Category Archives: Education

Events to celebrate 25 Years of Research and Education in the Archaeology of Thanet

Education, Thanet archaeology, Uncategorised, What's going on?

Updated: 9th April

The Trust for Thanet Archaeology was founded on the 24th of April 1988. We will be celebrating our 25th anniversary in 2013 in April with a keynote lecture on the evening of the 23rd, held at the Broadstairs Campus of Canterbury Christ Church University. A one-day conference will be held at the same venue on the following Saturday 27th of April.

Keynote Lecture – Tuesday 23/04/13

The Trust for Thanet Archaeology: 25 Years of Archaeological Research, Retrospect and Prospect

Venue: Christ Church University, Broadstairs Campus, Northwood Rd, Broadstairs, CT10 2WA, Room CG48

Ticket price for lecture only: £ 5.00

Refreshments from 7pm. Lecture begins 7.45pm

The Trust for Thanet Archaeology was formed on the 24th April 1988. Deputy Director, Ges Moody, will highlight the achievements of the Trust for Thanet Archaeology in exploring archaeology in Thanet over the last 25 years and look at what the future holds for archaeological research in the area. The talk will be illustrated by images and information from many of the important excavations carried out by the Trust.

To celebrate our 25th anniversary we invite you to join us before the lecture for a drink and light refreshments at the campus from 7.00pm

One day conference – Saturday 27/04/13

Exploring our Past – Preserving our Heritage

Venue: Christ Church University, Broadstairs Campus, Northwood Rd, Broadstairs, CT10 2WA, Room CG48

Ticket price for conference only: £ 15.00

Registration and refreshments from 9.30am, talks start at 10.00am, Conference ends 4.00pm

The Trust’s involvement in Thanet’s Heritage is about more than the archaeology beneath the ground. We are hosting a one day conference exploring the themes of the Landscape, Townscape and People-scape of the Isle of Thanet to consider the heritage all around us. Talks by a wide range of speakers will explore the remains of lost industries, unusual artefacts and hidden places, with the aim of raising interest in the promotion, preservation and future funding of Thanet’s Heritage

Update:

Thinking of making an application for Heritage Lottery Funding?

The last session of the day will highlight some successful applications for Heritage Lottery funding for community projects by the speaker David Crawford-White, Outreach and Learning Officer for Oxford Archaeology East. This will include advice on applications and handouts with examples of successful applications. This should be useful guidance for any groups or individuals thinking of making an application for Heritage Lottery funding from a very successful practitioner. Find out about the lecture, conference, speakers and subjects from the links below:

Download the programme

Download a flyer

Find out about the speakers and subjects

 

Get tickets

Tickets can be ordered by post with the order form at the end of the programme, or by secure PayPal payment using PayPal or credit or debit card

We offer a discounted ticket for both events for £ 17.00

Book your ticket with PayPal here

 

Stonehenge Skeletons

Education, Thanet archaeology, Uncategorised, What's going on?

Five years ago the Trust for Thanet Archaeology assisted with a research project to explore the Beaker population of Britain by identifying isotopes in the  teeth of individuals who buried with  beaker vessels in the Early Bronze Age.

The isotopes give clues to the diet and mobility of the populations, in attempt to find out whether people using Beakers in their burials were part of the general population, or had come to Britain in a new wave of migration from the continent.

Skeletons of Stone Henge, showing on Channel 4 0n Sunday 10th of March will be exploring some of the results of the research, and the implications to the  history of our largest prehistoric monument, Stonehenge which may have been built by these Beaker using people.
The programme will include film of two Beaker period Skeletons excavated in Thanet by the Trust for Thanet Archaeology, and hopefully, some more information on their significance in the geral population.To find out more about the Beaker burials that have been found in Thanet, visit our Virtual Museum Beaker Gallery here: http://www.thanetarch.co.uk/Virtual%20Museum/2_Galleries/GBeaker%20Content/GBeaker_Intro.htm

Early Bronze Age Beaker Vessel
A Beaker from a burial at North Foreland, Broadstairs, Kent

If you miss the programme on Sunday, follow this link to the programme website and watch it later!

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/secrets-of-the-stonehenge-skeletons

To find out more about the aims of the research follow this link to the Sheffield University research page: http://www.shef.ac.uk/archaeology/research/beaker-isotope

Link to the Past 2013

Education, Thanet archaeology, Uncategorised, What's going on?

Link to the Past was held at the Powell-Cotton Museum on Sunday the 10th of February. Bringing together many groups from Thanet and Kent who are involved in preserving and promoting the rich heritage of Thanet and the rest of Kent. Stands and displays that displayed the work of the groups, or each of the historic sites, were threaded through the amazing galleries of the museum.

Many people braved the threatened snow to find out how they can get involved in history, archaeology and genealogy; or visit and support some of the heritage attractions of the region.

Four fascinating talks were held over the day, on the role of Quex House in World War One, Kent’s underground sites, how a family love story was discovered in the National archives and the archaeology of the Quex Park Estate.

The Trust for Thanet Archaeology stand held our handling collection of artefacts representative of the long prehistory of Kent and of the Isle of Thanet. In another gallery we had our children’s activities with a collection of historic costumes, dig boxes and a chance to try out archaeological recording techniques on a skeleton.

It was a great privilege for the Trust to to have been able to work in partnership with Powell-Cotton Museum to facilitate Link to the Past, and help  showcase the great range and depth of Heritage and history in Thanet and Kent and bring this community together for the event.

Image of a selection of the stands at Link to the Past
A selection of the stands at Link to the Past

How do you make Roman Armour from household items?

Art Inspired by the Past, Education, Uncategorised
Our Roman armour and shield

As you can see from a previous post we have been dressing people up as Roman Legionaries. Just how did we make a full suit of Roman armour from everyday items?

Roman Legionaries wore a standard set of upper body armour called Lorica Segmentata, made in sections built from strips of steel, riveted and laced together.

A trawl of the internet revealed some good ideas about making a Roman soldiers costume for children, but nothing as ambitious as recreating a set of junior Lorica Segmentata from easily obtained items.

The armour under construction

We used a number of good published diagrams of the components of Lorica to create a parts list and templates for the strips of armour and cut the sections from stiff corrugated card. The sizes and number of strips in body armour and the shoulder plates were reduced to fit a younger recruit.  The whole set of body and shoulder armour was built up in one piece using paper fasteners as rivets. The whole assembly was coated with PVA and then given a burnished steel paint effect.

The completed armour painted with a burnished metal effect

Now for the shields. Not satisfied with the usual suggestion that a plastic cup could be used as a central boss, we managed to make ours from a section of a plastic bottle mounted on a rectangular sheet of card which gave a more authentic look. A bit of research on historic paint colours and a search of the local DIY ‘match pots’ and our shields were ready for battle.

Some of the finished shields

Following a suggestion from one website we made a helmet from a cut down hard hat, which worked very well after a coat of PVA and the metallic paint effect.

We were so pleased with the end result that we are making a detailed instruction sheet with a pattern, instructions to follow and details of the paints and effects that we used to create our Roman armour which will be available soon.

The Romans in Westgate

Education, Uncategorised, What's going on?
A recruit to the Roman Army

Friday the 7th of December was Roman Day at St. Saviours C. of E. Junior School in Westgate. The Trust were invited to bring some Roman themed activities to the event, as well as Roman objects that the children could use to understand the everyday life of Roman people.

There was also an introduction to the army of Rome, which first conquered Britain in 43 AD and one young recruit was dressed in the full armour of a Legionary soldier and put through his paces as a new recruit to the Roman Army.

Armour and shields of the Roman soldiers

Organised into three legions, under standards bearing each Legion’s symbol, the Lion, the Eagle and the Tiger, the army of Westgatians marched in battle order around their school hall. The noise of their feet and cheering must have been heard in Rome.

A final battle saw two soldiers of each legion defend their standard bearer and legion’s standard with their shields from a ferocious bombardment with rubber balls.

Roman objects on display
Roman objects on display

Surviving with their standards and honour intact the Legions retired from the field to a well-deserved lunch.

Later the demobbed Legionaries had a chance to see and handle a range of Roman artefacts representing the objects of everyday life and personal items, as well as the new building materials and construction methods the Romans brought to Britain.

Everyone signed their initials in a wax tablet, just as the Romans of Westgate may have done two thousand years ago.

A Roman wax writing tablet
The initials of all the the children at the Roman Day written in the wax of a Roman writing tablet

Artistic Thanet

Books and publications, Education, Uncategorised

We now have stock of this interesting book by Richard Lewis on Thanet’s artistic heritage.

By the way, the Paypal button works properly now!

Artistic Thanet Book

With 36 pages in six chapters with 29 black and white illustrations, Artistic Thanet tells how the extraordinary lives of British artists including the painters Rossetti, Sickert and Van Gogh, the writers Wilkie Collins and John Buchan, and Frank Richards, the creator of Billy Bunter, were linked to the Isle of Thanet and sometimes to each other.

 

Buy Artistic Thanet with PayPal now for £4.50 + £1.13 P+P, Secure online payment, no PayPal account needed for card payment.



 

Artistic Thanet can also ordered by post using the order form link here: Artistic Thanet Order form

Thanet’s Historic Coast Displayed

Education, Thanet archaeology, Uncategorised, What's going on?

Trust members were at Ramsgate Harbour for the day on Sunday October 28th October, taking part in the  Historic Coast at Ramsgate event, held for Kent’s Coastal Week. The weather proved to be surprisingly mild after the lashing wind and surprise hail storms of the day before.

Picture of our stall at Historic Coast Ramsgate
The Trust’s stall at the Historic Coast Ramsgate Event

The Trust’s display focused on the dynamic coastal change which has altered the shape of the Isle of Thanet over the centuries.  Finds of pottery and flint were on show on our stall, collected from the beach under Dumpton Gap where a settlement dating from the Late Iron Age and Roman period erodes with every fall of the chalk cliffs.

Reconstruction plans showed the sequence of change of the east Kent coast from the Mesolithic period, which has removed so much of the land mass that once stood at the confluence of the  Thames valley and the English Channel, where Thanet now stands.

The immense changes to the regions coastline proved to be a talking point for the steady flow of visitors to the Trust’s stand and those of the other local historical groups who were there on the day. The day went well despite the cold wind that got up later in the afternoon. It was an opportunity to renew friendships and make new contacts.

Archaeology for You 2012

Education, Uncategorised
Archaeology for You in the Powell-Cotton Museum Gardens

This years Archaeology for You event was held in the beautiful gardens of the Powell-Cotton Museum at Quex Park on the 23rd of July during the National Festival of Archaeology.

Explaining section drawing
Explaining how sections are drawn to record archaeological features

Our visitors could try their hand at several archaeological activities including techniques for recording archaeological sites and processing and analysing artefacts.

This year we were helped by an enthusiastic expert from the University of Kent’s Biological Anthropology department, on hand to explain how archaeologists analyse human remains for information about the people of the past.

Teaching skelton display
Talking about human remains in archaeology with our teaching skeleton
Investigating environmental samples processed by bucket flotation
Investigating environmental samples processed by bucket flotation

Another volunteer from the Powell-Cotton Museum supervised visitors in a soil sample processing activity to see how archaeologists explore what our ancestors ate and discover what the environment was like at the time.

Several visitors were able to take part in an introduction to geophysical survey techniques, with both resitivity equipment, demonstrated by the members of the Isle of Thanet Archaeological Society, and Magnetometry survey, demonstrated by a post-graduate student from the University of Kent using equipment owned by the university’s Classics and Archaeology department. There were also craft activities inspired by archaeological artefacts from the local area and beyond.

demonstrating the magnetometer
Demonstrating the magnetometer in a survey of the museum garden

With so many people from the Trust’s staff and from the wider archaeological community in Kent, there were many opportunities for visitors to make useful contacts for the future. At least two prospective archaeology undergraduates were able to chat with professionals and find out about fieldwork opportunities and events that will help them with their careers.

Once again Archaeology for You was a succesful opportunity to bring Thanet’s important archaeological evidence and research to a wider audience. We look forward to seeing all of you again at the next Archaeology for You event in 2013.

Dig for two days 2012 – Roman days to remember

Education, Uncategorised

Bradstow School held their third annual Dig for Two days event for local schools in their grounds at Broadstairs  on the 21st and 22nd of June this year. This year the activities had a  Roman theme and the Trust team ran a Dig and Discover zone based on the Roman archaeology of Thanet.

The Trust team for Dig and Discover at Bradstow School Dig for Two Days
The Team - Pip, Lunk, Spartacus, Simon and Emma

We setup two dig zones in our marquee and found ourselves a Roman to help organise the groups as they arrived.

Setting up for Dig and Discover
Setting up for Dig and Discover

Aspiring young archaeologists were introduced to the artefacts and objects that might be found at the excavation of a Roman site in Thanet before tackling their own excavation of a Roman pit to see what the could Dig and Discover about the Romans.

Artefacts from Roman Thanet
Artefacts from Roman Thanet

Among the finds were pottery, coins, animal bones and Oyster shells. Sea cobbles used in local buildings were also in the pit, along with Roman tiles, which we all learned the names for  – Tegula and Imbrex. We also learned the word for Roman mosaic tiles – tessarae!

With a new group arriving every 25 minutes and sometimes two groups at once, it was a pretty intense couple of days. Each group already knew so much about archaeology and the Romans and asked excellent questions that it made the whole event very rewarding for all of us that took part.

The Roman theme will continue next year for Dig for Two Days 2013, more Roman soldiers,  more shops, more Roman activities…hope we’ll see you there.

Excavation for Roman finds under way
Excavations for Roman finds under way