Archaeology has been an established subject for television programmes over the past thirty years with successes such as Time Team, Meet Our Ancestors and many more. This has generated a lot of popular interest, particularly Time Team which focussed on discoveries in local areas. At one time Leeds had a number of local societies which promoted archaeology through the work of community based volunteers. South Leeds Archaeology was one such group who were established fourteen years ago by Paul Boothroyd and have enjoyed success with several important excavations around Yorkshire. Sadly Paul passed away in 2015 and the group have been regrouping since then. Last year they held a highly successful conference at Oakwell Hall and ran a course introducing community based archaeology.
Helena Jenks, SLA Treasurer, said “Currently the number of groups with active archaeology orientated members has dwindled to just one in Leeds and that is SLA. However, the public interest is still there and we are planning an outreach programme to provide opportunities for local members of the community to take an interest in their area through practical archaeology”. In March 2017 SLA are moving to a new venue, ‘ Rothwell Community Hub’, based at what was the Rothwell Library, providing the ideal space. The location is easy to reach and has a carpark adjacent the building, and a direct bus route from Leeds City Centre.
As well as following up various archaeological investigations they are planning the following for 2017:
2017 SPEAKER PROGRAMME:
Talks will be held on the fourth Wednesday in each month from March to November 2017. Speakers will include:
Professional Archaeologists talking about their work.
Members from the group talking about SLA and other projects they are involved in. Members from other societies talking about what they are doing.
You don’t have to be an archaeologist or even a member of SLA, to go along and enjoy a friendly and fascinating evening. £4.00 for non-members, including refreshments.
Their first open meeting is on Wednesday 22nd March 7.30 – 9.30 p.m.
The guest speaker will be Ian Roberts FSA, until recently Principal Archaeologist – Archaeological Services WYAS.
Ian’s career has covered many major archaeological investigations within West Yorkshire.
Ian will be describing a number of his favourite dig sites and the exciting finds that were discovered.
To help with numbers please let them know if you plan to go along:
www.southleedsarchaeology.wordpress.com
2017 INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY BASED ARCHAEOLOGY COURSE
This course is intended for complete beginners who would like to learn more about practical community-led archaeology. The five sessions will be on Tuesday evenings 7.30 – 9.30 at the Hub from18th April to 16th May Inclusive.
£50.00 fee, including course notes and refreshments. Places on this course will be limited, if you are interested in more details, please contact
Mike Turpin;
southleedsarchaeology.wordpress.com
Tel: 0113 264 2045
