This document discusses the Sensing the Iron Age and Roman Past in Hertfordshire Project, which aimed to train community archaeologists in geophysical surveying techniques like magnetometry. The project partnered with various archaeological societies to survey several Iron Age and Roman sites in Hertfordshire, including Verulamium. Some key successes were the popular training course, effective surveys that added to knowledge of sites, and collaboration between groups. Ongoing goals include publishing survey results and conducting more site work. Challenges involve resources for precise georeferencing and logistics of multi-site surveys.

1. Community
archaeology and
geophysical survey:
reflections on the
Sensing the Iron Age
and Roman Past in
Hertfordshire Project
Kris Lockyear

4. St Albans and Hertfordshire Architectural and
Archaeological Society 1845
East Herts Archaeological Society 1898
Institute of Archaeology 1937
Welwyn Archaeological Society 1960
North Hertfordshire Archaeological Society 1960
Institute for Archaeologists 1982

9. • Welwyn Archaeological Society
• North Herts Archaeological Society
• Berkhamsted and District
Archaeological Society
• East Herts Archaeological Society
• Braughing Archaeological Group
• Wheathampstead History Society
• Leighton Buzzard Archaeological and
Local History Society
• West Essex Archaeological Group
• Welwyn Hatfield Young Arch. Club
• St Albans Young Archaeologists Club
• St Albans and Hertfordshire
Architectural and Archaeological
Society
• Chess Valley Archaeological Society

10. Sensing the Iron Age and Roman Past: geophysics and the
landscape of Hertfordshire
Kris Lockyear, Ellen Shlasko, Andrew Bevan, Jarrod Burks, Rinita Dalan,
Larry Conyers, David Wilbourn, Gai Jorayev, Theresa O’Mahoney, Alex
Banks, John Dent, Mike Smith, Gil Burleigh, Simon West, Isobel
Thompson, Stewart Bryant, David Thorold, Ros Niblett, Jim West, Clare
Lewis, Sarah Talks, Jon Wimhurst, David Minty, Morag McBride, Pippa
Colao, Roger Miles, Mark Landon, Burcu Urundul, Ralph Potter, Julia
Merrick, Graeme Spurway, Barbara Harvey, Debbie Curtis, Bill
Martin, Evangeline Dalan, Bernard Jones, Pauline Hey, Ruth Halliwell,
Keith Bradbury, Caroline Baigent, Bridget Edgson, Richard Maddams,
Carolyn Westlake, Anne Rowe, Sarah Adamson, Jean Savigar, Jean
Bluck, Charles Stancer, Brian Dickinson, Alfie Talks, David Hall, Sheila
Murray, Jane Buxton, Richard Cushing, Ben Crystal and Brian Adams.
Apologies to anyone I have missed!

11. • Training in the use of the magnetometer
and creation of teams of amateur
geophysicists.
• Teach a geophysics course for community
archaeologists.
• Undertake surveys of Roman and Iron Age
sites including Verulamium.
• Create and sustain a community of
interested participants
Goals of the Project

13. UCL Qatar’s UAV

24. hertsgeosurvey.wordpress.com

26. The Site Surveys (so far)
• Broomhall Farm, Watton at Stone
• The Senuna Site, Ashwell
• Gatesbury, Braughing
• Little Hadham
• Verulamium, St. Albans
• (Datchworth)

27. Some example
results:
Verulamium

39. • Successes
– Course great success and very popular
– Foerster mag works well (with quirks)
– Excellent survey of a number of sites
– Core team of competent surveyors
– Creation of cross-group collaborations
– Creation of CAGG
– New sites being added to list
– Requests for help coming in (getting known)
– Ver survey of use in management and promotion

41. • Still to do
– Write up completed surveys
– More site surveys
– Software training
– Report writing training
– Add GPR?
– Not yet independent
• Main problems
– Survey, especially access to dGPS to georeference
surveys properly, access to map data.
– Logistics