Breaking News Newsletter for Breaking New Ground Landscape Partnership Scheme
Oct 2016
A newsflash for project partners and participants with news items, project updates, special features and forthcoming events.
Enchanted Heath is coming
New publication for the Brecks
to West Stow! We are delighted to announce a call for papers for inclusion in the inaugural Journal of Breckland Studies (JBS), which will be published in March next year, both as hard copy and online. The journal is the firstever publication dedicated to promoting wider understanding and appreciation of the history and landscape heritage of the Norfolk & Suffolk Brecks through an anthology of previously unpublished articles. Each of these can be of up to 2,500 words in length, to include illustrations, and addressing a particular theme or subject relating to the Brecks. Subjects for potential coverage include agricultural history, land use, archaeology, architecture and the built environment, biodiversity and natural history, literature, economic development and social history.
After the success of Enchanted Forest we’re now looking forward to the next Enchanted event at West Stow Country Park on October 22nd 10-4pm. Free entry! A fun-filled day of Brecks crafts, trails, music, stories, face painting (small fee applies), archery and much more for all the family. Find out about the life in past times with Wulfingas in the Village and the stories of Beowulf and the Dragon.
Potential contributors are invited to submit an outline summary of up to 200 words, explaining the scope and content of their proposed paper, including a working title and an indication of potential illustrations. Papers must not have been published previously, whether wholly or in part, and must be the original work of the contributor.
Explore the new Enchanted Heath Trail in the park. See wonderful carvings of characters and locations from ancient stories in a variety of Breckland settings and meet the sleeping Heathland DRAGON! From 4:30pm on Saturday atmospheric self-led walks will take place in the park. The woodlands and Heath will be lit up to enchant those on their journey and will take you to the Heathland Dragon to hear the story of Beowulf and the Dragon! The tour is preceded by a Rojo Art workshop, helping you prepare for your voyage. ÂŁ2/person Book your ticket here www.whatsonwestsuffolk.co.uk/whats-on/event/3174/ the-enchanted-heath-at-night
Outline summaries should be emailed to bng.admin@suffolk.gov.uk no later than Monday 31 October 2016. They will then be considered by the JBS Editorial Panel, comprising experts on the Brecks and chaired by Professor Tom Williamson of the History Department at UEA with a decision by late November on which papers (up to eight in total) will be accepted for submission; the deadline for receipt of these will be Wednesday 4 January 2017. To discuss your ideas, or for further information, please contact James Parry of The Breckland Society on jbs@brecsoc.org.uk.
Project Focus C8: Brecks from Above
Earthworks of the Neolithic flint mines at Grimes Graves © Norfolk County Council. Photographer D.A. Edwards
The Brecks has great archaeological potential, with some of the earliest known evidence of human habitation in the UK, Neolithic ('New Stone Age') flint mines at Grimes Graves, and sites like West Stow Anglo Saxon Village. However, there are many sites that have yet to be discovered, or properly recorded. Due to landscape changes over time including glacial deposition, wind-blown sand dunes, forestry plantations and modern agriculture, many sites of archaeological significance have not yet been identified, or adequately recorded. These may be at threat from activities that cause ground disturbance, such as ploughing, development, forestry work or heathland restoration. Enhancing baseline knowledge of heritage assets in the Brecks is therefore a big priority for Norfolk County Council’s Historic Environment Service and its partners. The ‘Brecks From Above’ project aims to promote greater understanding and engagement with the prehistoric and historic Breckland landscape, specifically through the use of aerial photographs and other airborne remote-sensed data. The team are busy interpreting the results of BNG’s LiDAR project, which used special laser scanning technology to remove the trees from the landscape artificially to ‘see’ what was preserved beneath them. This is combined with an interpretative survey of thousands of conventional aerial photographs, most taken between the 1940s and the present day. A digitisation strand will provide access to over 1000 historic aerial photographs of the BNG (heart of the Brecks) area. To learn more, come to one of two talks in October which will show how aerial photographs and LIDAR are being used to discover and map archaeological features and landscapes. They will focus on the aerial archaeology of Breckland, and its fascinating wealth of historic and prehistoric sites. 5th October, Norfolk Records Office 1-2pm & 7th October, Thetford Library 10:30-11:30
Bill Basham’s wonderful flint alphabet can be seen at the exhibition. Photo © Ancient House Museum
Later in the year there will be a chance to explore the Brecks from above at a taster session. These will take place on 25th November, 10th December and 25th January. More details coming soon!
C9: Flint Rocks Exhibition The fantastic “Flint Rocks!” Exhibition at Thetford’s Ancient House Museum will sadly be coming to an end on October 29th. From fossils to flakes and soldiers to strike-a-lights, this exhibition throws light on this very versatile stone, found throughout the Brecks. Discover the people who worked and used it, and find out about flint’s Japanese cousin, obsidian.
Throughout October, the museum is open Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 4pm
Project Focus D1: Archaeology Field Walking Date: 29 October 2016 - 30 October 2016 Time: 10:00 Location: Euston Estate, IP24 2QP Buried beneath the villages and towns which surround us, are material remains of our past. When fields are ploughed, the soil is turned over often bringing archaeological artefacts to the surface. The collection and mapping of these artefacts can give us valuable clues to what lies beneath. This free training weekend, led by professional archaeologists, will introduce you to the methods and practices involved in archaeological fieldwalking. It includes the opportunity to undertake practical fieldwork in the hunt for traces of the early Brecks. Book your free ticket here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/what-lies-beneath-tickets-26720445572
Events Coming Up in October: Brecks from Above Talks: 5th Oct Norfolk Records Office 1-2pm and 7th Oct Thetford Library 10:30-11:30am
Explore Barnham Cross Common: 8th Oct 10am, meet at the carpark NBIS Autumn Trees and Hedgerows workshop: 16th October, 10-3, Kenninghall Pingos for Land Managers 19th Oct 10-2, Thompson Common Enchanted Heath 22-23rd Oct, West Stow Country Park Archaeological Field Walking 29-30th Oct 10am Euston Estate Find out more and book at http://www.breakingnewground.org.uk/events
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Students from Thetford Grammar School visited Brandon Country Park with the Green Light Trust for a day identifying heathland plants and forest trees
What the Brecks Means to Me... As a landscape archaeologist with strong family ties to the region, the rich heritage of the Brecks has provided a backdrop to my personal and professional life for over thirty years. My first encounter with the Brecks was a visit to the Neolithic flint mines at Grimes Graves made during a family holiday in April 1985. As a seven-year-old child of south Devon’s limestone hills, I found the whole landscape of large sandy fields, twisted pine rows and ordered forest plantations distinctly alien. Exploring the depths of the mine was like nothing I had experienced before and the site was even more vividly brought to life for me by the wonderful dioramas of prehistoric mining which were
Where it all began: my first visit to Grimes Graves in April 1985
then to be found in Norwich Castle Museum. The day ended with me finding my first fossil – a bivalve impression in a small piece of chalk – and the thrill of its discovery has always stayed with me. In October 1996, following the completion of my A’ Levels, I borrowed my grandparents’ car and spent a week exploring East Anglia’s archaeological sites. Having revisited Grimes Graves, which seemed a lot smaller than I remembered it, I spotted an annotation in the road atlas for the ‘West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village’ and set off to investigate. The experimental reconstructions of Anglo-Saxon buildings which I found there were
fascinating and sparked an academic interest in me which burned throughout my time at university, culminating in my doctoral thesis on Anglo-Saxon East Anglia. West Stow remains one of East Anglia’s best visitor attractions and is like nothing else the region has to offer – everyone should visit it at least once. Now, exactly twenty years after that first visit to West Stow, I am a Senior Archaeological On site at West Stow earlier this year to promote the results of the Sunken House Autopsy Project: http:// tinyurl.com/jo75ev7 (© Chris Morris PR)
Officer with Suffolk County Council and archaeological advisor to the West Stow AngloSaxon Village Trust. I am also responsible for the delivery of the BNG archaeological training programme, through which we are educating volunteers about the rich archaeological heritage of the Brecks and encouraging its further study. The Brecks have played an important formative role at various points throughout my life and I am extremely fortunate that they are such a fundamental part of the region which I now call
home. My wife and I often take our two children to visit places such as West Stow and High Lodge and it is always a pleasure to watch the next generation beginning to discover the magic of the Brecks for themselves. - Dr Richard Hoggett, Senior Archaeological Officer, Suffolk County Council
Get your project noticed!: If there is something that you would like included in the next newsletter, please send details to Amy : BNG.Admin@ suffolk.gov.uk Breaking New Ground c/o Visitor Centre, Brandon Country Park, Bury Road, Brandon, Suffolk, IP27 0SU 01842 815465 e: bng.admin@suffolk.gov.uk @TheBrecksBNG
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