Our Programme 

 The Society organises monthly lectures from September to March, and a variety of trips, visits and walks from April to August. These are open to members and non-members alike. In many years we also run a residential holiday, which is for members only.

We organise a biennial conference, occasional 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

We offer lectures every month from September to March, free to members, or with donations requested from non-members – and you can join at any event!

All lectures take place at 2.15pm in the Town Close Auditorium at Norwich Castle Museum. It is not necessary to pay museum admission, please just mention that you are attending the talk.

We also stream our lectures on Zoom. Please note that you must register separately for each lecture you wish to attend. This helps to prevent no-shows. 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.

The new programme will appear here soon

2033/24 Programme  available HERE

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,

Past lectures

2023/4

2023

Sep 16 Excavations in Norwich, under the shadow of the city walls.
Dr Jonathan House, Pre-Construct Archaeology
Oct 7 The Churches of Broadland: the densest grouping of churches in the
Country Dr Ian Hinton, chair of Norfolk Historic Buildings Group
Nov 4 Atlas of the Hillforts of Britain and Ireland, Prof Gary Lock (Emeritus Professor, Oxford University) and Prof Ian Ralston (Abercromby Emeritus Professor, Edinburgh University), (Joint lecture with the Prehistoric Society)
Dec 2 Latest Research on the Snettisham Hoards Dr Julia Farley (British Museum) & Dr Jody Joy (Cambridge University), (Joint lecture with NAHRG)

2024

Jan 6 An Update on Roman Pottery Dr Alice Lyons, President of The Study Group for Roman Pottery
Feb 3 Recent work on the Archaeological Finds from the excavations at RAF
Lakenheath Jo Carruth, Principal Post-Excavation Manager, Cotswold Archaeology, Suffolk
Mar 2 The Sue Margeson Memorial Lecture 2024
Reconstructing the conversion and early Christian history of East Anglia in the light of new discoveries Prof Emerita Katy Cubitt (UEA).

Summer Events Programme

The Society organises a number of Summer Events, including visits, walks and trips to sites of interest within the region. In some years we also run a residential holiday. In recent years we have visited  in Lincolnshire, Kent, Nottinghamshire and Wales.

The Council would welcome your suggestions for summer activities 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? We try to offer an excursion, visit or activity in each month April-August. At present we are looking for a new Hon.Sec to lead on this work, so if you are interested please drop us a line!

The summer 2024 programme will be announced here in spring.

  

Conferences and day schools

The Biennial Community Archaeology Conference

Booking is now open for Community Archaeology 2024: Coast, Climate and Community
The conference will take place on Saturday April 6th 2024, at UEA. 10.00-16.30

Norfolk is a coastal county with a vast array of heritage found on its coastal fringe. From tools and footprints, found at Happisburgh, dating from around 900,000 years ago, through to 20th century military installations placed to protect against invasion, much of this heritage is vulnerable to erosion. With climate change, rates of erosion are set to rise through increased sea level height and stronger storms resulting more energy in weather systems. Storm and surge events, such as those experienced on the coast in the 1953 floods and 2013 Christmas storms are likely to become more common and their destructive potential will result in loss of archaeological sites and structures. River systems will also change with a likelihood of more volatile events creating more inland floods and in some parts of the county, such as the Fens and the Broads, the salination of underlying freshwater conditions which are currently preserving archaeological and paleoenvironmental deposits. How can communities deal with these losses?

The conference will hear from community archaeology practitioners, academics, health specialists, and there will be an opportunity to take part in a Training Workshop on recording archaeology on the coast led by the Nautical Archaeological Society. There will also be an invitation to participate in the inaugural meeting of the Norfolk Community Archaeology Forum, being proposed as a new space for conversations and skill sharing for all those interested in community archaeology in Norfolk.
Speakers and workshop participants will include

  • Andrew Farrell, Project Director, Broads Authority
  • Neil Redfern, Executive Director of the Council for British Archaeology
  • Laura Drysdale, Director of the Restoration Trust
  • Andy Hutcheson, Research Fellow in the Centre for Archaeology and Heritage at the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Culture, UEA
  • Mike Pinner, Chair of the Caistor Roman Project
  • Michael Curtis, Trustee and Executive Board Member of the Nautical Archaeology Society
  • Peta Knott, Nautical Archaeology Society Education Manager
  • Joanne Clarke, Hon Professor of Archaeology at UEA and contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
  • Claire Harris, MOLA, Deep History Detectives Re-mixed and Pathways to Ancient Britain
  • Lawrence Northall, Coasts in Mind, Community Partnerships Project Officer, CITiZAN (MOLA)
  • Sophie Tremlett, Senior Air Photo Interpreter, Norfolk County Council.

Book your ticket for attendance in person or online

Waged tickets £25, including lunch.
Unwaged tickets £12.50, including lunch.
Virtual attendance tickets £12.50

(For virtual attendance a link will be sent to you at least three days before the event.)

 

Past Conferences

April 9th 2022

Community Archaeology 2022: A conference dedicated to the memory of Dr Neil Faulkner

In spring 2022, the Norfolk & Norwich Archaeological Society celebrate the resilience, variety and success of the thousands of volunteers doing archaeology in the county, with a day conference.

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 were:

  • Community and Diversity
  • Specialisms
  • Health and Wellbeing

High profile speakers 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 was given by Professor Will Bowden of Caistor Roman Town Project, and a ‘marketplace’ area showcased local projects and groups.

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 spoke 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.

 via the button The Biennial Community Archaeology Conference

Booking is now open for Community Archaeology 2024: Coast, Climate and Community
The conference will take place on Saturday April 6th 2024, at UEA.

Norfolk is a coastal county with a vast array of heritage found on its coastal fringe. From tools and footprints, found at Happisburgh, dating from around 900,000 years ago, through to 20th century military installations placed to protect against invasion, much of this heritage is vulnerable to erosion. With climate change, rates of erosion are set to rise through increased sea level height and stronger storms resulting more energy in weather systems. Storm and surge events, such as those experienced on the coast in the 1953 floods and 2013 Christmas storms are likely to become more common and their destructive potential will result in loss of archaeological sites and structures. River systems will also change with a likelihood of more volatile events creating more inland floods and in some parts of the county, such as the Fens and the Broads, the salination of underlying freshwater conditions which are currently preserving archaeological and paleoenvironmental deposits. How can communities deal with these losses?

The conference will hear from community archaeology practitioners, academics, health specialists, and there will be an opportunity to take part in a Training Workshop on recording archaeology on the coast led by the Nautical Archaeological Society. There will also be an invitation to participate in the inaugural meeting of the Norfolk Community Archaeology Forum, being proposed as a new space for conversations and skill sharing for all those interested in community archaeology in Norfolk.
Speakers and workshop participants will include

  • Andrew Farrell, Project Director, Broads Authority
  • Neil Redfern, Executive Director of the Council for British Archaeology
  • Laura Drysdale, Director of the Restoration Trust
  • Andy Hutcheson, Research Fellow in the Centre for Archaeology and Heritage at the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Culture, UEA
  • Mike Pinner, Chair of the Caistor Roman Project
  • Michael Curtis, Trustee and Executive Board Member of the Nautical Archaeology Society
  • Peta Knott, Nautical Archaeology Society Education Manager
  • Joanne Clarke, Hon Professor of Archaeology at UEA and contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
  • Claire Harris, MOLA, Deep History Detectives Re-mixed and Pathways to Ancient Britain
  • Lawrence Northall, Coasts in Mind, Community Partnerships Project Officer, CITiZAN (MOLA)
  • Sophie Tremlett, Senior Air Photo Interpreter, Norfolk County Council.

 Book your ticket for attendance in person or online

Waged tickets £25, including lunch.
Unwaged tickets £12.50, including lunch.
Virtual attendance tickets £12.50 (For virtual attendance a link will be sent to you at least three days before the event.)

 

Past Conferences

April 9th 2022

Community Archaeology: A conference dedicated to the memory of Dr Neil Faulkner

In spring 2022, the Norfolk & Norwich Archaeological Society celebrate the resilience, variety and success of the thousands of volunteers doing archaeology in the county, with a day conference.

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 were:

  • Community and Diversity
  • Specialisms
  • Health and Wellbeing

High profile speakers 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 was given by Professor Will Bowden of Caistor Roman Town Project, and a ‘marketplace’ area showcased local projects and groups.

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 spoke 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.  

Tickets

Community Archaology 2024: Coast, Climate and Community

  • Waged tickets £25, including lunch.
  • Unwaged tickets £12.50, including lunch.
  • Virtual attendance tickets £12.50

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

Get involved

Please contact us if you would like to write a report on an excursion or lecture for inclusion here.