Lecture: The Parkers of Heytesbury
Here's one for the 'common man'
LECTURE: The Parkers of Heytesbury: The First Field Archaeologists
Wiltshire Heritage Museum, Devizes
2:30 pm, Saturday, 06 March, 2010
A lecture by Paul Everill about Stephen and John Parker, labourers from Heytesbury who helped William Cunnington with his excavations.
Histories of archaeology often focus on the role of wealthy, educated men and women in the development of the field techniques and the production of knowledge. While it is undeniable that these individuals were, in many senses, the instigators of archaeological endeavour and interest, traditional histories of the discipline ignore the central contribution of the ordinary excavators. Principal amongst these forgotten pioneers must be Stephen and John Parker of Heytesbury, the two labourers employed by William Cunnington on all his excavations between 1801 and his death at the end of 1810. This lecture uses evidence from the original letters and documents held in the WANHS library at Devizes to illuminate the role of the Parkers, and argues that the two men should be given greater credit for their contribution to the fledgling discipline of archaeology.
Paul Everill holds a doctorate from the University of Southampton and currently teaches applied archaeological techniques at the University of Winchester. He has established research interests in contemporary commercial archaeology; the history of archaeology; the development of fieldwork techniques and contemporary practice; and archaeological pedagogy. He is co-director of an archaeological expedition to the former Soviet republic of Georgia, which has been running since 2001.
Lectures last approx. one hour.
After the lecture there will be an opportunity to see some of the original manuscripts.
Booking:
Recommended. Contact the Bookings Secretary: telephone 01380 727369 (10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday)
Source:
http://www.wiltshireheritage.org.uk/events/index.php?Action=2&thID=478&prev=1
Note of interest: This year is 200 years since the death of William Cunnington.
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"The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles" - Lecture
Lecture- 'The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles' by Professor Ronald Hutton on Wednesday 10th February at 7.30pm, with an approximate end time of 9pm.
The event is being held at:
The Powell Lecture Theatre,
University of Bristol,
HH Wills Physics Laboratory, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TL
This lecture is now fully booked with a waiting list.
NB: I have just had to cancel my place so if anyone wanted to go and couldn't get a place, you might want to contact the person below asap.
Lynda Bryant
Events Officer
Bristol's Museums, Galleries & Archives Service
Tel: 0117 903 6173
Acknowledgement to Rhiannon who made the original post regarding lecture.
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'In Pursuit of Treasure' - presented by Mike Pitts
Mike Pitts presents a Radio 4 programmme on Sunday 7th February at 1.30pm.
Looking at metal detecting and night hawking
Edit 3/2/2010:
Further to the above information which I heard mentioned on the radio last night, I have just noticed that more detailed info has been posted on the Heritage Action Journal.
http://heritageaction.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/in-pursuit-of-treasure/
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The History of the World in a 100 Objects
Just heard programme 4 in this series (on Radio 4 - 9.45am).
The word fascinating truly applies as this morning it was about the Swimming Reindeer mammoth tusk carving which was found in a cave in central France. The presenter uses the ability and the desire to make art as the landmark indicator for the 'modern man' species.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/DyfP6g6dRN6WdwdnbIVbPw
It would be difficult to catch all of the programmes as I think they are dotted around the schedules - this morning's was a treat.
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How Earth Made Us - BB2
Watched this excellent programme earlier this evening - presented by professor Iain Stewart he looks at how geology, geography and climate have influenced humankind, starting with fault lines.
He also visits the first malachite/copper mines in the Timna Valley and relates this to Bronze Age civilizations and trade routes i.e. the Minonean island of Crete.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00qbvyc
Very good!
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Acorn Education - Chris Park
Yesterday, whilst attending a small local event I spoke to a man called Chris Park. He looked familiar - I had seen him before at the annual Forest Festival.
This is his web-site which is just lovely to look at. I didn't ask but am fairly sure he was one of the people behind the replica roundhouse at Barbury Castle.
http://www.acorneducation.com/homepage.html
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WANHS formal response to Stonehenge Visitor Centre
The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society has written to Judy Howles the Area Development Officer at Wiltshire Council in Salisbury with the following comments:
*****
(25 November 2009)
Stonehenge Visitor Centre Planning Application: S/2009/1527/FULL
We write to comment on the Application. This covering letter provides an overview of our response
(attached) with reference to that document.
The Society has supported the preservation and presentation of Stonehenge for over a century (Section 2).
The Society agreed a formal position on the Stonehenge Visitor centre at its AGM in October 2009 and support for that position and concerns about the proposed site are specified in Sections 4, 5 and 6. In summary the Society welcomed the positive step forward taken by English Heritage in preparing proposals for a new Visitor Centre, but would prefer the Visitor Centre to be located outside the World Heritage Site and on brownfield land. There are a number of aspects that we welcome and warmly support including:
• the closure and grassing-over of the A344
• the removal of visitor facilities and car parking from the vicinity of Stonehenge
• the proposal for a new visitor transit route that will not require the construction of new roads within the World Heritage Site
• the closure to certain motorised vehicles of Byways 11 and 12
We have a number of concerns and make suggestions which we feel will improve the scheme and address some of the issues that we raise in our response:
• Additional screening of the proposed visitor facilities
• Reduction in the height of the visitor centre building
• Minimising the long term impact of the visitor centre by retaining existing slopes
• Minimising light pollution
We suggest that the application is accepted in part, but that a decision is deferred to allow Council Officers to negotiate amendments along the lines we suggest above, so that the scheme may proceed without substantial delay.
********
Apologies if this is 'old news' but some may not be aware of it.
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Wiltshire Heritage Museum - lectures in Dec/January
Saturday, December 19th 2009 at 2.30pm
LECTURE - Illicit Antiquities: the scandal of our age, by Chris Chippendale
£4.00 (£3.00 WANHS members) Booking advised
Wednesday, 13th January 2010, 1.10pm-1.50pm
LUNCHTIME TALK - by David Dawson
Stonehenge - latest developments
£2.50 (tea/coffee included)
Saturday, 23rd January 2010 at 2.30pm
LECTURE - Silbury Hill: the Archaeology of a Monumental Mound, by Jim Leary, English Heritage
£5.00 (£3.00 WANHS members) Booking advised
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The Ashmolean Transformed
The new Ashmolean Museum in Oxford was opened to the public last weekend 7/8th November.
Today, I had some spare time and as it was wet and windy it was a perfect day to visit. The ground floor is given over to the Ancient World. Unfortunately the European Prehistory room is not ready yet (I was told to give it another month). I spent some time in the 'Italy before Rome' room, looking at the Etruscan alphabet among many other things.
A marvellous resource and a beautiful building:
Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology
University of Oxford
Beaumont Street
Oxford OX1 2PH
Tel: 01865 278000
http://www.ashmolean.org
Free admission: Tuesday - Sunday 10am-6pm
Bank Holiday Monday: 10am-6pm
(Closed Monday except BH)
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"Inspired by Stonehenge" exhibition and Julian Richards talk
With distinct sense of deja vu ...
The "Inspired by Stonehenge" exhibition started at Swindon Museum and Art Gallery from 3rd October 2009 - 27th March 2010.
Admission free:
I have already seen this exhibition which is on tour from the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum and can recommend it.
Also:
"Souvenirs of Stonehenge, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly"
Julian Richards gives a talk which is linked to the exhibition on Friday December 4th at 7.30pm.
Tickets £6 (£5 for members of the Friends of Swindon Museum and Art Gallery)
Swindon Museum and Art Gallery is on Bath Road in Old Town.
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New book by John Michell (with Allan Brown)
I have just been lucky enough to have been loaned a hardback copy of John Michell's final work (he died this year on 24th April).
Titled:
HOW THE WORLD IS MADE - the story of creation according to Sacred Geometry
By John Michell with Allan Brown
Published by Thames and Hudson
ISBN 978-0-500-51510-5
I will definitely be buying my own copy as it has 344 illustrations (341 in colour) many of which are hand drawn. It is a beautiful book and a fitting tribute to John Michell.
The book has been reviewed for Fortean Times by writer and musician Steve Marshall who also wrote the last interview with John Michell for the Fortean Times.
It can be purchased in paperback here:
http://www.play.com/Books/Books/4-/10662446/How-The-World-Is-Made/Product.html
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Coate Water Development thrown out!
Brilliant news for the people of Swindon; for admirers of Richard Jefferies; and lovers of rural England in general.
The hard fought battle to save the land adjacent to Coate Water Country Park has been won ... for now anyway. Well done to Jean Saunders (from the Richard Jefferies Society) and Felicity Cobb who together, with others, spear-headed the long campaign.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/8187780.stm
This also safeguards the small stone circle which is in a field off Dayhouse Lane.
(And thanks to PeteG for bringing the news to my attention).
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Passionate about:
Nature; Avebury and the Wiltshire landscape; all ancient sites that involve walking through unspoilt countryside/being near the sea; the night sky.
Islands around the the British Isles, especially those with ancient monuments e.g. Orkney.
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