The new Guide to Roman Pottery from selected sites in Surrey is now out and available!

Using the Museum of London Fabric Codes, it includes fabric descriptions, dating details, typical forms and over 70 colour images at high magnification.

Size A5 with a laminated cover, 52 pages with 73 photographs and 5 tables and illustrations.

Price: £5.00 (add £2.00 p+p). Available from the Abinger Research Centre or send a cheque to 'Roman Studies Group', 14 Beech Lane, Guildford, GU2 4ES

See our Publications page for more info.

Now that lockdown is being eased, it is time to update you on how the Surrey Archaeological Society is dealing with this unpredecented situation.

Since lockdown started in March, as already advised, we have postponed all scheduled face to face meetings and field activities, and closed our Research Centre (incorporating our library) at Abinger.  But behind the scenes the Society has continued to work well with trustees and officers operating from their own homes.  All our systems operate remotely and post and emails can be monitored and answered promptly.  Most operational meetings, including trustees, Council and sub-committees, have moved to Zoom which has worked well for us. Some projects, where paper or on-line based, such as palaeography, have also continued using Zoom.  

Coronavirus problems are going to get worse before they get better and, as a Society, we must plan for the next few months. Most importantly, our policy is to follow Government guidelines so please don’t come to the Research Centre at Abinger if you or the people around you are feeling unwell or have just come back from affected areas.

Due to the current Covid-19 situation we have decided to cancel the local history conference on Poverty scheduled for 21st March.

Please see the entry for the event on the Events page for further details of refunds if you have already booked.

AOC Archaeology have now published an online report on the prehistoric pottery from Weston Wood, Albury, which was excavated by Surrey Archaeological Society in the late 1960s. Written by Michael Russell it analyses the full assemblage from the site. The report can be accessed here: http://www.aocarchaeology.com/news/article/online-publication-prehistoric-pottery-weston/

Following the move of our office to the same premises at Abinger Hammer, the open hours of the Library have now been extended as follows:

Monday : 10:00am-4:00pm

Tuesday : 10:00am-2:00pm

Wednesday : 10:00am - 4:00pm

Thursday     : Not open

Friday :   Not open

First Saturday in month : 10:00am-1:00pm

The Society's library which is not only a good collection of books on archaeology and local history but is also the only specialist lending library on these subjects in the county. Books, pamphlets and periodicals that can normally only be consulted in reference libraries can be borrowed by members.

Members and non-members should check with the Assistant Librarian before visiting Abinger to ensure that the Library will be open as intended on a particular day and that the items they require are available.First Saturday in month : 10:00am-1:00pm

For details of how to get to Abinger please see the Library visiting page.

Guildford Museum will be closed for repairs for about four months from June 2019. All staff will move out, many exhibits will go into specialist storage and there will be no access to items currently on show or in store at Castle Arch until the museum re-opens. This is urgent maintenance and is not linked to possible redevelopment.

The Society was asked to vacate its office at Castle Arch for the duration of the work and has moved to the Research Centre at Abinger Hammer. Our normal open hours for the office ( and Library) will  be:

Monday 10.00-4.00

Tuesday 10.30-2.00

Wednesday 10.00-4.00

First Saturday of each month 10.00-1.30

Our email address does not change but our telephone will be 01306 731275. Calls to the Castle Arch number will be diverted to Abinger but only answered during the hours above..

Post addressed to Castle Arch will be redirected. The postal address at Abinger is:

Surrey Archaeological Society

Hackhurst Lane

Abinger Hammer RH5 6SE

Surrey

Online joining and renewal for 2019 are now available on this website, with payment by credit or debit card through Paypal. You can now complete all the forms and make payment online with just a few clicks of your mouse. Joiners now get up to 15 months of membership for the price of 12, up to 31 March 2020.  You can also join or renew membership of the Roman Studies Group online here.

IMPORTANT : do not renew online if you pay via standing order or have already renewed with a paper form.

Please click here to join online

Please click here to renew online

This September, Surrey Archaeological Society has received a National Lottery grant totalling £90,000 for an exciting two-year heritage project, Sustainable Impact, which is spread across various locations throughout Surrey. Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the project focuses on training its members to carry out fieldwork and strengthen the group’s outreach activities in the community.

The University of Exeter, Wealden Iron Research Group and the Early Metals Research Trust are jointly funding a second three year PhD studentship, following the current successful collaboration, focussing on the Romans, which began in 2015. There is the potential to combine documentary, field and laboratory studies. Details are available from Exeter University: www.exeter.ac.uk/studying/funding/award/?id=3042

We are holding a major conference at the Peace Memorial Hall in Ashtead about Roman and Saxon 5th Century Surrey on 5th May 2018. 

CLICK HERE and then click on the Book tab to book online.

The image (right) is of a large bead found in an Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Guildown, Guildford in the 1920s, described by Lowther in S.A.C Vol. 39 page 11 : 

"Plate VIII, No. 3 (Grave No. 123). This, on the other hand, is probably purely an ornament and an extra large type of bead, the hole being rather too small for the insertion of a spindle. It is of the " lobed " type which appears to be derived from the Roman " melon " bead, for which reason this form is usually given an early date. Six of the beads from this site are of the lobed type. This bead is of pale green glass, with an inlaid red spot on each of the six lobes. Found placed centrally on the chest of the skeleton."

Order the Woking Palace Publication from the Surrey Heritage online shop or write to or visit SCAU.