Community Archaeology News from Kent

by Andrew Mayfield, Kent County Council’s Community Archaeologist

Greetings! From October last year Kent County Council created a two-year community archaeology post, part-funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. As the former community archaeologist for Shorne Woods Country Park, I will be running a series of events over the next two years that YOU can get involved with.

The Medway Valley LiDAR survey project (see article in last newsletter)

Working with Valley of Visions and the Medway Mosaics Project we will be groundtruthing the results of the HLF-funded LiDAR survey over the next two years. This will involve a series of woodland walks to find, check and record features, followed by a series of geophysical surveys and small scale excavations at locations including Shorne Woods and Boxley Warren.

The Shorne HubCAP Project

This exciting new project at Shorne Woods Country Park will build on the work of the Shorne Woods Archaeology Project. We will be running a free training programme over the next two years that is open to all. This will include sessions on pottery identification, worked flint, conservation of finds, geophysical survey, Total Stations and a series of field archaeology taster sessions during our summer dig. We will be creating a series of Finds Boxes (SWAP boxes) to take to local schools and events and designing some new tactile interpretation for visually impaired visitors to the Park. We will hold a series of Local Groups Conferences, where archaeology groups across Kent can come together to give short presentations on their current projects. There will be opportunities to participate in a test pit survey of a large new Mesolithic site discovered in Shorne Park and the excavation of a second lost building, Randall Hall.

Randall Manor excavations

In 2012 and 2013 excavations will continue on the site of Randall Manor. This community archaeology dig has now run for six seasons and attracted hundreds of volunteers each year. The dig is free to attend and no previous experience is necessary. We now have a good understanding of the layout and phasing of our main medieval buildings. An early aisled hall is extended with the addition of a stone cross wing, built of ragstone and flint with greensand mouldings. This cross wing is in turn added to with a further wing, containing a garderobe. These buildings are connected by a yard surface to a detached kitchen block. We have received reports on the pottery, bone and tile assemblages from the first five years and an interim report on the archaeology of the first six years is due in the spring of this year.

Getting people involved

For me, the most important part of this new post is getting people involved across the county in the archaeology of Kent. The HubCAP project has a large supply of equipment it can lend out to groups. If there are particular free training sessions that you would like us to run, then do get in touch. Likewise, if you are holding a dig or event and would like help in advertising it then please contact me. We have a Shorne News email ring that reaches over 300 people and groups, a Facebook page with over 500 'likes' and the will and enthusiasm to spread news and opportunities to as many people as possible. Look forward to hearing from you!

Andrew Mayfield: andrew.mayfield@kent.gov.uk; 07920 548906 or 01622 696919

www.facebook.com/archaeologyinkent and www.kent.gov.uk/randallmanor