• Editorial Review
• 2013 Lecture Programme
• Activities & Events | Winter-Spring local and regional conferences, day schools, lectures and exhibitions
• Site Notes | The extraordinary story of St Helen’s Church Eston | The watermill that time forgot | Stone circle found at a church in Northern England
• Action Stations | BBC1 WWI Documentary programme makers need your help | North East Ancient Egypt Society
• Browser | This month's recommended Browsing, Listening and Reading items
• About TAS | How to Join | eNews Archive

Welcome to your January eNewsletter and

A number of flyers and documents in this eNewsletter are downloadable in PDF format. You will need (free) Adobe Acrobat reader installed on your computer.
 

TAS 2013 Programme Paper copies of the programme have been sent to members by post, will be available to collect at the January AGM Members Evening and will be available on the TAS website very soon. We encourage everybody that can to sign up for email communications since postage is now very expensive and a significant drain on our limited funds. For those of you who are e-subscribed, please talk to your fellow members and friends who are not—there has never been more training available by public libraries like Stockton (and often free), free computer access available in warm places (also often free), and opportunities to discover, share and get involved. Please note that not all 2013 lectures are on the last Tuesday of each month. Please check dates carefully. All lectures take place in Stockton Central Library at 7.30pm unless stated otherwise. Directions to Stockton are provided below. Tue 29 Jan 2013 | AGM and Members Evening Short talks, socialising and a chance to renew your membership: £12 Individual and £20 Joint*. Stephen Sherlock’s new Tees Archaeology monograph “A Royal Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Street House, Loftus, North East Yorkshire” will be available priced at £15 | Save £6 postage! Join TAS or renew your membership* If you can’t attend the AGM, please send a cheque or postal order (payable to Teesside Archaeological Society) to Mick Butler, TAS Treasurer, 25 Monmouth Drive, Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees, TS16 9HU. Include your name(s), address, phone number and email address(es). Image | Stephen Sherlock and Peter Johnson (TAS Member and Street House digger) book-signing at Kirkleatham Museum.   Tue 5 Mar 2013 | Archaeological Landscapes of Swaledale | Tim Laurie Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Archaeology Group Tim’s lecture will present archaeological landscapes in Swaledale and adjacent areas of the Swale-Tees/Greta interfluve. These landscapes include Mesolithic and Neolithic occupation sites, rock art, ring cairns, burnt mounds and the unenclosed settlements of the Bronze Age which have interesting associations with wide ranging coaxial field systems on the open heather moorland. The recently completed surveys of the wide ranging coaxial field systems of Swaledale will be detailed and the evidence for their origins, development and relative chronology will be described. Finally, the horizon of Later, Iron Age and Native Settlements of the Roman Period on the lower dale slopes will be introduced together with the Grinton-Fremington Linear Earthworks, all of which are currently the subject of survey and recent excavations by The Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Archaeological Group. For interim reports on this work in progress see www.swaag.org. Image | Cogden Settlements | Tim Laurie. Tue 26 Mar 2013 | Hart: the Archaeology of a Village during the Second World War | Robin Daniels Tees Archaeology Robin’s talk will examine the archaeology of Hart between 1938 and 1945 drawing out a picture of how the social upheavals of the inter-war period and the impact of the war can be reconstructed using archaeological techniques. The Heritage of Hart is a project to document the Historic Environment of the area as it stands today in order to better understand the heritage of the village, to provide a resource for further work and an archive for those in the future. The intention was to focus on the physical aspects of the area that related to the war and to link these to the memories of local people. The project involved volunteers from Hart History Group and elsewhere and staff of Tees Archaeology and Hartlepool Borough Council Landscape and Conservation Department working together. The results of the World War II survey were grouped into four categories; Fighting the Invasion, Resisting an Occupation, The Threat from Above and Prisoners of War. Image | A 'toy' made by an Italian Prisoner of War who was interned at Hart | Shirley Brown.   Tue 23 April 2013 | Past Environments of Fylingdales Moor | Jim Innes University of Durham   Research by Margaret Atherden in the 1980s provided a record of the long-term vegetation history of the area around Fylingdales Moor, since when the exposure of many archaeological sites on the eastern part of the moor by the wildfire of 2003 has shown that it was the location of major human activity during prehistoric and later times.   New pollen analyses from peat deposits in the burned area have given detailed information regarding the vegetation cover and human land use on the moor from the early Mesolithic through to the Late Medieval period. Pollen evidence of forest clearance and agriculture confirms that the area was heavily used by people from the late prehistoric period onwards. Tue 28 May 2013 | The Post-Roman Centuries in the Tees Valley | David Petts University of Durham The Tees valley is often overlooked in studies of early medieval Northumbria. The River Tees is often seen as a border between the two kingdoms of Deira and Bernicia and rarely considered in its own right. In this lecture David seeks to rectify this imbalance and in the light of recent archaeological discoveries he will trace the development of the region from the end of the Roman Empire through to the Anglo-Saxon Conversion arguing that the Tees Valley was not a backwater, but a key part of the early medieval social and political landscape in the early medieval period.   Image | Saxon brooch from Norton | David Petts. Jul-Aug 2013 | TAS Summer Fieldtrip | Date and details to be announced Tue 24 Sep 2013 | The Changing Landscape of Guisborough 1250–1850 | Barry Harrison Centuries of diverse land use and over a thousand years of urban development have obscured much of the evidence of the original settlement at Guisborough. It does not appear in written records until AD 1020 and 44 years later the Domesday Survey records a church, a mill and around 3,000 acres of farmland indicating the existence of a well-established Anglo-Saxon or earlier settlement. The original main street appears to have been Belmangate. For the most part a planned town or bailiwick, laid out around Westgate in the 13th century by the great Augustinian Priory (founded circa 1119) and never granted a borough charter, Guisborough failed to develop much beyond a village and market, despite extensive trading, mining and manufacturing rights. After the Dissolution, development generally took place within original Tenement plots though Guisborough lacked the grander merchant buildings of other towns such as Yarm or Stockton. From 1606 the development of alum industry brought increased wealth but limited development until the advent of the railway and ironstone-mining in the 1850s which saw the influx of migrants and transformation. Barry’s lecture will help unravel the townscape and explain the evidence—some still visible today—for Guisborough’s development from the floruit of the Priory to the coming of the industrialists.   Images | Top: The Seat of William Chaloner Esq. of Gisbrough in Cleveland in the County of York, Britannia Illustrata, 1708 | Centre: A detail from the engraving after a design by Leonard Knyff, of The Old Hall, in Bow Street, Guisborough, 1708 | Bottom: Surviving tenement behind Westgate (Barry Harrison). Tue 29 Oct 2013 | The Romans at Street House, Loftus | Stephen Sherlock Steve’s lecture will focus upon the excavation of a Romano-British building recognised in 2012 and to be excavated in the summer of 2013.   A Roman building was found during excavations in 2008 and this dated to the 4th century AD. The site found in 2012 is of the same date based upon the artefacts and is provisionally thought to be part of the same complex forming a 4th century Romano-British estate, sometimes called villas. Image | Roman period building at Street House, Loftus 2012 | Stephen Sherlock.   Tue 26 Nov 2013 | Archaeology in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty | Paul Frodsham North Pennines AONB Over the past couple of years, local volunteers from the Altogether Archaeology project have completed a range of archaeological fieldwork projects throughout the North Pennines, including investigations of a prehistoric burial site, a Roman road, and a medieval castle. In this presentation, illustrated with images from all the different investigations, project manager Paul Frodsham will explain how people have lived in the North Pennines landscape over the past 10,000 years. He will also explain how members can join in with exciting archaeological research in the area. The North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty was designated in 1988. It is also Britain's first European Geopark and a founding member of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network. The North Pennines AONB Partnership holds a Gold Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) Award for its corporate office and tourism activities.   Image | Altogether Archaeology volunteers excavating a newly discovered medieval spiral staircase at Westgate Castle in 2011 | © Paul Frodsham / NPAONB | www.northpennines.org.uk Dec 2013 | Elgee Memorial Lecture | Date and details to be announced   How to get to Stockton Library Stockton Central Library is located off Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1TU. By Rail | Stockton railway station is located at Bishopton Lane, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 2AJ, aproximately 400m from the library. Stockton is served by trains between Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough, Newcastle (via Sunderland), Hexham and Carlisle with connections required for Darlington mainline and TransPennine services via York and Middlesbrough. By Bus | For local and regional bus services, visit the journey planner at Connect Tees Valley. Student shuttle between Durham and Queen's Campus via Stockton Town Centre | In term-time a University campus shuttle bus runs between Harvard Avenue (outside Queen's Campus) to Stockton town centre, then to Durham, calling at the Maiden Castle sports centre, the Science Site, New Elvet and the bus station. Daytime services are half-hourly, evening is hourly | More info on services By Car | Free evening parking is at the rear of the library—turn into the street named The Square towards the river, entering the car park through barriers on the right. When you arrive | The lecture room is located to the east of the ground floor library area through two sets of double doors. You can also enter from the rear car park (opposite the Police Station) and turn right once inside. Please sign the visitor's book. Guests are welcome for £3 each on the door—please pay a Committee member. Refreshments are available afterwards. The refurbished library has a cafe upstairs and offers free wifi access.

Conferences, Day Schools,

Events and Exhibitions

Winter-Spring 2013

Here is a selection of events in the north-east of England and Yorkshire that may be of interest to members. If you want to advertise an event or fieldwork, or have seen an event in the media, please send details to the editor at teesarchsoc.news@gmail.com. Listings are generally not repeated in each monthly newsletter so please refer to the eNews Archive at the end of this message or on the TAS website.

Booking and fees may apply to some events: please check details or contact the respective organisers.

Mark your diary

The Archaeologist’s Dance exhibition

From Sat April 20 to July 2013| Kirkleatham Museum

‘The Archaeologist’s Dance’ is the title of a new exhibition of drawings and paintings to run from April to July 2013 at the Kirkleatham Museum in Redcar, Cleveland. Based on visits to archaeological sites at Star Carr, Scarborough, and Street House, Loftus, fine artist Carmen Mills has responded with a body of work that considers the work of archaeologists, who as part of their remit juggle the strictures of scientific data, fact and artefact with conjecture, speculation and imaginative interpretation.

The Exhibition opens with an exciting Preview Event on Saturday 20 April 2013 when two archaeologists, Pat Hadley (University of York, Star Carr project) and Dr Stephen Sherlock (finder of the Anglo Saxon Princess treasure, Kirkleatham Museum) enter into lively debate. This will be followed by an interpretation of the two sites set to original contemporary music influenced by ancient instruments (music producer Torque), and interpreted through dance by Scarborough’s Hatton School of Performing Arts. This innovative event will bring the original Saxon treasure housed at the Museum back into the spotlight, demonstrate the treasure beneath our feet, and encourage people to access both fine art and archaeology as important contributors to our cultural heritage.

Entry is free | Reminders will follow

More Events...

Council for British Archaeology Yorkshire Group : AGM and Public Symposium | Sat 2 Feb 2013 | York : Members £7, Non-members £10 Booking required

A day of archaeological review open to CBA Yorkshire members and non-members (Symposium) commencing with the Annual General Meeting from 10am to 11am. Refreshments are provided (lunch not provided). Copies of FORUM the journal of CBA Yorkshire (re-designed new series vol 1 2012) will be available free to members and for a fee to non-members—a great opportunity to join CBA Yorkshire. The Symposium lectures include:

• 11.20am Pontefract Dominican Friary: an update | Simon Tomson
• 11.50am Street House Excavations 2010-2012: recent discoveries | Stephen Sherlock
• 12.20pm Malton Mueum: Past and Future | Peter Addyman
• 2.00pm The Iron Age Nidderdale Project | Gillian Hovell
• 2.30pm The Possible Gladiator Cemetery at Driffield Terrace, York | Kurt Hunter-Mann
• 3.00pm WEA Digability across Yorkshire and Humber | Nicola Thorpe
• 4.20pm Recent Excavations at Boltby Scar Hillfort | Dominic Powlesland
• 4.20pm Recent recording of traditional buildings in Yorkshire | David Cant
• 4.50pm Close

More Info | Website: http://new.archaeologyuk.org | Phone: 01904 671 417

John Lewyn of Durham and the Castellated Architecture of the Northern Counties : Lecture | Sat 2 Mar 2013 | Architectural & Archaeological Society of Durham & Northumberland | 2.30pm Elvet Riverside 141, New Elvet, Durham

Lecture by Dr Malcolm Hislop (Hislop Heritage).

More Info | Email: archandarch.dand@durham.ac.uk

Conflict in Cleveland—and Beyond : Dayschool | Sat 9 Mar 2013 | Middlesbrough

This Spring sees the 16th day school organised jointly by the Centre for Regional and Local Historical Research and the Cleveland and Teesside Local History Society. The day is intended for the general public, who are especially welcome, as well as members of the University and the Society. There will be six invited speakers, who will be talking about military, religious and social conflict in North Yorkshire and South Durham. You can park free of charge immediately outside the Europa Building if you are attending the day school. The entrance to the car park is on Woodlands Road in Middlesbrough, near its junction with Southfield Road.

You can bring your own packed lunch to eat in the Europa Building or go out to an eating place in the neighbourhood. Alternatively you can order a buffet lunch from the University at a cost of £4.50, provided that you order when you are booking your place at the day school.

• 9.30am Registration
• 9.45am How dangerous is desperation’: The Battle of the Standard, Northallerton 1138 | Geoff Braddy
• 11.00am The dog that did not bark and the one that did: Cleveland men in the 1405 rebellion | Dr Melanie Devine
• 11.45am Religious rebellions | Dr Diana Newton
• 1.30pm Sedition, riot and rebellion in 18th century North Yorkshire | Prof Peter Rushton
• 2.15pm How Stockton faced the fear of French invasion | Dr Win Stokes
• 3.30pm ‘Demonstration Days’: class conflict in Victorian Cleveland | Dr Tony Nicholson
• 4.15 to 4.30pm Conclusions

• Rural houses of the Vales of North Yorkshire | Barry Harrison
• Mud, pantiles and tumbled gables - exploring the vernacular architecture of the East Riding | David Neave
• New perspectives on lower-status housing in late medieval York | Jayne Rimmer
• Discoveries in Craven | Alison Armstrong
• Studies of West Yorkshire rural vernacular: how did we get here and where are we going? | Colum Giles

• “We do have them!" Neolithic long mounds and finding a 'proper' Neolithic in the Yorkshire Dales” | Yvonne Luke
• Whitfield Syke | Upper Wharfedale Heritage Group
• Recent excavations at Low Borrowbridge Roman Fort, Tebay | Annie Hamilton-Gibney
• The Hagg and Harkerside | Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Archaeology Group
• 'Building Stones of the Yorkshire Dales' | Shirley Everitt
• Recent Moorland LiDAR survey results | Miles Johnson
• (Additionally, possibly a talk on developments at Richmond/Middleham Castle)

Site Notes
 

Hide and Seek | Disappearing and

Reappearing Heritage

Case No. 1 | St Helen’s of Eston—the place that lost a thousand stones
The extraordinary story of St Helen’s Church Eston : Resurrection of a 900 year old building

St. Helens, the old Parish church of Eston (Redcar & Cleveland, North Riding of Yorkshire before the 1974 boundary changes), dates back to around AD 1100 although much reconstructed in 1823. Back In 1998, the church had been disused for around 15 years and repeatedly burned out, partially demolished by local vandals—even the vestry had been entirely stolen for its stone, reminiscent of the lead thefts we face today, but perhaps rather more extreme. One wonders whose house extension or garden wall is constructed from the vestry before graffiti covered the rest of the ancient building?

Despite being a Grade II listed building, permission had been granted by English Heritage and local authorities for its demolition. Fortunately Beamish Museum stepped in at the last moment to rescue the church for preservation. They carefully deconstructed it stone by stone for rebuild on the Museum site and work is now nearing completion on the reconstruction of the Church next to Pockerley Old Hall. The careful deconstruction, stone-by-stone, and recording in 1995 also revealed carving and decoration reflecting all of the periods of the church’s long history, including Norman stonework.

Images | Top: Postcard of St Helen's post 1905 as it shows the new east window in place. Both vestry and nave chimneys are still at full height. The only view we have of the vestry chimney before it was cut down. The current beautiful surrounding trees can be seen in their infancy following the planting up of the larger cemetery with specimen trees. This corner by the stream is still readily identifiable today | Centre: After an arson attack 1995 | Bottom: Completion of the walls and roof 2012 at the Beamish Museum, County Durham.
 

Case No. 2 | The watermill that time forgot : Yearsley Moor archaeology project

Archaeology volunteers have unearthed a water mill at least 500 years old on Yearsley Moor, near Helmsley. This is a highly significant and important find for the area.

A remarkable feature of the site is the large amount of finds that have been recovered so far; these have included pottery, bone, corroded metal, an undated coin, glass and some puzzling stone objects.

The find is the conclusion of three years of painstaking research and field survey work by Yearsley Moor Archaeological Project volunteers and North York Moors National Park apprentices under the supervision of professional archaeologist Luigi Signorelli. The team is being funded by the Lime and Ice Project, a partnership of six organisations.

They have found the remains of a complex of buildings in the undergrowth and one of them contains a large millstone. The group has also discovered the outline of nearby ponds and watercourses that may well have served the mill. The archaeology team hope to confirm the presence of the mill and to answer more important questions such as how it worked and when it was first constructed.

The project was started in 2009 and has proved to be a very successful volunteer-led activity. The initial objective was for the group of volunteers to survey the Yearsley Moor and Gilling Park area to identify existing archaeological sites and to see if any other unrecorded features might still exist.

The prospective mill is the current site of interest for the group but many other areas have also been investigated; these include Bronze Age burial mounds, ‘bell pit’ coal mines, ancient track ways, two ornamental temple sites, a flight of lakes with two breached dams, a deer park boundary or ‘Park Pale’ and other perplexing lumps and bumps in the landscape that have yet to be explained.

Read More | NYM Full Press Release | Yearsley Moor Exploration Blog | BBC News coverage

Stone circle found at church in Northern England | St Michael and All Angels : Houghton-le-Spring

Archaeologists working at an historic church in North-East England have discovered evidence that the site may have been used for worship since the Stone Age. St Michael and All Angels, Church, in Houghton-le-Spring, has been a site of Christian worship for nearly 1,000 years, but a stone circle found on the site suggests that it may have been used by pagans in Neolithic times.

Parts of the current church date back to the 12th Century, but new finds began to emerge during work in 2008 to make the church more accessible, which have since been analysed by experts. First an Anglo-Saxon doorway and walls were discovered, but then earlier stonework which archaeologists believe suggest the remains of a Roman temple lie beneath the church chancel and also a whinstone boulder circle which suggests the site was used for worship 4,000 years ago.

Further evidence supporting this theory is that Romans tended to build temples on old pagan worship sites. Additionally, the site was originally a mound in the midst of boggy land which would leave it as the only location suitable to build on.

Churchwarden David Turnbull, the official guide of the church said: "When I take schoolchildren round the church, I ask them 'how old is Jesus' and they say 2,000 years. Then I say 'well worship on this site could have been taking place for 2,000 years before him'. The church is special. It has a spiritual feel to it."

Edited from The Northern Echo (18 Jan 2013) | http://tinyurl.com/a4s8ow9