Archaeological excavations at Nottingham Castle, Southwell and Kings Clipstone

There are a number of archaeological excavations taking place in Nottinghamshire this summer:

• York Archaeological Trust's 'Archaeology Live!' training excavation from 27 July to 14 August will be examining the outer bailey of Nottingham Castle (more information from the Archaeology Live! website) and
• Researching Roman Southwell ('an exciting, community-led project that aims ... to investigate the town’s Roman past while providing training and hands-on experience, and help local people to become involved in their local heritage') will be running a community excavation on Harvey's Field to the south-east of the minster (see the DigVentures website for more details)
• Mercian Archaeological Services CIC are running a free community excavation at King John's Palace in Kings Clipstone in July and a Training Field School at the site in August (see the Mercian Archaeological Services CIC website for further details)

Archaeology Day in Southwell, 17 January 2015

I've only just found out about an Archaeology Day at the Minster School in Southwell tomorrow. The event is being run by the Researching Roman Southwell team and confirmed speakers are:

• Matt Beresford (MBArchaeology) - Roman Southwell
• Andy Gaunt (Mercian Archaeological Services) - King John’s Palace, Clipstone
• Rachael Hall (National Trust) - A Late Iron Age/Roman Coin Hoard from Derbyshire
• Kevin Winter (Civil War Centre) - National Civil War Centre, Newark

The Archaeology Day is, in fact, an afternoon event and starts at 2.30pm. There is a charge of £5.

Further information is available on the Researching Roman Southwell website.

'Roman Nottinghamshire' nominated for an award

Roman Nottinghamshire by Nottingham-based writer Mark Patterson has been nominated for Book of the Year by Current Archaeology. The book is a well written and comprehensive introduction to the area during the Romano-British period and a worthy contender.

You can vote online for it on the Current Archaeology website.

Mark's Roman Nottinghamshire blog is also worth a look.

Romano-British settlement found near Clifton

A team from Wessex Archaeology have uncovered a late Iron Age/Romano-British rural settlement near Clifton as part of survey work in advance of the widening of the A453 road between Nottingham and the M1.
Two burials (one crouched), the remains of a structure, Samian ware pottery and a jet bracelet have been found so far.

• Nottingham Evening Post article
• ITV Central News video clip

Festival of British Archaeology

Apologies for nearly having missed it but The Festival of British Archaeology has been running since 14 July and is due to finish on Sunday, 29 July. There are a few events taking place in Nottinghamshire:

• Finds from Adrian Oswald's excavations of Mansfield Woodhouse Roman Villa can be seen (and pottery handled) at Mansfield Museum
• Nottinghamshire Community Archaeologists are running a 'living history' event at Newark Castle on Saturday, 28 July
• Also on Saturday there is a drop-in event for finders of archaeological objects at Bassetlaw Museum
• Make your own fossil at Cresswell Crags

There doesn't seem to be anything happening in the City of Nottingham, although if you search the events database for 'Nottingham' you get a tour of Oakham Castle (Rutland), an event celebrating the story of Robin Hood at Conisbrough Castle near Rotherham and most bizarrely of all, an organised visit to The Wag of Forse in Caithness, northern Scotland!

For more information visit the CBA website.

Romano-British village found near Collingham

There's a report in today's Nottingham Evening Post covering the excavation of a Romano-British rural settlement at Tarmac's Langford Quarry, near Collingham.

A team from Trent and Peak Archaeology has spent the past year working on the site and have uncovered eight stone-lined wells, containing worked timbers, and a wide range of small finds.

Archaeologist Lee Elliott commented that "the exceptional range of artefacts for a rural community suggests prosperity, possibly built on large-scale animal husbandry and associated products servicing the nearby Romano-British towns at Brough and Lincoln."

• Nottingham Evening Post article
• Illustrated article on the Past Horizons website