Crowdfunding

This project was started by a group of people banding together, with only their own resources, to explore the archaeology of their area. We are currently holding the status of an unincorporated organisation but we seek to establish ourselves as a sustainable field school in the area. This month we launched our crowdfunding campaign at our first public lecture, which was held at Tunbridge Wells Museum & Art Gallery. We hoped to show the wider public what we intended to do with their support. Community engagement and sustainability is high on our priorities and one of the objectives of our event was to highlight our fundraising aims. Our event also allowed us to show to the wider public what we have discovered over the summer.

SHAAS was lucky to secure a grant from the High Weald Joint Advisory Committee soon after being established. This grant of £1000 awarded to us the project is in a draw-down capacity which means that the funding is received gradually. SHAAS are extremely grateful to the support shown by the High Weald Joint Commission but the reality is that most of the costs at present are being covered by its core members. We have launched this crowdfunding campaign to raise the funds needed to keep the project going at this critical preliminary stage. 

Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a larger number of people, typically via the internet. Kickstarter is one of the leading established benefit corporations which provide a platform for fundraisers. Click here to view our Kickstarter campaign.                  


                
Why we need your support.

Our tool shed is more akin to something found on an allotment. We need to purchase adequate tools so that our members can carry out their work efficiently and concentrate on learning about archaeology. In order for us to run a sustainable service to our members, ranging from age 7 – 70, we must install the proper amenities on our site. We need the financial support to bring our site up to acceptable standards. Developing a field school in the local area will enable people learn the skills needed to pursue a career in archaeology. We intend to publish our findings in academic papers in the hope our research will extend the archaeological record of Kent. We will undoubtedly have to pay for publishing our work, which means we will have to allocate funds to a printing budget. Printing educational material will be a weekly running cost which will eat into the printing budget.

We will continue to sustain a strong link with those who back us, contacting with them via our newsletter, emails, website, and via special events. We count on community support, to return this goodwill we will update the developments unfolding on the community's door step. 

Even a small contribution of £5 will help us along our path to becoming a sustainable enterprise. People who back our Kickstarter campaign will receive a tangible reward along with a one of a kind experience in exchange for their pledge! Click here to find out more about the rewards for lending support.

Please follow the link below to find out more about our Kickstarter campaign:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1013766396/southborough-valley-archaeology-project

Research visit to Tunbridge Wells Museum & Art Gallery

Jane loves a bit of pottery

When the trowels are scraped clean and the drawing boards are put away, you will often find the field archaeologist seeking out a local ale house to quench the thirst of a hard day’s work. What happens then when the winter months close in and there is no activity on site? 

Rob is trained on how to lift boxes! 

Desk based research is the bane of many archaeologists. This is a time to open up the files and folders, reacquaint oneself with the Harris matrix and try to put all the pieces back together. As the first season of excavation has officially come to an end, a team has been assembled to take on the task of understanding what we have uncovered in the Southborough Valley this summer.

Goldmine.

Tunbridge Wells Museum & Art Gallery holds in its collection an extensive amount of archaeological material which can be used for research.  SHAAS was fortunate to be given access to the material recovered from J. H. Money’s excavations of the Iron Age hill-fort at Castle Hill and the iron working site of Minepit Wood. The SHAAS researchers spent the day digging through the basement of the museum in order to better understand the archaeology of the surrounding area. 

Jenny prefers the paper trail.

Some like to delegate... 

Flint Photo Shoot. 

We were pleasantly surprised by the high standard of site records from the 1960s. J.H. Money definitely was a diligent archaeologist. Our desk based research will certainly benefit from accessing primary sources. 

A very enjoyable and productive day.

19th St Mathew's Beavers, Cubs & Scouts

Southborough & High Brooms Amateur Archaeology Society (SHAAS) held their inaugural educational visit from the 19th St Mathew's Beavers, Cubs & Scouts at the end of September. Simon Bamblett and Robert Falvey have spent a number of weeks developing an Educational Outreach Programme for SHAAS. The first of these talks was held at St Mathew's High Brooms CE Primary School.

Community outreach visit

Simon and Robert presented a 15-20 minute presentation to each of the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts troops in advance of their visit to the working archaeological site. SHAAS has now had a request from further Scout troops in the area on the back of this successful event.

 

The talk includes a handling collection which provides a special encounter with the past. At SHAAS we believe it is important to connect the local community with the archaeology of their area. Offering people the opportunity to hold the ancient artefacts, provides a thrill of coming in almost direct contact with the original creators and users of these objects.

Educational visit to archaeological excavation

SHAAS has constructed an outdoor classroom area in the woods adjacent to the excavation trenches. From here an entertaining and educational talk can be delivered about the Iron Age past of the Southborough Valley. The first Beavers, Cubs & Scout visit was a great success, and the children had a great deal of fun as they learned about Iron Age. The activities were designed to tailor to both the younger children, learning about archaeology for the first time, and those older children who seem to be experts already.

 

On the big day, some of the activities included reassembling Iron Age (type) pots, test trenches for learning to use trowels in the trenches and understanding how artefacts and features are recorded. It is part of a full programme of learning visits which are to be rolled out over the coming few months. These include:

• Introduction to the general themes of archaeology
• To examine post-excavation processes and artefact analysis
• Desk Based Research: using historical maps in conducting archaeological surveys

If you would like to learn more about Educational Outreach Programme provided by SHAAS then please contact via the "Contact Us" section on our blog.

Digger Profile

Ben Gibson-Bamblett

We will be focusing a few posts on different members of the team. The SHAAS community archaeology project is open to people of all ages. We decided to start with one of the more younger members of SHAAS for our first digger profile: Ben Gibson-Bamblett . 

Ben joined the SHAAS project with the rest of his family and has really taken to it. He is one of our regular volunteers and can be found on site nearly every weekend. Eric, the site director, says of Ben:



    "He is a cheerful young lad who is always ready to help out. Ben is also fairly industrious chap as he took it upon himself to install a railing for allowing people to move safely up and down the slope. If I ever ask him to do something he gets on it straight away."

One of the seats made by Ben

Cleaning back in Trench A

Q&A

 What do you enjoy most about the archaeology and can you describe your average day on the site.

First I help out with carrying the equipment down to the site then I help out with the trenches. Also I usually do little jobs like making steps and levelling out the ground. The thing I enjoy most is the little jobs I get asked to do by the site director because its nice to now you are helping out. I am asked to help make stuff to make it easier for people to get around the site.

What have you learned since doing the project and would you consider doing this as job?

From this project, I have learned a lot about field archaeology. I learnt how to clear trenches, sketching archaeological drawings and many more skills. I have also learned how a bloomery furnace works. I could see myself doing this, but I also see myself as an engineer because I'm always fixing things and always finding out how stuff works.

You are somewhat of a grounds keeper on site. Where did you learn these skills?

I think these skills come from going to clubs, for instance I went to beavers, cubs and scouts. I am also in the Tunbridge Wells Army Cadets. But mainly I think it is because I from come from an outdoorsy family.

In what way do you think the archaeology project could improve?

The site could improve by having more tools and equipment like trowels, buckets and tarp. Because every week we are getting more and more popular and the more people come the faster we are going to run out of tools. I think that if we get funding the best place to spend it on would be towards tools and equipment.



Trying to provide lunch for the team



Ben working on the steps leading up to excavation area

 We are always happy to have new volunteers to come on board and try their hand at archaeology. Whether it is for a few hours or the whole weekend. Just contact us via the contact section and we will get back to you with more details We are sure that once you have sampled it, you will hooked.

Media interest in the Southborough Valley Project 2015

SHAAS has been quite fortunate to have had a lot of media interest in our community project. To date we have been featured in the local papers, on ITV News Meridian and we are awaiting a visit to the site from BBC Radio. It is clear that the local people want to know more about their ancestors. Thanks to the exposure provided by the Times of T.W. we were visited last month by Derek Johnson of ITV News. Derek's report highlighted that the community aspect of the dig and showed the project leaders were educating people in how to conduct themselves professionally on an archaeological excavation.

A view of trench A, with the bloomery in the middle distance. 

SHAAS would like to acknowledge the Times of Tunbridge Wells for giving us our first news exclusive with a front page article about our community project. Adam Hignett's article about SHAAS's discovery in the Southborough Valley allowed us to reach a wider audience. The headline in the paper read "Discovery of the century" which initially made the SHAAS archaeologist's nervous as they did not actually make this claim but was quoted as doing so. However, it cannot be overstated that the project is definitely a major development for the archaeology of the local area. It is certain that the bloomery,  initially described in the press as an Iron Age "weapon-making furnace,"  is unprecedented in its preservation. We can agree that this discovery has sparked one of the most significant archaeological investigation Tunbridge Wells has seen in over 50 years.






One of our trainees investigates a pattern of concentric steak-holes.




Dr Ian Beavis

Dr Ian Beavis, visiting the site from Tunbridge Wells Museum & Art Gallery,  summed up the historical significance of this project in his interview when he said:

"Traditionally the Tunbridge Wells story has been told starting in 1606 with the discovery of the spring... What (SHAAS) want to do is try to tell the story of Tunbridge Wells in a new way, going right back into prehistory."









If you would like to watch the ITV News Meridian report please follow the link below to the ITV News website:

http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2015-08-09/kent-iron-age-dig-forges-ahead/

How did all this come about...

Back in 2014 local metal detectorist Paul Carr, along with Nigel Stapple and the landowner Peter Marshall were detecting in local woodland when they discovered a large mound. Giving off a substantial ferrous metal indication they decided to investigate. A small pit was dug and large amounts of slag and cinder (bloomery waste products) were found. Wealden Iron expert, Jeremy Hodgkinson (WIRG), was invited along and he suggested that a bloomery furnace may be nearby. 

A few days later Paul was standing in an old tree bowl (where a tree once stood) and scraped away at the top soil revealing bright red burnt soil. This was partially revealed to be the well preserved remnants of an ancient bloomery furnace. 

Realising the importance of such a find Nigel set about establishing a community archaeology group to carry out a full scale excavation of the site. 

Enter stage right: Southborough & High Brooms Amateur Archaeology Society.

Directed by archaeologist Eric Hall, a team of volunteers has been burrowing away on site all summer. These pictures should give you an idea of the what we have been up to.

As you can see we are a serious about the archaeology. However, there is always time for a nice cup of tea and a bit of cake. As illustrated by the land owner Peter.

Welcome

Hello Everyone,

You have found your way to the Southborough & High Brooms Amateur Archaeology Society's Blog. 

This is where we will be sharing our archaeological adventures with the world.

Enjoy.