Dave Perkins PhD, MSc, MIFA, Director - The Trust for Thanet Archaeology
Director - The Trust for Thanet Archaeology
Areas of Britain have archaeology which has become synonymous with one person - think of Francis Pryor and the Fens or John Coles and the Somerset Levels. Thanet and ‘Dave Perkins’are just such a combination; Kent’s north-eastern outpost has benefited from 25 years of investigation by a man born and bred to the area, with a passion for his home landscape and the stories that its wealth of archaeological remains can reveal. I went to meet him and hear his story...
Born in Ramsgate in 1938, Dave’s interest in the past was stimulated by a father who read avidly within historical subjects and further fuelled by his maternal grandmother’s tales. This remarkable woman, who came from generations of local “fishermen with ploughs”, had a huge fund of memories and folklore and “could make the Sprackling murder of 1653 seem like only yesterday!” However, there was no chance of a working class lad pursuing his interest - the few University archaeology courses were peopled by those that could afford to indulge their curiosity - moreover, a childhood blighted by brittle bones and much time in hospital had led to a lack of conventional schooling.
So Dave followed his artistic bent and accepted a place at Margate Art School, specialising in book and technical illustration, leading to work in the commercial art field. Settled into this life, he and a group of friends often spent Sunday afternoons exploring the locality; one Sunday in 1976 however, his life was changed forever following a suggestion that they visit a dig at the Lord of Manor, Ramsgate. On arrival, Dave saw “a hippy, with an aluminium corrugated hut and a pup tent and a series of holes in the ground.” The ‘hippy’ (Nigel MacPherson-Grant!) showed them round the site, where a small henge monument was being uncovered. A drive home, a quick change and Dave returned to the site. He was introduced to ditch sections and was hooked. Within 4 months he was a supervisor on the Manpower Services Commission YTS and has worked continuously in archaeology since.
A BSc in Archaeological Science through part time study gave him the professional clout he felt he needed; the academic world appealed and he went on to self-fund his MSc, concentrated on Roman & Saxon Dark Age glass from Kent.
In 1987 the Trust for Thanet Archaeology (“not Thanet Arch Trust - we couldn’t let it be TAT for short!”) came into being, with Dave as Director.
Based in Broadstairs since 1988, the Trust has worked on many projects, notably the Iron Age ‘hill fort’ settlements at North Forland and South Dumpton and currently the fascinating shipwreck of Stirling Castle, sunk in 1703.
When asked for his most memorable site, Dave has no hesitation in naming the ‘enthralling’ Jutish cemeteries at Ozengell, excavated from 1977 to 1980. He asserts that there is nothing like a grave for learning the craft of field archaeology - they are a microcosm of the problems and challenges of the profession. And the Thanet Jutish graves, unique in their wide spectrum of differing grave structures, are especially challenging, both in their excavation and subsequent interpretation.
Although still enthused by the excavation of graves, Dave now appears somewhat blasé, stating that the first two or three hundred are the best! Although he leaves the study of bones to the experts, working out stature, age and sex is of interest, as is discovering major trauma. It is the story that the buried individual can reveal which fascinates. Prehistory is another major interest, as his PhD, awarded in 2001, reveals, exploring the notion of Thanet as a ‘gateway community’ during the Bronze Age to the mid Iron Age.
Asked about the future of archaeology, Dave is despondent that amateur archaeology appears to be languishing, praising amateurs as the ‘light cavalry’ of the professionals, vital for relaying information and also for stimulating the interest of youngsters. At a local level, he is concerned that the lack of any facility for the display of material could lead to the archaeology and history of his area being ignored.
An accident on site in 2001 fractured a femur and the hospitalisation led to MRSA*. Dave can never get into the trenches with a trowel again. He remembers lying waiting for the ambulance, covered in coats, thinking “this isn’t much like Time Team!”
Many KAS members will know Dave from the KAS-funded Minster Villa training dig. Others will have listened to him talk animatedly at conferences, some will have been students in his field archaeology classes. Due to retire in January 2003, he will be much missed by the archaeological community of Kent. This will be no restful retirement though - he plans to write up some of the interesting excavations of the Trust and Thanet Archaeological Society, which, through lack of funding, went unpublished. He will also help the Trust in an advisory capacity. For the last 25 years archaeology has ruled supreme in his life; it looks set to remain so!
* (flesh eating bug)
The Ed.