the Colchester Young Archaeologists’ Club in June

Today (20th June), the Colchester Young Archaeologists’ Club (YAC) held their June meeting at Roman Circus House.

Colchester YAC organiser Barbara Butler writes: ‘… The Colchester YAC members were interested to see the fragments of the base of one of the three cones which formed the near turning-post of the Roman circus. The Trust excavated the fragments on the site of the central barrier of the circus, and they have now been reconstructed and are on display in the Roman circus centre.

The YAC members honed their skills in finds identification with a selection of fragments of pottery which spanned up to ten centuries and which have been excavated by the Trust and the Colchester Archaeological Group (CAG) from sites in Colchester, Wormingford and Marks Hall, all in Essex. The YAC members have taken part in excavation and fieldwalking projects in Wormingford and Marks Hall.

The YAC members had a short discussion about their military project. This will include a visit to the Martello tower at Jaywick, near Clacton on Sea, making a film, and holding a Young Archaeologists’ Day at Roman Circus House next summer and a celebratory party at the end of next year in Colchester Castle. After planning the project, we used the Trust’s Siege of Colchester leaflet to look at the sites and buildings associated with the Siege in 1648, during the Civil War. Most of the YAC members preferred to stay indoors and make a model of a Parliamentary siege fort to going out and finding some of the sites in Colchester where the action actually took place! When parents came to collect the YAC members, many of them stopped to enjoy refreshments in the cafe.

The Colchester YAC meets again on the 18th July. There will be a break in August, and then we will be meeting on the 19th September, the 17th October, the 21st November and the 12th December …’

The images show a fragment of pottery under close examination and the model of a siege fort which was designed to be trained on Colchester Castle.

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