NEWSLETTER 138 June 2015 2014
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Registered Charity No. 105565 NEWSLETTER 138 June 2015 Registered2014 Charity No. 1055654 Jane Stanley’s depiction of the dismantling of Nanstallon Roman Fort. The Trustees presented Jane’s painting to Val Maxfield on her retirement as President at the AGM. CAS AGM 2015 – PRESIDENT’S REPORT by Professor Valerie Maxfield the retiring President. This report summarizes the work of all of the Trustees who make up your very hard-working Committee : six main committee meetings have been held in the past 12 months, interspersed with the sub-committees and working parties required to keep Society events running smoothly. As I reported to you last year, Mick Aston, who died in June 2013, had named CAS as a beneficiary in his will. This legacy (£8,080.47) has now been received; it is in Society’s bank account and the committee is giving urgent consideration to an appropriate use for the money. This year CAS Trustees successfully nominated Pip Richards of the Sustainable Trust, director of the Carwynnen Quoit project, for the award of Heritage Champion presented by Cornwall Heritage Trust in memory of Sir Richard Trant. [Subsequently, the Carwynnen team went on to win a second award, the CBA’s Marsh Award for Community Archaeology.] CAS grant-aided this project in 2012, and a report on the work is to appear in Cornish Archaeology. The RAI Anniversary Prize, which was displayed at last year’s AGM, now has its place in the RCM. MEMBERSHIP Jenny Beale, our Membership Secretary, reports a slight upward trend in membership numbers; as of March 24th, there are 443 individual or joint members (Institutions are not included in this figure); there were 438 last year; 83 of these members have not yet renewed their subscriptions (68 in 2014). 36 new members have joined since the AGM last year (27 last year). Jenny has been our Membership Secretary for the past 12 years, but is now stepping down from the job (though happily not from the committee). As the major interface with you – the membership – and the first point of contact for new members to the Society, this is a vital role, and Jenny has fulfilled it LECTURES & DAY SCHOOLS centre at Stonehenge where we were efficiently and pleasantly, despite welcomed by Susan Greaney of English A very successful lecture series took place intermittent struggles with various Heritage, who fortified us with tea and this year, with six lectures in Truro and problematic technologies! We are most cake whilst giving a talk about the four in Liskeard with topics ranging from grateful to her for all the work she has developments at the site. It was wonderful mass graves to astronomical alignments, done on our behalf and welcome to see the monument reunited with its Cornish soils to Bronze Age beads, and a Konstanze Rahn as our new Membership landscape – a visit to Stonehenge is now geographical focus which took us around Secretary. a totally different experience. We are Cornwall, and from Leicester to Lebanon. grateful to Kathryn Conder, a stalwart of PUBLICATIONS All were well-attended, with those who the walks, whose photographs and reports went to the Liskeard lectures particularly This year we continued with our tried and have featured in several editions of the appreciating the fact that the conundrum tested editorial team of Peter Rose and Newsletter, for taking over from Steve as of how to turn on the heating in the Hall Graeme Kirkham, Cornish Archaeology Field Events Organiser. has now been cracked! Dr Richard volume 52, for 2013, was published in Buckley – who last year was prevented by PUBLICITY January: it includes articles on Boden illness from giving the AGM lecture – this fogou and the prehistoric settlement at Our ever-active Publicity Officer, year, instead, presented the Corfield Bosiliack. CAS members were heavily Christine Wilson, produces and Nankivell lecture on the same topic, ‘‘The involved in the excavations at both of disseminates advertising material for our King under the Car Park’; Greyfriars, these sites. Work is now well advanced on lectures and other activities which are Leicester and the search for Richard III’ – the preparation of volume 53, which will displayed as widely as possible – but we an exciting high-profile excavation project. include articles on the Romano-British are always looking for ideas of new places For the area reps evening, Peter Cornell, brooches from Nornour, the excavation of – and liaises with the press. Christine the Arena Reps’ Convenor, had the Glasney College in Penryn and the CAS also managed to get us a stall at the excellent idea of getting speakers at Truro excavations at Hay Close, St Newlyn Stithians Show in July last year. to repeat their lectures at Liskeard. Jenny East. Beyond this there is still a large Moore, our lectures officer, would And then there is that other public face of backlog of articles which have been welcome hearing from the membership the Society, our website run by our web received by the editors and are in the what they would like presentations on – officer, Ryan Smith, keeping us up-to- queue for publication. and from whom, in the lecture series. Our date with the Society’s activities, hosting We are particularly grateful to Graeme warmest thanks to Jenny for organising for our ‘e’ journal and providing links to and who gives his time freely – and I mean us such a stimulating and varied material from like-minded bodies. It serves that in both senses of the word. For the programme, with speakers from near and as a most valuable tool for members and, last two journals he has refused to accept far. very importantly, for ‘visitors’ – among the customary editorial honorarium, them, it is to be hoped, prospective The biennial Archaeology in Cornwall wishing rather that the money be put members attracted by what is our ‘shop day was held at Truro College on towards protecting Cornwall’s historic front’. November 15th and was well attended. environment.. Christine Wilson had liaised with the Pressures of work lead to Ryan’s not While the back numbers of the journal can College very well, all ran smoothly and the standing for the committee for the coming now be consulted on line, we continue to catering was, as previously, excellent: year. Our warmest thanks to him for his get a small but steady income through the thanks also to Caradoc Peters, our on-site endeavours over what is an ever- Publishers Licensing Society, for library- contact, for his help. There was a good increasingly important aspect of the borrowing of our publications. range of subjects covered by the nine Society’s work. speakers, all of them from Cornwall All three Newsletters were produced on Our website has been running for some except for Bryn Morris and Duncan time and their appearance enhanced by years now, and a facelift is due. The Garrow, who talked respectively on the the increased use of colour. There have committee has decided to employ a Early Bronze Age site at Burnt House, been articles by members about their professional designer to redesign the site Mabe and the Old Quay Neolithic visits to sites around the world or about and an initial assessment has been settlement on St Martin’s, Isles of Scilly. their special studies; more space was obtained. The website sub-committee The programme was organised by Andy made available to particular field trips, (augmented by our new webmaster Millie Jones and Henrietta Quinnell. such as the one to Stonehenge, and to Holman) will liaise with the designer over reports of community excavations and In July CAS organized and hosted a day its content, features and appearance. projects involving our members. As school at the Sterts Centre, Liskeard, to THE AREA REPS always, Adrian Rodda welcomes your hear reports from the Mapping the Sun articles and photographs and volunteers Project and to tour the Hurlers with the The ARs continue their invaluable work. who will write up summaries of the experts involved. As usual they met twice, in October 14 lectures and field trips. So put into action and Mar 15, to exchange information, WALKS & EXCURSIONS your inner journalist and get writing! discuss developments and hear As ever, Steve Hartgroves organised a presentations relevant to their work. Forty two members have opted to receive full and varied programme of visits which Discussions are ongoing with Ryan Smith, their newsletters through email only. took us to sites of all periods and types – the Society’s webmaster, about upgrading Others who might wish to receive them in Iron Age hillforts, rounds, field systems, the AR’s page on the CAS website, this way should contact the editor with historic towns, and to Dartmoor on our enhancing the amount of information their email addresses and their home joint walk with DAS. available. Our warmest thanks are due to addresses so that our lists can be Peter Cornall whose role as AR convenor updated. We also ventured further afield with a is vital in maintaining a network of coach trip to the excellent new visitor representatives and the Monument GRANT REQUESTS Ryan Smith is resigning his post of Watch and to Sheila James for her work webmaster. In addition to maintaining the During the course of 2014/15 we received in connection with the website. website, Ryan has taken on the a request from the Reading the Hurlers distribution of the Newsletters to members ROMAN CORNWALL project, a follow-up to the very successful who have opted to receive only the digital ‘Mapping the Sun’ project. We have The Roman group has continued to meet version.