Reports on the Year 1986

Proc. Hampsh. Field Club Archaeol. Soc. 43, 1987, 263-268 REPORTS ON THE YEAR 1986 THE FIELD CLUB Secretary's Report Miss White succeeded as Publications Secretary, Mrs Hughes and Mr Whinney 1986 was the year of the Hampshire Land became Programme Secretaries, and Mrs scape. This was the theme of both the Annual Moore was appointed Publicity Officer. For Conference and the O G S Crawford Lecture the first time for some years there was thus a and a new Landscape Section was established. full complement of officers, so that the The landscape is a topic uniting archae administration ran extremely smoothly, and ologists, historians, geologists, geographers, could stand the resignation as Joint and ecologists. The rapid expansion of multi- Membership Secretary of Mrs Glelford in disciplinary projects in Hampshire in recent December. Principally due to the Publicity years indicates the need for a new county wide Officer and Mrs Turnbull as Membership forum, which the Field Club is anxious to Secretary, membership increased rapidly, provide. Following Council's approval for the rising to 536 in November, little short of the new section in principle in June, an open peak in 1983. As subscriptions remain at 1984 meeting was held for interested parties on 18 levels, membership is now very good value. To September to elect a steering committee, encourage new members and to avoid mass- which drew up a constitution, list of objectives, resignations as in 1984, Council resolved in and draft programme. The Inaugural General December to retain subscriptions at their cur Meeting was held on 6 December following the rent level in 1988, even though this may Crawford Lecture. The first officers were Mr require unpleasant economies. Oliver, Chairman; Mr Carr, Secretary; Mr There were four meetings of Council, two Broderick, Programme Secretary; Mr Fancett, meetings of the Executive Committee, and Treasurer; and Mr King, Newsletter Editor. three meetings of the Editorial Board during Committee members are drawn from the year. After a quiet beginning, these meet throughout the county and include archae ings handled a great deal of business towards ologists, historians, geographers, and a geolo the end of the year. gist, several of them serving teachers. The The final event of the year, at the Allen section hopes to involve schools, hitherto scar Gallery, Alton on Friday 12 December, was a cely touched by the Society's activities, and reception to launch Excavations at Neatham by will focus its attention on field events. The Martin Millett. This is Monograph 3 in the establishment of the Landscape Section Society's series and there is a queue of other signalled the demise of the Geology Section, important reports for publication. Although which was formally wound up by the Decem such monographs are 75 per cent funded by ber Council. Thanks are due to Dr Barton for English Heritage and assisted by other bodies, holding the fort for so long. the Society's share of publication costs, which Mr Stagg, President, and Mrs Hull, the cannot be recouped from sales, is a constant longstanding Publications Officer, left office at worry to Council and will remain one in future the Annual General Meeting on 14 May. The years. At present the series performs a vital new President is Mr Jude James, the third in role in publishing important reports that lack succession from the New Forest. Dr Hicks and any other outlet and enhances the prestige of Mr Caudell were re-elected as Secretary and the Society in Hampshire and outside. Treasurer and Dr James Thomas and Mrs The working party set up by Council in Barbara Turnbull were elected to Council. December 1985 and chaired by Mr Hughes 264 HAMPSHIRE FIELD CLUB AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY produced three concrete results. First of all, a Dr Yates on 'Woodlands'. After tea Mr Williams new sense of urgency was imparted to those spoke on 'The Hampshire Landscape Today'. running the Society; secondly, there was the Neolithic man, Dr Reynolds argued, was recruitment drive mentioned above; and already master of his environment, engaged in thirdly a questionnaire was circulated to managing even the timber, with the result that members in the autumn posting. A fifth of the today there is probably no primeval forest, as membership replied, mainly favourably and Dr Yates pointed out. Much of our mature many at length, casting a flood of light on the woodland was planted quite recently. It is age, residences, interests and priorities of the surely no accident that woods are concent membership. Their responses were analysed in rated on the poorer soil. Older woodland can a nine-page report by the Secretary presented be identified by a variety of techniques and so to the December Council and summarised in too can the impact of medieval man outlined the Spring 1987 Newsletter. Council accepted a by Dr Hare. Fishponds are everywhere and series of detailed proposals designed to their importance and technological sophisti improve coordination of the programme and cation deserves to be better known, as Mr resources of the Society, better communication Currie triumphantly demonstrated. Some, e.g. with members, and hence a better service for all. at Fishers Pond, remain quite adequate for modern commercial needs. Indeed, it was the profit motive that created or preserved the Annual Conference on 'The Hampshire Landscape' at fishponds, the woodlands, the fields and Hampshire Farm Museum, Botley on Saturday 20th hedgerows described by Mr Casebourne, and September 1986. Col. Roberts's buildings, it was the profit The venue was the video room, kindly lent by motive that recently threatened them, and it is Hampshire County Museum Service. Seventy commercial considerations again that offer members heard eight talks (mostly illustrated) hope of a better future. in four sessions that selectively traced the way The modern farmer has cleared hedgerows, man has moulded his geological inheritance ploughed up boundaries, used chemical into the Hampshire we recognize today. Differ sprays, and drained wetlands. Now the process ent approaches to the landscape were is being reversed, Mr Williams showed, not for exemplified by experts in archaeology, geol conservation reasons, but because there is now ogy, history, buildings and agriculture, yet a profit in organic farming and recreational fish considerable consensus emerged: Mr Fancett ing, because less intensive farming encourages showed views in which Dr Reynolds identified sport, and because grants now encourage Celtic fields, and relief maps like those of Dr timber production. 'Only the cheque book has Hare; Dr Hare and Mr Currie both focussed on moved.' Ironically the demands of conserva Bishops Waltham Pond; they and Mr Williams tion are mutually contradictory, as woodland agreed on the management of fisheries; Dr management demands periodic felling, as Reynolds and Dr Yates agreed on woodland; coppicing is incompatible with uncontrolled and the whole day had a satisfying synthesis in roe-deer, and as natural predators proliferate. Mr Williams' contribution. Most of our landscape is less than 200 years The conference began with 'The Natural old, much only 20 years old, and current Landscape', surveyed by Mr Fancett, a geogra agricultural students know only the latter. pher, and went on to three talks by Dr Which landscape should we conserve? On this Reynolds, Dr Hare and Mr Casebourne on the challenging note, the conference closed. Celtic, medieval, and modern landscapes under the general heading 'Moulding the Landscape'. After lunch three speakers treated 0 G S Crawford Memorial Lecture, Tudor Merchants 'The Legacy of the Past': Mr Currie on Hall, Southampton, Saturday 6th December 1986. 'Fishponds', Col. Roberts on 'Buildings', and The pioneer of aerial photography and 'land- REPORTS ON THE YEAR 1986 ;. 265 scape archaeology', O G S Crawford worked Somborne. Clearly the Test Valley is being extensively in the Test Valley, so it was highly studied with a depth and rigour, that even appropriate that the memorial lecture should Crawford could not match and all disciplines - be delivered by the current Director of the history, geology, and geography — are being Test Valley Archaeological Trust, Mr Francis brought to bear on our understanding of its past. Green. His title was 'New Approaches to the The meeting was followed by the Inaugural Archaeology of Landscape', but he set out to General Meeting of the new Landscape Sec demonstrate how much of the modern practice tion and by a sherry reception at Gods House of landscape archaeology was anticipated by Tower Museum. Both venues were kindly the work of Crawford, and how little was made available by courtesy of Southampton actually new, environmental archaeology City Museums. being an obvious example. M.A.H. He began by outlining the scope for studying the landscape without destroying it: satellite photography, field walking, surveying, ARCHAEOLOGY SECTION work on maps ancient and modern, location of features from documents, and hedgerow- 1986 was a very successful year for the section sampling. The archaeologist properly concerns in terms of both lectures and field trips. A himself widi decaying parklands, industrial Roman theme was chosen for the lecture archaeology, and even modern housing. series:- Ken Qualmann discussed the latest Excavation is often required as development results of excavations in Winchester at a meet destroys the landscape: almost the whole of ing in Basingstoke held with the Basingstoke the parish of Nursling, for example. There are Archaeological and Historical Society, and on still some profitable areas yet undisturbed, Tuesday 25th February a large audience such as Ashley castle and the prehistoric turned up at the Tudor Merchants Hall, earthworks and barrows on Stockbridge Down. Southampton, for a talk on Clausentum at a His own work, he stressed, was essentially joint meeting with Southampton City rescue archaeology, but even then he had to be Museums Archaeology Society.

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