The Lithics Working Group has reassessed a collection of palaeolithic artefacts assembled by Henry Bury, a member of the Surrey Archaeological Society during the early 20th century, as well as the Geological Society and the Hampshire Field Club in which he was active into his 90’s. He published extensively on geology and palaeolithic artefacts in academic journals.
First of all, a big thank you to everyone who helped to make the latest season at Abinger such a success. It may seem odd to say that in view of our failure to finish the trench, but this was a result of finding that there was more surviving archaeology than anticipated. Much of this must be down to your hard work in tackling the difficulties of finding archaeological features in sand. As a result we have a much better understanding of the site and how to approach it in future.
The final main season of excavation on Ashtead Common was undertaken by the Society’s Roman Studies Group in August and September this year. The ground was very dry at first at the end of the long dry spell, making excavation difficult, but it did allow work in places that would usually have been under water (and indeed were at the end of the dig). The excavation was aimed principally at completing work on the area of the newly discovered building, the Lowther villa and the tile kiln(s).
For some years now David and Audrey Graham have been undertaking fieldwork on the site of the building complex at Whitebeech, Chiddingfold in order to gain a better understanding of this enigmatic site. What follows is the text of a recent report to English Heritage dealing with the outcome of a geophysical survey. The report contains a useful summary of what has been achieved to date.
Summary
An analytical survey of Hascombe Hillfort (TQ 005 386) was carried out by members of the Surrey Archaeological Society over the winter of 2008-09, and a magnetometry survey of part of the interior took place in the spring of 2009. A full report of these activities (of which this is a summary) has been lodged in the Surrey Archaeological Society library.
Setting:
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.
