Cambridge Conference

Cambridge conference by Pauline Spence

At the end of the conference at York last year we all felt that it would be difficult to follow such a successful weekend. However John Adams, with Gwil and Eis Owen in Cambridge, organised a conference that equalled or surpassed last year's and we had a very enjoyable time.

We arrived in Cambridge on Thursday so that we could have some time to look around the colleges and take photographs before the conference started.

Friday evening was registration in the mediaeval School of Pythagoras in St John's College with cheese and wine followed by a film on cricket as played by the South Sea Islands where the MCC rules were greatly modified by local customs. Hence the teams were of an indeterminate number and ritual dances were performed after each wicket had fallen.

Saturday morning was devoted to talks in the Museujm of Archaeology and Anthropology, starting with an accoujnt of the work carried out by the photography unit of the Museum of London given by Miss Cox. This was followed by a demonstration of Bowens lighting equipment by the staff of KJP. Dr Sandor van der Leeuw then showed the use of photography from satellites in the study of archaeological sites. After lunch Dr. Anita Herle gave a talk on the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology followed by a tour of the museum.

The conference dinner was held in the impressive Wordsworth room of St John's College and an excellent meal of courses, each from a different century, was followed by an amusing speech by Brian Tremaine FRPS.

Sunday morning was a guided tour round Cambridge. This was comprehensive but left little time for photographs. After lunch Mr.Martin Gienke reviewed the current trends in video and Mr. Chris Hurst talked about his work with old paintings to find evidence of overpainting to repair or alter the original work. The afternoon finished with a talk by Professor Renfrew, Master of Jesus College, on the meaning of Heritage. The conference closed with tea in Emmanuel College followed by a tour of some of the rooms.

We stayed in Cambridge until the Tuesday for more photographs and a visit to the Fitzwilliam museum.

Once again the Archreology and Heritage Group have organised a highly successful and very enjoyable conference and our thanks must go to all the people who helped to run it.

We arrived in Cambridge on Thursday so that we could have some time to look around the colleges and take photographs before the conference started.