Lisa Westcott
Join intrepid Current Archaeology Editor (and recently imported Yank!) Lisa Westcott as she makes her way to digs, conferences, and archaeological happenings of interest. Do you know of something good going on? Let Lisa know- she just might turn up! And if you see her, please tell her to call the office...
Indefatigable Attenborough
Written by Lisa Westcott Tuesday, 10 November 2009 15:23
On Monday, 12 October 2009, Sir David Attenborough participated in the Cambridge University Personal-Histories in Archaeology project. I was there, along with a capacity crowd of over 700 guests, to listen to one of television’s great pioneers.
PAS annual report and the Staffordshire Hoard
Written by Lisa Westcott Wednesday, 04 November 2009 12:43
I attended the launch yesterday of the 2007 Portable Antiquities Scheme annual report. Held at the BM in the new temporary exhibit space housing the few objects from the Staffordshire Hoard that are on display to the public, the meeting was full of the usual luminaries as well as Fred Johnson and his wife - the landowners of the farm where the Hoard was found.
"BIN09": Digging at Binchester
Written by Lisa Westcott Tuesday, 11 August 2009 15:52
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BIN09' is the site code for this year's season of the major new field project at the Roman fort of Binchester, run jointly by Durham County Council, Durham University and Stanford University, where I have just spent a week digging. In addition to the on-site professional staff (Dr David Mason, David Petts, Jamie Armstrong, Janice Adams and Matt Claydon) and students, many volunteers from Durham and Northumberland Archaeological and Architectural Society and Northern Archaeological Group participated in the work.
World Archaeological Congress part 1
Written by Lisa Westcott Tuesday, 01 July 2008 12:52
Lisa Westcott and Nadia Durrani head out to Dublin for the 6th World Archaeological Congress, the Olympics of Archaeology.
First impressions: Dublin is cold and grey - and full of archaeologists! I've never seen so many of us in one place at one time, from all aspects of the discipline and all countries of the world. It seems a daunting task to somehow organise all these people into sessions and parties and accomodation; perhaps because of this, the session packet is the size of a telephone directory. In fact, the conference pack is so large that it comes in a burlap bag, and weighs about 4 pounds. This event is overwhelming on every level!
Archaeology 08:
Written by Lisa Westcott Monday, 18 February 2008 16:16
The dust has settled on our first big Current Archaeology event, and I am happy to report it was a great success. Over 500 people attended, including delegates, speakers, moderators, press and guests; not bad for a first try! With big events like conferences, there will always be something that could have gone better, however overall we were extremely pleased. It was a whirlwind weekend! Below is a bit of the play-by-play, from my perspective…
Archaeology of the Sevso Treasure
Written by Lisa Westcott Monday, 18 February 2008 15:37
On February 14, I attended the Society of Antiquaries London and the Annual All-Party Parliamentary Archaeology Group Lecture to hear Hungarian archaeologist Dr Zsolt Visy (a Fellow and expert in the Roman archaeology of central Europe) discuss his work in establishing provenance for the Sevso Treasure. This meeting was quite exciting, it being the first public summary of the archaeological evidence for the Sevso Treasure’s provenance. The Sevso treasure is three times the size of the Mildenhall hoard and includes some of the finest silver plates and ewers to have come down to us from the late Roman period. It is rumoured to include 248 items.
Professor Lord Renfrew's Society af Antiquaries lecture: The Dawn of Civilization
Written by Lisa Westcott Tuesday, 05 February 2008 17:01
On January 28, I was fortunate to attend the London Society of Antiquaries Tercentenary lecture No. 3, The Dawn of Civilization, by Professor Lord Renfrew at the Royal Museum of Scotland. The lecture was followed by a reception at Old College, the University of Edinburgh. It was extremely well attended (which was no surprise, given the speaker!) and there were over 250 people in the audience.
Read more: Professor Lord Renfrew's Society af Antiquaries lecture: The Dawn of Civilization
Blisters, bum smacks and humble pie: my first class at Gladiator School
Written by Lisa Westcott Monday, 05 November 2007 15:55
Yesterday evening, I was killed at least 50 times. I was stabbed, slashed, poked, cut, beheaded, dismembered and left for dead. In other words: I attended my first class at the Schola Gladiatoria.
Read more: Blisters, bum smacks and humble pie: my first class at Gladiator School
Deep inside Silbury Hill
Written by Lisa Westcott Wednesday, 24 October 2007 15:05
Deep in the heart of Silbury Hill
I was lucky enough to be invited along on the press tour of the Silbury Hill excavations on Wednesday, October 24. So, taking my life in my hands, I hopped in the infamous Selkirk camper van and headed down with Andrew. There's more going on there than I expected, and my interest has been seriously piqued. Take a step inside with me.
New light on the Black Death - Antiquaries lecture
Written by Lisa Westcott Thursday, 18 October 2007 15:01
Were the Great Plagues in Britain really caused by rats and fleas, or is a cosmic event responsible for poisoning the atmosphere? I attended a lecture at the Society of Antiquaries to find out.
Read more: New light on the Black Death - Antiquaries lecture
