A Neolithic Henge Monument and recent other finds from Warwickshire
Tuesday 7th November 2017
Speaker: Nigel Page
Find out more about recent finds from archaeological sites in Warwickshire. At long last, Warwickshire can now boast a Neolithic henge 'culture' to complement if not rival other regions. Five have been fully excavated in the last two years. The ongoing analysis of these sites has revealed some interesting aspects of their chronology and use.
In addition Warwickshire Archaeology are delighted to be able to bring you some very exciting news about remarkable excavations on a site undoubtedly close to your hearts. PLEASE NOTE : For the first time we shall be hosting a meeting of the Society in Warwick at the recently refurbished Market Place Museum. Doors open at 6.45 and lecture commences at 7pm
Birmingham Artists, Antiquaries & Architects; discovering and recording the past in the late 19th century.
Tuesday 5th December 2017
Speaker: Stephen Price
AGM 6.45 – 7pm, Lecture commences 7pm
Concentrating on a handful of leading lights in the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society – A.E. Everitt, Oliver & Harold Baker and Jethro Cossins who were all active in the field and have left today’s students of Birmingham and Warwickshire history a remarkable resource in various public and private collections. Everitt’s collection of drawings and watercolours of the Midlands once belonged to the Society, but is now in the care of Birmingham Museums Trust, while the diaries and letters of the Baker family, together with the paintings and photographs they produced illuminate the process of recording historic buildings within reach of the city. Cossins was a leading member of the architectural profession in late 19th century Birmingham, designing many significant new buildings in the city, but he was also a committed saviour of many vernacular buildings and churches, working with the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings to ensure their preservation. Our meeting is being held on the centenary of Cossins’ death at the BMI. The lecture will attempt to put the work of these pioneers in context and raise awareness of the value of their contributions.
Stephen has been a member of BWAS since the 1960s and has had a long career and distinguished as a museum curator. Early retirement has given him the opportunity to get back to the Midlands and write up some of his research undertaken on Birmingham and Worcestershire history.
This lecture will take place at the BMIRead more
The Leekfrith Torcs: A talk on the Torcs!
Tuesday 
9th January 2018
Annual Lunchtime Lecture 1pm – 2pm
Speaker: Teresa Gilmore
The talk will cover the recent spectacular find from the Staffordshire Moorlands, that of the Leekfrith Torcs, the earliest Iron Age gold found so far and the early Celtic art. We shall hear the story of their discovery and journey through the Treasure Process, an excellent example of partnership works, research and latest development.
Teresa is the Finds Liaison Officer, Portable Antiquities Scheme based at Birmingham Museums Trust.
This lecture will take place at the BMI
Medieval Town Planning: exploring the topography, origins and development of medieval towns
Tuesday 6th February 2018 7.00 pm
Speaker: Mike Shaw
This talk will be looking at how the application of 21st century technology can shed new light on the study of medieval town planning across the midlands.
Mike Shaw is currently undertaking at PhD at the University of Birmingham looking at methodologies for the study of the topography, origins and development of medieval towns, including the modern technologies, such as geographic information systems. His work has concentrated on the historic towns of Cheshire and the East Midlands town of Northampton but he will be comparing these to examples from the West Midlands and England in general to emphasise recurring patterns of development.
Mike was Black Country Archaeologist until his retirement in 2014. Previously he carried out a survey of the historic towns of Cheshire from 1997-9, and before then spent many years excavating Anglo-Saxon and Medieval sites in Northampton and Northamptonshire.
This lecture will take place at the BMI
Wall Roman site, near Lichfield
The site museum, manned by volunteers from the Friends of Letocetum, is open until 29 October on the last Saturday and Sunday of each month. Admission free. http://www.wallromansitefriendsofletocetum.co.uk/
Sandwell Valley, West Bromwich
A free heritage trail leaflet is now available from Sandwell Park Farm. The trail includes Sandwell Priory and several other sites around it. New on-site interpretation panels explain the eighteenth-century Sandwell Hall and its surrounding park. Objects found in excavations are displayed in a museum at Sandwell Park Farm.
www.sandwell.gov.uk/sandwellvalleyw.sandwell
Walking through time, Sutton Park
The Friends of Sutton Park Association and the Sutton Coldfield Civic Society have created six self-guided walking trails to explain some of the many well-preserved archaeological remains. Each trail starts at a gate or car park with an explanatory panel, and markers indicate individual sites along the route. The trails include prehistoric burnt mounds, a Roman road, the boundary and subdivisions of the medieval deer park, fishponds, wood boundaries, sawpits, millpools, a former racecourse and golf course, military practice trenches and targets, and a nineteenth-century estate, a railway and buildings. A map of the trails is obtainable at Sutton Park Visitor Centre, near Town Gate.
Sutton Park is open every day, admission free, car parking charge on summer Sundays and Bank Holidays.
The Friends of Sutton Park Association arrange two guided walks each year based on the trails. The next one is on Saturday 30 September starting at 10am at the Town Gate, off Park Road. Free, no need to book.
VISIT TO MARDEN HENGE 18th July 2017
In November, we’ll be bringing you a lecture on the recent henges discovered in Warwickshire. In preparation we are excited to have the opportunity to visit the Vale of Pewsey and see excavations at Marden Henge. We’ll be taken on a two hour tour by the University of Reading on the 18th July at 2pm. As the Wiltshire Museum comes highly recommended, a trip there in the morning is also planned.
Transport
Car sharing seems the easiest option as we’ll be travelling from various points in Birmingham and Warwickshire, although we can arrange a mini-bus if numbers are sufficient. There is no obligation to offer lifts if you wish to travel down at your leisure.
Cost
A contribution towards fuel costs would be great and there is a charge for entry to the Museum in Devizes (£4.50 for groups).
Sign Up
Please email carolinlin71@gmail.com to reserve a spot. In your email if you could say whether you’ll travel under your own steam, offer a space in your car or require a lift. If you would like to offer a space in your car or require a lift let us know where your ideal pick up point is.
Castle Bromwich Castle
7pm Tuesday 3rd October 2017
Speaker – Mike Hodder
Archaeological excavations at the motte and bailey which gives Castle Bromwich its name took place in 1969-70 before a collector road for the M6 Motorway was built through the bailey. The excavations revealed prehistoric and Roman objects and features under the medieval motte and bailey, an undated palisade and ditch under the 12th-century motte, a timber gateway into the bailey and medieval buildings within it.
The bailey was later extended, and a house was built at the base of the motte in the 17th century. The excavation director, Bill Ford, died a few years ago and the excavation has never been written up. Dr Mike Hodder, who worked on the site as a schoolboy, is compiling a report from records and finds in Birmingham Museum, which will be published in the Society’s Transactions.
The talk will take place at the Birmingham Midlands Institute.
Programme of Lectures 2016 – 2017
Our lecture series takes place from October to April and showcases research and projects which investigate the archaeology of Birmingham and Warwickshire – with some notable exceptions!
Lectures normally take place on the first Tuesday of the month* at the Birmingham and Midland Institute, Margaret Street, Birmingham, with the exception of our January lecture which takes place at 1pm on the second Tuesday of the month.
* some April lectures may be on the second Tuesday, depending on the date of Easter Monday