore and explain archaeology. At Archaeology for You we bring together our experience as professional archaeologists with our education role, to demonstrate how archaeologists explore the world around them and use the evidence they gather to create historical stories by using archaeological techniques to investigate things and places.

Teachers exploring archaeology at school will find many ideas and resources at Archaeology for You that can be used in the classroom to help children understand how archaeologists investigate the world and reveal history from things and places.

Resources

Flyer and poster

Download a Flyer or an A3 sized poster for Archaeology for You

Download the guide to archaeological activities for all ages

We would love to see you at Archaeology for You

Printing a medley of Margate stories

13th May 2014Art Inspired by the Past, Books and publications, Uncategorised, What's going on?editor

Image of Margate Medley publication — Margate Medley ready to go!

We’ve been able to use our publishing skills to help out with a project organised by Margate Civic Society,

A while ago we bought a nifty laser printer that is able to produce small booklets automatically, letting us produce short run publications for ourselves and others. Its a little labour intensive, as we have to fold and staple each copy by hand and then press them for a few hours. A bit of an old school publishing practice.

This week the Trust has been rolling out a new publication from our presses on behalf of the Margate Civic Society, printing and binding copies of a small publication called Margate Medley, packed with snippets from Margate’s history. It has a short article by the Trust’s Director on the history of Margate Pier, based on the talk she gave at our 25th Anniversary conference last year. There are many other interesting pieces on historical sites and events that have contributed to Margate’s unique character.

The book is for sale at £2.50 from Margate Civic Society, or at the Time Ball celebration events. Proceeds from the sales will support the Civic Society and their Fund Raising for the Time Ball project and other local activities.

History and Archaeology Day at Upton School, Broadstairs

15th April 2014Education, Thanet archaeology, Uncategorised, What's going on?editor

The Trust were invited back to Upton School in Broadstairs on Wednesday 26th February for a day of archaeological activities for the school’s History day.

Teaching about the equipment of ta Roman soldier — Teaching about the equipment of a Roman soldier

Adam and Lauren of the Trust ran four sessions on the archaeology of the Roman period over the day, starting with an overview of the history of Roman settlement in Britain and an experience of the everyday life of the Roman soldier, the first of the Roman people to arrive in Kent.

Picture of a weary young Roman legionary — A weary Roman legionary

Volunteers from among the children didn’t just get a taste for the commitment to long service, but also had a sense of the gruelling routine of marching in full armour and a pack full of equipment; an experience that has been compared to carrying one of your friends around on your back with the weight of a frozen chicken on your head.

The archaeologists explained how the evidence for our understanding of Roman life is gathered from the remains that are left behind, and what a wide range of equipment to excavate, record and then report discoveries is needed.

Children finding out about archaeological equipment — Finding out about archaeological equipment

Eventually it was time for the children to Dig and Discover for themselves, excavating an artefact then carrying out their own analysis of the find using one of the Trusts specially designed recording sheets. Each of the junior archaeologists could have a first-hand experience of their Roman past from the real Roman objects that could be investigated and drawn.

It wasn’t just the Roman period that got the archaeological treatment, our Anglo-Saxon skeleton activity and costume were put to use by the teachers. Using the skeleton and replica items, they could examine how investigation of the rich culture of Anglo-Saxon burials can teach us about this important period of our history.

Our opportunity to introduce the children of Upton school to archaeological investigation has been a great way to use the rich resources the Trust has available and give a hands on experience of the past. We are grateful for the opportunity to share our interest with the next generation of archaeological investigators.

Mortarium mystery revealed – #MuseumWeek #AskThe Curator

28th March 2014Art Inspired by the Past, Education, In the Store, Thanet archaeology, Uncategorisededitor

Tuesday’s curatorial conundrum from the Virtual Museum of Thanet’s Archaeology is finally answered.

The two questions we asked were; What on earth is it? and Who made it?, the answers to both can be found by looking at the pictures.

The pictures we posted were of a type of Roman mixing bowl, called a Mortarium. The example we have in our collection was found in the excavation of the Roman Villa at Abbey Farm, Minster in Thanet. Two of the sections of the image show the stamps on the rim that allow us to identify the manufacturer, although part of the stamp is damaged and part of the name is unreadable.

The mortarium was made in the factory of MATUGENUS, the name shown in two parts in the first stamp. The second stamp reads FECIT, that is ‘he made it’ in Latin.

Manufactururs stamp on Roman Mortarium — The stamp reads MATUG ENUS in two parts

Matugenus is a well known manufacturer, working near Verulamium, the Roman town near St.Albans in Hertfordshire between 80 and 125AD. Stamps tell us that Matugenus was the son of an earlier maker of mortaria, Albinus.

These heavy clay mixing bowls with their distinctive thick lipped pouring spouts were covered on their inner surface with find grits, embedded in the dense yellowish brown fabrics of the clays they were made from.

In the case of the vessel from Minster, the grits had been worn down so far the surface was nearly flat, and it is very likely the base of the vessel had been almost rubbed through, allowing it to break and leaving a large hole in base before it was finally smashed and cast with other rubbish into the outer boundary ditch to the north of the villa. The sherds of the vessel had not moved far and were found in a tight group that allowed the vessel to be nearly completely reconstructed after the dig.

Matugenus made this Mortarium - it says so on the tin — Matugenus made this Mortarium – it says so on the tin

Ramsgate’s Roman Past – Museum Memories

26th March 2014Education, In the Store, Thanet archaeology, Uncategorised, Uncategorizededitor

This Roman Beaker features in the group of Roman pots that currently forms the mastheads of our social media pages.

RB_Beaker_SGR07_reduced — Roman colour coated Beaker, decorated with white painted lattice pattern. Possibly manufactured in Gaul, 3rd or 4th century, found in Ramsgate 2007.

Found in a grave excavated in Ramsgate, it is one of a group of finds with great significance to understanding the Roman occupation of Thanet and Ramsgate’s ancient role as a sea port. Located at the eastern limit of an ancient track that followed the Isle’s central chalk ridge, this is the easternmost of a series of small Roman cemeteries that once lined the road.

More remarkable was the survival of the intact vessels on the small archaeological site, despite the demolition of the buildings above and the use of a large toothed mechanical excavator bucket to grub out the foundations of the building that stood above it.

Despite the discoveries made on large scale excavations that have been carried out more recently, this small excavation was located in a perfect place to fill in the physical details of several antiquarian references and observations in the area which can not now be verified as the finds and records have been dispersed or lost.

Perhaps the story of greater human interest held by this vessel are the impressions of the fingers of someone who grasped the body of the vessel before the clay had dried and left a lasting memorial of their otherwise unrecorded existence on this beautiful vessel.

The vessels and the other finds from this site form a key part of the collection of artefacts the Trust holds and uses as part of the teaching material of the Virtual Museum. The excavation remains a milestone in our history of archaeological discoveries which have added to our knowledge of Thanet’s distant past.

Lowering skies and wandering shingle

27th February 2014Landscape, Thanet archaeology, Uncategorisededitor

Winter of the Coast of Ramsgate

On a rainy day in the winter you might not think that there was much of archaeological significance to see on Thanet’s coast. However, the wind and high seas of January and February are causing one of the most important phenomena of the coast of the Isle of Thanet. the raging seas are driving thousands of flints up the beach, battering at the feet of the chalk cliffs.

Waves driving shingle up the beach at Ramsgate

If you’ve ever wondered why cliff falls happen so often along Thanet’s coast in stormy weather, you don’t need to look any further than the relentless pounding these little grey hammers give to the chalk with each wave that rushes to the shore. Eventually the lower reaches of the cliff face are hollowed out by the rolling cobbles, the chalk above isn’t supported at the base any more and something has to give and down comes another stretch of the coast in a spectacular fall.

The process has a proper name – ‘Corrasion‘ and has been going on for a many centuries. John Lewis, the great 18th century historian of Thanet, wrote of ‘the rage of the sea and the falling of the land’ and recounts that in his time a Roman wall had fallen into the sea near the cliffs at Dumpton. Even now pits, ditches and graves of our ancient past are occasionally exposed at the cliff faces around the coastline, soon falling to the beach below.

Inage of Shingle at the foot of the cliff — Shingle at the foot of the cliff

Shingle bank with wave cut steps east of Ramsgate harbour

The waves and tides have another effect, collecting great banks and drifts of flint shingle in the shallows where the chalk has been cut to form a flat platform. One bank lies off the coast at Ramsgate, to the east of the harbour, growing and shrinking over time and occasionally, when the tide is unusually low, it is possible to walk far out along its length.

Some of the flints bound up in the depths of bank are irregular nodules of huge dimensions, pitted with undulating depressions and pierced with holes. Before the stone harbour was built Ramsgate’s haven was shielded by a similar deep bank of shingle braced with timber breakwaters. Some timber piles that were destroyed when the slipway in Ramsgate Harbour was built were thought by one observer, a former Harbour Master at Ramsgate, to have have dated to the Roman period. Perhaps the great Stonar Bank, which once stretched across Pegwell Bay and was once firm enough to support a medieval village, looked something like this .

In Thanet the record of the power of the sea to shape our landscape is all around us and has been present since the earliest times in our history.