SWAAG is committed to promoting better understanding and management of the local archaeology, history, heritage, geology, and natural environment, by increasing our own knowledge and by sharing it with those outside our organisation, especially in our local community.
The largest single community-engagement project undertaken by SWAAG is described here: Swaledale Big Dig. We have also involved the community, and in particular our two local primary schools, in our largest single-site investigation, at Hagg Farm. Information is included in the section on that investigation, and can be seen here: Hagg Farm.
Some of our other activities involving learning and sharing knowledge are described below, in reverse chronological order. To jump to any one report, click the relevant link:
2025 July – Creswell Crags Visit, Derbyshire / Nottinghamshire border
2023 Aug – Dig site at Gueswick Hill, near Cotherstone, Teesdale
2023 Jul – Binchester Roman Fort (Vinovia), Bishop Auckland
2022 Aug – Archaeology surveying course
2019 Oct – The Hancock Museum, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
2018 Jun – Schoolchildren become history detectives
2018 May – Roman pottery production workshop
2018 Apr – Exhibition and talk about the Hagg Farm dig
2017 Oct – Vindolanda Roman Fort, Hadrian’s Wall
2017 Oct – SWAAG exhibition and presentations in York
2017 Jul – Workshops at local schools
2017 Jun – Presenting dig plans to the community
2025 July – Creswell Crags Visit, Derbyshire / Nottinghamshire border
A small group of SWAAG members made the trip to Creswell Crags on Saturday 5th July. Creswell Crags is located on the Nottinghamshire / Derbyshire border. The site is privately owned and has a small museum, café and shop.
Creswell Crags is a magnesium limestone gorge, there are numerous caves, fissures and rock shelters along its length. Originally the gorge contained a small river, however this was dammed in the Victorian era to form a fishing lake. One of the caves being used as a boat house.
Along with creating a lake, the Victorian Antiquarians also excavated the caves, much of the floors of the caves were removed (in some cases with the use of dynamite). The current floor level is some 6 to 8 feet below the levels used in the Ice Age. The debris was removed and piled outside the caves. Today these spoil heaps are excavated, in the search for new information and evidence of occupation.
Only the caves on the south side of the gorge were inhabited, but have no evidence of rock art. The caves on the north side of the gorge have the rock art, and no evidence of general habitation. They have produced a series of needles – this would indicate the production of clothing and ability to manufacture garments or items for carrying / moving goods. Other finds include flint and quartzite tools that are believed to be Neanderthal and flint, antler and bone tools used by modern humans during the last Ice Age.
In the farthest reaches of one cave, undisturbed material still exists. This is being protected until DNA methodology has progressed to allow this to be evaluated / investigated. Although todays methodology would give great results, it is felt that in the coming years procedures will have developed even further.
Creswell Crags in located at the very farthest reach of the glaciers during the Ice Age periods. It has much in common with areas along the South Wales coast and northern Somerset (Wookey Hole and Cheddar Gorge) which were also at the extreme reach of the glaciers during these periods.
Church Hole was the cave we visited – this is a world-famous location. It contains examples of the oldest verified cave art in the UK. The images include a deer (reindeer), a bison, and birds.
Our guide for tour was Simon, who was very knowledgeable and attentive, and open to discussion. Rather than just pointing out the images, we were asked to find them, discuss in our groups what we could see. Beneath the reindeer were a series of single cut marks on the edge if the rock. Did these represent full moons, maybe the months the caves would be inhabited, maybe the months the deer(reindeer) would be present. Other images could have represented the female form as they show similarities to images found in southern Europe.
This was a wonderful visit to follow on from Dr Paul Petit’s talk in June.
There are also recent articles from the Bradshaw Foundation regarding the rock art at Creswell.
If you missed the trip, or could not make it, have a trip and book at tour:
https://www.creswell-crags.org.uk
2023 August – Dig site at Gueswick Hill, near Cotherstone, Teesdale
On Friday 25th August nine members of SWAAG visited the Altogether Archaeology (AA) dig at Gueswick Hill on the outskirts of Cotherstone, County Durham. Seven members of the group took lunch at the Fox & Hounds prior to the visit to the dig.
Tony Metcalfe from AA gave the group a comprehensive tour of the site, a large flat-topped hill with agricultural terraces on the east side. The site was occupied from early Iron Age to the end of the Roman occupation – dating was obtained from charcoal and other datable finds. There is the potential for a Bronze Age settlement as charcoal was found in the bottom of the ditch excavated on the north side of the settlement in 2022.
The terraces date from the early Iron Age, DNA analysis from test pits show cattle, sheep and pigs have been grazed at various times on these terraces. Moving on to the top of the hill on the east side, Tony explained the areas excavated in 2021 and indicated where the palisade ditch ran around the south/east side of the hill.
Moving across to the north/west side of the hill and the area currently being excavated. T4, the main trench, which should contain the hut circle, had not been exposed. Paved floors and cobbled areas were visible, and a hearth tested using a magnetic technique indicated that it had been used for domestic purposes (600C). Four quern stones had been set into the cobbled and paved areas. T5 revealed an enclosure ditch and T6 an area of ridge and furrow.
Tony then showed some of the major finds from the site and models made by one of the members showing how the settlement would have looked in the Iron Age period.
2023 July – Binchester Roman Fort (Vinovia), Bishop Auckland
More than 20 SWAAG members enjoyed a visit to Binchester Roman Fort (Vinovia), on the outskirts of Bishop Auckland. Our guide was David Mason, who is the Principal Archaeologist at Durham County Council. David provided a fascinating insight into life in the forts (there were two) and updated us about the most recent discoveries there. The sun shone, so most of us stayed on for a picnic and a further potter around the site.
2022 August – Archaeology surveying course
At the end of August SWAAG members participated in a very enjoyable three-day surveying course, run by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) Community Heritage Officer, Doug Mitcham. This offered training in archaeology surveying and the use of Inkscape, a free graphics package for drawing. Our time was split between a temporary classroom in Fremington Sunday School and outdoor practical sessions on Grinton Mounds and Reeth Low Moor. This set us up for our Autumn’s more detailed surveying project on Grinton Mounds.
2019 October – The Hancock Museum, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Twelve SWAAG members enjoyed a guided tour of the Prehistoric gallery at the Hancock Museum on Friday 11th October. Curator Dr Andrew Parkin gave us an excellent summary of life in Mesolithic and Neolithic times in northeast England, illustrated by the fascinating displays. We were able to handle a real polished Langdale stone axe and a reproduction bronze age hafted axe. After the talk, members explored the rest of the museum including the superb Roman galleries.
2018 June – Schoolchildren become history detectives
It was a pleasure to welcome children from Arkengarthdale School to the Swaledale Museum in Reeth, where they explored fragments of objects which the curator, Helen, had found. The children concentrated on some excellent close-observational drawings for a while and then went on a treasure hunt around the museum to find complete objects to match the fragments. They came back with medicine bottles, china cups, jam jars, stoneware bottles and a bread pancheon; all familiar objects from 100 or so years ago but not in common use today.
After discussing the function and design of their finds, the children enjoyed a lively session of dressing up in clothes from Victorian times, assisted by Jane Sammells of Curriculum Kitchen. Teacher Mrs Thomas bravely modelled some voluminous bloomers, the boys looked smart in top hats and bowlers and a variety of aprons were tried ranging from lacy ones for best down to sacking ones for hard and dirty jobs.
The children were then led on a social-history walk by Judith and Alan Mills, finding out how to tell the age of a building from the shape and design of windows and doors, how to tell which of two buildings was built first, and whether it had been extended. Some of the oldest houses in Reeth originally had thatched roofs. We learned that there were seven pubs at one time in Reeth and shops selling everything the residents might need: shoemakers, drapers, grocers, butchers. The banks at one time had their own currency and the children were each given a “five-pound note”, though they were warned that they might have trouble spending it!
2018 May – Roman pottery production workshop
SWAAG members were treated to a fascinating Roman pottery production workshop held at Reeth Memorial Hall and led by Graham Taylor, an experimental archaeologist and ancient pottery technology specialist based in Rothbury, Northumberland.
Graham was visiting Swaledale as one of four artists engaged in Swaledale’s innovative Fabric of Place project, which was supported by North Yorkshire County Council and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. Participants at Reeth tried a variety of processes including making decorated tiles and lamps, all of which were taken away to be fired. The finished results were delivered to the SWAAG monthly meeting in September and were then displayed at the Dales Country Museum in Hawes in October.
2018 April – Exhibition and talk about the Hagg Farm dig
On Saturday, April 21st SWAAG members held an exhibition about the Hagg Farm dig in Reeth Memorial Hall. Philip Bastow gave a presentation about the site, what we have learned so far and what we hope to discover in July 2018 when we return to the site.
2017 October – Vindolanda Roman Fort, Hadrian’s Wall
We were blessed with sunshine for our group trip to Vindolanda yesterday; 25 members enjoyed an excellent talk by site archaeologist Marta Alberti followed by an unguided walk around the extensive site of this Roman fort.
The museum contains examples of metal artefacts, leather, wood and even fabric, preserved in the anaerobic mud, as well as a separate section for the famous Vindolanda Tablets and a short film about their discovery and translation. Sharp-eyed members found a steelyard weight and cosmetic palettes in the museum not dissimilar to the examples we found on The Hagg.
Situated on the military road or “Stanegate”, Vindolanda predates the Wall and is still under excavation each summer with potential for 100 years of further work!
2017 October – SWAAG exhibition and presentations in York
SWAAG was well represented at the Council for British Archaeology Autumn Event in York. Our exhibition display was manned by chairman Dave Brooks and Rob Nicholson and Philip Bastow gave a presentation about The Hagg, while Stephen Eastmead spoke about “QGIS and Lidar – a Guide for Community Groups”.
2017 July – Workshops at local schools
SWAAG members worked with teachers and classroom assistants to plan and deliver workshops for children at Arkengarthdale and Reeth/ Gunnerside schools on the subjects of “Finds, Flints, and Fossils”.
The introductory session covered principles of archaeology and how to be a history detective before a discussion about different types of materials and what finds can tell us. We then moved on to a brief discussion on flint tools and fossils before talking about the landscape around SWAAG’s dig site at the Hagg and what features the children might look out for when they join us on-site.
We split into three groups: Finds, Fossils and Flints. Each group had examples to look at and handle. The children in the finds group took it in turns to describe an object and to consider its origins, features and function. They especially enjoyed the Roman roof tile with cat paw prints and the fragment of mortarium. The flints were good examples of their type including an intricately-made arrowhead and a hand-axe from the Palaeolithic period. There was a wide variety of fossils; children enjoyed handling them and talking about the creatures that they represented and the processes which had formed them. The groups then rotated so that by the end of the afternoon they had all experienced the three activities. We ended the session with time for drawing a favourite object.
Comments about the workshops from the children included:
“We learned that millions of years ago our country was nearer the equator. Fossils that we find now were from the sea which have died and become squashed between rocks and sand.”
“I loved looking at the pots and sea fossils.”
“Flints made hunting easy because they could go into the animal’s flesh and kill them quickly.”
The walk up to the Hagg and the site visit also made an impression. It was particularly gratifying that so many of the children referred to being inspired to think about the history of their local area:
“Looking at the flint and pot really inspired me to get out there and look for signs of the past.”
“Thank-you for taking us on the walk and pointing out interesting things that you have found.”
“This has definitely inspired me to go outside and look for signs of Roman lives.”
“When we looked at the pots you dug up I found it fascinating that you knew so much about such a little thing it was interesting to learn about.”
For reports of visits to the Hagg Farm dig site by children from Arkengarthdale and Reeth/Gunnerside Schools see here: Hagg Farm.
2017 June – Presenting dig plans to the community
More than 45 members of the public attended an event in Reeth Memorial Hall on Saturday 24th June to launch SWAAG’s dig on The Hagg this Summer. Philip Bastow gave an informative presentation, setting the site in context and explaining this year’s aims and objectives. SWAAG members were on hand to answer questions and to demonstrate work by the group such as surveying and finds from past digs. This year’s project is sponsored by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Sustainable Development fund.
