CHEP - Past Events
25th October 2008: Project Launch
The Deputy Mayor and his wife, local councillors and society members with the cake
Cadas committee members dressed in medieval costumes
We were delighted with the response to the project launch. Allesley Village Hall was full to the brim with people from the local area. We found that people with an interest in archaeology and history had travelled from far and wide to find out about our project. CADAS committee members decided to enter into the spirit of the occasion by wearing medieval costume. Our displays on the history of Allesley were very popular and local residents recounted their memories of the village and offered copies of old photographs. There was an enthusiastic response to the proposed workshops with many volunteering to help us with their experience and expertise. Younger guests also had the opportunity to participate in our competition. The cutting of the 'launch cake' (with a trowel, of course) by the Deputy Lord Mayor, signified the official opening of the project.
Visitors at the Timeline display.
Visitors at the census display.
Refreshments served by CADAS members.
Committee members in medieval costume.
The Deputy Mayor cuts the cake.
The organisers are grateful to the Deputy Lord Mayor, the local councillors and the Allesley Hotel for supporting our event. But most of all, we would like to thank all our guests who made the launch such a fun and memorable day.
1st and 8th November 2008: Field Walking Surveys
The line of fieldwalkers advancing across the field.
Our first activity after the launch was a field walk to collect archaeological artefacts from the surface of ploughed fields. Some 40 participants braved the elements over two weekends and retrieved an excellent selection of prehistoric flint tools giving important information on the occupants of Coventry from 7000 years ago.
The fieldwalking was enjoyed by all ages.
Field Walking with CHEP - a volunteer's view [by Joe Connell]
As a complete amateur but with a healthy interest in archaeology, I eagerly accepted an invitation to take part in the field walking exercises being conducted under the CHEP initiative in Allesley, near Coventry. These few background notes will hopefully wet appetites and encourage others to join us.
As a technique, field walking would seem to be quite a simple exercise - walk about and pick things up. However without due preparation and discipline the whole effort would prove to be a waste of time.
".. objectives of field walking are the location and characterisation of past human activity in the landscape. The aim is not to recover every artefact from the surface of the field but to collect a representative sample in a consistent manner, in order to map patterns which may reflect past activity." Mark Bowden
The best time to field walk an area is in the winter months; preferably after rain, when the sown crops are just beginning to show. The area to be field walked should be divided into a grid system of squares, with a datum point from which each square can be uniquely referenced. The grid should be accurately located using GPS or triangulation with known fixed points, to allow subsequent mapping of the grid into the OS System.
Each square is provided with a plastic bag, indelibly marked to show site code, date of the field walk, and reference number of the square. The walker methodically covers the ground within her square, picking up all artefacts that are not natural to the environment and putting them in the plastic bag.
The contents of each bag are subsequently washed, identified, and categorised; and the results can then be entered into a spreadsheet. With this overall view, a considered decision can be taken concerning future archaeological activity. If the site being examined is not under threat, and there is an absence of any other such factors as crop or soil marks, this could support a conclusion that further activity is unnecessary.
This activity can serve as a useful introduction to archaeology for the interested novice. The advice generally given by the organiser to beginners is - "if in doubt, bag it". Later the novice can be assisted in cleaning and recognising her finds, encouraging a sense of personal involvement.
As well as providing inevitable evidence of the recent willow-pattern people, field walking in the Allesley area has produced many shards of pottery from Roman through to medieval periods; together with earlier examples of flint tooling. At the end of each traverse of the field there is a childlike enthusiasm as we gather round to examine our findings and have them identified by resident gurus. A significant benefit from this activity is an increasing ability to recognise the fabrics and designs of museum exhibits; perhaps one day these will include an item that you discovered?
The fieldwalkers discussing their finds.
Finds included modern farming equipment.
22nd November 2008: Pot washing
Trays of finds laid out after washing.
Even more people turned up to help us process the finds from the field walking than had actually undertaken the survey. It was a case of many hands making light work as we raced through scrubbing the finds with old toothbrushes and warm water. Everything was finished in 2 hours and volunteers had plenty of time to look round the new exhibitions at the Herbert Gallery.
14th December 2008: Woodlands Archaeology Day
Winter is the best time of year to investigate woodlands for archaeology as many features are hidden by bush and scrub the rest of the year. We were delighted to invite Dr Tim Southern from the Open University to give us a talk about woodland archaeology in the morning. It was a fascinating lecture which ranged from types of archaeology you would expect to find in woodland areas to management of woodlands to the use of historical documents in researching archaeological features. After a quick lunch at the Keresley Colliery Club, we braved the cold and mud and went for a walk in nearby Bunson's Woods.
Setting off through the woods.
Dr Southern explained features in the woods...
...as participants asked questions.
| In the woods, we discovered banks and ditches, coppicing, potential field boundaries and a possible saw pit. |
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| It was a fascinating and very enjoyable day, as one of the participants said afterwards "I'll never walk through woods in ignorance again!" |
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Investigating trees.
An interestingly shaped pit.
A hollow way alongside a nearby field.
The remains of a wooden hut.Given the popularity of the event, we are considering holding this workshop again in Winter 2009/10.
31st January 2009: Landscape Lecture
A well attended lecture.
George Demidowicz illustrated his talk with both local and more distant examples.
16th February 2009: Finds Display
Visitors handling the finds.
A tray of finds.
Visitors viewing the finds.
Finds Display - Allesley reveals its secrets! [by Louise Dodd]
The Finds Display Event was attended by CADAS members and Allesley and district inhabitants. The objective of this event was to show the public the results of the field walking sessions held in November 2008. The walks were followed-up by a series of hands-on workshops where the finds were sorted, marked and analysed to discover what type of material culture we had in the area.
On display were trays containing the sorted and marked finds, with a label identifying where it was found (field and section) and where possible, the initials of the person who found it. Such a variety: Neolithic through to Victorian!
We had the flints analysed by a specialist who very kindly produced a spreadsheet of their interpretations. They were all categorised as originating from gravel; they are all small and probably from pebbles. These pebbles may have been deposited by glaciers or simply washed down by rivers. There were 18 flints in all, ranging from core remains to actual tools, and they were displayed to their best advantage on a light box.
Ray Wallwork created a replica of a flint tool, which was remarkable in its construction, and also brought with him a large piece of fossilised tree fern found in the Allesley area. It has been dated to over 400,000,000 years old. A much smaller piece was found during field walking.
At the far end of the hall were the Time-line and 1901 Census display, which made their original appearance at the launch. It proved to be a popular display once again.
Discussions taking place.
Visitors viewing the finds.
22nd March 2009: Aerial Photography Workshop
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CHEP - Aerial Photography Workshop [by Louise Dodd]
As part of the on-going sessions of workshops for the CHEP project, Eloise invited Mike Glyde, from Worcester County Council, to come and talk to us about aerial photography.
Mike gave us a brief history of the aerial photo before going on to explain the different levels of aerial photographs - extant structures, earthworks, soil marks, crop marks and excavation - after which he went on to describe the 2 methods of aerial photography - oblique and vertical - pointing out their virtues and pitfalls.
Other methods of aerial photography, other than from a plane, are satellite imagery, which is taken in a vertical format and which used to be hard to access with poor resolution. However this has all changed with the introduction of Google Earth, although this is restricted by the time of year the imagery is taken.
The other method is LIDAR: Light Detection And Radar. This uses a laser to penetrate to the ground surface and by measuring the time it takes for the beam to get to the object (earth) the results are collated and converted into contours. This method is ideal for earthworks.
In the afternoon we were split into groups and were supplied with maps and APs for the area. The idea was to look on the APs to see if there were any interesting lumps and bumps. These were duly noted and the information gathered from the session will be collated and used to look at these anomalies in further detail, either by surveying the land or looking in the archives for information on the area.
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20th June 2009: Flint Drawing Workshop
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Ongoing: Field Surveying
Marking an old field boundary.
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A well-earned rest.
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24th February 2010: Launch of the CHEP Exhibition at the Herbert
As part of the CHEP project, an exhibition is being held from February 2010 - August 2010, in the Your Coventry section of the Herbert's History Gallery. The exhibition features finds from the fieldwalking, as well as photographs and a DVD showing participants at some of the activities.
A Launch Event was held at the Herbert to celebrate the opening of the exhibition and to thank volunteers and landowners for their participation in the project. The event was also attended by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Jack Harrison, as well as by a representative from the HLF, and staff from the Herbert, and the Council's Planning Department.
Preview visitors listening as the HLF representative congratulates them on the project.
Younger participants of the project assisted the Lord Mayor in cutting the cake, as Eloise Markwick and Councillor Roger Bailey look on.
 | The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress in front of the exhibition, with Eloise Markwick (Project Coordinator), Paul Thompson (Keeper of Collections at the Herbert and archaeology advisor to CHEP), George Demidowicz (Conservation and Archaeology Team Leader) and also members of the CADAS committee dressed in historical style costumes. |
For more information about the project, please contact the Historic Environment Project officer, Eloise Markwick. Tel: 024 7683 2795 or email: eloise.markwick@coventry.gov.uk
To visit the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) website click here.