September 2009

Below the Ground

It's not often we find ourselves at the forefront of technology, and the envy of other Wessex Societies, but the Archaeology Section of the Isle of Wight Natural History and Archaeology Society now has some brand new, state of the art, Geophysics equipment. For those fans of archaeology programmes, it’s the kit you see on Time Team, that they use to “see under the ground”

A major problem with archaeology is that sites of great interest can be destroyed by erosion, development, heavy ploughing and the process of excavation itself. Using geophysics enables the archaeologist to locate, record and protect single or multiple sites without the need for expensive, time consuming or destructive excavation.

The IWNHAS has, with the help of the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership, obtained a European Union grant from Leader with further funding from The Council for British Archaeology to enable the purchase of equipment and training in its use.

This will be of great use and interest to the IOW, and benefit a range of projects such as the HEAP ( Historic Environment Action Plan)and community historic and archaeological research, It will provide a fantastic opportunity to get to grips with the astonishing amount of archaeology we have on the Island. Through the work of Frank Basford, our local Portable Antiquities Officer’ numerous finds have come to light across the Island, revealing a huge amount of activity in the past that no-one realised was there.

Aerial photographs, satellite and the new Lidor images, not to mention Google Earth, reveal details of settlements and monuments dating from the Neolithic onward. Many of the coastal sites are in danger of erosion or sea level rise, and others, because they are unknown, are in danger of destruction by development, heavy farming or fast growing trees. With this equipment, we can examine many of these sites and record what lies under the ground and ascertain what level of protection they need.

The project, called ‘Below The Ground’ and under the management of Dr. Ruth Waller, County Archaeologist, is planned to run for ten years and examine sites identified by IOW Archaeology Service. As well as being a fantastic community archaeology experience for all those Islanders who want to know more about the Island in the past, it is also a great investment for the future knowledge of our unique heritage and can support landowners with information for land management.

We welcome all interested people to get in touch with us, as we will be delighted to see new faces and there will be an ongoing training programme, so new recruits are always welcome.

November 2008

Cock & Bull Stories

Society member Alan R. Phillips recently retired from the task of leading our Archaeology Group and the fruits of his recent work are shown in this new book 'Cock and Bull Stories', which has been acclaimed as fascinating and beautifully written. It is subtitled 'Animals in Isle of Wight Folklore, Dialect and Cultural History.' and is a treasure trove of original historical research.

Alan has long had an interest in folklore, myth and archaeology in general, and Island dialect and cultural history in particular. This booklet started life as the Island's contribution to Stefan Buczacki's Fauna Britannica, but it has since expanded as the author worked his way through over one hundred older Island volumes and articles, in particular the extant dialect and place-name dictionaries, together with stories and snippets as told to him by others.

The book is available from the County Press Shop and Waterstone's in Newport and from other local bookshops or by post from the author at 'Edelweiss', Fine Lane, Shorwell, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 3JY. (Please make cheque for £5.60, to include p&p, payable to A R Phillips).

July 2008

Newtown Surveys Exhibition

On Saturday July 5th to celebrate fifty years of the Newtown Surveys an exhibition was opened opposite the Old Town Hall. Original members of the survey happily met again after many years and John Stafford, the last surviving member of the adults of the time, cut the ribbon and declared the exhibition open.

The Newtown surveys were first undertaken when development threatened the area with the proposed siting there of a nuclear power station. Local teachers and naturalists organised groups from several different schools to survey the natural history of the area to the east of the Newtown River.

The surveys became an annual event and the area is now a National Nature Reserve.

Many photo's taken at the time were on show and two small cine films were available on DVD transposed from their original format.

Sadly not all of those most energetic in the organisation of the camps were able to attend. It was heard that George Lawrence, resident in New Zealand and who had hoped to make the journey here, died a few days before the event.

March 2008

Local Records Centre

The Society needs your help!

This is an opportunity for any member who is used to working with computers and interested in a particular group of species to work alongside our Recorders.

Recorders are experts appointed by the Society to receive and review all the records sent in each year for a particular set of species. They have a complete overview of records ranging from the present back even, in some cases, as far as the 16th century. We are hoping for volunteers to act as amanuenses; helping them to input their data.

We hope that soon all our records will be maintained in 'MapMate', our main database, or on simple spreadsheets. In that way we can learn more by analysing the data in new and interesting ways and it can help to save rare and scarce species threatened by lack of management or inappropriate development.

If you are happy with using simple databases or spreadsheets we would be glad to hear from you.
Please contact Geoff,
email - Geoff(at)toone10.fsnet.co.uk - in the first instance.

Groups where help is particularly needed are Beetles, Grasshoppers and Crickets, Bugs, Marine (in general), Seaweeds and Fungi, though there are many others that need a helping hand.

March 2008

The Historic Environment Action Plan

Alan Phillips reports - 'At this morning's HEAP Steering Committee Ruth Waller asked me to pass on her many thanks to everyone in the Society who had so far been involved in the Historic Tracks project, she praised the Society's input as having been huge.'

Vicky Basford has prepared 15 reports which identify the varied historic landscapes of the Island, such as the Arreton Valley, the Undercliff, and the West Wight Chalk Downland. All of these are available for consultation on the HEAP website, and there is still time to send in your comments.

The Roads Lanes & Tracks report is also included, and Vicky intends to feed all the Historic Tracks data collected by the Society onto a digital-based map later in the year. She will also be working on 5 further reports concentrating on themes such as Climate Change and Coastal Archaeology.

The project now moves beyond the research stage to the public launch of the Historic Environment Partnership later in the year. This should provide many more potential projects for the Society to become involved in!

October 2007

Chris Beer - Whale Watch Azores - When research merges with ecotourism
A talk to be held on 29 October 2007 at the Riverside Centre at 6.30pm, with Chris Beer. This tells of 20 years of Cetacean research in the Azores, the European gateway for whales and dolphins. A success story about how marine biologist Lisa Steiner and marine engineer Chris Beer started as Sperm Whale researchers "only" and provide now a very successful ecotourism business on Faial, in harmony with local people and environment. The entrance fee of £3.00 goes towards the charities British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS).

May 2006

An exhibition about the Island's Flora is opened at Shanklin Chine
On the 18th of May the exhibition of Island flora at Shanklin Chine was officially opened by Anne Springman who owns the Chine and Bill Shepard, previous BSBI Recorder of the Island's plants, at a well attended event. The exhibition will be open throughout the summer.

February 2006

Derek Reid
We are sorry to hear that the eminent mycologist, Derek Reid, died on 19th January 2006, aged 78. Derek was not a member but he had a long and fruitful association with the Society and many of its members, both living and deceased. He has been the expert mycologist attending every annual foray between 1980 and 2004.

Derek was the former head of mycology at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and an international authority on the classification and identification of toadstools and mushrooms, and their allies.

An obituary will be published in The Proceedings.

January 2006

Wall hanging
The Society is the proud owner of a large wallhanging depicting the flora and fauna of the Isle of Wight. It was embroidered for the Society by members of the Isle of Wight Embroiderer’s Guild. The wallhanging has appeared in a number of public displays. It will, in future, be displayed on an interior wall of the National Trust shop and ticket office at Mottistone Manor. The building is an old barn. The wallhanging will be in good company. The roof of the barn is occupied by a roost of bats during the summer months!