The University of Reading Centre for Continuing Education
in association with Reading Museum Service presents
The Town Hall Lectures 1999:
Recent archaeological investigations in Reading and the Thames Valley
A series of 5 fortnightly lectures revealing some of the exciting
archaeological discoveries made recently in Reading and the Thames
Valley, organised by the University of Reading in association with
Reading Museum Service.
Tuesday 26 January 1999
Life and Death in the Thames: the archaeology of the Eton Rowing Lake
Tim Allen, Oxford Archaeological Unit
Oxford Archaeological Unit have been carrying out a series of
excavations in advance of construction of a rowing lake at Dorney, South
Bucks. Analysis is still in progress, but already a fascinating picture
of the last 10,000 years has emerged and the site now has national
importance.
Tuesday 9 February 1999
Changing Places: Hillforts on the Ridgeway from the Bronze Age to the
Romans
Chris Gosden, Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford
3 hillforts along the Ridgeway at Segsbury, Uffington and Alfred's
Castle, have been excavated over the last five years and have complex
histories spanning the late Bronze Age to the late Roman period. This
work questions the commonly held view that hillforts were hilltop
fortifications and allows insight into how the people of late prehistory
viewed the places they lived in and their views of histories attached to
places.
Tuesday 23 February 1999
Silchester Roman Town: dramatic new evidence
Mike Fulford, University of Reading
A new programme of excavations has begun within the Roman town of
Silchester. The principal objective is to gain a new understanding of
the town from its origins at the end of the pre-Roman Iron Age to its
end in the sixth or seventh century AD. This lecture will present the
results of the 1998 season, which has produced dramatic new evidence to
suggest a sudden, rather than a gradual end to the life of the town.
Tuesday 9 March 1999
Windsor Castle: Fire, restoration and archaeology
Steven Brindle, English Heritage
The devastating fire of November 1992 burnt away layers of 19th century
plaster and panelling, revealing something of the complexity of the
building underneath. As part of the restoration process English Heritage
carried out one of the most complex exercises in the surveying and
recording of a historic building ever undertaken. Significant
discoveries revealed during this work shed new light on the Medieval
history of the castle and on the lives of the Medieval royal household.
Tuesday 23 March 1999
Where There's Muck There's Brass: a picture of medieval & post-medieval
life in Reading
David Wilkinson, Oxford Archaeological Unit
In 1997 & 1998, 5 major excavations were carried out at the Oracle site,
Reading by the Oxford Archaeological Unit. The Oracle developers,
Hammerson PLC, funded all of the work, which constitutes the largest
archaeological excavation ever undertaken in Reading. The excavations
produced spectacular results, including the remains of the 17th century
Oracle workhouse, a 16th Century tannery, a substantial stone built hall
of 12th - 13th century date, and unique evidence from a medieval wooden
watermill. The findings contribute to understanding of medieval and
post-medieval life locally and nationally.
Lecture tickets are available at £3.50 each, or at just £15 for the
whole series, from the Hexagon Box Office on (0118) 960 6060 and the
Tourist Information Centre at the Town Hall. Lectures begin at 7.30pm.
Contact the Centre for Continuing Education, University of Reading on
0118 931 8347 for further details or via e-mail to
[log in to unmask]
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|