Welcome to Hadas, one of the most active archaeological societies within Greater London. From our base in the Garden Room at Avenue House, Finchley we cover archaeology throughout the London Borough of Barnet. The Hadas Working Party actively conduct field walking, surveying and excavations. We also have an excellent programme of outings and lectures throughout the year.

Diary

• Wednesday 27th August 2008 to Sunday 31st August 2008 inclusive. HADAS long weekend in Beverley, South Yorkshire.

• Wednesday, 1st October 2008 The start of the HADAS/Birkbeck post-excavation course at Avenue House from 18.30 to 20.30 (See all the details and course outline below Do come and join us

• Tuesday 14th October 2008. Community archaeology in Greater London: Outreach work and excavations at Prescot Street. Lecture by Lorna Richardson - Outreach Worker for L-P archaeology.

• Friday 17th October 2008 to Sunday, 19th October 2008. CBA weekend event in London.

The annual CBA Weekend Event will this year take place in London, celebrating the richness and diversity of the city's archaeology. Taking place on 17-19 October, the weekend starts with a tour of the British Museum's major new exhibition, 'Hadrian: Empire and Conflict'. The Beatrice de Cardi lecture will then be given by Thorsten Opper, curator of the exhibition.The programme for Saturday begins at the British Museum with a series of expert lectures on the prehistoric, Roman, medieval and industrial archaeology of London. In the afternoon, we will move to the Museum of London for an exclusive viewing, as well as a series of tours of the Guildhall Roman amphitheatre and the Billingsgate Roman house and baths (although places are limited). A dinner will take place in the evening, with the keynote speech given by well-known London archaeologist Harvey Sheldon.Sunday's activities will take place in the World Heritage Site of Greenwich, with lectures on current work taking place in the capital and a visit to key parts of the Site, including the National Maritime Museum and the Old Royal Naval College.Places are filling up fast, so please book yours soon by visiting www.britarch.ac.uk/cba/weekend, or telephoning the CBA on (01904) 671417.The full price for the weekend is £115, although CBA members pay the discounted price of £99 (and there is currently an offer of £28 available for new CBA members). There is an additional price of £30 for the dinner on the Saturday evening.

• Tuesday 11th November 2008. Bletchley Park: Enigma - how cracking the enemy codes led to the world's first computer. Lecture by Hugh Davies.

• Tuesday 13th January 2009. An exploration of the Western Desert of Egypt. Lecture by Nicole Douek.

• Tuesday 10th February 2009. The building of the Underground. Lecture by Tony Earle.

• Meetings start at 8.00pm in the Drawing Room, Avenue House, 17 East End Road, Finchley, N3 3QE. Coffee/Tea and biscuits 80p.
• Buses 82, 143, 326 & 460 pass close by, and it is five to ten minutes walk from Finchley Central Station (Northern Line).

Please come and join our Birkberk/HADAS Course see details below

AFTER THE EXCAVATION – ARCHAEOLOGY FROM PROCESSING TO PUBLICATION

Post-diploma course in Archaeology for Birkbeck FLL to be held at Avenue House, Finchley from 01/10/08 to 25/3/09

Excavation is only the beginning of the process of archaeological investigation. This course aims to provide tuition for non-professional archaeologists and local archaeological societies in post-excavation recording and analysis by re-examining unpublished excavations. In 2008–9 we will be looking at excavations carried out in 1972 by Hendon and District Archaeological Society (HADAS) at Burroughs Gardens, Hendon. The whole range of post-excavation procedures from basic finds processing to publication and archive deposition will be covered. The course will include lectures by specialists in various fields, such as ceramics, clay pipes, glass, building materials and animal bones. Class members will be closely involved in the sorting, identification, recording and analysis of each category of finds. This is a major emphasis of the course, with a view to interpreting the significance of the various finds in relation to the site. Teaching sessions will be alternated with workshops throughout, and as work proceeds group discussion will be important means of formulating strategies for writing up the results of analysis. The ultimate outcome of the course will be publication under the joint authorship of class members, with tuition provided in the construction, writing and illustration of archaeological reports. Instruction will also be given on storage of the excavated materials and written records in line with current archive standards.

Post-Diploma courses are intended primarily for students who have completed their Certificate or Diploma studies, but are also open to others who have or wish to acquire relevant archaeological skills. Coursework will be aimed principally at producing reports for publication. Students are encouraged to complete and submit a portfolio of work during the course for assessment. This forms an essential part of the learning process and of work leading to the final publication.

Course content • minimum standards of recording and analysis leading to publication • finds processing, including washing, marking, storage and basic recording of bulk and registered finds • the recording and analysis of finds and environmental remains, by means of hands-on experience, accompanied by lectures and supervised by specialists: • glass • clay tobacco pipes • pottery (Roman to post-medieval) • ceramic building materials • animal bones • half-day sessions in the London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre, studying and recording finds • illustration and photography • research into various artefact types (highlighting important sources to inform further work) • analysing and interpreting data using a computerized database • the use of tables, histograms, pie charts and other graphic presentations of data • the writing and presentation of archaeological reports • editing, publishing conventions, the use of references and bibliographies

Study skills In the course of the two terms, class members will be instructed and helped in the following: • current standards of archive storage • basic finds processing • handling and identifying different common types of excavated finds (pottery, building material, animal bone, clay pipes, glass) • methods of recording, analysing and interpreting data • the use and interrogation of computerised databases • cultivating research skills • the basics of archaeological finds illustration • accepted forms of referencing and the use of written sources • planning the final publication and the coursework involved in doing so • the development of writing skills aimed at archaeological publication

Course taught by: Jacqui Pearce BA FSA MIFA Wed 1 Oct 2008, 6.30pm-8.30pm 22 meetings £300 (£150) Course code: FFAR015S5ACB 30 CATS points at Level 5 Venue Avenue House 15-17 East End Road London N3 3QE

Places are limited so early enrolment is advised. To enrol by telephone (full fee only) or to ask about concessions please ring 020 7631 6651, quoting the course code.

To enrol online please go to: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/study/ce2008/archaeology/index.html

For a copy of our Archaeology and Egyptology Mini Prospectus please contact archaeology@fll.bbk.ac.uk or FLL Archaeology, 26 Russell Square, London, WC1B 5DQ 020 7631 6627.

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HADAS’ LATEST PUBLICATION

HADAS wins commendation at British Archaeology Awards by Tim Wilkins

Members will be pleased to hear that HADAS received a commendation at the prestigious British Archaeological Awards (BAA), for its latest publication “The Last Hendon Farm” The biennial BAAs, held in Birmingham on the 6th November 2006, are the most prestigious awards in British archaeology. Since their foundation in 1976, they have grown to encompass 12 awards covering all aspects of British archaeology.

HADAS was a finalist in the section for the Pitt-Rivers Award for the best project by a volunteer organisation. In presenting this category, the BAA said “We are delighted to report that we had an excellent set of submissions, sixteen entries in total. The overall quality of the work is the highest for many years and a tribute to the voluntary sector. We are particularly impressed where groups are training their own members to study and write their own reports”.

This last comment is especially relevant to HADAS, where the book is the first major product of the HADAS course on post-excavation analysis, run as a joint venture with Birkbeck College, University of London. Late breaking news: At the SCOLA (the Standing Committee on London Archaeology) archaeological awards ceremony on 14th November at the Society of Antiquaries at Burlington House, which looks at professional and amateur publications on London archaeology over the last two years, out of the seventeen entrants, HADAS’s “The Last Hendon Farm” was among the four finally short-listed. In the event, “Sutton House” a joint publication by English Heritage & the National Trust was deemed the winner and “Holy Trinity Priory, Aldgate” by the Museum of London Archaeological Service (MoLAS) was second. The other short-listed book with HADAS’s was another MoLAS book “Old London Bridge”. The HADAS book was the only “amateur” publication among these illustrious professionals – quite an achievement!!

The book is excellently produced, with over 100 pages in total, containing 73 good quality photographs and diagrams, and gives much credit to those whose hard work have gone into the contributions and production. It illustrates much of the purpose behind the existence of local archaeological societies.

It is on sale for £11.99 plus £2.50 postage and packing within the UK and can be obtained from The Museum of London shop, London Wall, London EC2Y. email: shop@museumoflondon.org.uk or telephone 020 7814 5600.

Features

Newsletter Issue1

• Newsletter Archive Project

The Hadas newsletters have been converted into digital form as part of a permanent archive. We are now busily converting the page images into text to create a complete and searchable archive covering over 35 years of the Society's history.

• Church End Farm Building Record

This is a record of the building history at Church End Farm. It was compiled as part of the post-excavation analysis of of an excavation (Site code CEF61) at Church End Farm Hendon in 1960s.

• Hendon House

Excavations at Hendon School prompted research into this important house in the history of Hendon.

• Battle of Barnet

Members of Hadas are investigating the Wars of the Roses' site of the 1471 Battle of Barnet.

• Standard Railway Gauges

An article in the HADAS Newsletter, May 2003, tells us that very old wheel tracks in Malta are a “standard” width apart, and that the distance is close to the Standard Railway Gauge. Should this be a surprise?

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Latest News

• • HADAS are starting to process the Roman finds from old Brockley Hill excavations Oct 1,2007

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