These photographs from Ladykirk are courtesy of Geoff Parhouse. Thank Geoff for helping some of us have a walk down memory Lane
Thanks again to Geoff for these photographs of Flodden from 2013 showing some memories of the anniversary commemoration.
TillVAS members have also done a lot of field walking. Here are a few field walkers at Branxton in 2014.
Geoff Parkhouse captured these shots of our dig at Wark Castle with Chris Burgess taking the lead.
Thanks to Allan Wightman for these photographs of TillVAS members helping with the dig at Fishwick in 2011. A pot from the Beaker era was discovered, buried beside a skeleton and is believed to date from around 2400BC. Its was described by Dr Kristian Pedersen as 'quite significant in our understanding of the early Bronze Age in Scotland.
A wee reminder from maureen Charlton about how it all started
The beautiful cross below marks the site of the Battle of Heavenfield, near Corbridge where King Oswald became King of Northumbria.
Our thanks to Maureen Charlton again for these memories of a trip to Ancrum as guests of the Ancrum and District Heritage Society
Images of Iron Age Day 22nd June 2019
The YACs successfully complete their replica roundhouse
Making models and beads
Baking Iron Age bread - and eating it!
Colin thought Ray's Iron Age home Brew was very drinkable.
Mnay thanks to Antony and Maureen for the excellent displays
Firing the pots made on the pottery course.
Iron Age Pottery Course
A brave Richard Carlton removes a sock and shoe to demonstrate mixing clay and temper the traditional way.
Kneading in a little more sand or grit to get the correct consistency.
Our enthusiastic team set about making pots to be fired on Iron Age Day.
The Mardon Dig of 2018
An aerial shot of our site showing the shadow of the iron age ditch in the bottom right hand corner of the largest tranch.
Heading off for a tea break while the experts try to solve the riddle of the stones. Note the neat upturned buckets and barrows left by our trusty volunteers!
Theres always time to swop stories and come up with new theories!
A large piece of pot standing vertically. A pot base was found nearby.
Thank you to Paul Marshall and Maureen Charlton for these photographs taken at the New Years day walk of 2018
A selection of photographs from the dig at Mardon Farm 2017.
The dig is over and its time to take a well earned rest. We are pleased to have found good dating evidence in the form of Iron age pottery and will look forward to the results of tests on the animal bones, soil samples and vegetation.
Metal Detecting
There are moves afoot to have further training and practice days for metal detecting and we hope to offer new dates in early 2020. Meanwhile, a look at our previous training days.
Metal Detecting training day on 29th January 2017 at Sandyford Farm, Crookham, an event arranged by Heather Pentland for 13 people using TillVAS metal detectors. The instructor was Ian Glendinning and additional tuition and advice was provided by Allan Wightman. There was a sizeable collection of objects collected during the day, (many of them bent and twisted pieces of iron- but this was a training day!), with the most prolific hoard being horseshoes of various sizes.
This is one of a number of stopping points on the walking route when Max Adams described the background to the Progress of the Bernician Royal households and how the medieval landscape might have determined their route. Max provided us with a wealth of information and evidence, some of this archaeological and some from the writings of the 'Venerable' Bede.
At the end of the Flodden 1513/TillVAS event on 23rd April 2016, with the party standing within the site of what was once a magnifcant palace at Yeavering below the impressive Yeavering Bell. Max Adams is describing the excavations carried out here in the 1950s by Brian Hope-Taylor and describing theories relating to the use of such a vast area and its connection with the dominant hill fort above.