KAFS 2012 Course Diary
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2012 Course Diary
We will be spending two weeks- Monday June 4th- Friday June 16th 2012 in association with the University of Texas investigating the Roman Emporium (Villa B) and the Roman palace (Villa A) at Oplontis next to Pompeii. See 'NEWS' for details.
| March, Sat & Sun 17th & 18th 2012, Field Walking and Map Analysis on the North Downs at Hollingbourne in Kent. | 
click on image to enlarge | Field work at its most basic involves walking across the landscape recording features seen on the ground. On this weekend course we are concerned with recognising and recording artifacts found within the plough soil. These will include prehistoric flint tools and Anglo-Saxon artifacts. One of the uses of field walking is to build up a database for large-scale regional archaeological surveys. We will consider the importance of regressive map analysis as part of this procedure. The course will cover standard and non-standard linewalking, grid walking, pottery distribution, identifying pottery and artifacts. Free to members. £50 for non-members |
Easter, April 4th to April 22nd 2012. Excavation of and Investigation of a newly-discovered Roman villa at Faversham in Kent | 
click on image to enlarge | Our second season of investigation of this stupendous Roman building at Abbey Farm in the heart of Medieval Faversham. Last year we uncovered a masonry building over 50 metres long with a substantial bath house at one end. Pottery and coin finds suggest this building survived into the early 5th century, a scenerio reinforced by the uncovering of timber cill beam slots above the demolished Roman building dated by pottery to the early 6th century. It seems given how close to the surface these substantial remains are, that the site has never been ploughed. Our investigations will include a geophysical survey to see how many other Roman buildings remain to be discovered!
KAFS member's special fee £30 per day, non-members £35 per day.
There will be a Training Week from 9th April to 13th April
at a cost of £100 if membership is taken out at the time of booking. |
May 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 2012, Investigation and evaluation of a group of Bronze Age barrows at Hollingbourne in Kent | 
click on image to enlarge | An opportuntity to participate in the evaluation of a three Bronze Age barrows on the North Downs. The Field School field-walked this site in 2011 and results indicate that apart from the Prehistoric pottery some Anglo-Saxon pottery was also retrieved. The barrows are adjacent to a little understood drove road or hollow-way, one of many, leading from the Downs to abundant springs.
Part of our Research Design in 2012 is to map the drove roads and excavate a section to enable us to date the phases of the feature. Site survey and site recording will be a major part of this evaluation exercise.
KAFS member's special fee £30 a day, non-members £35 a day. | |
June Bank Holidays 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th 2012. An Introduction to Archaeology
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click on image to enlarge | On this Bank Holiday weekend and the Bank Holiday Monday and Tuesday we shall look at the ways in which archaeological sites are discovered and excavated and how different types of finds are studied to reveal the lives of former peoples. This course will be especially useful for those new to archaeology, as well as those considering studying the subject further. In the afternoons we will participate in an archaeological dig on a Roman villa in Faversham under expert tuition.
Cost is £75 if membership taken out, non-members £100.
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May and June Weekends 12th &13th, 19th & 20th, 26th & 27th and June 2nd & 3rd, 4th & 5th
Roman Villa at Faversham
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click on image to enlarge | Weekend and Bank Holiday opportuntities to participate in the investigation and evaluation of the Roman villa and its environs in Faversham.
Cost for the weekend is £30 and for non- members £50 |
July 7th, 8th 2012, Surveying for Archaeologists
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click on image to enlarge | A course on the theory and practice of archaeological survey. Methods from basic optical site levels to laser technology and GPS will be taught. The work of the Ordnance Survey will be explained from the early days of triangulation using a base line to the use of GPS and its drawbacks. Practical exercises will take place at a Roman building in Faversham on vertical above ground sections and plan drawing. Context sheet recording for buildings and archaeological sites will also form part of the course.
Cost for the weekend is £50 for members, £75 for non-members.
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August 4th to 19th 2012. Investigation and excavation of Prehistory archaeology on the North Downs at Hollingbourne | 
click on image to enlarge | The site of a possible prehistoric 'Henge', Bronze Age barrows and a Iron Age cemetery will form part of the landscape features we will be investigating. This is a large-scale landscape investigation and pottery washing, soil processing are essential ingredients and will be conducted on site. Detailed planning and mapping of contexts and features will be to the highest standards. This is an ideal opportunity for participants to see how a large-scale research landscape investigation of an important Prehistoric site is conducted. Free camping is available on site.
KAFS member's special fee £30 per day, non-members £35 per day. |
August 13th to August 17th 2012, Training Week for Students at Hollingbourne in Kent | 
click on image to enlarge | It is essential that anyone thinking of digging on an
archaeological site is trained in the procedures used in professional archaeology. Dr Paul Wilkinson, author of the best selling "Archaeology" book and Director of the dig, will spend five days explaining to participants the methods used in modern archaeology. A typical training day will be classroom theory in the morning (on site) followed by excavation at Hollingbourne on Prehistoric features under the guidance of trained archaeologists. Free camping is available on site. | Topics taught each are:
Monday 13th August: Why dig?
Tuesday 14th August: Excavation Techniques
Wednesday 15th August: Site Survey
Thursday 16th August: Archaeological Recording
Friday 17th August: Pottery identification
A free copy of "Archaeology" will be given to participants. Cost for the course is £100 if membership is taken out at the time of booking.
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September 1st & 2nd 2012. Bones and Burials
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click on image to enlarge | Osteo-archaeology is the study of human remains. The course will be led by Dr Chris Deter who is an osteologist at the University of Kent. The course will cover the on-site recording of human remains and how they can reveal information about the person's age, sex and state of health. Excavated skeletons will be available for study and analysis in practical sessions. An excellent course at £75 for the weekend (10% discount for members). Held at the Field School in Faversham. |
October 13th & 14th 2012, How to Identify Roman Pottery with Malcolm Lyne
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click on image to enlarge | A course led by Malcolm Lyne is for those who want to distinguish the many types of Roman pottery found on British archaeological sites. On Sunday there will be a hands-on session followed by a visit to the Ospringe Museum to view with Malcolm Lyne Roman pottery from the cemetery of the adjacent Roman town of Durolevum. Cost for the weekend is £75 (10% members discount).
Helkd at the Field School in Faversham. |
October 6th & 7th 2012, Archaeological Drawing with Jane Russell
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click on image to enlarge | A beginner's and refresher course introducing participants to drawing archaeological artifacts. The reasons for drawing artifacts and the principles of archaeological illustration will be explained. There will be practical sessions each day demonstrating how to illustrate pottery, bone, metal and other artifacts found on archaeological sites. Course led by Jane Russell, who was senior illustrator of the UCL Field Archaeology Unit. Cost is £75 (10% discount for members). |
September 29th, 30th 2012, How to Identify Stone Tools
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click on image to enlarge | A course on how to identify Prehistoric flint and stone, and how to make stone tools with Hugo Lamdin-Whymark.
We trace the use of stone tools in Britain from the last glaciation to the Iron Age. A wide variety of stone artefacts from Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age will be available to handle.
On Sunday there will be practical exercises in the field using the methodology of field-walking to find actual examples amongst the rich archaeological heritage of the area. Cost is £75 (10% discount for members). |
FIELD TRIPS 2012
| September 21st, 22nd, 23rd 2012. Field Trip to Roman Provence based in Arles | 
click on images to enlarge | Provence was a vital part of the Roman Empire, indeed Arles was regarded as the rome of the north and we visit many of the wonderful remains in the region. We will be based in Arles and our preferred hotel is the Hotel D'Aalatan, a converted merchants house in the centre of Arles.
Friday 21st Sept: Flight or train to Arles.
Saturday 22nd Sept: A full day at the Roman town of Arles visiting the Archaeological Museum, theatre, amphitheatre, Cryptoporticus and the Baths of Constantine.
Sunday 23rd Sept: A wonderful day visiting some the great sites in the vicinity. The Pont du Gard, one of the most spectacular sites in Provence
Our preferred hotel is the Hotel D'Aalatan in the centre of Arles.
Cost of the trip is £150 which includes all entrance fees, guiding and public transport or coach but not flights, food or hotel. |
October 26th, 27th, 28th 2012. Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the Bay of Naples
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click on image to enlarge | This trip is for the cognoscenti who have been before but wants to spend more time at Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Dr Paul Wilkinson is your guide and he digs in Oplontis every year with the University of Texas and KAFS. This trip is a 'no frills' excursion which means flights , meals and hotels are not part of the package. However, the price for guiding and transport and admissions is only £150. Easyjet fly to Naples for as low as £45 return (if booked well in advance) and the preferred hotel in Pompeii is 50EU a night. |
Friday 26th October: Naples Archaeological Museum and the Roman sites of Naples.
Saturday 27th October: A full day in Pompeii including the Villa of the Mysteries.
Sunday: Herculaneum, Villa at Oplontis.
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December 1st to 6th 2012, Winter trip to Roman Germany
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click on image to enlarge | A two-centre trip to the heart of Roman Germanica, the hard-won frontier of the Empire. Who can forget the opening scene of the film Gladiator, set in the Teutoburg forest? This trip will coincide with the Christmas markets.
Saturday: Flight to Cologne, and tour the Roman sites and the Archaeological Museum. | Sunday: A day at the reconstructed Roman town and Imperial Baths of Xanten.
Monday: Roman and Charlemagne's Aachen, the museum at Frankenberg Castle.
Tuesday: Leave for Trier, via Saalburg Roman fort at the very edge of the Roman Empire, and the Roman villa at Bad Kreuzanach.
Wednesday: A day in Trier, the Roman Basilica, once Constantine's throne room, Porta Nigra, baths and amphitheatre.
Thursday: Otrang Roman villa then return along the River Moselle to Cologne and flight home.
Flights, all food and hotels by 'In-Time', guiding by Dr Paul Wilkinson
Cost: £1145 per person (single £1,198) deposit of £50 by April. |
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