Back in July, the site of the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival on Afton Down became a hive of activity as around 50 archaeologists, festival veterans and Dimbola volunteers joined in a very special investigation.
The merry band of volunteers were surface scanning the site of the 1970 festival to see whether they could unearth any important relics left behind 54 years ago. Among the finds are coins, buckles, buttons, lots of ring pulls, plectrums, a Pepsi bottle and even a pocket watch.
One Show segment
A short film about the project was created by People Media Productions and will be shown on your TV screens this coming Friday (23rd August).
The segment, presented by Matt Allwright shows footage from the 1970 festival, footage of those arriving and leaving, as well as the 2024 volunteers scanning the site. Matt also speaks to Kelly Wetherwick and Brian Hinton from Dimbola Museum and Galleries.
Steyger: Opened doors to other sites that hold secrets waiting to be discovered
Tony Steyger, Executive Producer/ Director, People Media Productions told OnTheWight,
“There is so much hidden history on the Island. Making this programme has opened doors to other sites that hold secrets waiting to be discovered.
“For me as a filmmaker, producing this programme was about spending time with people, looking back in time, spurred on by what might be hidden from sight.
“It’s been a privilege to hear stories about the 1970 music festival and about the Island’s history, discovering that this monumental event 54 years ago was probably not the first to be held at Afton Down.”
Wetherick: We’ve recovered some interesting things
Dimbola’s curator Kelly Wetherick, also a landscape archaeologist and trustee of Vectis Archaeological Trust, said,
“This year we (Dimbola) have an outreach exhibition for Experience 25, which is 25 years of Isle of Wight Festivals, one of which took place here (Afton Down) in 1970.
“We were approached by the BBC to ask if we wanted to be involved in a short film on the archaeology of the site.
“I said absolutely and put a rabble together; representatives from the trust, Vectis Searchers, Isle of Wight Natural History and Archaeology society, trustees and employees of Dimbola, the finance liaison officer of the Isle of Wight Heritage Service, and general volunteers.
“We’re calling it an investigation. We’re not doing a full-scale dig, but we are looking for surface finds, and we do have metal detectorists going down to recover items.
“We’ve recovered some interesting things; coins, buckles, buttons, lots of ring pulls, plectrums, a Pepsi bottle, and they all tell a story”
The Vectis Archaeological Trust and People Media UK worked together to undertake a project with support from the Isle of Wight Heritage Music Group, Dimbola Museum and Galleries and Tapnell Farm.
Where and when
The 1970 Festival site Archaeological project, presented by Matt Allwright, will be shown on BBC1’s One Show on Friday 23rd August from 7pm.
Tune in or watch on iPlayer after transmission.
