Scroll down to see lots of different events that Chiltern Archaeology has run for the Romans in the Hambleden Valley project from training to displays to workshops.

Magnetometer training week

Andy Payne from English Heritage explains the technique.

The valley is providing a very large expanse of fields, but as there seems to be archaeology throughout much of it, there will be a lot of surveying to do!

The magnetometer is a Geoscan ad will allow us to survey the fields much more quickly than the resistance method we had used previously.

Tony surveying one of the grids in Horseleys Field.

This lovely grassy and flat field is in stark contrast to the torture we continued with on the other side of the valley with rape seed stubble to contend with.

We download data as we go, and here is the result quickly obtained at the end of day 1 surveying in Horseleys field. Already we can see a number of features emerging, wihch correspond to resistance features - large field boundaries, enclosures and unknown structures.

The magnetometry team for 2009 survey work - and still smiling at the end of the week!

The Hambleden show

Two Romans and a goddess at our display stand at the Hambleden show 2009.

Our display showed the results obtained so far with a beautiful smelling display called 'Smells of a Roman Kitchen'.

Visitors to the stand were very surprised at the amount of food, herbs and spices that the Romans introduced into Britain, and that we think of today as 'British'.

Marc Anthony with two goddesses.

Pottery training

Pottery is such an important item to any archaeological site.

There are hundreds of boxes of pottery from the 1912 excavation.

Not all 'pottery' boxes contain only pot. Some seem to contain all sorts - glass, animal bone, tile, residues, stone items - even a skull in one box which gave us a fright as the lid was lifted!

Female skeleton from Pit 6 within the Yewden villa enclosure.

This skeleton was deposited in the pit with 2 adult males and2 children. They are currently being assessed by osteologists with English Heritage. As they were all found together in the pit covered up with large amounts of building materials, foul play is suspected.

However, most of the finds within the pottery boxes are a wonderful collection of a wide variety of pot from Samian ware as here, to other fine wares, reduced wares, amphora and mortaria.

This pottery was made in Lezoux, Central Gaul (modern day France) and shows Hercules fighting snakes. This beautifully mould made pottery is easily dated to 120-200 AD.

The workshops are in place to sort the pottery into types, weigh it, count the sherds and record the items on the database. They can be used for many interpretations such as social status, date, trade, and in this example we even see how they repaired the pot - as the hole at the top housed lead rivets holding it together after a break.

Some pot is more local such as this Oxford Colour coat bowl.

Note the excavator (AH Cocks) has labelled the location for this find. This was not normally done in excavations of this date (1912).

This is an example of the large amount of reduced wares - the everyday kitchen pottery of the Roman period.

Training day, Lane End

Artefacts to look over from several archaeological periods

Playing with the 'zimmer-frame' otherwise known as the resistance meter!

 Oops we found the sewer!

 Such concentration - how many miles of valley?