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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project

@sedgefordarch.bsky.social
755 followers 295 following 48 posts

SHARP is a long-term, independently run archaeological research project investigating the range of human settlement and activity in Sedgeford, Norfolk. www.sharp.org.uk

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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
The bookings for the 2026 season are now open! The 2026 season will be a special one for us as we will be celebrating our 30th anniversary, so there has never been a better time to join us! Just visit www.sharp.org.uk for more details!
Poster for the course booking. The season is between the 12th of July to the 7th of August, with excavation and human remains courses now available to be booked. More courses will also be advertised soon.
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Another fascinating talk this week from Ray Baldry on the work of our volunteers in assessing the palaeopathology of the population excavated by us at Sedgeford.
View toward a lecture screen. The title is 'Life was not all Beer & Skittles', with an image of skittles and balls with a stylised skeleton drawing falling over.
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
Mid week update! Sunday proved very wet, and thunderstorms threatened, so we managed to open up Trench 24 and clean Trench 25 after machining it last week. The rest hid and cleaned the last of the daub from last year, whilst others voyaged into King's Lynn to see put hoard and Sea Henge on display.
Detail of the Sedgeford Hoard. Many many gold coins dating to the Iron Age are arranged next to the broken end of a cow bone, which they had been put inside.Large central stump from the Sea Henge monument. It is upside down, with the root bole protruding outwards.Arrangement of timbers from Sea Henge, in a big circle. They are roughly a metre high.
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Thanks to @drgarethdavies.bsky.social for launching our book of our conference the Anglo-Saxon Agricultural Revolution in. Norfolk. You can buy the book at the link below, but it is also available open access as an ebook. www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress... www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress...
Gareth stands at the lecturn in a church, in front of a slide showing the front and back covers of the book.
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Impromptu talk by @lucyjkoster.bsky.social on determining animal versus human bone on trench, following up on yesterday's training our volunteers had with our reference collection.
A group of volunteers stand rapt in attention as Lucy examines some charred bone recovered from a deposit.
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
After a rainy few days, we're finally getting into the nitty gritty and delving into the silty sand.
Screenshot of an Instagram story. The camera looks out over a trench with a hive of activity hoeing and toweling to bring up features. A caption above in the beautiful blue sky says 'sun's out, trowels out'
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
We've reopened Trench 25 from last year and already have a contender for find of the week with this lovely bit of Samien found by Alison!
A tiny fragment of highly decorated Romanpottery held out by a yellow glove. The sherd is bright red, and has a row of ridges and grooves with the partial remnants of a decorated scene visible, but as it is barely 2cm wide not much can be identified.
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Lucy Koster @lucyjkoster.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Taking a couple of weeks away from @brusselsbioarch.bsky.social for fieldwork at @sedgefordarch.bsky.social in Norfolk! Our human remains volunteers have made an excellent start so far and I will be spamming updates as we go 😊💀💀
George, our anatomical model skeleton, is stood in at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Sedgeford where human remains is based. He appears to be shrugging with his right arm. Some of our admin tables are visible behind him. He is excited for the wonderful osteology we will get to record this year.
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
A few of us took the opportunity given the wet weather today (sadly on our first day of the season) to see the hoard found during our previous excavations on display at Lynn Museum.
A museum display is visible. A board of text is present on the left with the detail of the hoard, dated to the Iron Age. 32 Gallo-Belgic gold 'E' starters were hidden in a cow bone, which was found at Sedgeford. The bone is displayed with a selection of the coins to the right of the label. The bone is not complete, with only one end present and the long section clearly broken.
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
A few of us took the opportunity given the wet weather today (sadly on our first day of the season) to see the hoard found during our previous excavations on display at Lynn Museum.
A museum display is visible. A board of text is present on the left with the detail of the hoard, dated to the Iron Age. 32 Gallo-Belgic gold 'E' starters were hidden in a cow bone, which was found at Sedgeford. The bone is displayed with a selection of the coins to the right of the label. The bone is not complete, with only one end present and the long section clearly broken.
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
Check out our latest blog post to find out what we found in our new Car Park Trench last season, and our plans for this excavation this coming season which is now just around the corner! WARNING: the following article contains images and text related to human remains.
sharp.org.uk
Trench 25: the car park trench
WARNING: the following article contains images and text related to human remainsLast year, we opened a new trench in the carpark, Trench 25, which contained far more than we had bargained for. In this...
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lenmiddleton.bsky.social @lenmiddleton.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
What's the 'best' thing you've ever found is always a tricky one but my thoughts always go back to the butchered whale bone (that's a bit of vertebrae I'm holding) from an early medieval pit at Sedgford. Also, the first feature I ever dug! @sedgefordarch.bsky.social
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
We might not have as clear features as @durotrigesdig.bsky.social (orangish brown sandy silt cut into brownish orange silty sand never shows up well on camera), but we definitely have some good archaeology!
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
SHARP is pleased to announce that our publication 'The Anglo-Saxon Agricultural Revolution in Norfolk' based on the 25th Anniversary conference held in 2020 is off to the printers! We are aiming for a book launch on the first Tuesday lecture, and it will be available to purchase during the season.
Dust jacket of 'The Anglo-Saxon Agricultural Revolution in Norfolk', edited by Richard Hogget and Neil Faulkner. The front page shows a drone shot of our early medieval  complex trench, with the modern village of Sedgeford in the background. The back page contains a photo of a complete pot, with the blurb discussing the contributions made in the book towards the topic.
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
SHARP is pleased to announce that our publication 'The Anglo-Saxon Agricultural Revolution in Norfolk' based on the 25th Anniversary conference held in 2020 is off to the printers! We are aiming for a book launch on the first Tuesday lecture, and it will be available to purchase during the season.
Dust jacket of 'The Anglo-Saxon Agricultural Revolution in Norfolk', edited by Richard Hogget and Neil Faulkner. The front page shows a drone shot of our early medieval  complex trench, with the modern village of Sedgeford in the background. The back page contains a photo of a complete pot, with the blurb discussing the contributions made in the book towards the topic.
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
Following recent media coverage on archaeological reproductions, we wanted to clarify that SHARP is more than happy for people to make replicas of our objects! We are funded by the public, so we are strong believers in public access to archaeology, and that archaeology belongs to everyone.
A small, metal model of a horse. A scale is located at the bottom, indicating that it is 2cm long, 2cm high and 1cm wide.
The tail is looped, perhaps to allow it to be hung as a decoration. The horse is detailed enough that a mane and eyes are clearly visible, as are stylistic elements on the legs. It probably dates to the Roman period, although this is unknown.
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Docking Heritage Group are hosting a talk by Neil Oxenbury, a HART volunteer (NT's Heritage Archaeology Ranger Team), on 05/02/25 at 7pm, St Mary's Church, Docking. Neil will cover the work undertaken by HART from Brancaster to Salthouse along the coast. All are welcome so do come along if you can
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
A massive thank you goes to everyone who has donated, as thanks to you we have met our target! Were also happy to say that we're putting some of the gift aid towards our John Hensby Bursary fund, which subsidises places for those who who cannot take part for financial reasons.
crowdfunder.co.uk
Sustainable Heritage at SHARP
Making archaeology at SHARP sustainable and greener by purchasing our own composting toilets, solar power generation and shower units.
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
We're 94% of the way to our goal, so are very close to being able to achieve our goals of becoming more sustainable and eco-friendly.
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 25/12/2024
The SHARP committee and wider team would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!
A virtual Christmas card, wishing the reader a Merry Christmas from the Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project team. A cut out of a snowflake reveals an image of people digging and recording in a trench.
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 22/12/2024
Did you know that we also have an ancient craft course? For those interested in having a go at experimental archaeology, we do pottery making, weaving, bone/antler carving, and even metalworking! We provide everything needed (including lunch!) and you'll get to take your creations home with you.
Poster for the course. Images include groups of people crafting pottery, melting pewter, and carving needles from bone.
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 15/12/2024
Sustainability at SHARP: The first step Check out our latest blog post to find out what the team got up to on site in the first steps towards our sustainability project. The fundraiser to help us is still live, so if you want to donate please feel free to support our exciting plans.
sharp.org.uk
Sustainability at SHARP: The first step
At the end of November a small number of team members were busy onsite. Despite the cold, short daylight hours, and a very damp day, we jam packed the visit with several meetings with different groups...
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
Want to have a go at archaeology? Don't know what to get an archaeology-mad person for Christmas? SHARP runs 'dig for the day' taster sessions. These include getting to dig on a real archaeological site, as well as taking part in processing finds and enviro samples.
Flyer for the Dig for the Day. It includes images of people excavating on site, along with a qr code to the website (given in the next post below).
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Dr Tess Machling @tessmachling.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Soooo... After a 33 year wait, the Snettisham volumes are finally out, online at least. #Archaeology #Torcs #Gold #IronAge #Snettisham britishmuseum.iro.bl.uk/concern/book... 🧵
britishmuseum.iro.bl.uk
The Snettisham Hoards
The Snettisham Hoards
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
Did you know that you can see one of our amazing finds on display at the British Museum? The Sedgeford Torc was first found when ploughing in the the 1960s, and we found the missing terminus during our own excavations 40 years later!
Info panel from the British Museum. The Torc has 64 wires coiled around a former, with 25 metres in total used. The termini were cast in a mould and are similar to the Snettisham Great Torc. It dates to 100-50 BC. The Torc was found broken, with it first discovered in 1965, and the missing terminal found in 2005.The Sedgeford Torc. The larger fragment is made of coiled gold wire, curved but broken as the strands have been moved from their original position. The surviving terminal is supported on a stand, as it as twisted up from the original shape. The other terminal, found by SHARP, sites adjacent to the end it would have originally attached to.
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
New Blog Post ✨ Read our new blog about how we are using your donations this year to improve our site and facilities. If you would like to make a donation to SHARP and support the work we do, please do visit our website to find out how.
sharp.org.uk
Donations from 2024
It has been through a few difficult years for SHARP and with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis we have seen dramatic increases in the cost of hire, delivery, and food that we need for the season. This has meant that in the last couple of years the season income has been used almost exclusively to pay for the site facilities and catering, with little left over to invest in anything else.Every year we are incredibly grateful to the public that donate to us during the season. This year we have had
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
We are ecstatic to annouce that the SHARP application to the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) Programme has been successful. This project will allow us to develop the site and facilities, allowing us to become truly sustainable going forward, becoming green and less dependant on hire each year
youtu.be
2024 Crowdfunder Video
YouTube video by Archaeology at SHARP
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Dr Tess Machling @tessmachling.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
On 12th November 1948, Ray Williamson was ploughing fields in Snettisham, East Anglia. He turned up bits of metal, which were later recognised as being gold & of some age. The first find of the Snettisham 'gold fields'. #Archaeology bigbookoftorcs.com/2020/07/15/t... 📷 Norwich Castle Museum
Three gold tubular torcs found by Ray.
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Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project @sedgefordarch.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
Hello there! We're an independent charity, who since 1996 have been excavating in and around the village of Sedgeford. So far we've found a Saxon settlement and cemetery, Roman farm, WW1 aerodrome, and an Iron Age ritual site, all within one parish in north-west Norfolk.
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