Can we help?

The Berkshire Archaeology Research Group is one of the few active voluntary sector organisations doing archaeology fieldwork in Berkshire. The Group is pleased to work with individuals and local history and heritage societies and groups to help them investigate their local archaeology.

When working with an individual or a local history or heritage group or society, BARG members will meet with them to identify the extent and nature of the archaeology to be investigated and then produce a plan for a joint project: where BARG members will provide archaeological capabilities in a way which encourages local group or society members to join in.

BARG Capabilities:

When operating such projects BARG is able to provide:

  • Project management and planning
  • Surveys of existing documents undepinning the project
  • Fieldwalking
  • Hedgerow surveying
  • Geophysics surveying: using a resistivity meter or a magnetometer
  • Building surveying
  • Post-excavation processing and documentation

If you believe you have some interesting archaeology, which you would like us to investigate using the above techniques, then contact us by email: mail@barg-online.org or via the 'Contact us' page. Please note that BARG does not deal with investigations required for development proposals, which should be referred to professional sector archaeological contractors.

BARG Lectures

BARG is pleased to offer societies and heritage groups a number of lectures on different aspects of Berkshire Archaeology. These lectures include:

The Origins of Berkshire: a short talk of about 30mins by Dr Steve Clark on the origins of Berkshire, setting out the Iron Age, Roman and early Anglo-Saxon administrative background, the circumstances surrounding the creation of the later Anglo-Saxon shire and how it operated, and reflecting on the relevance of this story today.

Archaeological investigations into the archaeology of Peasemore: this talk, by Graham Johnson and Steve Clark, presents the work and results of the Peasemore landscape archaeology project.  It includes details of fieldwalking, resistivity work, a hedgerow survey and a review of the available documentation.

West Hagbourne: Finding the Chapel of Ease: a short talk by Andrew Hutt explaining the resistivity work done in September 2004 to find the Chapel of Ease in West Hagbourne

The dovecotes and pigeon lofts of Old Berkshire: this talk, by Andrew Hutt, describes the work and output from the BARG Project survey of 100 dovecotes across Old Berkshire.    He discusses how pigeon keeping has changed over the last 800 years and how these changes are reflected in the different forms of dovecote and pigeon loft found in Old Berkshire.  He also discusses how these buildings have changed over the last 40 years, for example many have been reused as houses and some 12 of them have been demolished. For more details on the Dovecotes project click here.

The social innovations associated with the origins and uses of causewayed enclosures in early Neolithic Lowland England: this talk, by Andrew Hutt, analyses archaeological evidence from Lowland England to identify: the activities involved in the creation and use of causewayed enclosures, the groups who performed these activities and the knowledge that they used. It shows that the creation and use of causewayed enclosures could have led to the development of social elite groups in Neolithic Lowland England.

If you would like to have one of these lectures presented at a meeting of your society or heritage group, send an email to: mail@barg-online.org