Ritual protection in the Chaldon Quarries – health and safety in the 16th century

Ritual protection in the Chaldon Quarries – health and safety in the 16th century

For the first time, curious chalk inscriptions on the walls of an ancient stone quarry in Surrey are being systematically recorded, as part of a wider research project to better understand the long and hitherto hidden history of this important source of stone for London. Many of the chalk inscriptions have been identified as ritual protection marks (RPM).

News: Chaldon Quarries, Surrey – Radiocarbon Dating Results

News: Chaldon Quarries, Surrey – Radiocarbon Dating Results

In January 2018, we reported that the Wealden Cave and Mine Society had been awarded the opportunity to get free radiocarbon dating work performed on archaeological samples from the Reigate area. By the end of March, the results were available, but disappointingly, two of the three samples submitted did not contain sufficient carbon to provide…

News: UNEXMIN: An Autonomous Underwater Explorer for Flooded Mines

News: UNEXMIN: An Autonomous Underwater Explorer for Flooded Mines

Thirteen organisations from seven countries across Europe are collaborating in an ambitious project to develop a submersible robotic system for surveying and exploration of flooded mines. The €5 million project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research programme, includes the development of a Robotic Explorer (UX-1) for autonomous 3D mine mapping to gather valuable…

Bookings for NAMHO 2017 Now Live

Bookings for NAMHO 2017 Now Live

Bookings are now open for the National Association of Mining History Organisations (NAMHO) Conference 2017, to be based around Godstone, Surrey, UK over the weekend of 23-26th June 2017. A lively and exciting weekend of underground trips, lectures and social events, hosted by the Wealden Cave & Mine Society, in their 50th anniversary year, so…

New Website : Northern Mine Research Society

New Website : Northern Mine Research Society

If a society wants to thrive nowadays, it is important that they have a good website. It is by far the best way to promote what you do, and to encourage others to get involved. The Northern Mine Research Society has recently introduced a radically improved website. In the course of reviewing it for this…

News: Latest NAMHO Newsletter highlights launch of mining research agenda

News: Latest NAMHO Newsletter highlights launch of mining research agenda

In the latest newsletter from NAMHO, Peter Claughton gives a detailed account of the launch of the Archaeology of Mining and Quarrying in England Research Framework at a seminar earlier this year in April. In the discussions that followed the presentation, and quoting from Peter’s report, it was the matters of maintaining comprehensive inventories of…

March 2016 NAMHO Newsletter

March 2016 NAMHO Newsletter

In the March 2016 NAMHO newsletter, the headline story is, understandably, the closure of Kellingley Colliery, the last deep coal mine in Britain, which took place in December 2015. There is a link to Ian Castledine’s impressive photographic record immediately after the closure, at http://www.kellingley.co.uk/ Details of a forthcoming publication are described. “The Archaeology of Mining…