CURRENT PROJECTS
25th and 26th July 2009
IN SEARCH OF OUR ROMAN PAST!
The Society participated in the 2009 Festival of British Archaeology by organising an event in Tivoli Park Margate. More than a dozen of our members were involved in the various activities and we were visited by several hundred local people over the weekend who seemed very interested in hearing about the history and archaeology of this special area of Margate, and learning more about the Society. Our marquee had a fascinating display about what we now know of the Tivoli Roman "Villa", and another section had a fine collection of old prints and information about the popular Tivoli Pleasure Gardens of the 18th and 19th centuries. Some interesting ancient artefacts and pottery found locally by the team were on show, and as finds were recovered from the new trenches visitors could watch "potwashing" and then handle the finds. Geophys was demonstrated near the football pitch, and at the Tivoli Park Avenue end of the park four small trenches were dug and recorded by our members, under the watchful eye of Ges Moody and Paul Hart of the Trust for Thanet Archaeology.
Amazingly one member of the public was able to give us a first-hand account of seeing a Roman hypocaust (underfloor heating system) excavated under nearby Mere Gate in the 1920's when she was four years old; this is another piece of useful information which is helping the Society to gradually build up a better picture of the area in the Iron Age and Roman periods. Thank you Mrs. Jewiss!
A full account of our excavations will be published in due course but we can say that on this occasion we found, as usual, sherds of pottery from the Iron Age, and Roman period, along with food debris including animal bone and oyster shells.
 
 
1. Paul photographs a trench 2. Ges points members to the next step
3. Jan and Margaret discuss pottery finds 4. Dave Perkins identifies an edible mollusc |
19th March 2009
Villa re-discovered?
Amongst the objectives of the Society's regular digs in various front and back gardens in Tivoli Park Avenue, Margate, and in Tivoli Park itself, has been to re-locate a large Roman building first discovered in the area by Dr. Arthur Rowe in the 1920's. A test pit this week exposed what appears to be the foundation trench of a wall which seems to fit in well with the predicted location and orientation of the Roman "villa". The site was never properly recorded at the time of first excavation and all we have had previously as evidence of its position has been a single general view photograph. We hope we have now put it firmly on the map, but more work is still required before we can be certain. Thanks to the Avenue residents for permitting us to disrupt, albeit temporarily, their garden planting schemes!
More on Tivoli here. |
Members of the Society carry out regular geophysical surveys and limited excavations around Thanet.
Geophys at North Foreland, near Broadstairs. |
