Author: AOC_Admin

Chilmington Archaeology & History Research Group

The Chilmington Archaeology & History Research Group have got off to a flying start with their ‘Chilmington in Wartime’ project. Meetings are held on the last Tuesday of every month (excluding December and August) in the Community Cabin, where we will discuss all updates and developments in an open and collaborative environment.
New members are very welcome to attend. You can register your interest at [email protected], or just drop into one of our meetings!  For those that can’t make it every week,  a summary of our discussions are circulated to all members of the Group, and our findings are posted here on this website. 

We plan on exhibiting our research on our first topic, ‘Chilmington in Wartime’, from June onwards at Ashford Museum.

List of upcoming dates:

• 25^th February 2025
• 25^th March 2025
• 29^th April 2025
• And the last Tuesday of the month (excluding December and August) until February 2027!

Well done to our recently qualified Timeline Detectives who attended our Half Term Heritage event in the Chilmington Green Community Cabin! This was a wonderful opportunity for the community archaeology team to meet Chilmington residents of all ages and chat about the archaeology of the local area.

Our Timeline Detectives made ‘stratigraphy jars’ to learn about how archaeology forms, explored how archaeologists use old maps to help them reconstruct changes in the landscape, and looked at how artefacts are used to date deposits. Well done to everyone who took part- you were brilliant!

The Chilmington Green Archaeology Team ‘popped-up’ at Ashford Museum Annexe on October 26^th, 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!

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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!

Community Archaeologist Becky was so happy to be invited to Kingsnorth Church of England Primary School and Chilmington Green School on Thursday 10^th October. The staff and children gave her an amazingly warm welcome! She would like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to the children of Year 3 at Kingsnorth, and Years 5 and 6 at Chilmington Green for their excellent behavior and insightful questions!

Using a tape measure, and with lots of help from the children, Becky created a timeline (to scale!) that went all the way back from the present day to the start of the Middle Stone Age. This covered an incredible 12,000 years (or 12m on the tape measure). The children learnt that they had been alive for less than one centimeter, and discovered that we would need a tape measure that was almost 1km long (850m to be exact) to get back to the start of the Old Stone Age in Britain, 850,000 years ago! The children then learnt about environmental change in Ashford throughout prehistory, how hunter gatherer lifestyles changed after farmers arrived during the New Stone Age, and about some important Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements that have been excavated locally. They also got to handle some Stone Age and Iron Age artefacts…wow!!!

Thank you so much to the Year 4s of Kingsnorth School, who created some wonderful artwork for our website, depicting Chilmington at different times during the prehistoric period. These wonderful drawings show how the environment changed over time, and how people lived during different periods. Watch this space, because we can’t wait to showcase this beautiful work on our website! To begin with, here is a lovely drawing by Emily, which depicts Bronze Age tools, including a Bronze Age axe or ‘palstave’.

If you would like to see some Bronze Age axes like the one that Emily has illustrated, why not pay a visit to Ashford Museum? As well as axes, there are all sorts of interesting prehistoric artefacts, including an actual mammoth tooth from Ice Age Ashford! In fact, why not combine it with a visit to see our Chilmington pop-up in the Ashford Museum Annexe on Saturday October 26^th? Hoping to see you there!

Saturday 26th October: Launch Event: Ashford Museum Annexe: 11am to 4pm

Drop in to Ashford Museum’s learning centre to discover more about the archaeology of Chilmington. Find out what the team already knows, and how this community project will change and improve our present understanding of the area. There will be pop-up displays and crafting activities for children based around the nationally important Iron Age warrior burials at Brisley Farm. This event is suitable for all ages.

Free: no need to book, just drop in!                  

Saturday 26th October: Autumn Lectures and Wine Reception: Ashford Museum Annexe: 4.30pm to 6.00pm

Join AOC’s community archaeology team and a fantastic selection of archaeological experts for a wine reception and a series of lectures focussed on Chilmington’s ancient past. Prior knowledge of archaeology is not necessary- all that’s needed is a desire to meet like-minded people and find out more about your local area! This event is aimed at adults, however younger guests with a keen interest are more than welcome (soft drinks will also be provided!).

Ticketed but free: book your place here

Wednesday 29^th October: Chilmington Green Timeline Detectives: Chilmington Community Cabin: 10am to 3pm

We’ll be running a holiday archaeology workshop for pre-schoolers and primary school-aged children in the Community Cabin this October half term. Learn about how archaeology forms, how and why archaeologists dig, and why Chilmington Green is so special. Become a Timeline Detective with our community archaeology team, and earn your Timeline Detective Certificate!

Free: no need to book, just drop in!