ORDINARY MEETING OF FELLOWS EVENING LECTURE

Recent fieldwork on hillforts and other earthworks in Wales

by Paul Belford FSA

In the last few years the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust (CPAT) has undertaken a number of excavations on hillforts and linear earthworks in Wales. This work has been accompanied by a systematic programme of palaeoenvironmental analysis and scientific dating – including both radiocarbon dating and optically-stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. As a result CPAT now has confirmed dates for the construction of Offa’s Dyke and for the ramparts of Beacon Ring, a hillfort on the Long Mountain near the Welsh border. The results from Beacon Ring, which is part of a long-term programme of research and conservation partly funded by Cadw, represent the first OSL date for a hillfort rampart obtained anywhere in the UK. The results from Offa’s Dyke, gained over several successive seasons from a number of different locations, are also the first scientific dating of this monument, and complement work done more than a decade ago on nearby Wat’s Dyke. This lecture will consider the potential and limitations of scientific dating for earthworks in general, before discussing the case studies of Offa’s Dyke and Beacon Ring in the broader context of linear earthwork studies and hillfort studies both in the UK and elsewhere. Comparison will be made with sites and projects elsewhere in Europe, for example recent work on the Danevirke by a partnership between the State Archaeological Department of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany and the Danish Museum Sønderjylland, and work on hillforts in Lithuania and Germany led by the Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology. The lecture will conclude with a call for a coherent multi-agency approach to develop a long-term programme for dating earthworks across borders.

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This event will be both in person at Burlington House and online. Please select the appropriate ticket below.

Attendance at Burlington House:

• Open to anyone to join, Fellows and Non-Fellows.
• Places in person will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
• The event will begin at 17.00 BST. Please arrive in plenty of time.
• Tea/Coffee is served from 16.30 BST
• Registration is essential for non-Fellows but we encourage Fellows to register as well.
• Fellows must ensure they sign the guest book and sign their guests in.
• All attendees should scan the NHS QR code available at the entrance. For further details on the Government guidelines regarding COVID-19 and track and trace please visit their website here.

The schedule for the evening if attending in person:

• Refreshments are served from 16.30 BST in the council room.
• The meeting begins at 17.00 BST
• Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of 8 April 2021 and the Anniversary Meeting of 24 June 2021.
• Certificates of candidates for election.
• Admission of new Fellows.
• Announcement of news from the Society. The Hon. Secretary reports back from Library & Collections Committee.
• Presentation of The Society’s Gold Medal to Lord Colin Renfrew MA, PhD, FBA, FSA by the President and Paul Drury Hon VPSA
• Presentation of the Society’s Medal to Dr Stephen Johnson DPhil, FSA by the President and Paul Drury Hon VPSA
• Evening lecture: ‘Recent fieldwork on hillforts and other earthworks in Wales’ by Paul Belford FSA starting at approximately 17.10 BST.
• Lectures run for approximately 45min and are followed by a short Q&A.
• At the close of the meeting, there will be a wine reception.

Attendance by Live Stream:

• Open to anyone to join, Fellows and Non-Fellows.
• The event will be live-streamed to YouTube here
• The event will begin at 17.00 BST.
• You will receive an email reminder with the link to join the day before the lecture.

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