NORTH HERTFORDSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
All meetings are at Letchworth Free Church hall, corner of Gernon Rd and Sollershott West, 8 pm, unless stated otherwise.
Tuesday 22nd January 2019: ‘Raising the Dead – Kingly curves and Astronomers’ noses: the recent trend for celebrity exhumations’, by Dr. Joseph Elders, Major Projects and Archaeology Officer, Cathedral and Church Buildings Division, Church of England.
Tuesday 19th February 2019: ‘Excavations at Buntingford, Hertfordshire’, by Matt Jones, Project Officer, Pre-Construct Archaeology.
Tuesday 5th March 2019: ‘Excavations at Northstowe, Cambridgeshire’, by Alison Dickins, Senior Project Manager, Archaeology Unit, University of Cambridge.
Sunday 7th April 2019: Field Trip to Ravensburgh Castle Iron Age hillfort, Hexton, Herts. Kindly arranged by our Member, Derek Turner, with the Bedfordshire Geology Group. Details to be confirmed.
Tuesday 16th April 2019: ‘ What we can learn from excavated human remains’, Laura Dodd, Project Officer and human bone specialist, KDK Archaeology.
Tuesday 21st May: Annual General Meeting. Gil Burleigh will present an illustrated report on the year’s fieldwork, including parch-mark sites at Barkway, Great Offley and Pirton revealed by drone photography during the summer 2018 drought and test-pit excavations in Great Offley and Pirton.
Autumn/Winter 2019/20:
‘A multi-period excavated site at a quarry near Peterborough’, by Greg Farnworth Jones, Project Officer.
‘The Basilica and Portico wall excavations at Verulamium 2018’, by James Fairbairn, Senior Project Manager, Oxford Archaeology East.
‘Excavations at Hazel End, Bishops Stortford’, by Louisa Moan, Senior Project Manager, Oxford Archaeology East.
‘Beacons of the Past – the Hillforts of the Chilterns Landscape’ by a member of the project team.
‘Excavation of an Early Anglo-Saxon settlement at Priors Hill, Pirton’, Mark Hinman, Senior Project Manager, Pre-Construct Archaeology.
Dea Senuna: Treasure, Cult and Ritual at Ashwell, Hertfordshire by Ralph Jackson and Gilbert Burleigh, published in March 2018, has been re-printed and is still available for sale at the British Museum bookshop:
The PDF version is available to see/browse/read/download at the British Museum website:
Click on the drop-down menu for Research Publications and you will find the Dea Senuna PDF.
The article on ‘Ashwell’s Lost Roman Goddess’, published in Hertfordshire Life magazine in July 2018 is available online (minus one or two photographs): http://www.hertfordshirelife.co.uk/home/history-the-goddess-of-Ashwell-1-5646728
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Sacrilege! Leading archaeologist speaks out on centenary
of Stonehenge gift
Expressway
legacy threat mars centenary of Stonehenge donation
Friday 26th
October was the centenary of the gift of Stonehenge to the nation by
Sir Cecil and Lady Chubb. This weekend, English Heritage is marking
the occasion with a specially commissioned tea party designed by
Jeremy Deller and an installation of his work, “Sacrilege”,
an almost life-sized inflatable Stonehenge.
A joyous public
celebration for some, but for many others it could mark impending
sacrilege for the nation’s most famous World Heritage Site.
A
distinguished archaeologist speaks out against the Stonehenge tunnel
Professor Mike
Parker Pearson, leading expert in British Neolithic archaeology,
speaks out about the Stonehenge tunnel in a newly released video to
share his profound concerns. At barely 3km long the tunnel
would be too short within a World Heritage Site that is more than 5km
across, full of prehistoric monuments. Mike reminds us that the
UNESCO World Heritage Site is “a
designation of an entire landscape. It’s one of the few
places, not just in Britain but in the World, where you can see a
special, sacred landscape developed over thousands of years.”
Professor Mike Parker Pearson “Stonehenge tunnel sets a
bad precedent”
http://https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=qLGBBTt1JnI Will the UK Government finally come to its senses and re-consider the A303 road-widening scheme and the damage it would do to our World Heritage Site? It isn’t too late to call a halt and heed the advice of UNESCO and other internationally acknowledged experts. A less damaging solution would properly and rightly protect the remarkable surroundings of Stonehenge about which we now know so much more than we did a hundred years ago. Short 1 minute clip of the video can be seen here Full briefing about A303 Stonehenge scheme |
| Sign up here to receive updates from the Planning Inspectorate and register your interest in having a say about the Stonehenge Tunnel scheme. |
THE BRITISH MUSEUM
I object: Ian Hislop’s search for dissent
6 September 2018 – 20 January 2019
Members free
We’ve invited Private Eye Editor Ian Hislop (you know, the one from Have I Got News For You) to have a rummage around in the stores. On his search, he’s hand-picked a range of intriguing objects that explore the idea of dissent, subversion and satire (but don’t worry, we made him wear gloves).
A wide variety of objects will be on display in the exhibition – from graffiti on a Babylonian brick to a banknote with hidden rude words, from satirical Turkish shadow puppets to a recently acquired ‘pussy’ hat worn on a women’s march. See what tales these objects tell – sometimes deadly serious, often humorous, always with conviction. Unlock the messages and symbols these people used, and get closer to understanding them. The British Museum doesn’t escape ridicule either – the joke has been on us on more than one occasion.
This history in 100(ish) objects shows that people have always challenged and undermined orthodox views in order to enable change. They even did so despite the establishment usually taking a pretty dim view – for most of history you could expect a gruesome punishment, up to and including death, for this kind of subversive behaviour. This suggests that maybe we are programmed to dissent – it’s just part of who we are. Ultimately, the exhibition will show that questioning authority, registering protest and generally objecting are an integral part of what makes us human.
The Citi exhibition
I object
Ian Hislop’s
search for
dissent
6 September 2018 – 20 January 2019
Members free
Book tickets
Supported by
★★★★★
‘a rare delight’
The Times
History, as somebody wise once said, is just one damned thing after another. But is it really? Who decides what is ‘history’?
Traditionally, the answer is ‘the winners’. But in this exhibition we’re setting out to investigate what the other people had to say – the downtrodden, the forgotten, the protestors. They left their marks on objects, just as the official view has, and these dissenting objects are also to be found in the British Museum’s collection. You just need to know where to look…
We realise that uncovering a treasure trove of dissenting objects can be tricky. Luckily, we’ve found someone who can help. We’ve invited Private Eye Editor Ian Hislop (you know, the one from Have I Got News For You) to have a rummage around in the stores. On his search, he’s hand-picked a range of intriguing objects that explore the idea of dissent, subversion and satire (but don’t worry, we made him wear gloves).
A wide variety of objects are on display in the exhibition – from graffiti on a Babylonian brick to a banknote with hidden rude words, from satirical Turkish shadow puppets to a recently acquired ‘pussy’ hat worn on a women’s march. See what tales these objects tell – sometimes deadly serious, often humorous, always with conviction. Unlock the messages and symbols these people used, and get closer to understanding them. The British Museum doesn’t escape ridicule either – the joke has been on us on more than one occasion.
This history in 100(ish) objects shows that people have always challenged and undermined orthodox views in order to enable change. They even did so despite the establishment usually taking a pretty dim view – for most of history you could expect a gruesome punishment, up to and including death, for this kind of subversive behaviour. This suggests that maybe we are programmed to dissent – it’s just part of who we are. Ultimately, the exhibition will show that questioning authority, registering protest and generally objecting are an integral part of what makes us human.
Accompanies a series on BBC Radio 4.
Get the exhibition book and shop the range here.
Ian Hislop’s Objecting objects
A bluffer’s guide to dissent in 7 objects
THE BRITISH LIBRARY
Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms- Art, Word, War
Now to 19th February 2019.
600 years. 180 spectacular treasures. A once-in-a-generation exhibition.
Treasures
from the British Library’s own collection, including the beautifully
illuminated Lindisfarne Gospels, Beowulf and Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, sit alongside stunning finds from
Sutton Hoo and the Staffordshire Hoard. The world-famous Domesday Book offers
its unrivalled depiction of the landscape of late Anglo-Saxon England while
Codex Amiatinus, a giant Northumbrian Bible taken to Italy in 716, returns to
England for the first time in 1300 years.
The people of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms tell their story, in their own words.
Explore the beginnings of the English language and English literature. Read
some of the earliest-surviving words inscribed in English on objects large and
small. Come face-to-face with manuscripts of Old English poetry and prose and
the first letter written in English. Wonder at the wit and wisdom in the
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
Entrance £16, British Library Members Free. It is advisable to book in advance, on-line or 0207 412639
THE BRITISH MUSEUM
I am Ashurbanipal
king of the world,
king of Assyria
8 November 2018 –
24 February 2019
★★★★★
‘Extraordinary’
The Evening Standard
★★★★★
‘Fabulous’
The Times
★★★★★
‘Spectacular’
Londonist
★★★★
‘Staggeringly beautiful’
Time Out
★★★★
‘a gripping fusion of beauty and brutality’
The Telegraph
★★★★
‘blockbuster recreation of Assyria’s might’
The Guardian
Warrior. Scholar. Empire builder. King slayer. Lion hunter. Librarian.
King Ashurbanipal of Assyria (r. 669–c. 631 BC) was the most powerful man on earth. He described himself in inscriptions as ‘king of the world’, and his reign from the city of Nineveh (now in northern Iraq) marked the high point of the Assyrian empire, which stretched from the shores of the eastern Mediterranean to the mountains of western Iran.
More about the exhibition
Ashurbanipal proved himself worthy of protecting his people through displays of strength, such as hunting lions. Like many rulers of the ancient world, he liked to boast about his victories in battle and brutally crushed his enemies. However, this vast and diverse empire was controlled through more than just brute force. Ashurbanipal used his skills as a scholar, diplomat and strategist to become one of Assyria’s greatest rulers.
Despite his long and successful reign, Ashurbanipal’s death is shrouded in mystery. Shortly afterwards, the Assyrian empire fell and the great city of Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC, its ruins lost to history until the 1840s. Their rediscovery has allowed us to piece together a portrait of the powerful and complex ruler that was Ashurbanipal.
This major exhibition tells the story of Ashurbanipal through the British Museum’s unparalleled collection of Assyrian treasures and rare loans. Step into Ashurbanipal’s world through displays that evoke the splendour of his palace, with its spectacular sculptures, sumptuous furnishings and exotic gardens. Marvel at the workings of Ashurbanipal’s great library, the first in the world to be created with the ambition of housing all knowledge under one roof. Come face to face with one of history’s greatest forgotten kings.
Who was Ashurbanipal?
Introducing the Assyrians
Subscriptions
2018/19 Subscriptions became due on 1st June 2018. Please renew. The Society cannot continue to function without all members’ subscriptions. In particular, lecturers fees and expenses and hall hire have to come from subscriptions. Lack of sufficient income from subscriptions may result in fewer lectures. It’s up to us members. Thank you to all who have paid your subscription and renewed your membership.
Outstanding subscriptions may be paid in person at any meeting when membership cards can usually be issued also. Otherwise subscription cheques may be posted to Diane Burleigh, NHAS, 10 Cromwell Way, Pirton, Hitchin, Herts SG5 3RD.
Please note 2018/19 Membership cards are now available and may be collected at any of our lectures.
Adult £19, Family £24, Concessions (over 65, under 16), £10.
Non-members are welcome at any of our meetings. There will be a charge of £4 for entry.
Please renew your subscription otherwise you may be removed from our membership and circulation lists.
Thank you.
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