Archaeology fun

Mike Brown and others

A look back at records of archaeological digs (Melandra and others), with a vintage film and archive slide show.

at The Bluebell Wood

Recent discoveries at Castleshaw Roman Fort & comparing with neighbouring forts, including Melandra

Norman Redhead

Norman is an eminent archaeologist and recently retired Greater Manchester County Archaeologist. He is still involved in many prestigious projects, including Castleshaw Roman Fort in nearby Delph, Saddleworth

at The Bluebell Wood

The History of Avro and my story

A presentation by Steve Abbot

Steve has had a lifelong connection with Avro, working there and setting up the Avro Heritage Museum based at Woodford. This is an amazing museum all about the Avro company and the history of aircraft in the area and well worth a visit.

at The Bluebell Wood

The Tavoliere project

A presentation by Keri and Terry Brown

A joint talk about their project in Northern Apulia, Southern Italy. The analysis of the data is finished...

at The Bluebell Wood

Christmas party

A quick AGM (election or reelection of the committee) followed by a social evening with food, drink, quizzes and raffle

at The Bluebell Wood

The Shiloh Road dig

An update from Peter Noble

at The Bluebell Wood

Sorry, no meeting this month..

...unless you'd like to come and help or just visit the site at Shiloh Road, where we've made some good progress and some interesting finds.

A social meeting

with discussion of progress and plans

at The Bluebell Wood

A Heritage and Culture Strategy for the High Peak

Joanne Blunt

Joanne is the Arts, Culture and Heritage Officer for High Peak Borough Council and Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, and will talk about the future of heritage in the High Peak.

at The Bluebell Wood

The History of the Avro Company

Steve Abbot

Steve Abbot, the archivist at the Avro Museum in Woodford, Stockport has kindly agreed to give us a talk about the history of the Avro company, their museum at Woodford and the development of aircraft over the last 100 years.

at The Bluebell Wood

Prehistoric Grange Farm, Mottram

Kevin Wright

A presentation about the fantastic prehistoric Grange Farm site at Mottram. Kevin will bring along and discuss some of the finds and also show a 3D photogrammetry projection of a feature in their current trench

at The Bluebell Wood

Mayhills Cairn, Luzley

Malcolm Maddock

A previously unknown cairn in Luzley, a hamlet between Ashton-under-Lyne and Mossley. The discovery of a bronze age funerary urn and subsequent lab work.

at The Bluebell Wood

Christmas Party

Quizzes! Raffles! A chocolate tombola!

Starting with a buffet at 7:30, for those who Sue has included on her list - Please contact Sue!

at The Bluebell Wood

The changing landscape of ancient DNA in the study of mummified remains.

Dr. Konstantina Drosou

Ancient DNA is revolutionising our understanding of mummified remains from Egypt, Nubia, and Peru.

This presentation delves into the strengths and limitations of this area of research, including the need to find a balance between scientific curiosity and ethical considerations.

Konstantina Drosou is a principal investigator specialising in Evolutionary Genomics. She is programme director and lecturer in the MSc Biomedical Egyptology, based at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology where she is the Director of the human ancient DNA clean room facilities.

at Charlesworth and Chisworth Cricket Club, 28 Marple Road (A626), SK13 5DA

Recent Early Bronze Age Discoveries

Peter Noble

A talk about excavations carried out by GLAS on two newly discovered Bronze Age sites, as well as looking at the surrounding Bronze Age landscape and the sites found there.

at Charlesworth and Chisworth Cricket Club, 28 Marple Road (A626), SK13 5DA

Annual General Meeting and Talk(?)

at Charlesworth and Chisworth Village Club, 28 Marple Road (A626), SK13 5DA

Meeting cancelled due to double-booking at the pub

Melandra

Roger Hargreaves

The Joint Management Agreement with Historic England - a look at what that agreement says and what the implications are both for the fort and for GLAS

at The Bluebell Wood

Melandra

** This meeting was cancelled, and never actually happened! **

Henge monuments

Dr. Seren Griffiths

Henge monuments - Ireland and Britain in the late fourth and third millennia BC, the time of Stonehenge

at The Bluebell Wood

Roger, on the cremation burials at Mouselow Quarry, which have now been confirmed as early/middle Bronze Age in date.

at The Bluebell Wood

Annual General Meeting and talk

Re-election of Officers & Committee, Finances, Subscriptions

Also a talk by Peter Noble on a recent dig of a Bronze age cairn, and a collection of flints and stones to be presented by Tim Campbell-Green

The committee would like to hear from members what they think the Society ought to be doing from here on.

at Charlesworth and Chisworth Village Club, 28 Marple Road (A626), SK13 5DA

A guided tour of Castleshaw Roman Fort and the monastic Grange

led by Norman Redhead

meet at Castleshaw Centre Car park, Waterworks Rd, Delph OL3 5LZ

(This is the rescheduled event, postponed by a heat wave)

A walk round Old Glossop village, focussing on the industrial archaeology

Guided by Roger Hargreaves

meet at Manor Park car park. Corn St, Glossop SK13 8QE

Ongoing Covid 19 issues

No meetings arranged yet

Pubs are not allowed to open yet, and various members are vulnerable. But when meetings are eventually arranged, we'll post something about them!

Covid 19

No meetings

Social distancing, while we all try to survive this pandemic.

Castleshaw

Norman Redhead talk about the Castleshaw Hinterland Survey and lessons for Melandra

at The Bluebell Wood

Melandra

Christmas Social get-together

With a quiz

at The Bluebell Wood

Community dig near Melandra

A discussion of the issues involved in mounting a bigger (possibly two-week) dig in 2020 in association with Salford CfAA, who would apply for Heritage lottery funding.

Members may express an interest in taking part and also say what times of year they might be available and for how long, also what they would want or be prepared to do.

As this will be a well-publicised community dig in a very accessible location, there will be a particular need for volunteers to engage with the public and maintain site safety and security.

at The Bluebell Wood

Glossop parish workhouse

A talk by Roger on workhouses, particularly the Glossop workhouse and it's first building, dating from 1835.

at The Bluebell Wood

A.G.M

A.G.M. and discussion of recent test pitting near Melandra - what was found, what wasn't found, and what future plans might be made.

at The Bluebell Wood

No Meeting!

Slideshow & Social meeting

This month we've decided to have a social evening so we can have a chance to have a natter. There will also be informal presentations of Mike Brown's old slides of Melandra circa 1966, photo's from our recent test pitting exercise and our recent Lightside field walk.

at The Bluebell Wood

Tribal boundaries

Some new theories

by Paul Brotherton

at The Bluebell Wood

A series of short items

chaired by Roger Hargreaves:

• Arrangements for Melandra test-pitting
• an update on Melandra
• Arrangements for a field walk to Lightside
• the evidence for settlement at Lightside
• Bennet's Mills
• Roman road research status, with possible field walks.

at The Bluebell Wood

Dating soil sediments

Dr. Abi Stone, Department of Geography, Manchester University

Dr. Abi Stone is a senior lecturer in physical geography and her research uses portable optically stimulated luminescence (pOSL) to understand and date soil sediments. This is a particularly useful dating method for sites where no organic remains survive for radiocarbon dating eg. where acidic soil conditions destroy bone (like here!).

at The Bluebell Wood

The Folkton Drums

Dr Anne Teather

Anne and her husband Professor Andrew Chamberlain presented details of their recent paper on the enigmatic Folkton Drums. These are three elaborately decorated chalk cylinders found with a child's burial within a barrow in Folkton, Yorkshire. It is believed they date from the late Neolithic/early Bronze Age. The purpose of these artefacts has always been up for discussion but it appears Anne may have found the answer.

at The Bluebell Wood

The Poulton Project

Dr Kevin Coutes - Site Director at Poulton Research Project.

Poulton, in Cheshire West, is a multi-period site that could be one of the most amazing Iron Age sites in England, with finds from prehistoric, Roman and medieval times as well as numerous skeletons from around the site of a medieval chapel.

at The Bluebell Wood

Christmas party

at The Bluebell Wood

Ian Sanders

Cold War facilities in the North-West

at The Bluebell Wood

Melandra

Roger Hargreaves

A brief summary of what's known about the site, the excavation history, a precis of GLAS's involvement, and an outline of current issues.

at The Bluebell Wood

A.G.M.

Roger Hargreaves

With a discussion of possible archaeological dig at Melandra

It was suggested that we should apply for permission to do some test-pitting on non-scheduled land - for which we'd need permission from the local council as landowner.

This may then be followed with a full archaeological dig in collaboration with Salford Archaeology, if grant applications can be successfully made.

at The Bluebell Wood

No meeting

Football (the World Cup) took over the pub!

Hawkshead Mill, Old Glossop

Paul Beckmann

A talk on research into WW1 munitions production at Hawkshead Mill, Old Glossop.

at The Bluebell Wood

Glossop Halls Project

Roger Hargreaves presentation

With particular emphasis on the heritage value of the Town Hall. The 180th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone is in June, and an announcement is due about replacement of the roof.

at The Bluebell Wood

Glossop Curiosities

Tim Campbell-Green will be talking about the Whitfield Cross

at The Bluebell Wood

Rescheduled from February

Anne Teather talk on Prehistoric Orkney

at The Bluebell Wood

Cancelled due to snow

Glossop Curiosities

- a talk by Tim Campbell Green

at The Bluebell Wood

No meeting

Christmas party

at The Bluebell Wood

Tin Town Talk

A talk on "Tin Town", the temporary town created for the workforce on the Derwent dams, by John Searle.