The South East Woodland Archaeology Forum
SEWAF is intended as an open forum for anyone interested in woodland archaeology. There are no subscription fees. It operates entirely on the basis of members volunteering their time and expertise, and has no funding. It is run by a committee of four people, two of whom are archaeologists and two woodland owners.
During the winter months (roughly October to April) SEWAF is often asked to do quick walkover surveys of woods. There is no charge involved. Walkovers comprise a reasonably comprehensive ground survey combined with a look at older maps. We hope to see all the features in a wood, but inevitably there will be things that are missed. More importantly, the aim is to give the landowner an idea of whether they are likely to have features which are significant and how they might take their research forward. Sometimes a written report is provided, but often there is no call for one.
We’ve been asked
- by farmers to look at their wooded areas,
- by woodland owners to see what’s there,
- by wildlife trusts to guide their management,
- by estate managers to provide a basis for educational material,
- by the Forestry Commission to prevent damage to features from harvesting operations,
- by woodland agents to prepare a report for potential buyers.
Some of the woods are on private land and some are open to the public. So far, SEWAF has been asked to look at woodlands in Kent, West and East Sussex. Some were large (up to 400 acres) and some as small as 5 acres. One of the aims of the group is to ensure that archaeological features found in woodland are recorded on the county HERs.
SEWAF works closely with the Historic Environment Awareness Project, a three-year Heritage Lottery-funded project concentrating on the Weald Forest Ridge, an area stretching from Tonbridge to Horsham. The area is heavily wooded. The project is formulating survey, identification and research ‘toolkits’ for wooded landscapes.
SEWAF also promotes woodland archaeology in the south east by running introductory courses in woodland archaeology, giving talks to local interest groups, providing conducted walks round woods, advising on who to contact for specialist information and providing training for would-be surveyors. The group’s website, www.sewaf.org.uk, provides information about all this, plus information about woodland archaeology in general.
We will be manning stands at the Kent County Show in July and at the Weald Woodfair at Bentley, East Sussex in September.
Meetings are held twice a year at Bedgebury Visitor Centre, Flimwell and visits to woodlands take place throughout the year.
Anyone interested in joining in with any of these activities should get in touch with david@sewaf.org.uk who will be happy to put you on the emailing list.
David Brown