Blog Posts

WAS Windows on the Pier Installed

21/11/2017

On the afternoon of Sunday 19th November 2017, there was a gathering on Worthing Pier to celebrate the installation of windows commemorating two of our eminent past members, John Pull (1899–1960) and Con Ainsworth (1917-2001).
Here is an extract of the speech given by Liz Lane:
"Worthing Archaeological Society is delighted to see our windows installed. There have been, and are, many eminent Archaeologists in Sussex, but these our 'our' Archaeologists.
Very few of us now can say we knew John Pull, but we all knew of him. WAS owes him a lot, and this tribute is long overdue. There is a display dedicated to him in the Museum.
Many of us knew and appreciated Con's vast knowledge of the archaeology of Sussex, and he inspired many people to study and to get involved. This would have been his centenary year.
Sussex Archaeology Collections 2017 was recently published. The first article, on the flint mines of Long Down and Harrow Hill refers several times to John Pull. In an article on Binsted, Con is mentioned. They are both still significant in Sussex Archaeology.
We must say many thanks to Siobhan Jones, who designed and created the windows at the Forge. We wanted to show John Pull as Archaeologist, Geologist and talented Illustrator, hence his drawings of axes on the shepherd's crowns.
We couldn't easily illustrate Con's important dig at Binsted, but there is a pot in his window. Also Cissbury and the flint mines, Cissbury being significant for both gentlemen, for WAS and for Worthing."
Alex Vincent talked about how Con Ainsworth had encouraged his interest in archaeology, and Glyn talked about knowing John Pull as his postman! Members of the families also gave short speeches.

Above: Amanda O'Carroll, granddaughter of John Pull, and Sue Lyon, daughter of Con Ainsworth. Below: Glyn reminiscing about John Pull.

Study day: led by David McOmish: " Making Sense of Monuments: Landscape Archaeology of Sussex: The Bronze Age" - 30 September 2017

2/10/2017

Although David McOmish hails from Glasgow, he has a deep love for the chalk landscapes of the south of England, from Wiltshire to West Sussex. He started by showing us the pot-belly hill of Gobekli Tepe, from 9,500 BC. These circular temple monuments, with their 4 metre high, ‘T’ shaped limestone structures, have no apparent predecessors. They were made by hunter gatherers, before the invention of pottery. Yet these ‘T’ shaped stones have beautiful relief carvings on them, of vultures, bulls, foxes and cranes. The vulture link maybe to do with ‘sky’ burials and excarnation, although some have suggested there may be an astronomical link. These are not hunting scenes, although many bones of gazelle, boar, sheep and red deer have been found. This does not show a steady evolution, as they seem to have appeared out of nowhere. It is an example of ‘punctuated equilibria’ of prehistoric progress.

Archaeology is about the communication of ideas. It’s thought that Causewayed Enclosures and Long Barrows started in Kent and rippled outwards. The Orcadian monumental architecture near the Ring of Brodgar shows this invasion of ideas, known to have come from the Belgium area, where the rare Orkney vole comes from. The idea that ancient people built tombs and mounds in bursts of activity and not in a steady continuity was echoed on other sites such as Blick Mead near Stonehenge or on the South Downs at Black Patch.

So where do Bronze Age Beakers come from? DNA analysis across Europe indicates that the Beaker ‘package’ came over here from Holland and Rhineland area. But David McOmish has looked at the Early Egyptian material in the British Museum and thinks Bell Beakers are evident there and may have origins in Sudan in 3,200 BC.

The famous Amesbury Archer’s burial was surrounded by five Beakers, flint arrowheads, daggers and tools, but also copper knives and a cushion stone for metal working. DNA tests shows us that he came from a metal working area in the Alps, as did the young (25 yrs old) Boscombe Bowman. DNA testing tells us that the latter was related to the Amesbury Archer. The Bowman had visited the Alps, perhaps to see his family. Isotope analysis of skulls from the Amesbury area reveal that these people had visited Wales and the Lake District, where knowledge of mining and metalworking skills would be very useful.

Dave Field has investigated Bronze Age barrows, in their many forms, dating from around 1800BC. The South Downs barrows can be seen in clusters, on high points, often close to watersheds, or lower down, close to spring lines or to springs. On Petersfield Common at the head of the river Rother, water bubbles up in a variety of forms. It appears it was important for BA barrows to be near water.

Around 1600BC, a Bronze Age landscape of field systems emerges and LiDAR has transformed our understanding of these systems. In Denmark and NW Europe, radiocarbon dating shows that the field systems appear at the same time as Linear Ditches. This is the first time the landscape is marked and divided up. Maybe a special ritual accompanied the formation of field systems. This might explain one curious fact about them. Many of these systems are orientated to the Solstices – NW to SE or NE to SW. They cut across landscapes totally ignoring the topology of hills and vales. This act of creating Field systems is defining the land for the first time and was possibly done according to their belief systems linked to the sun – the giver of life. But as we see throughout prehistory, many field systems are abandoned and then reused, with pulses of these activities up to 750BC.

Midden or rubbish sites also appear in this period from 1600 – 800BC. The East Chisenbury midden sits on top of the meeting point of 6 Linear Ditches. It covers 3 hectares and is 3 metres deep. There is evidence of special pottery and exotic goods, and many sheep, cow and pig bones, also human bone. This shows that much feasting went on and a hierarchy was emerging. Similar evidence was found at Woolstonbury, Highdown and Mucking.

The workshop audience were asked which journals they read. Everyone saw ‘Current Archaeology’ and a few read British Archaeology. Few belonged to the Prehistoric Society or saw PPS – much to David McOmish’s chagrin, nor did they have access to the Antiquaries Journal, although Esme Evans noted that you can read this in the SAS library at the Barbican in Lewes.

Altogether David McOmish gave us a fascinating overview of the Bronze Age and we went away with a few questions and much food for thought.

Sue Brown

Flint-Knapping Study Day led by Bob Turner - 17 June 2017

30/7/2017

Seventeen of us spent a fascinating day in the very special setting of the Downs Barn in Sompting. Led by Bob and with Gill providing expertise on a viewing of the Upton flint collection, we sat under gazebos for protection from the sun and knapped happily to our hearts content.
Bob’s aim was for us to produce a flint tool kit which during Neolithic times would have consisted of at least 9 different types of tools. All members of the family would have taken part with the younger ones learning knapping skills from their elders. Essential for skinning animals to provide food, fashioning wooden implements and so on, flint continued to be used prolifically until the Bronze Age when the use of flints decreased with the introduction of metal.
This was very much a ‘hands on’ demonstration as was evident from the amount of plasters needed during the flint knapping process, flint being an extremely sharp material!
Connie brought along a deer skin which a few brave souls amongst us (not me!) applied their newly fashioned blades to.
Towards the end of the day, Bob gave us all a lump of flint and tasked us (in 20 minutes!) with the job of fashioning a flint tool of some sort. We then went round to each person to say what type of tool we had made and what it would have been used for.
We learnt a lot and had a great time and many thanks to Gill and Bob for their tuition and for everyone who made it such a splendid day.
Patricia

Binsted Strawberry Fair Sunday 23rd July 2017

24/7/2017

The 30th Binsted Strawberry Fair was held in the special setting of a flint 19th Century threshing barn, in Binsted Lane, surrounded by the beautiful Sussex countryside. Members of Worthing Archaeological Society have regularly had a stall at this unique fair. We set up our display collection of finds dating from early Palaeolithic stone tools to Post Medieval tiles and pottery.
We were welcomed by Mike Tristram, who lent us another gazebo to keep us dry; other stall holders lent us an umbrella and some pegs to stop our table cloth and membership forms from blowing away.
The squally English weather didn’t stop us having a fine afternoon. We had many visitors to our stall who were interested in all the WAS activities in Binsted local area. We answered questions about the Roman villa site in Walberton, the pottery kilns in Binsted and the Goblestubbs sites across the A27. Some of the visitors told us about their own finds, including pieces of pottery, flint tools and a polished flint axe, which they, their parents or grandparents, had found in fields nearby.
We had a delightful time meeting so many people interested in archaeology and appreciate the help from Society members and others. See you there next year!
Theresa

July 23rd, 2017

23/7/2017

Environmental Archaeology Training Day with Mike Allen

Visit to Mike Allen's laboratory.

On 17th July seven WAS members of the finds team visited Mike Allen's laboratory, at Allen Environmental Archaeology in Wiltshire. Our main object was to learn about samples processing, in particular for our carbon samples from the recent dig at Slindon field 20. Thanks to an early start and our excellent drivers, Chris and Richard, we arrived in good time at the right place, easily recognised by the giant snail on the gateposts.

Mike gave us a tour of the facilities available in the laboratory including his impressive bespoke flotation system. This was followed by a demonstration of flotation and sieving of a land snail sample from Stonehenge. We examined samples of charcoal under a microscope, learning how the tree species could be identified, and the importance of differentiating heartwood from round wood.

We also used the microscope to look at cereal and chaff grains as Mike explained the significance of what types were found in a sample.

Mike impressed on us the importance of being clear about what we wanted to learn from our sample before collecting it, also the care that must be taken choosing and actually collecting the samples. He also explained how we could carry out our own floatations and sieving using meshes, pegs and buckets.

After a convivial lunch in the garden, it was a lovely warm and sunny day, we set off in convoy to Larkhill, for a guided walk around the Stonehenge landscape. Mike told us about ongoing research excavations in the area and we were able to look into a partially backfilled trench which had turned out to be a 2m deep pit, probably Mesolithic, which bore the characteristics of a large post hole, possible for a totem pole type construction. The highlight of the afternoon was walking uphill along the Avenue and seeing
Stonehenge appear ahead over the brow of the hill.

Many thanks to Mike for such a great day and hopefully we will be doing the floatation processing of our own samples before long.

Jacqui