History Group [an error occurred while processing this directive]

Family Archaeology Event

(Photographs from the Event are available HERE.)

As part of our Heritage Lottery funded archaeology project, we hosted a Family Archaeology Event for West Huntingdonshire villages - and anyone else who wanted to join us!

On the afternoon of Saturday, 13th September, nearly 300 visitors descended on the tiny village of Covington - thankfully, for our narrow roads and entrances, not all at once! The occasion was the Family Archaeology Event, organised for surrounding villages by Covington History Group as part of their Heritage Lottery Project. Parking was kindly made available by Michael Brown and, from there visitors were directed either down the hill to the fully booked pottery workshops with Victoria Houghton or onto The Green where they were welcomed and issued with a map and a quiz sheet - the prize being a box of testpitting equipment. This was won by Rachel Frazer who couldn't wait to get started on a testpit in her garden!

A range of events followed a trail through the village, ending at the Village Hall. Peter Dight brought a large stand of metal detecting equipment, finds and helpful literature. Archaeological activities for children included rebuilding a cow skeleton, digging for artefacts, grinding corn with a quernstone and restoring broken pots. Also in the church, there were exhibitions on the History Group's recent excavations and the Covington Bell Project (also Lottery funded). Next on the trail was John Lord, a renowned flint knapper and lithics expert. He and his wife enthralled visitors with their skills and knowledge about prehistoric tools. Tom and Rusty Aldwinckle presented 'Living History' - a step back in time to the 17th century. They had a huge collection of artefacts, many of which they had made themselves using original techniques. Not one, but three Roman soldiers stood guard outside the village hall and there was much trying on of armour. Again they had interesting exhibits, including some very worrying Roman medical equipment.

A large and well supplied tea tent run by Covington Amenities Committee dominated the village hall garden, but there were also opportunities for tinies (and, as it turned out not so tinies) to excavate a sandpit for dinosaurs and anyone to help our archaeologist from Jigsaw Cambridgeshire dig a test pit. The star finds from the pit during the afternoon were a George III 1799 half-penny and an as yet unidentified glass bead. After a reviving tea of delicious cake or hotdog, there were still art and craft activities in the village hall and a display of finds from our local metal detectorist to visit. Two tours were offered: one to the medieval pit (containing our only structure to date), exhibition and display of finds in a resident's front garden and the other to the Iron Age and Roman site where visitors could stand on the location of an ancient trackway as shown by our geophysics , view the open pits and visualise the roundhouses found so far.

This was truly a Covington event: many residents pitched in to help whether planning the event, baking cakes, supervising activities, moving furniture, running errands, giving permission for land or gardens to be used as venues, lending tents and gazebos etc. etc. Covington History Group are extremely grateful to everyone for their support. This was a Heritage Lottery funded event, so of course thanks also goes to everyone who has bought a lottery ticket as, without them, this very successful community event would not have taken place!

Click the links below for further information on the main attractions.

John Lord
Flint knapper
Metal Detecting - Peter Dight
Different models to try
Challenge course
Getting started
Identification aids
Display of finds

There will also be an exhibition of local finds.		 Guided TOURS of our Iron Age, Roman and Medieval archaeology will leave from the Village Hall at 2:30, 3:30, 4:15 and 5:00.
Limited places available on each tour - book at the information desk in the Village Hall.

St. Neots Museum

Exhibition about the Kimbolton Hoard
Friends of St. Neots Museum

 Exhibition of our Archaeology Project so far
and Display of Finds.

Be part of our 2014 project and

HELP DIG A TEST PIT

with Jigsaw Cambridgeshire!

www.jigsawcambs.org

Children's Activities

Be a young archaeologist.
Make a mosaic or a mask to take home.
Dig up a dinosaur.

EVERYTHING ELSE ON THIS PAGE!

PLUS

a TEA TENT with drinks, hot dogs and delicious home-made cake for sale.
- Car parking - Toilets - First Aid -
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