Journeys theme day sponsored by Wessex Archaeology

Join us for a day of activities related to this year's Festival theme of Journeys.

Wessex Archaeology are partners of this year's Festival of Archaeology and have curated a series of events to celebrate the Festival theme of Journeys in a variety of different ways:

Beyond the Stones: Public screenings - 10am-4pm, Avebury Barn, Wiltshire

Wessex Archaeology, with support from the National Trust, have made their first feature-length documentary called ‘Beyond the Stones’ which celebrates the 35th anniversary of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site. Screenings will take place at Avebury Barn throughout the day.

Find out more at https://www.archaeologyuk.org/festival/festival-event-listing/festival-of-archaeology-beyond-the-stones-premiere.html.

A journey to visit the wreck of the early submersible, Resurgam with Lowri Roberts, Marine Archaeologist, Wessex Archaeology - 1pm, Online

Designed by the Reverend George Garrett in 1879, Resurgam is a submersible, that sank off the coast of North Wales in 1880 whilst under tow on the way to Portsmouth. Resurgam was the first mechanically powered submersible to be launched in Britain and the third in the world, making her one of the greatest advances in Victorian engineering. Discovered by accident in 1995 after several failed attempts to locate her, the wreck has gone through a few interesting events, one of which saw her re-located on the seabed. Now home to resident eel, George, we take a look at this truly fascinating wreck and uncover some of the mysteries that surround her sinking and discovery.

Find out more at https://www.archaeologyuk.org/festival/festival-event-listing/a-journey-to-visit-the-wreck-of-the-early-submersible-resurgam-with-lowri-roberts-marine-archaeologist-wessex-archaeology.html.

A lost sailing barge in the Solent with Alistair Byford-Bates, Senior Marine Archaeologist, Wessex Archaeology - 5pm, Online

Diver investigation following the UXO survey for the IFA2 interconnector project identified the extant remains of an unknown wooden shipwreck. Following consultation with Historic England, the decision was made to excavate, record, and recover the remains of the vessel.

The vessel has been provisionally identified as an early 19th century barge, though no records of its loss have been found at this time. Constructed with oak double frames, oak and conifer planking, the ship shows evidence of its working life with replaced frames and repairs present in the extant material. Dendrochronological and isotope analysis have provided an indicative primary construction date ranging from 1836 to 1872 with its loss thought to have occurred in the early 20th century.

This presentation will discuss the recovered material and the interpretation of the origin and life of this unknown workhorse.

Find out more at https://www.archaeologyuk.org/festival/festival-event-listing/a-lost-sailing-barge-in-the-solent-with-alistair-byford-bates-senior-marine-archaeologist-wessex-archaeology.html.

Festival of Archaeology Careers Event - 5pm, Online

During this session, you’ll have the opportunity to hear from Wessex Archaeology staff and ask them all your burning questions. There are a vast number of different jobs involved in archaeology, from fieldwork, to archaeological illustration, to marine archaeology. Now’s your chance to learn more about the many available options and to hear from Wessex Archaeology specialists about how they came to work in this fascinating field.

Find out more at https://www.archaeologyuk.org/festival/festival-event-listing/festival-of-archaeology-careers-event.html.

Journeys resources for young people - launched online during the day

To celebrate the Festival theme of Journeys the CBA have created a bumper resource pack with activity and session ideas based on the Festival theme. These have been developed for anyone aged 8-16 and, as with all our YAC resources, are aimed at informal learning settings and are free to access.

These activities have been created by our recent Kickstart and student placements over the past few months. They cover a whole host of different topics from artefact journeys across the world, the spread of different cuisines to railway transport, prehistoric routeways and literary walks. There's something for everyone.