Lectures, visits and tours
The Society organises lectures in winter, and trips, visits and walks in summer. These are open to members and non-members alike. In most years we also run a four-day residential holiday, which is for members only. We also organise occasional conferences, day schools and other events which will be listed here as they occur.
Winter Lectures
Current and recent lectures
Summer Visits
Trips, tours and events
Conferences
Conferences and day schools
Archive
Archive of previous events
Winter Lecture Programme
Our Autumn/Winter programme for 2022/3 has now finished, and the 2023/4 programme will be added here before lectures restart in September
Lectures are held at the Town Close Auditorium at Norwich Castle, but will also usually be available live online. If you wish to take advantage of this you will need to register for the lecture using the link on the programme, and a link will be sent to you by email. Most of our lectures are not recorded, for practical and copyright reasons.
You can download summaries of many of our lectures from previous seasons on our Archive page.
Current lectures
Our new lecture programme will be available here soon
Archived lectures
A list of previous lectures given to the society, some with summaries recorded by members and approved by the speakers, can be accessed below,
Recent lectures
2022 / 2023
March 4th The Sue Margeson Memorial Lecture
Sue Margeson Memorial Lecture : Dr Sophie Beckett, Cranfield Forensic Institute. 'Revealing aDNA Discoveries of Early Medieval Sedgeford'. Register HERE
February 4 Dr Andrew Hutcheson, UEA & NNAS President. The Later Prehistoric Norfolk Project: Arminghall Henge and its Landscape
Dr Andrew Hutcheson, UEA & NNAS President. The Later Prehistoric Norfolk Project: Arminghall Henge and its Landscape Register HERE
January 7 Dr Richard Hoggett, Freelance Heritage Consultant M.R.James: East Anglian Antiquarian
Dr Richard Hoggett, Freelance Heritage Consultant, M.R.James: East Anglian Antiquarian Register HERE
December 3rd Dr Brian Ayers, UEA Gilbert of Hamar – a forgotten 13th-century Norwich cleric, envoy and intellectual
Dr Brian Ayers, UEA Gilbert of Hamar - a forgotten 13th-century Norwich cleric, envoy and intellectual: an archaeo-historical exploration across northern Europe. (Joint lecture with NAHRG) Register...
November 5th Dr Lisa-Elen Meyering, Postdoctoral Researcher, Durham University, Using visual psychology to interrogate early prehistoric art
November 5th Dr Lisa-Elen Meyering, Postdoctoral Researcher, Durham University, Using visual psychology to interrogate early prehistoric art. Joint lecture with The Prehistoric Society. Register HERE
October 1st The Literary Papers of The Reverend Jermyn Pratt 1723-1791
Dr James Wood, UEA, The Literary Papers of The Reverend Jermyn Pratt 1723-1791 Register HERE
Dr Benjamin Redding, UEA, September 10th The Gloucester (1682): Norfolk’s Royal Shipwreck
Our AGM will be followed by a lecture on the recent discovery of the wreck of The Gloucester, off Great Yarmouth. Register HERE
Rethinking Money in Early Medieval East Anglia
March 5th 2022 Dr Rory Naismith (Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University), Rethinking Money in Early Medieval East Anglia, (Sue Margeson Memorial Lecture) Rory Naismith is returning to...
A landscape archaeology of salt working in the Broads
Feb 5th 2022 Prof Tom Williamson (UEA) A landscape archaeology of salt working in the Broads Tom Williamson is a landscape historian and landscape archaeologist with wide-ranging interests. His...
Summer Events Programme
The Society organises a number of Summer Events, including visits, walks and trips to sites of interest within the region. In most years we also run a four-day holiday. In recent years we have visited sites in Lincolnshire and Wales.
After two years wiped out by the pandemic, we finally restarted our Summer Activities with a limited programme for 2022. For 2023, we have worked to create a programme which is much more similar to the ‘old days’ and we hope that you will all want to join us out and about once again!
The Council would welcome your suggestions for summer excursions for future years – where would you like to visit that is normally closed to the public or otherwise ‘out of bounds’? Would you like the society to run day schools or other meetings in the summer? Send your ideas to our Excursions Secretary, Margaret Gooch (excursions@nnas.info).
Summer 2023 Programme coming soon
Summer Activities Programme
We finally have a Summer Activities Programme! After missing two summers of excursions, we are starting slowly - we have focussed on local excavations and members' specialisms, and all of this...
MOLA Archive – Cancelled
Cancelled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic Museum of London Archaeological Archive at Mortimer Wheeler House in Islington 6th May 2020 Go behind the scenes at the world’s largest archaeological archive....
Caistor Roman Project Trips – Cancelled
Cancelled Members of NNAS have generously been invited to take advantage of a series of coach trips organised by the Caistor Roman Project this summer. Booking Details: Please note that these trips...
Four-day visit to Kent 2020 – Cancelled
18–21 September 2020 CANCELLED Led by Dr Andrew Rogerson This year we are running a four-day coach excursion to Kent. We will stay for three nights at the Premier Inn at Medway Valley Leisure Park,...
Conferences and day schools
9th April 2022
Community Archaeology: A conference dedicated to the memory of Dr Neil Faulkner
In spring 2022, the Norfolk & Norwich Archaeological Society plan to celebrate the resilience, variety and success of the thousands of volunteers doing archaeology in the county, with a day conference to be held at UEA on Saturday April 9th.
What is community archaeology? A precise definition is difficult, but it includes not just ‘digs’, but all the ways people become involved in the subject as non-professionals, and by doing so enrich their experience of the past. Community archaeology can address identity, and help develop belonging and a sense of place, and can be a collaborative way for people from diverse backgrounds to explore and produce narratives related to the past.
The themes of the day will be:
- Community and Diversity
- Specialisms
- Health and Wellbeing
High profile speakers already confirmed include Professor Tim Darvill, Director of Human Henge, Alex Fitzpatrick, co-host of the ‘ArchaeoAnimals’ podcast, and Neil Redfern, Executive Director of the Council for British Archaeology. The keynote address will be given by Professor Will Bowden of Caistor Roman Town Project, and there will be a ‘marketplace’ area showcasing local projects and groups.
The aim of the conference is to explore the richness of community archaeology in Norfolk, and to shed light on current practices, aspirations, key interests and potential partnerships, as well as looking into future needs, and how we can improve access and widen participation in archaeology for all.
We hope that this conference will be a chance for all those interested in community archaeology and in archaeology more generally to hear about ways of becoming involved, perhaps more involved, and meet others who are embarked on their own explorations of the past.
A tribute to Dr Neil Faulkner FSA
Neil Faulkner, who died of cancer on Feb 4th at just 64, was Founder-Director of the Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project, members of which are speaking in the programme. This shocking and untimely loss came just as this conference was in the final stages of development, and the Council of the Society are grateful to his partner for permission to dedicate the day to the memory of a pioneer in the field.
Booking is now open, and the updated programme can be downloaded, left of this page.
Local projects and organization wishing to take part in the conference ‘marketplace’ should contact publicity@nnas.info
Tickets
Day Conference tickets (including lunch) will cost:
- Non-Members: £20
- NNAS/CBA East : £15
- Low income/Student: £7.50
Programme
Download the latest update of the conference programme and speaker details here
Save the Date – 9th April 2022
Save the Date Saturday, 9th April, 2022 In 2022 the Society is planning a conference on Community Archaeology. This will be open to all, and held at the Thomas Paine Centre at UEA. A draft programme...
Event Archive
Here you can download summaries of many of our lectures from previous seasons. These have been written by Society members and approved by the speakers themselves before publication here. We intend to create a cumulative archive of these summaries for these and future seasons.
Previous excursions and lectures
Please note: 2020 and 2021 excursions were cancelled due to pandemic.
2019
Excursions
Wednesday 15 May 2019: Viking Norwich Walk with Brian Ayers
Wednesday 22 May: Viking Exhibition, Norwich Castle Museum, with Dr Tim Pestell
Saturday 13 July: Broadlands Project, with Prof Rob Liddiard
4-7 October 2019: Four-day Excursion to Sussex
Lectures
Saturday 5 October 2019: The Thames Foreshore Project
Eliott Wragg, Senior Community Archaeologist, MOLA. Download summary
Saturday 2 November 2019: Recent Excavations at Star Carr – new light on an old site
Dr Chantal Conneller, Newcastle University (joint meeting with the Prehistoric Society). Download summary
Saturday 14 December 2019: Bury St Edmunds – the abbey and the antiquaries
Dr Richard Hoggett (joint meeting with NAHRG).
Saturday 4 January 2020: Nara to Norvic: arrivals and beliefs at the extremities of the Silk Roads – an examination of the archaeology of religion (550–1000)
Dr Andrew Hutcheson, Centre for Archaeology and Heritage, Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Culture.
Saturday 1 February 2020: Recent Work on the Archaeology of Nottingham
Dr Gareth Davies, Trent & Peak Archaeology. Download summary
Saturday 7 March 2020: The Sue Margeson Memorial Lecture. Recent Viking Age Excavations in Scandinavia – Jelling, Gamla Uppsala, and other sites
Brian Ayers, former Norfolk County Archaeologist.
2017
Excursions
Saturday 29 July 2017: Walking tour of Kings Lynn
29 Sept–2 Oct 2017: Four-day excursion to Inverness Download summary
Lectures
Saturday 9 September 2017: Norfolk’s Medieval Angel Roofs
Sarah Cassell, UEA Download summary
Saturday 7 October 2017: What is Icenian Coinage?
Dr John Talbot, Independent Researcher (joint meeting with the Prehistoric Society)
Saturday 4 November 2017: Walsingham Buildings Uncovered
Dr Ian Hinton, Norfolk Historic Buildings Group
Saturday 2 December 2017: Great Ryburgh: The excavation of rare Anglo-Saxon coffins and a Saxon church
James Fairclough, MOLA Watch on YouTube
Saturday 6 January 2018: The Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic of Northern East Anglia: Hunter gatherer communities and the changing Landscape c.12,700–4000 BC
Dr Lawrence Billington
Saturday 3 February 2018: People, Landscape and Economy in the Anglo-Saxon Fenland
Dr Susan Oosthuizen, Univ. of Cambridge Download summary
Saturday 7 April 2018: The Sue Margeson Memorial Lecture. Silver and the Viking ‘Great Army’
Dr. Andrew Woods, York Museums Trust Download summary
2015
Excursions
Saturday 11 April 2015: Thetford Walk
Wednesday 20 May 2015: Heydon Hall and Park
Wednesday 17 June 2015: Baconsthorpe Castle and Barningham Hall
Wednesday 15 July 2015: Pakenham Water Mill
Saturday 8 August 2015: St Olaves Walk
Wednesday 16 September 2015: Mannington Hall and Gardens Download summary
Lectures
Saturday 5 September 2015: From the first inhabitants to the last hunter gathers. A review of the evidence for Palaeolithic and Mesolithic activity in Norfolk
Alice Cattermole, Historic Environment Officer, Norfolk County Council. Download summary
Saturday 3 October 2015: Must Farm and new ideas on Bronze Age Fenland
Mark Knight, Cambridge Archaeological Unit (joint meeting with the Prehistoric Society). Download summary
Saturday 14 November 2015: The archaeology of Itter Crescent, Peterborough: An Iron Age enclosure, a Roman villa and a Saxon cemetery
Alice Lyons, Oxford Archaeology East
Saturday 5 December 2015: Norwich Textiles: a Global Story, 1750–1820
Michael Nix, formerly Research Manager, Textiles and Technology, Glasgow Museums (joint meeting with NAHRG). Download summary
Saturday 9 January 2016: Lost Country Houses in Norfolk: History and Archaeology
Dr Sarah Spooner, University of East Anglia. Download summary
Saturday 6 February 2016: What the Victorians threw away
Dr Tom Licence, University of East Anglia. Download summary
Saturday 5 March 2016: The Sue Margeson Memorial Lecture. Landscape and Local Government in the Danelaw
Prof. Andrew Reynolds, University College London
2013
Excursions
Saturday 27 April 2013: Old Hall South Burlingham. A Small Elizabethan Manor on the outskirts of Norwich
Thursday 9 May 2013: By River to St Benet’s Abbey
Monday 24 June 2013: Blickling Hall
Saturday 20 July 2013: Mid Norfolk Villages and Barrows
Thursday 22 August 2013: Tour of Framlingham Town and Castle
6–9 September 2013: Four-day Visit to East Yorkshire
Lectures
Saturday 14 September 2013: The Archaeology of Malta
Patricia Camilleri, Archaeological Society Malta.Download summary
Saturday 5 October 2013: Henges
Dr Alex Gibson, University of Bradford. Download summary
Saturday 2 November 2013: Historical Climatology, England between c. 1290 and 1430. The connection between short term climate change and subsistence crisis
Dr. Kathleen Priby, University of East Anglia.Download summary
Saturday 7 December 2013. Pathways to History: researching public rights of way in Norfolk
Dr Jon Gregory, University of East Anglia. Download summary
Saturday 4 January 2014. Religion in Roman Norfolk
Dr Adrian Marsden, Norfolk Landscape Archaeology. Download summary
Saturday 1 February 2014. Cold War Anglia
Dr Richard Maguire, University of East Anglia. Download summary
Saturday 1 March 2014. The Sue Margeson Memorial Lecture: Valorising Viking Valhalla? Rethinking the hogback tombs
Prof. Howard Williams, University of Chester. Download summary
2018
Excursions
Thursday 24 May 2018: The Pastons in Norfolk
Wednesday 4 July: The Paston Exhibition, Norwich Castle Museum
Saturday 18 August: A Walk in Historic Thetford Download summary
21-24 September 2018: Four-day excursion to Nottingham Download summary
Lectures
Saturday 29 September 2018: The Ups and Downs of Elm Hill: properties and people
Dr Victor Morgan, UEA
Saturday 27 October: Talking Torcs: East Anglia and Beyond
Dr Tess Machling and Roland Williamson (joint meeting with the Prehistoric Society)
Saturday 10th November: Living with Monuments: settlement, monumentality, and landscape in the Neolithic of the Avebury region
Josh Pollard, Univ. Southampton & Mark Gillings, Univ. Leicester
Saturday 1 December 2018: Norfolk’s Gateway to Medieval England: The Norwich Castle Keep Redevelopment Project
Dr Tim Pestell, Norwich Castle Museum
Saturday 5 January: Boudicca and the Buried Treasure
Adam Wightman, Colchester Archaeological Trust
Saturday 2nd February: A landscape through time: archaeology of the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme
Tony Walsh, MOLA Headland Infrastructure
Saturday 2nd March: The Sue Margeson Memorial Lecture. Archaeologies of the Norman Conquest
Naomi Sykes, Univ. Exeter, and Aleks McClain, Univ. York Download summary
2016
Excursions
Wednesday 13 April 2016: Van Dal Shoe Factory Download summary
Wednesday 25 May 2016: Langley Abbey, Near Loddon
Wednesday 22 June 2016: Sandringham House
Wednesday 6 July 2016: Walsingham Abbey and Shirehall Museum
Saturday 6 August 2016: Cromer
Lectures
Saturday 10 September 2016: Norfolk’s 17th-century trade tokens and the Norfolk Token Project
Dr Adrian Marsden, Norfolk Museums Service.
Saturday 8 October 2016: Round barrow relationships: considering the role of round barrows in English landscapes from 1500 BC to AD 1086
Dr Anwen Cooper, University of Oxford (joint meeting with the Prehistoric Society).
Saturday 5 November 2016: Ten years at Caistor Roman town: what do we know now?
Prof William Bowden, University of Nottingham.
Saturday 3 December 2016: Francis Blomefield and the parish churches of medieval Norwich
Dr Clare Haynes and Prof Sandy Heslop, UEA (joint meeting with NAHRG)
Saturday 14 January 2017: Grundungsviertel Excavation Project, Excavating the oldest quarter of Lubeck
Dr Dirk Rieger, Chief Archaeologist, UNESCO. Download summary
Saturday 4 February 2017: The Brecks from Above: Re-mapping the archaeology of the Brecks
Sophie Tremlett, Historic Environment Service, Norfolk County Council. Download summary
Saturday 4 March 2017: The Sue Margeson Memorial Lecture. Thoughts and Crosses: New Research into the Anglo-Saxon Church in East Anglia
Dr. Richard Hoggett
2014
Excursions
Saturday 26 April 2014: Bergh Apton – Kirstead Hall
Wednesday 17 May 2014: Wherry Trip from Wroxham
Saturday 14 June 2014: Evening History Walk: Beccles
Wednesday 25 June 2014: Mettingham Castle
Wednesday 23 July 2014: Gunton Park Download summary
15–18 August 2014: Thames Valley Tour
Wednesday 10 September 2014: West Stow Saxon Village
Lectures
Saturday 13 September 2014: Digging Sedgeford
Dr Neil Faulkner, SHARP. Download summary
Saturday 4 October 2014: Coins, kings and tribes? East Anglia and Beyond in the Iron Age
Dr Ian Leins, British Museum (joint meeting with the Prehistoric Society). Download summary
Saturday 1 November 2014: Ancient Woodland? Explorations in the history and archaeology of Norfolk’s woods
Dr. Tom Williamson, University of East Anglia. Download summary
Saturday 6 December 2014: The Rendlesham Survey: investigating a royal Anglo-Saxon landscape
Judith Plouviez, Senior Archaeological Officer, Suffolk Archaeological Service (Joint Meeting with NAHRG). Download summary
Saturday 10 January: The Heathland Road: The archaeology of the A11 Fiveways to Thetford Improvements Scheme
Mark Hinman, Pre-Construct Archaeology
Saturday 7 February: Recent Archaeological Work and Discoveries in Norfolk
David Gurney, Historic Environment Manager, Norfolk County Council
Saturday 7 March: The Sue Margeson Memorial Lecture. Secrets of the Anglo-Saxon Goldsmiths
Dr Eleanor Blakelock, British Museum
Latest excursions and lectures
The latest programmes are available here.
Get involved
Please contact us if you would like to write a report on an excursion or lecture for inclusion here.