- 24th March 2023
In April and July 2022, 21 test pits were excavated across Bewdley, Worcestershire, as part of the Small Pits, Big Ideas project. Bewdley was a bit different to our other big digs, being a town rather than a village with much more development having taken place. Our objective for this dig was to find out more...
- 17th March 2023
In April 2022, 20 test pits were excavated across Wichenford village, to the north west of Worcester, as part of the Small Pits, Big Ideas project. Quite a lot is known about the history of the village through documents we hold in the archives at The Hive, but what material evidence of medieval occupation could we...
- 10th March 2023
Unexplored earthworks that look suspiciously medieval: an exciting start for any excavation! During October 2021, 8 test pits were excavated across the village of White Ladies Aston, just east of Worcester, as part of the Small Pits, Big Ideas project. These, when combined with previous community test pits in the village, reveal a story of...
- 3rd March 2023
In June 2022, 15 test pits were excavated across Wolverley, Worcestershire. This community excavation was part of a wider project – Small Pits, Big Ideas – researching rural medieval settlements across the county. Together, these test pits tell a broader story of the village over time. Today our household rubbish is taken away regularly, but...
- 24th February 2023
In autumn 2021, 13 test pits were excavated across Holt End village in Beoley, Worcestershire. This community excavation was part of a wider project – Small Pits, Big Ideas – researching rural medieval settlements across the county. Together, these test pits tell a broader story of the village over time. Today our household rubbish is...
- 17th February 2023
In 2022, after the identification of a possible Civil War bastion (read about this discovery in part 2 of the blog series), a small area was excavated on the west side of the castle. This was ahead of some routine maintenance work. The trench we excavated was about 6m square. When fully excavated, we cleaned...
- 11th February 2023
A set of letters, programmes and postcards amongst items being catalogued in our Library Pamphlets collection (which came from Worcestershire History Centre before the service moved to The Hive in 2012) reveals that important local photographer A.J. Woodley (a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society) had a particular interest in the celebrated 19th century poet...
- 9th February 2023
Back in the hot weather of July 2022, with its parched brown crunchy grass, one of our Project Officers undertook a photogrammetric drone survey within the ground of Hartlebury Castle, with the kind permission of Hartlebury Castle Preservation Trust. There were no particular expectations for this, beyond that parched grass can be ideal for showing...
- 31st January 2023
Gathering data for archaeological purposes has traditionally involved string lines, measuring tapes and pencils. This blog explores a digital technique that is now widely used within archaeological practice: photogrammetry. To best illustrate its uses, we will focus on Hartlebury Castle as a case study. Photogrammetry: what, how and when? So first, what is photogrammetry? It...
- 3rd December 2022
The first evidence of printing in Worcester after the lapse of the Printing Act in 1695 coincides with the emergence of the first known Worcester newspaper. Valentine Green claims that a newspaper was published on an occasional basis after the Glorious Revolution and John Chambers gives an unverified date of 1690. However, there is no...