The Chilmington Green Archaeology Team ‘popped-up’ at Ashford Museum Annexe on October 26th, as part of our project launch event! We presented our aims and objectives, showed off some recently excavated finds, and most importantly, met some great local people, who are passionate about their heritage.
Our younger guests enjoyed exploring our handling collection of Roman pottery and expertly sorted the fragments (or ‘sherds’, as archaeologists like to call them) into different types based on their fabric (colour, composition and texture). We were also very impressed with the ‘blacksmithing’ skills on display, which resulted in carboard replicas of the Brisley Farm Iron Age sword, produced on our crafting table.
It was fabulous to see this event so well attended, with 64 people passing through!
Bottoms-up at the Autumn Lectures!
It was delightful to see the Annexe packed out with attendees at our Autumn lecture and wine reception event! After a glass of wine (or two), and a chance to chat about all things Chilmington, talks were provided by Esther and Becky (AOC), and guest lecturer Keith Dorman (Chairman of Ashford Archaeological Society). Many thanks to Keith for giving us his time and enthusiasm, and for providing such an engaging talk.
We kept our ‘chins up’ despite an initial, though (thankfully) quickly solvable, issue with our projector…and we made the most of this technical glitch by topping up any empty wine glasses! Once the lectures began in earnest, Becky outlined our research objectives in more detail and Esther introduced some key sites within our study area, including Brisley and Westhawk Farm, based upon the thorough work of Archaeology South-East and Oxford Archaeology respectively. Keith provided an excellent overview of the Roman road network, which helped to set our study area in its wider context.
It was great to see so many people attend this event, sign up to our mailing list and express an interest in getting involved in our project…the next few months will be an exciting time! It was also amazing to have the help and support of John and the fantastic Christine of Ashford Museum, who worked incredibly hard all day to help us put on a great show.
As we sit here writing this, we should let you know that there is a small amount of wine left over from our evening event…but waste not, want not. So…before we sign off…‘bottoms-up’ to everyone who made this day such a great success, and we hope to see you all again soon for the next installment!
Thanks, as always, to Kent County Council and Hodson Developments for generously funding this fabulous project!
