Hi everyone,

Please read the information below.
I’m sure you will all be aware of the current global situation regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19). As such, I would like to make you all aware that Durham Archaeology Day next weekend has been postponed and we will keep you informed as soon as we have any further information.

On behalf of the committee, I also regret to inform you that the TAS lecture on  31st March on Archaeology and the Environment Agency, on Teesside by Jennifer Morrison will also be postponed as a result of this. Jenny Morrison has let us know that there is information in the 2020 bulletin (pages 13-19) on the subject of her talk and also that the NAA are selling a monograph on the excavation site: ‘Life of Brine? Bronze Age and Later Discoveries at Marsh House Farm, Hartlepool’ which is £12 including postage and packaging. As a committee, we take the health and safety of the membership and any guest speakers very seriously and in light of the severity of the situation, we thought this would be the best course of action to take. Please remember if you are concerned about symptoms to refer to guidance online: https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response

We do apologise for any inconvenience and we hope to reschedule with Jenny as soon as we can. Please, don’t hesitate to be in touch if you have any questions.
Stay safe everyone!
Best wishes,
Kira
(Deputy Chair and Communications)

Dear TAS Members and Followers, we’re performing some website updates and maintenance through March 2020. This is intended to simplify the navigation and add open-access to our BULLETIN annual journal, including the latest issue No. 24 (2020), so online documents can be downloaded without passwords.

As this proceeds, you may occasionally see some broken links, and things moving around a little bit. Please be patient. We’ll let you know when this is completed.

Kind Regards,
The TAS Committee (and Spence)

Welcome back!

We hope you had a fantastic festive period! This is a reminder that the next lecture and AGM will be held on 28 January 2020 and this will be on The Auckland Project: Bishop Auckland and excavations at Auckland Castle by John Castling.

The subject of the talk is as follows:

Since the demise of the mining industry, Bishop Auckland has been affected by economic and social decline. The Auckland Project aims to drive regeneration in the local community, to make for a vibrant community. This vision is built around Auckland (Bishop’s) Castle, whose thousand-year history is being unearthed and interpreted; art; nature; and theatre.”

John Castling is a part-time PhD student at the Archaeology department of Durham University, researching the Roman, post-Roman and Early Medieval period of County Durham. He is also Curator of Archaeology and Social History at the Auckland Project, co-ordinating archaeological work at Auckland Castle and Binchester Roman Fort.

Can everyone please remember that it is also the AGM at the beginning of this lecture and that membership subscriptions are also due for 2020. As per the decision made at the AGM last year, the price of membership has been raised to £15 for a single membership and £25 for a joint membership. Both memberships entitle the members to attend any lectures and take part in any projects that we offer for 2020 (unless stated) and the TAS annual Bulletin (one per joint membership).

We hope to see you all there!

Stockton Central Library, 7:30PM start.

This month’s talk is by Steve Sherlock giving an Annual Update of his archaeological work. 

Steve Sherlock needs little introduction, as he presents his annual round-up of his archaeological work.  A self-employed archaeologist, his recent and current roles include Archaeological Clerk of Works (A1 Leeming to Barton road-scheme); Archaeological Manager for the A14 road-scheme, Cambridgeshire; and various small commercial projects in Northeast England, from Derbyshire to Teesside.

Please join us 26th November at Stockton Central Library for a 7:30 PM start.

The talk this month will be on Rock Art of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg in South Africa by Aron Mazel (Newcastle University, Reader in Heritage Studies).

Aron Mazel joined Newcastle University in 2002 (where he is a Reader in Heritage Studies) following a 25-year career in archaeological research and heritage and museum management in South Africa. His research interests include the management and interpretation of tangible and intangible heritage; museum history; construction of the hunter-gatherer past; dating of rock art; and Northumberland rock art.

Also, there are a number of Future Learn courses, with links below, that may be of interest to TAS members. These are:

Introduction to archaeology

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/archaeology

Hadrian’s Wall

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/hadrians-wall

Antiquities Trafficking and Art Crime
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/art-crime

Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/forensic-archaeology-and-anthropology

We hope to see you all there! 7:30PM start, Stockton Central Library.

Welcome back!

We hope you had an amazing summer, full of fun.

This month’s lecture is titled ‘Rememorial WWI: Uncovering the Tees Valley’s Experiences of the Aftermath of the First World War’, by Dr Ben Roberts. This lecture will detail some of the findings from the Rememorial WWI project.

The lecture will be held on Tuesday 24th September at Stockton Central Library. Please arrive for a 7:30PM start.

We hope to see you all there.

Our June lecture this year will be held on Tuesday 25th June at Stockton Central Library, starting at 7:30PM.  The lecture is on The Yarm Helmet by Dr Chris Caple (Emeritus Reader in Archaeological Conservation, Durham University).

Chris Caple, until his retirement in July 2018, had been Associate Professor/ Senior Lecturer, and Director of the Postgraduate Programme in Artefact Conservation, both at Durham University. Since then, he remains associated with Durham University as Emeritus Reader in Archaeological Conservation, and remains academically active, researching and publishing in conservation, analysing and researching ancient artefacts, and writing up archaeological excavations.

We hope to see you all there.

Please note that there is no talk in May and it has been rescheduled for Tuesday June 4th. The talk will be at Stockton Central Library, starting 7:30PM. The talk is titled ‘The Neglect of Prehistoric Monuments of Northern England form a National Perspective’ by Emma Watson.

Ever noticed that there seem to be few Neolithic and Early Bronze Age monuments in Northern England? Ever wondered why that is?
This talk intends to illuminate the issues behind the neglect of our prehistoric structures from a national perspective.

Emma Watson is a research postgraduate in the Department of Archaeology at Durham University: her research topic is the neglect of Northern England’s Neolithic an Early Bronze Age structures in the archaeological literature of Britain.

We hope to see you all on June 4th, Stockton Central Library.

This month’s lecture will be “Uncovering Rievaulx Abbey’s  landscapes” by Freya Horsfield. PLEASE NOTE that this lecture will be held at Acklam Rugby Club on Saltersgill Avenue, Middlesbrough (TS4 3PR) and NOT at Stockton Library. The start time will remain the same at 7:30PM.

The lecture will contain an update on ongoing work by Durham University to understand the relationships between Rievaulx Abbey, landscape and people. Rievaulx’s relationships affected people at all levels of society, from King Henry II to individual peasants, and left complex traces on the landscape of Northern England from Teesside to South Yorkshire. The fresh interpretation of the landscape and documentary record is revealing that some of the long-accepted myths about a major Cistercian monastery now require revision.

Freya is TAS’s Chairperson and a landscape researcher, who holds a first degree in Archaeology from UCL, and a Masters in Landscape Archaeology, GIS and Virtual Environments from Birmingham University. Her doctoral research at Durham University investigates the landscapes associated with Rievaulx Abbey in North Yorkshire. Freya is also a teacher (Fellow, Higher Educational Academy) interested in the development of adult digital skills. 

We hope to see you all there, 7:30PM at ACKLAM RUGBY CLUB.

This month’s lecture will be held on Tuesday 26th March at Stockton Central Library. The talk will be on the Buildings of the Historic Core of Skelton by Robin Daniels (Tees Archaeology). 

Robin Daniels, Senior Archaeology Officer of Tees Archaeology since 1991 , needs little introduction. Tees Archaeology provides archaeological services to Hartlepool and Stockton on Tees, and operates throughout the Tees Valley. As head of service, he is responsible for its direction and liaison with partner authorities.

We hope to see you all there: 7:30PM start.