Upcoming Events calendar
To sign up to any of our events please Contact us with your name and the event you will be attending.
The calendar above shows scheduled events from the Worthing Archaeological Society and associated local organisations. Click event on calendar for further information. To filter the type of the events shown, use the drop-down arrow on the top-right of the calendar. N.B. dates, times and locations of events not organised by WAS should be confirmed with the organizers.
The WAS Lecture Programme for 2025 is available and can be downloaded as a printable pdf
Please note, lectures could change subject to unforeseen issues.
Please note, lectures could change subject to unforeseen issues.
Next 'WAS' events
For lectures, members have free entry and visitors are asked to make a donation of £4 to the society.
For excavations, a day membership can be purchased for £5.
For excavations, a day membership can be purchased for £5.
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10 December
2024 |
Lecture: Rooted in History, Branching into the Future: The Story of the Nation’s Forests
Presented by Dr Lawrence Shaw Archaeologist, Lead Historic Environment Advisor Forestry England The nation’s forests are home to some of the best archaeological sites, historic buildings and designed landscapes found in England. Evidence of how humans have shaped these places can be found frozen in time, hidden beneath the tree canopy. The unique nature of forestry, when compared to other land uses, means that our historic record has the potential to be preserved to a much higher degree, with tens of thousands of known sites, and more than 850 protected monuments, buildings and parks and gardens found throughout our forests. How the Forestry Commission developed, how we acquired land and how this has been managed over the last one hundred years, means that Forestry England now oversees a palimpsest of landscape histories, ranging from the Palaeolithic through to the Second World War, as well as our own histories. This lecture will touch on just some of the incredible archaeological and historical narratives that can be found within the Nation’s Forest and how Forestry England has influenced these. |
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14 January 2025
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Lecture: Crete: Myth of the Minatour - Archaeology of the Minoans
Presented by Sarah Green Joint director Sussex School of Archaeology and History, co-founder University of Sussex Archaeology Society, Practitioner of the Chartered Institute for Archaeology Crete is best known in Greek Mythology as the home of King Minos, his wife Pasiphae, their daughters Ariadne and Phaedra and Pasiphae's child, the Minotaur. But who were the Minoans and how did their civilisation, which has been described as the earliest of its kind in Europe, develop into a strong maritime entity which traded throughout the Aegean, notably on mainland Greece, and with Egypt? This lecture will look at the archaeological evidence we have for the Aegean Bronze Age civilization on the island of Crete, which flourished from about 2600 to 1100 BC and was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of British archaeologist Arthur Evans. |
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18 January
2025 |
Day School: Early and Late Post-Medieval Pottery
Presented by Luke Barber This Day School on Post-Medieval pottery will pick up from where we left off after our Day School of 26th October 2024 entitled 'Saxon and Medieval Pottery in Sussex'. Luke will do a recap of Late Medieval pottery from the 15th to early 16th centuries. He will then look at early and late post-medieval wares and forms spanning the 16th to early 20th centuries. This period sees the rise of industrially produced wares of the18th century when Britain actually started to export wares to the Continent. As well as slides Luke will show us reference sherds and there will be time for practical sorting sessions. Worthing Museum, 10 am - 4:30 pm. Tea and coffee will be available from 9.45 am. Parking can be found in the NCP Car Park next to the Connaught Theatre or in the multi-storey car park in Worthing High Street. Costs for the day: Members £25.00, Non-Members £30.00 Please let me know if you would like to join us for this fascinating day of discovery ---- [email protected] |
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11 February
2025 |
Lecture: The John Pull Memorial Lecture: The Burpham Big Dig
Presented by James Sainsbury Archaeologist and Archaeology Curator at Worthing Museum and Art Gallery The community excavations in Burpham parish in West Sussex focused on the excavation of test pits in the gardens of 31 properties over the period 10th – 23rd August 2024. The Big Dig project was undertaken by Worthing Archaeological Society, residents and Worthing Museum staff, along with student volunteers. The objective was to enhance our understanding of the historic development of Burpham, Wepham and Peppering. It aspired to bring these communities together and increase both local and general interest in the incredible history of the South Downs. |
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11 March
2025 |
Lecture: The Neanderthal People of the English Channel: Adaptations, Encounters and Extinctions
Presented by Dr Matt Pope Archaeologist based at UCL Institute of Archaeology. Leading on excavations in Britain and the Channel Islands, he studies the Ice Age prehistory of northern Europe to understand how early human cultures pushed at the limits of their range, how adaptations underpinned our species success and the current challenges it faces. La Manche is the name we give to the Ice Age landscapes of the English Channel, southern Britain and northern France. It has a record of early human behaviour which varies from isolated and difficult-to-interpret single artefacts through to rare sites preserving deep and rich accumulations of many thousands of finds. By interpreting these traces, which include rare human remains, we are able to tell a story of Neanderthal people from their earliest origins through to their apparent extinction. In this lecture we explore this record looking at Neanderthal culture through the lens of their adaptive success and consider in what ways their interactions with Homo sapiens may have led to their disappearance. |
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8 April
2025 |
Lecture: Smugglers of the South East
Presented by Amie Friend Member of the WAS Field Team and founder of Time Seekers - History and Archaeology Education for Schools and Museums Contraband. Murder. Mystery. Punishment. Step back 300 years to when the landscape of Sussex and the South East was a haven for smuggling illicit goods into small fishing towns and communities. Hear the myths and legends, as well as the real evidence we have for their far reaching criminal activities. |
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