The Story of Whitle

Speaker: Peter Guest

The mosaic from Hinton St Mary is one of the most celebrated survivals from Roman Britain. Discovered (accidentally) in 1963, its central roundel features the bust of a man with the Christian Chi-Rho symbol behind his head, which most scholars have concluded is among the first representations of Jesus Christ from the ancient world, and probably the first to be found on a mosaic. It is one of the icons of Roman Britain and has an important story to tell about the earliest Christian communities in the British Isles. Despite the mosaic's obvious significance, however, very little was actually known about the buildings to which it belonged, or the people who commissioned it and lived with it. This talk will present some of the ground-breaking results of the British Museum’s recent archaeological excavations at Hinton St Mary that aimed to answer the many questions that remain about the mosaic, and to provide a better understanding of its wider context in the history of late Roman Britain.

From burials to building projects how do we do the right thing as archaeologists? 

Speaker: Anna Welch (speaker on Zoom)

The process of archaeological excavation is never straightforward and we have to think carefully about when, why, how and should we do it? What do we do with the things that we find, especially in the case of human remains? Navigating an ethical path through the historical environment landscape can be full of twists, turns and tricky situations. In this talk we’ll explore what we mean by “professional ethics”, why they matter and how they differ from morals and laws.  How do we make the best decisions for archaeology whilst considering the needs and opinions of an increasing number of stakeholders - and can we please any of the people any of the time?

Anna Welch has a BA in Archaeology and an MA in Museum Studies and worked for several years as an archaeologist with Southampton Archaeology Unit. Now she works for the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists and her work centres on degree accreditation, training and careers.

Speaker: Alex Fogheran

This talk will highlight archaeological works carried out in France and Belgium since 2003 on various First World War battlefield sites. The talk will centre on a number of specific sites, a look at the material excavated in those works and discuss some of the personal outcomes for the remains of fallen soldiers that were also recovered.

Alex Sotheran has worked as a professional archaeologist for 25 years, of which 20+ were spent on battlefield sites, he currently works as an archaeology advisor for the Ministry of Defence covering the north of England, Scotland and the overseas estate.

Speaker: Robert Mee

Felons' Societies sprung up all over the place in the 1700's - some are still going today. In Derbyshire, virtually every parish was covered by one. But what were they, and what did they do? Robert Mee is a local historian based in Heanor who has spoken to us on several occasions before, and this talk is based on his M.A. dissertation.

Speaker: Max Craven

In 2017 Max and Carole Craven undertook a Roman-themed voyage of discovery , taking in the more obscure but unjustifiably neglected sections of the southern and eastern coasts of England on which stand some of the most impressive vestiges of Roman Britain, interspersed with sections on basic facts, location, access and contact details of each, interspersed with enjoyable non-Roman interludes.

In the later third century AD, the outer reaches of the Roman empire were being threatened on all sides by hostile actors. Along the southern and eastern coasts of Britain, a series of ten, possibly twelve, vast fortified enclosures were built beside strategic harbours to defend against external threats, mainly from Germanic marauders and also to act as secure entrepôts for Britian supplied much of the Annona (edible supplies) for the Rhine army, any interruption of which would needless to say, be disastrous. Through sixteen centuries, impressive vestiges of most of them have survived, although three have vanished, virtually without trace. Several became the sites of Norman castles; others have associations with early Christianity; all have a story to tell.

Taking the story from the colossal surviving fort at Portchester in Hampshire to the empty, windswept site of Brancaster on the north Norfolk coast, Seeking the Saxon Shore is an introduction to exploring these ancient sites and for bringing them to life; acting as a practical guide to locate and access them. In describing the origins of the forts, their ancient settings, their functions and subsequent histories, this lecture will, we hope, enable those listening to travel through a modern landscape but well briefed to recognise and visualise the distant past.

Speaker: Ann Hughes

The title comes from evidence given in the church court at Lichfield against the Rector of Sudbury who was accused, amongst other things, of a sexual relationship with a married parishioner. In the early modern period, many crucial aspects of people’s lives were dealt with by church courts rather than secular bodies – for the people of Derbyshire this meant the Consistory Court of Lichfield Diocese, often known as the ‘bawdy court’ for much of the business included sexual transgressions, marital disputes and slander or ‘defamation’ which also often involved sexual accusations. The Court also dealt with behaviour in church, care for church buildings, clerical standards, and wills and heritance. A cataloguing project by Staffordshire Archives and Heritage has made the fascinating records of this court available more widely, and my talk will explore its workings with particular use of Derbyshire examples.

Professor Ann Hughes is retired from Keele University where she was Professor of Early Modern History for almost twenty years. She works mostly on the mid-seventeenth English political and religious upheavals and was academic advisor to the ‘Bawdy Courts of Lichfield’ project.