Tintagel Castle

I was thrilled to get the chance to see Tintagel again during the archaeology field school's end of term trip. I was here in October 2011 on a Student Services trip to Cornwall. This is the legendary birthplace of King Arthur, and has evidence of settlement ranging from prehistoric to medieval times.

Hiking on Bodmin Moor, and Web Album Links

Bodmin Moor was my favourite part of the end-of-term trip. When we were planning the trip, Dr. Scott had given me a list of all the sites he wanted to visit, but once I had worked them into an itinerary we had a free afternoon. Dr. Scott asked me to "find something to do in the Bodmin Moor area" so I researched hiking routes on the moor, eventually settling on one based out of Minions, the highest village in Cornwall. This area has several significant archaeological sites, including Stowe's Pound (a neolithic settlement) and the Rillaton Barrow (an ancient burial).

I enjoyed this so much because the scenery was absolutely spectacular!! It was yet another day of 30 C heat, and we had spent a lot of time outdoors and in a hot coach, so the students at first weren't very enthused about the prospect of a two-hour hike (although we shortened it to an hour fifteen because we were concerned about them getting heatstroke). But once we were up on the moor, they absolutely loved it, and it was fun to see their excitement.

Minions Heritage Centre, in an abandoned engine
house from when this landscape was heavily mined for tin

Abandoned quarry

Abandoned quarry

The "Cheesewring", a natural granite formation next to Stowe's Pound

Wild horses!

Dr. Scott spotted this by the roadside as we drove away
from Minions, and our coach driver stopped so that we
could run out and take a look! It's called King Doniert's stone
and is more than 1000 years old.

After the hike, we drove to the nearby village of St. Neot for a class dinner and then a visit to the church there.

St. Neot Church

Last year's end of term trip was almost entirely urban locations, but this year almost every site we went to was very rural. We got lost and/or misdirected by the GPS many times! The roads in rural Cornwall are extremely narrow, and when you meet a car coming the opposite direction, one of you has to back up to the nearest spot where the road widens by a few feet so that you can pass each other. The road in the photo below is not even close to being the narrowest one we drove down!

Also, as you know, part of my job with the field school was to take photos: of the students and of the dig. I've finished uploading them to a Picasa web album, which has been sent out to the students and various BISC staff and faculty. They're not publicly accessible- you need the link to access them. The students signed waivers and know that these photos will be seen by friends/family/colleagues of those involved.

Field school photos: click here

End-of-term trip photos: click here

Maiden Castle, Beer Quarry Caves, Newquay, Restormel Castle, and Launceston

More photos from the archaeology field school end of term trip. 

First, Maiden Castle, the largest iron-age hillfort in Europe:

Next, we visited a town called Beer, where we had a tour of the Beer Quarry Caves. Beer Stone is a famous stone type that was quarried here for centuries, and can be found in many famous cathedrals and churches including Winchester Cathedral, St. Paul's, and Westminster Abbey. The 90-minute tour in the frigid caves was also especially appreciated on this 28 C day, when we had been cooped up in a very hot coach for hours! The quarry guide showed us different sections of the quarry where the Romans and Normans had removed stone, before progressing to later areas. We saw where Catholic masses were held underground during the Reformation, and various graffitied names from bygone visitors.

Water channel running through Beer's main street

We stayed for two nights in Newquay, Cornwall, which we used as a base to visit various small villages/towns and remote castles and abbeys over the following two days. It has a reputation as a surfer/bachelor/stagette party beach town, and certainly lived up to this. I stumbled across a huge parade with no apparent theme or cause going through central Newquay while heading for dinner on our first night there:

We also had the chance to visit Restormel Castle:

One of the small towns we visited was Launceston, which has a castle and a ruined priory. Below is the castle:

Central Launceston

The sad remains of Launceston priory. In its heyday it was one of the
biggest and wealthiest religious houses in Cornwall, covering an area
much larger than that occupied by the visible remains today.

Avebury, Silbury Hill, Stonehenge, Old Sarum, and Salisbury

Day 1 of our end-of-term trip was definitely the busiest. I was excited to see Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral for the third time, and hadn't visited any of the other sites before.

The Avebury stone circles are less famous than nearby Stonehenge, but they're much bigger in scope; the entire village of Avebury lies inside their circumference!

Quintessential-looking pub in Avebury

Silbury Hill

Silbury Hill

Stonehenge is near some sort of military base; we saw a few of these while
we were in the Stonehenge/Avebury area

Ruined Old Sarum castle

Foundations of Old Sarum cathedral as seen from the ruins of Old Sarum castle

Old Sarum castle ruins

Salisbury Cathedral

No photos were allowed in the Chapter House, which is where one of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta is kept. They have a great display on the history and significance of the document too.

Inside Salisbury cathedral

Salisbury cathedral

Salisbury cathedral

Salisbury cathedral

Tomb of William Longspee, the first person buried in the cathedral. He was the
illegitimate son of King Henry II and was present at the laying of the cathedral's
foundation stones in 1220.

Flags from Wiltshire regiments, 1800s-1900s