Registered Charity No: 272098 ISSN 0585-9980 SURREY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY CASTLE ARCH, GUILDFORD GU1 3SX Tel/ Fax: 01483 532454 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.surreyarchaeoiogy.org.uk m Bulletin 387 September/October 2005 Gill Drew, retiring Hon. Librarian, receives a painting of Castle Arch from the President, Audrey Monk. M A M M O T H T U S K F R O M F A R N H A M D a v i d G r a h a m The manager of the Hanson sandpit at Badshot Lea, just east of Farnham, has recently reported the discovery of a well-preserved mammoth tusk to the town museum. Finds of mammoth tusks, teeth and bones, and the teeth of woolly rhino and of other extinct species that bear witness to a cold climate are, or were, quite common from the river gravels of Terrace D, one of a series of terraces long recognised in this part of the Wey vailey. These gravels survive in parallel strips lying either side of the River Wey and form the ground on which Farnham is built to the north of the river. The southern part of the terrace was extensively quarried in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when quantities of mammoth and woolly rhino remains were recovered and reported in the 1939 SyAS publication A Survey of the Prehistory of the Farnham District. M a m m o t h t u s k f r o m B a d s h o t L e a While most of the gravels are now built over, they do extend some distance to the n o r t h - e a s t a n d s o u t h - w e s t o f t h e u r b a n a r e a a n d i t i s f r o m t h i s e x t e n s i o n t h a t t h e latest find has come. While the date of the latest tusk is still uncertain, a similar find from the Alton Road pit to the south-west of the town in the 1980s, was radiocarbon dated to 36,600 +/- 2400/1 BOObp (though a TL date was somewhat earlier). While further finds are by no means unlikely, the majority of the terrace gravels are now inaccessible and perhaps the great days of mammoth and woolly rhino hunting i n F a r n h a m a r e o v e r . 2 COUNCIL NEWS AGM NOTICE is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Surrey Archaeological Society will be held at 2pm on Saturday 26th November 2005 at Garew Manor School, Church Road, Wallington. Agenda for the Annual General Meeting 1. Apologies for absence. 2. To read, and if approved, to sign as correct the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of 20th November 2004. 3. To receive and consider the Annual Report, the Statement of Accounts, and the Auditors' Report for the year to 31st March 2005 and, if approved, to adopt them. 4. To elect the President for 2005-2006. 5. To elect Honorary Vice-Presidents for 2005-2006. 6. To elect Vice-Presidents for 2005-2006. 7. To elect Honorary Officers for 2005-2006. 8. To elect six Ordinary Members of Council to retire in 2009 under Article 21a. 9. To appoint Auditors for 2005-2006 and to authorise Council to determine t h e i r r e m u n e r a t i o n . 10. Any other business. (NOTE: Nominations should be sent to the Honorary Secretary not less than seven days before the meeting. Nominees under Item 8 should be ordinary members of the Incorporated Society and their nominations must be accompanied by a signed statement by the nominee of his or her willingness to stand for election. All nominations require a Proposer and Seconder, who must be members of the Incorporated Society. Institutional Members are not eligible for election to Council). JULY 2005 COUNCIL MEETING The meeting of Council at Ashtead on 15th July 2005 was more than usually important. The main item on the agenda was the future management of the Society's substantial investments, which provide the major part of its income. The firm that previously managed the Society's portfolio had given notice that it could no longer do so and papers before Council set out an Investment Policy for the Society and made proposals for the appointment of a new manager. The aim is to ensure that the investments continue to provide the income required whilst at the same time, subject to the market, showing capital growth. These are issues vital for the future of the Society and Council approved a proposal that the bulk of the investments should in future be managed by the Charity Investment Services Division of the HSBC Bank. The Society may, however, in the not too distant future be faced with the need for major capital expenditure on new accommodation for its library and offices, whether at Guildford or elsewhere. The balance of the investments will therefore be deposited in an account with the Charity Aid Foundation from which funds can be withdrawn, if required, at short notice. Before these issues were discussed the President opened the meeting by recording, with regret, the death of Ernest Crossland, a long-standing Honorary Member of the Society, and the sudden and tragic death of Chris Currie, an archaeologist with whom members of the Society have worked on a number of projects. On a happier note, Gillian Drew, the Honorary Librarian who is resigning following her marriage, was presented with a cheque, with the good wishes of Council for her future (see front page photo). 4 The Honorary Treasurer presented the draft annual accounts for 2004/5. In this connection the Honorary Secretary reported that the Society's AGM, to which all members of the Society are invited, will be held at the Carew Manor School, Wallington on 26th November 2005. Further details will be given in a future Bulletin report. Various other matters were discussed during a lengthy meeting, including a report on the very successful events marking the 150th anniversary. The present membership of the Society was reported as 946. N E W M E M B E R S S u s a n J a n a w a y A warm welcome to our new members. I have again included principal archaeological interests where they have been given on the membership application form. I hope this will be useful for the Society's Local Secretaries and Committee Chairmen. Allen, Miss 5 68 Pollards Oak Orescent, Everything! Hurst Green, Oxted, RH8 OJQ Bailey, Ms 0 25 Oakfield Road, Croydon, History of Croydon, Landscape CRO 2UD and Industrial Archaeology Bryson, Bob 24 Rodney Way, Boxgrove Industrial Archaeology Park, Guildford, GU1 2NY Clark, Ms A Belmont, Maidstone Road, Hadlow, KentTHH OHR Costenbarder, Mrs M 18 West Drive, Cheam, SM2 7NA Eyre, Mr R 63 George Road, Guildford, Roman architecture and GUI 4NR technologies Fauconnier-Bank, Miss E 6 Lime Tree Walk, Virginia Local History of Park, Virginia Water, Virginia Water GU25 4SW Favell, Mr A 32 Chester Close, Dorking, Roman Archaeology RH41PP Greenwood, Dr P 7 Coalecroft Road, Putney, P r e h i s t o r i c a n d London SW15 6LW Roman periods McNeill, Ms H Woodcote, Chertsey Meads, Anglo-Saxon grave goods and Chertsey, KT16 8LL cemeteries. Portable Antiquities Scheme Payne, Mr A 14 Melrose Avenue, The Classical World, particularly London SW19 8BY Imperial Rome Pegram, Mrs E 62 Dinorben Close, Fleet, L o w e r P a l a e o l i t h i c H a n t s G U 5 2 7 S J Simmons, Miss R 1 Forman Cottages, Harpers The Cictercians at Waverley Road, Ash, GU12 6DA Abbey and in Surrey general Smith, Mr M 18 Baird Drive, Guildford, GU3 3EF Swallow, Miss F 32 Long Mickle, Sandhurst Zooarchaeology Berkshire GU47 8QW Wedgwood, Sir Hugo Martin Pixham Mill, Pixham Lane, Dorking, RH4 1PQ Wiltshire, Mr M 49 Molesworth Road, Roman Studies, Cobham, KT11 1BA Roads/Religion, Public Archaeology/Interpretation Wright, Mr H Caesar's Cottage, St George's Hill Iron Age Fort Camp End Road, Weybridge, KT13 OMR Wyatt, Mr J Coombeside, Upper Street, Palaeolithic to Neolithic and Shere, GU5 9JA Roman History 5 R O M A N S T U D I E S G R O U P David Bird 2005/6 WINTER TALKS 4th October Mithralc Ritual and the Use of "Special E ff e c t s " J o a n n a B i r d a n 6 t h e A G M 1 s t N o v e m b e r T h e R o m a n C e m e t e r i e s o f L o n d o n Jenny Hall 6th December Roman Gold-Mining in North-West Spain and Wales David Bird 3 r d J a n u a r y R o m a n H e a t i n g , H y p o c a u s t a n d Roofing Tiles Ian Betts 7th February Eye Medicine in the Roman Empire Ralph Jackson 7th March How the Portable Antiquities Scheme is adding to our Knowledge of Roman Surrey David Williams This is a varied series of talks given by experts in their field and anyone with an interest in the Roman period is urged to attend.