frank basford

Isle of Wight Roman Villas celebrate Festival of Archaeology

Thanks to Suzanne and Alan for this latest report. Ed


The 25th Festival of Archaeology will take place between the 11th – 26th July 2015 at venues across the UK.

Co-ordinated by the Council for British Archaeology, the 2015 Festival is offering over 1,000 events nationwide, organised by museums, heritage organisations, national and country parks, universities, local societies, and community archaeologists.

A celebration of our incredible history
This Festival is a huge celebration of our incredible history here in the UK, and you don’t have to be an archaeologist to join in.

It’s a chance for everyone to explore and uncover the past, see archaeology in action, and bring the history on your doorstep to life.

Activities include talks or lectures, finds identification or archaeological skills, re-enactments or demonstrations, exhibitions or displays and guided walks or tours.

History periods covered include Prehistory, the Romans, Saxons and Vikings through the Medieval period to the Tudors, Stuarts, Georgians and Victorians to the 20th and 21st Century.

Wight Roman villas
As part of the national scheme, the local Finds Liaison Officer from the Portable Antiquities Scheme, Frank Basford (pictured), will be identifying objects found by the public at Brading Roman Villa on the 18th July (11am-3pm) and Newport Roman Villa on the 25th (10.30am-4pm).

Frank will also have on show the Handling Collection which will enable members of the public to identify items from the past.

At Newport Roman Villa on Saturday 25 July there will be craft activities and a treasure hunt for families as well as the finds on show.