The Wiltshire Council Archaeology Service once again made a successful contribution to the recent national Festival of British Archaeology fortnight. The team led two guided walks and talks, this time in the south and east of the county.

At the first, in Mere, over half of the 100 participants from the two walks joined Clare King and David Vaughan, Assistant County Archaeologists, at Mere Castle and Whitesheet Down. Suggested by our friends in Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the event attracted a large contingent from readers of the AONB Newsletter, The Hart, while others had travelled from as far away as London and Dorset, indicating the continued popularity of these walks and a rapacious interest in archaeology and the historic environment.

Clare’s introduction to the history of this once-imposing edifice was well-received, prompting the usual widespread and interesting array of questions from the assembled group. The walk had started with a steep climb up the sides of Long Hill, a natural rise that was remodelled at its eastern end during the Middle Ages to form the enclosure castle. The earthworks exploited by these early castle-builders remain today as a striking presence in the local landscape and were repeatedly admired by the group as they completed the second part of their walk.

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The Festival of British Archaeology, an annual nationwide event, takes place this year from Saturday 16 until Sunday 31 July.  The Archaeology Service are keen to build on the success of their events last summer and are running two further days for the public this year.  All events in The Festival aim to promote archaeology and are usually very well attended. To book your place or to find out more information, please see the contact details below via 'read more'.
 

Mere Castle and White Sheet Hill – Guided Walk

The first event is an exciting guided walk from Mere Castle, which is located just north of Castle Street in the village of Mere.  Mere lies at the extreme south western tip of Salisbury Plain, close to the borders of Somerset and Dorset.  The walk takes in the medieval castle and it’s adjacent Bronze Age round barrows as well as the prehistoric monuments of the down edge.  Surrounded by an incredibly beautiful landscape, the walk will continue across to the spectacular Neolithic Causewayed Camp of White Sheet Hill.

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Over 100 people attended two key events organised by the Archaeology Service as part of the annual Festival of British Archaeology fortnight.

Barbury Castle Iron Age hillfort
The first, on 31^st July, centred on Barbury Castle Iron Age hillfort near Wroughton, followed by a guided 5km walk along the historic Ridgeway to the white horse hill figure on Hackpen Hill.


Hackpen Hill.

The chalk and downland landscape in this part of Wiltshire boasts a rich mix of prehistoric and medieval archaeology and provided plenty of opportunity for questions and discussion from the 30-strong group, as well as endless photo opportunities. Informative and enjoyable, this walk through time, from the Neolithic to Queen Victoria, showed how nature and heritage combine to give Wiltshire its very special environment.


Littlecote Roman villa

The following day, some 70 people joined a guided tour of Littlecote Roman villa near Hungerford. A guided talk focussed on the famous “Orpheus” mosaic, influenced by the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as fine examples of Roman villa architecture, resulting in plenty of “oohs” and “aahs” at this very photogenic private site. The group included a broad range of ages and backgrounds, united by their appreciation of the very special archaeological features on display, all brought to life through this event. The site was fully excavated between 1978-1991, with publication of the results due out soon. To find out more, please 'read more'...

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The Festival of British Archaeology is a nationwide, annual event that aims to promote archaeology. It has been running for twenty years, and has evolved from a single day to two whole weeks. As in previous years the Wiltshire Archaeology Service are actively involved and this year we will be doing not one but two exciting days out. Both events are free!

Aerial view of Barbury Castle

The first event is an exciting guided walk around Barbury Castle followed by a walk down the Ridgeway (approximately 2.6 km) to see some of the amazing prehistoric features of the Marlborough Downs. Barbury Castle is an impressive Iron Age Hillfort with enormous ramparts that overlooks Wroughton, Swindon and the surrounding countryside. David Vaughan, Assistant County Archaeologist will be leading this walk at 2pm on Saturday 31^st July. To book your place or to find out more information see the contact details below via 'read more'.

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Our Roman family event was enjoyed by nearly 100 people at the beginning of the school holidays. Running as part of the Festival of British Archaeology visitors enjoyed the opportunity to find out more about the Roman period in Wiltshire. A soldier from the Ermine Street Guard told us all about life in the Roman army and impressed visitors with his weapons and armour. A household slave told tales of life in a villa working for wealthy owners. Local archaeologists brought along a range of roman finds from recent excavations for people to see and handle. The finds officer was kept busy identifying finds brought in by visitors and those cleaned by enthusiastic children in the finds washing activity.

 Finds Washing

Read on to discover our visitors' comments:

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