October 27 | Disaster Recovery: Unearthing the Impact of the Black Death in Eastern England | Dr Carenza Lewis, University of Lincoln. 7.30pm at Stockton Central Library TS18 1TU. Guests are welcome for £4 each on the door.

Since 2005, thousands of members of the public, working with university archaeologists, have carried out nearly 2,000 small archaeological ‘test pit’ excavations in more than 50 rural villages, towns and hamlets in eastern England, unearthing tens of thousands of pottery sherds. Analysis of this superficially unremarkable material is allowing archaeologists to map and measure changes in layout and density of settlements over centuries, and has revealed new evidence for the dramatic long-term impact of the set-backs of the 14th century AD which culminated in the Black Death of 1348–9. One strength of this approach is that it can potentially be used anywhere, and the talk will conclude by considering the potential for similar work in areas such as the Tees Valley.

About the speaker

Since 2004, Carenza Lewis MA ScD FSA has been Director of Access Cambridge Archaeology at the University of Cambridge, having previously carried out archaeological research for RCHME (1986–99) and the University of Birmingham (1992–4) and presented Channel 4’s Time Team (1993–2005). Carenza has completed fieldwork and excavation on many sites across southern England and her research interests include medieval rural settlements and landscapes, the archaeology of children and childhood, widening participation in higher education and public engagement with heritage research. Her work has involved thousands of members of the public and was recognised in 2008 with an honorary doctorate from UEA and, in 2009, when shortlisted for the Marsh Award for Public Archaeology. Carenza has recently joined the University of Lincoln as Professor of Public Understanding of Research