SHAAS Archaeology

SHAAS Archaeology Are you interested in archaeology? We are here to put the trowel in your hand.

We returned to the Powder Mill Lane site to explore new areas of the undergrowth. The undergrowth is slowly taking over ...
16/06/2026

We returned to the Powder Mill Lane site to explore new areas of the undergrowth. The undergrowth is slowly taking over the fields and is 30-50m deep in places, with streams and significant hills. We found an isolated brick chimney in the depths of the undergrowth beside a stream, but no sign of associated structures.
The photos show the undergrowth and also the fields around on a lovely sunny day. There are two photos of our mystery object whose use is not obvious to us, but any suggestions are welcome.
We enjoyed the company of two new team members and look forward to exploring the region further - some desktop research is needed to better understand the land usage.
I hope everyone enjoys their week.
Tony

Our team continued with the Metal Detecting on Sunday (back to digging next Sunday) and found a range of items.The two i...
09/06/2026

Our team continued with the Metal Detecting on Sunday (back to digging next Sunday) and found a range of items.
The two images with white backgrounds were found by one of the team over the last 2 weeks, while the other images represent other finds, which included: an alien pendant, a little pulley, miscellaneous coins (decimal), bullets, a toy car, buckle and miscellaneous iron bolts.
If you are aware of any locations we can explore in the Southborough and High Brooms area please let us know, as we are keen to explore a range of archaeological settings, times and different land usages.
Wishing you all a great week.
Tony

While I was in Scotland for my daughter's wedding, our team metal detected locally and found a range of finds, shown in ...
01/06/2026

While I was in Scotland for my daughter's wedding, our team metal detected locally and found a range of finds, shown in the attached photos.
The finds included a bottle from WA Waters of Rusthall, automotive bits and tokens from Readers Digest and Peanut Club (Courier). Further research by the team suggests that the exhaust valve is from a 1937-1954 Chrysler Desoto 6 cylinder?
Looking forward to future activities, and still hunting for new sites to explore in the region.
Hope you enjoy your week
Tony

As a change from archaeology, our team spent time on Sunday metal detecting, with their finds shown in the attached phot...
19/05/2026

As a change from archaeology, our team spent time on Sunday metal detecting, with their finds shown in the attached photos.
The finds included the usual bullets and cartridges, an old £1 coin, a musket ball, a toy gun, plus a miniature Eiffel Tower. The more unusual find was some electrical switchgear, which google indicates is 1930 - 1950 agricultural or military.
Weather permitting we will be back to digging next Sunday.
Wishing everyone a good week
Tony

Good morning. We spent time on Sunday exploring several locations in our Powder Mill lane site, surviving the cold wind ...
12/05/2026

Good morning. We spent time on Sunday exploring several locations in our Powder Mill lane site, surviving the cold wind but avoiding the rain.
We completed our survey of the area near the road, and confirmed that the extent of the hardcore/tarmac area matched a recent map. There is photo of a white vertical pipe attached, but not sure about the purpose of the pipe.
We then moved to the far corner of the field and located the fence and steep slope running down to the river. The test pit showed a tough hardcore surface about friable/light sandy soil with a clear cross section. To explore further we created a small test pit in the field, finding the hardcore layer plus a pipe with a right angle bend.
The photos of the test pits do not really show the structures and textures, so I have included more general images.
BIG REQUEST - If anyone knows of a local site that we can explore please let us know.
Hope you enjoy your week.
Tony

We spent a productive morning exploring the Powder Mill Lane site, trying to understand the features that we are seeing....
04/05/2026

We spent a productive morning exploring the Powder Mill Lane site, trying to understand the features that we are seeing., and how they relate to features on modern maps.
We are achieving this through creating paths through the dense undergrowth, allowing us to dig test pits to explore the ground surface components, and some photos show these paths in the undergrowth. After 2 weeks, some of our earlier paths are already being reclaimed by the undergrowth.
We have measured the site to be 55m long, running from the Powder Mill lane gate, and 8 to10m wide. The underlying ground is a compacted surface of brick, stone and tile fragments, with the 25m closest to the Powder Mill lane gate covered in tarmac that is now degrading. The nature of the trees and undergrowth varies depending on whether the surface is hardcore or degrading tarmac, and this is shown in some of the photos.
The site appears to have a history which may include use by the Southborough Wheelers group, hence the name of the field (Wheelers Field), plus usage when the sealed dumps were created across multiple local fields.
We look forward to continuing our site exploration next Sunday.
Hoping you all enjoy your week
Tony

Good morning, we enjoyed a great day of digging with sunny weather and working in the shade with a gentle breeze.We retu...
20/04/2026

Good morning, we enjoyed a great day of digging with sunny weather and working in the shade with a gentle breeze.
We returned to the site on Powder Mill Lane, and explored the large tarmac area by the top road, which covers an area of around 100m x 10m, bordered by 3cm thick concrete kerbs. One of the photos shows 3 small trenches, which we dug to explore a 50cm deep trench running perpendicular through all three trenches. This looks like a pipe trench (with some supporting side stones), but there were no pipes or cables in the trench? It seemed strange to go to the trouble of digging out a trench and then reopening it, to then refill it again with soil and miscellaneous finds, including a very useful 1987 2p coin, which dates the earliest time that the trench was finally refilled.
We will return to the site in 2 weeks to explore a new area of the tarmac surface, and try to define the precise boundaries.
Wishing everyone a great week
Tony

Good morning. We had a great day of digging on Sunday in the borders of Wheeler's field. The dig exposed pipework, a man...
14/04/2026

Good morning. We had a great day of digging on Sunday in the borders of Wheeler's field. The dig exposed pipework, a manhole cover and a brick support wall. The brick wall looked to be supporting a large tree, and had a series of buttresses, some keyed into the support wall and others added later. We explored the wall foundations and multiple levels of footings to support the brick structures.
We also found an extensive tarmac road below the grass with concrete edging, which was either used as a roadway or perhaps part of the support area for the cycles related to the local cycle club (hence the Wheeler's field name). We look forward to continuing next Sunday, and reopening part of our trenches, which we backfilled to safety reasons.
I hope you enjoy the photos of the manhole cover and the brick wall with buttresses.
Have a great week
Tony

Some additional pictures of the metal detecting finds.
30/03/2026

Some additional pictures of the metal detecting finds.

Good morning. We started our 2026 season with some metal detecting as a gentle entry point. The attached photos show a r...
30/03/2026

Good morning. We started our 2026 season with some metal detecting as a gentle entry point. The attached photos show a range of items from bullets, casings, coins and an old pencil sharpener.
We will not be digging on Easter Sunday, but will return to digging at the Wheeler's Field site (next to Powder Mill lane) on Sunday 12th April.
Wishing everyone an enjoyable Easter holiday.
Tony

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