The Roman Boxford Project, in which BARG participated with the Boxford History Project and Cotswold Archaeology was nominated in late 2017 for Current Archaeology’s ‘Research Project of the Year 2018’. The article on this project that appeared in issue 333 of Current Archaeology can be found online here.
News and Events From 2017:
Thursday 23rd February 2017
There was a BARG Winter Visit to the Museum of English Rural Life in Reading.
Thursday 16th March 2017
The BARG Spring Quarterly Open Meeting took place at 7.30pm in the De Vitre Room, The Cornerstone, Norreys Ave, Wokingham. Our speaker, Colin Berks MCIFA of MAS and BARG, gave a talk on the 9th-century Saxon Defences of Cookham.
Saturday 1st April 2017
In late March and early April the second set of BARG Field Trips to Berkshire medieval moated sites took place, including sites at Arborfield, Swallowfield, Ufton Nervet and Sulhamstead.
Saturday 3rd June 2017
Members of the Group took a guided tour of the historic parts of Abingdon including the abbey buildings, finishing with Abingdon Museum in the afternoon.
Wednesday 7th June 2017
The BARG Summer Quarterly Open Meeting and AGM took place at 7.30pm in the De Vitre Room, The Cornerstone, Norreys Ave, Wokingham. Our speaker was Dr Katie Tucker from the University of Winchester, speaking on the Search for Alfred the Great Project. The talk was followed by refreshments and then the Group’s formal AGM.
Wednesday 21st June 2017
The Boxford Lecture Series continued at Boxford Village Hall with a lecture from John Shepherd entitled How the Other Half lived…in Roman Times! Much of John’s career has been focussed upon Roman provincial archaeology, working at the Museum of London for over 20 years. John is currently Andante’s Director of Archaeology. He is an archaeologist who has worked extensively in the field in Europe. He is a specialist in the study of ancient glass and co-authored the book “The glass workers of Roman London.” For further details see http://boxford.org.uk/next-lecture-in-the-hlf-funded-series-on-roman-britain-7-30pm-june-21st-at-boxford-village-hall/
Wednesday 5th July 2017
Members of BARG and BAS attended a visit to Stonor Park.
Wednesday 12th July 2017
There was a BARG Summer visit to the excavations at Dorchester on Thames, followed in the afternoon by visiting the abbey, the cloister gallery, museum and tea rooms.
Saturday 5th August 2017
The BARG BBQ took place in Wokingham from 5pm.
Tuesday 8th to Sunday 27th August 2017
BARG members (together with the Boxford History Project and Cotswold Archaeology) took part in geophysical surveys and excavation work on a Roman villa site at Boxford, helping to uncover the Bellerophon mosaic.
Saturday 2nd September 2017
There was a BARG Field trip to Silchester to visit the excavations of a temple within the Roman town walls and the site of a Roman brickyard at Little London.
Sunday 24th September 2017
There was a BARG Autumn visit to the Vyne National Trust property, primarily to see the restoration of the roof.
Thursday 28th September 2017
The BARG Autumn Quarterly Meeting took place at 7.30pm in the De Vitre Room, The Cornerstone, Norreys Ave, Wokingham. Dr Steve Ford of TVAS spoke on the Excavations at Elizabeth House (St John’s College) Oxford – a Neolithic henge, Medieval Farm and the victims of the St Brice’s Day Massacre? After the refreshment break BARG member Bob Brewer gave a talk on Lambourn’s evolution: AD 300 – AD 2017.
Wednesday 22nd November 2017
The Boxford Lecture Series continued at 7.30pm in Boxford Village Hall. Prof. Mike Fulford (University of Reading) spoke on The Countryside of Roman Britain: economy and society. For further details please see http://boxford.org.uk/professor-mike-fulford-lecture/
Wednesday 29th November 2017
The third annual feedback session on the Roman Boxford Project took place at 7.30pm in Boxford Village Hall. An update was provided on the results from this year’s excavation of a Roman villa and mosaic.
Thursday 7th December 2017
The BARG Winter Quarterly Open Meeting took place between 7.15pm and 10pm in the De Vitre Room, The Cornerstone, Norreys Ave, Wokingham. The meeting featured our Members’ Miscellany consisting of four short 15 minute talks by BARG members. This was followed by the BARG Christmas Social event.