Dr Steve Willis from the Department of Classical & Archaeological Studies hosted and co-organised two archaeology day conferences during October.
The first conference, held on Saturday 17 October, was entitled ‘Archaeology Along the North Kent Coast’ and included four speakers from the University of Kent with Sir Robert Worcester, former University of Kent Chancellor, as guest of honour.
The second conference was held on 31 October and was organised jointly with the Kent Archaeological Society (KAS). This event focused on the Anglo Saxon period for which Kent has magnificent sites and finds, following on from its importance in the Roman era. Of particular interest to students was the talk by Gabor Thomas (University of Reading) on the royal and monastic site at Lyminge where many past and present students have participated in the excavations. Ges Moody spoke at both conferences and is well-known to students in the Department both through his role as an Associate Lecturer and in leading training excavations for students, such as the current programme at Perry Wood.
Founded in 1857 KAS aims to promote the study of archaeology and history within the ancient county of Kent. It has worked closely with the University of Kent in recent years. It made many tickets available for students to attend the conference free of charge, and has provided a bursary for Kent PhD student Kate Holtham-Oakley to attend a dig in Folkestone in the summer related to her thesis.
Dr Brian Philp, who received his Honorary Doctorate from the University in 2012 for his historical and archaeological research in the county, was prominent at both conferences. Both conferences were well-attended with over 160 people at the conference on 31 October, including Kent alumni, post- and undergraduates.