Dear ATU volunteers,

We are currently busy planning the season 2 Roman Villa excavation. Please read the following information carefully about being involved in the dig and training sessions and respond with the requested information
by email to townunearthed@canterbury.ac.uk.  Many thanks.

Schedule of the dig

*         Start date - Saturday 28th May, WEEKENDS ONLY until 11th July

*         Portacabin (for outreach display and visitor centre) arrives on site on Wednesday 15th June

*         Roman and Iron Age Living History re-enactment weekend on site- 2nd/3rd July

*         Dig continues 7 days a week from Monday 11th July

*         Target end date - Monday 29th August

Booking your place at the dig

Because of the number of volunteers involved we need everyone who would like to be involved to let us know the number of days and dates that they would like to commit to for either digging, finds processing or in an outreach capacity talking to visitors at the site.  Even if you are flexible, we would like you to commit to a set number of days and dates that you know you want to do so that we can be sure who we are expecting each day.  We will then produce a calendar to display this information on site.  Our guidelines are for a maximum capacity of 30 volunteers for digging, 10 for finds processing and 6 Outreach volunteers on site per day.  Places will be offered on a first come first served basis.

Training

We are going to be running 2 training sessions in preparation for the dig.  These will cover the rules of the site and specific guidance for diggers, health and safety, finds processing and guidance on becoming an outreach volunteer including the messages we will want to relay to the public.  It is important that you try to attend one of these sessions, even if you are an experienced volunteer as they will cover systems set up for this season’s dig.  If you cannot attend one of these, please indicate this in your email.  Depending on numbers we may run another session or arrange to brief you in person separately.

Please email townunearthed@canterbury.ac.uk , subject line VILLA DIG AVAILABILITY with the following information:

- Confirm full name:
- Dates you would like to dig - please indicate if these are full or half days (minimum of half a day per day is required):
- Dates you would like to do finds processing (minimum of half a day per day):
- Dates you would like to work in an Outreach capacity (minimum of half a day per day):
- Total number of days:

Please also indicate the following:

- I can/cannot attend the training session on Wednesday 18th May, 5.30 - 7.30pm UCF
- I can/cannot attend the training session on Wednesday 29th June, 5.30 - 7.30pm UCF
- I cannot attend either training session

If you have any queries about any of the above information, please don’t hesitate to contact us at townunearthed@canterbury.ac.uk.

We are looking forward to an exciting second season of the excavation which we hope will help us to build a better understanding of the site and its history.  Thank you all for your continued interest in the project.

Kind regards,

Hannah

On the weekends of 12 & 13 and 19 & 20 March, four archaeological tests pits were dug in the area of the Bayle in Folkestone – three in private gardens and one near the Bayle pond. Around 31 volunteers, supervised by two archeologists, were involved in some way, either in digging, washing and sorting finds, talking to members of the public or evaluating the project. For several volunteers it was the first time they had been involved in any practical archaeology though they had been interested in it for years.

Terry Biot and his wife, both scientists, came with their, daughter and son Thomas who said “I have always been interested in history and archaeology from when I was very small. In fact I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t, so I am really pleased to get some practical experience for the first time.”

The house owners, Mrs. Marilyn Eady, Stephen Blundell and Catherine Drion, who had kindly allowed test pits to be dug in their gardens, were all keen to find out what lay beneath them. Stephen Blundell had noticed what seemed like the line of a wall when the grass in his lawn dried out in the summer. In the end this turned out to be a well constructed pathway belonging to a former parterre garden that can seen on the 1876 Ordnance survey map. Other finds were mostly 19^th century but some earlier, including 17^th century pottery and clay pipes and deeper still some early medieval pottery.

The pit in Catherine Drion’s garden revealed possible human teeth and during the second weekend medieval pottery, limpet shells and a bone handled tool. The third garden behind Mrs. Marilyn Eady’s house produced a clay pipe with Masonic markings, and some medieval, possibly Anglo-Saxon pottery together with a probable post hole from an ancient house. The fourth area of the dig, near the Bayle pond, also produced what might be tiny fragments of human bone, some pieces of pottery and, in a layer of earth, possibly silt in the bottom of the filled in part of the pond, a mass of limpet shells, probably discarded after the contents had been eaten.

Natalie Kinder, another of the volunteer diggers, was delighted with everything she found, especially what were possibly human teeth in the remains of a jaw bone. Her mother, Sharon Kinder, said “I have always been fascinated by archaeology on television but I have never had any hands on experience. When Natalie showed me the teeth I thought Wow!”. Terry Biot said of his work on the Bayle pond pit “Though we did not find very much, I have learnt a lot about the process of digging but would like to learn more especially about the application science to archaeology.”

The test pitting is part of A Town Unearthed which is a three year project of community archaeology in Folkestone, organised by Canterbury Christ Church University, the Folkestone People’s History Centre and Canterbury Archaeological Trust and funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund and The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust with additional contributions by Folkestone Town Council, Kent Archaeological Society and Shepway District Council.

Andrew Richardson of Canterbury Archaeological Trust said “This is a good start  to  a project which, with more residents of the Bayle offering their gardens all the time, will result in us digging upwards  of 60 test pits over the next few years, almost certainly  revealing much more about the history of the area which is the ancient heart of Folkestone.”

For further information or to become involved as a volunteer please Phone Hannah Lewis on 01303-850614

105.9 Academy FM, Folkestones new community radio station, has announced that it will go on air at 12 noon on Thursday 31 March 2011. Broadcasting from the Folkestone Academy, the station will serve the communities of Folkestone, offering a comprehensive variety of programmes 24 hours a day, and will be commercial free.

Folkestones new radio station has been set up as an independent charity, and is funded entirely by charitable contributions. One of its primary aims is educational: 105.9 Academy FM will encourage young people to get involved, whether they are students at the Folkestone Academy or at one of the other places of learning in the town. It is hoped that the station will also become a focal point for community groups and local charities to help them promote their work and gather support.

105.9 Academy FM Station Manager David Sharp said: We plan to broadcast an entertaining mix of music and speech. Programming will be varied, and local people will present shows and play music that is not often heard on other local radio stations. We intend to feature music made in Kent every hour of every day to ensure that our talented local artists can be heard.

For more information or to get involved with volunteering for 105.9 Academy FM please contact Station Manager, David Sharp, on dave.sharp@academyfmfolkestone.com.

At a public forum at the Salvation Army Community Centre, 75 Canterbury Road, Folkestone on Tuesday, 22 February at 7.30 pm, A Town Unearthed: Folkestone before 1500 will be launching its oral history project.

Advised by Lynda Pearce of the Community and Archives Heritage Group, it will involve finding people who would like to tell their stories or legends of Folkestone, its landscape and its ancient sites. As Lynda Pearce says “What we are looking for are stories that have been handed down from parents to their children or that have been told to people when they move into the area. They may be about a hill, a wood, an underground stream, a lane or a footpath. They may be stories of ghosts”.

In any community some of its cultural and historical background is not written down but preserved and passed on from one generation to another by spoken word or occasionally in song. Lynda Pearce continues. “What we are embarking on could be termed the archaeology of the mind, because we want people to dig into their memories of things they were told, perhaps when they were children. Of course, as they are passed on, the stories get embellished but underneath them all is a kernel of the truth, We would like anyone who has a story to tell or who would like to help with the project to come to the forum of otherwise get in touch.”

At the same meeting the project’s website site will be launched and there will be will be an update on A Town Unearthed, which is a three year long project of community archaeology in Folkestone, organised by Canterbury Christ Church University, the Folkestone People’s History Centre and Canterbury Archaeological Trust and funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund and The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust with additional contributions by Folkestone Town Council, Kent Archaeological Society and Shepway District Council.

The combined finds processing and information centre for the project has now been set up at 65 Tontine Street, which has been provided rent free by the Creative Foundation. It is open on Monday evenings from 6.30 - 9pm, when the sorting and labelling of finds from last year’s dig at the Roman Villa is carried out, as well as Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10am - 3pm. Anyone is welcome to come and see the work that is being done or talk about becoming involved as a volunteer. For further information please phone Hannah Lewis on 01303-850614.

We need volunteers for the following ATU activities coming up in January and February!  Please let us know if you would be interested in volunteering at any of these events and further information will be provided:

Sunday January 23rd, 9-12noon - Foreshore walk lead by Andrew Richardson, CAT (x2 volunteers for marshalling, stout walking boots required)

Sunday 6th February, 9-12noon - Foreshore walk lead by Andrew Richardson, CAT (x2 volunteers for marshalling, stout walking boots required)

Wednesday 9th February, 9.30 - 3.30pm - stand at Skills Fair, Leas Cliff Hall (rota of people needed for manning stand at careers fair for 16 year olds from local secondary schools, to accompany staff from CAT)

Tuesday 22nd February, evening - ATU public open forum at the Salvation Army Hall, Canterbury Road, Folkestone (registration, meet and greet, refreshments)

This is also a reminder that the next volunteer outreach meeting is being held from 6-7.30pm at UCF next Wednesday 19th January.  I have also attached the rota of meetings for 2011 - please note time change to
6-7.30pm.  The group will meet monthly at UCF.  At next week’s meeting we will be looking at marketing materials for the project, we will be putting together a PowerPoint the explains the project for taking out to
groups and societies and re visit activities for the outreach group in
2011.

Kind regards,

Hannah

===================================
Hannah Lewis
Project Manager
A Town Unearthed: Folkestone Before 1500

University Centre Folkestone
Glassworks
Mill Bay
Folkestone
CT20 1JG

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With the New Year, a new phase of A Town Unearthed: Folkestone before 1500 has started. Over three hundred bags of finds are being sorted by volunteers, supervised by Andrew Richardson of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust, who said “This is an important part of any archaeological project. From the finds we will be able to provide dates of the various settlements on the site, obtain indications of the status of the occupants and, by a close examination of the pottery, find out something about the trade between Britain and Europe. From the various bones and shells we can also describe their diet”

The sorting is taking place at the University Centre Folkestone each Monday evening from 6.30 – 9.30. Catherine Holtham-Oakley, volunteer coordinator for finds said, “We already have an enthusiastic team of volunteers but we would always welcome others who would like to join in. Serious work is done but it is also a fun evening and a great chance to get hands-on with the finds”

Though the dig at the Roman Villa will not start again until June, activities will continue through out the winter. A Town Unearthed is a three year project of community archaeology with the purpose of adding to the early history of Folkestone. Organised by Canterbury Christ Church University, the Folkestone People’s History Centre and Canterbury Archaeological Trust, It is funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund and The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust with additional contributions by Folkestone Town Council, Kent Archaeological Society and Shepway District Council.

Dr Lesley Hardy of Canterbury Christ Church University said “We want this to be a project for the whole community of Folkestone so it is important that we reach as many people as possible. If you would like somebody from the project to come and talk to your group, club or society, please get in touch.”

Members of the public are invited to take part in shore walks in East Wear Bay on Sunday 23 January and Sunday 6 February from 9 – 12 noon to look for remains of objects from the Roman Villa. This will be a family activity so people of all ages can take part, guided by an archaeologist. The only equipment needed is stout footwear. Any one wanting to participate should contact Hannah Lewis on 01303-850614 and meet at the villa site on East Cliff. Details of this and all other activities can be found on A Town Unearthed Facebook page

To take part as a volunteer or to arrange a talk please contact Hannah Lewis on 01303-850614.

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