1st October 2026
 

Miranda Aldhouse-Green

Emeritus Professor of Archaeology, SHARE Cardiff University.

​

Murder Most Horrid! The Enigma of Iron Age Bog Bodies.

​

Sacrifice, punishment or murder? This talk engages in a ‘crime-scene-investigation’ to try and unravel the mysteries surrounding savagely-killed European Iron-Age people whose bodies were laid in boggy places.

​

​

​

15th October 2026

​

Richard Madgwick

Professor of Archaeological Science, SHARE Cardiff University.

​

Feeding the Roman Army on the Frontiers in Britain and Beyond.

​

The Roman Empire's ability to sustain large armies on distant, hostile and environmentally diverse frontiers, far from their core supply lines, was a colossal challenge. How these frontiers were supplied with food remains poorly understood. This research uses a multi-isotope approach to reconstruct the strategies of supply and animal management that fed the army on the frontiers of Britain, focusing on South Wales, Hadrian's Wall and the Antonine Wall. It also presents preliminary data from frontiers in south east Europe to compare and contrast approaches.

​

​

​

29th October 2026

​

Siân Thomas

Project Officer, Health & Safety Manager, Archaeology Wales.

​

A Farm on the Edge: A Late Iron Age and Roman Rural Settlement on the Gwent Levels.

​

 This talk presents the results of the excavation and postexcavation analysis of a settlement at Hartridge Farm, on the eastern edge of Newport, revealing a previously unknown farmstead with origins in the Late Iron Age and occupation spanning some 600 years into the 4th century AD. Situated on the dryland edge of the Gwent Levels, the site appears to be one of the earliest settlements in the area, likely positioned to exploit the seasonal resources of the Levels for grazing and hay production. The analysis points to a farming community whose economy was built on animal husbandry and arable agriculture, with possible trading of lamb and mutton products. The isotopic analysis suggests that some individuals buried at the site, as well as some of the animals, had origins beyond south-east Wales offering a glimpse into the movement of people and animals across Roman Britain.

​

​

​

12th November 2026

​

Dr. Mark Rednap and Alastair Willis

Former Head of Collections and Research, and Senior Curator: Numismatics and the Welsh Economy, both Amgueddfa Cymru.

​

The Elizabethan wreck of the Ann Francis - an unfolding story of loss, armed confrontation and remarkable discoveries on Margam beach.

​

 A merchant ship returning home to King’s Lynn from Spain was caught in a storm and wrecked on the beach near Port Talbot in December 1583. Its crew drowned and its valuable cargo washed ashore to be plundered or lost in the sand. Artefacts and coins recently discovered on the beach and contemporary documents bring together different stories: the crew and smugglers, rival lords and looters, colonialists and enslaved people, pirates and monarchs and even a witch. The spectacular discoveries from the beach are now on display at the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea.

​

​

​

26th November 2026

​

Stuart R. Blaylock, BA, PhD, FSA

Independent Scholar and Archaeologist.

​

Rescue Archaeology in North Mesopotamia: A Forty-year Perspective.

​

  The speaker has been involved in the direction of two lengthy programmes of rescue excavation in South-East Turkey: Tille Höyük on the Euphrates in the 1980s, and Gre Amer Höyük, further east on a tributary of the Tigris in the 2010s. Occupation at both sites comprised architectural and material cultural remains of the second and first millennia B.C., including, inter alia, the Mitannian, NeoHittite (west), Neo Assyrian, Achaemenid Persian and early Hellenistic periods. Taking an overview of the results will permit a wider consideration of dam schemes on the major rivers of the Near East, what we have learned, and what we have lost.

​

​

​

10th December 2026 - Zoom Only

​

Dr. Rachel King

Curator of European Renaissance and the Waddesdon Bequest, British Museum.

​

The Tudor Heart.

​

  In 2019, a metal detectorist found an object with an extraordinary history in the mud of north Warwickshire. The Tudor Heart, as it has become known, is an impressive gold chain with a heart-shaped pendant, richly decorated in enamel with the initials and emblems of Henry VIII and his irst wife, Katherine of Aragon. This talk examines the Tudor Heart in detail, including new scientific research into its materials and a discussion of its motifs and inscriptions. It also explores the material culture of Henry VIII’s court and the wearing of luxurious jewels and chains to signal status.

​

​

​

14th January 2027 - Zoom Only

​

Dr. Irving Finkel

Senior Assistant Keeper of Ancient Mesopotamian script, languages and cultures, Department of the Middle East, British Museum.

​

Austen Henry Layard and the Sculptures from Nineveh.

​

  This talk will look at the extraordinary Assyrian wall sculpture that Layard discovered in the Assyrian capital cities in the nineteenth century, and will consider the impact they made then and ever since, and will look beneath the surface for new ideas.

​

​

​

28th January 2027

​

Jessica Nutt

PhD Candidate in Archaeology, Associate Fellow with the Higher Education Academy (HEA), School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Sgoil Eachdraidh, Clasaigeachd agus Arceolas, The University of Edinburgh, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann.

​

Maritime Networks and Material Culture: Reassessing Viking Age Wales.

​

  The Viking Age in Wales has traditionally been considered as episodes of raiding and conflict, from the study of accounts in medieval chronicles and annals. While these sources remain important, they often obscure the broader patterns of interaction that connected Wales to the wider Irish Sea world during the ninth to eleventh centuries CE. This talk approaches this subject from an archaeological perspective, drawing attention to the material culture and maritime evidence for early medieval Scandinavian contact with Wales. Through an examination of hoards, stone sculptures, portable antiquities finds, and settlement archaeology, the talk explores how objects, people, and ideas moved across the Irish Sea into Wales. Particular focus will be placed on the seascapes of North and West Wales, considering how these coastlines connected Wales to existing networks of Viking movement. By foregrounding archaeology and landscape studies, this talk argues for a more integrated understanding of Viking Age Wales as an active participant within the interconnected societies of the early medieval Irish Sea region.

​

​

​​

11th February 2027

​

Luke Jenkins, Martin Tuck and Barry Cosham

Business Development Manager, Senior Projects Manager, and Project Officer, Heneb.

​

New major development-led archaeology at Caerleon.

​

  Caerleon (Isca Augusta) was one of the most important Roman military sites in Britain, established as a legionary fortress around AD 75 and was home to the Second Augustan Legion for over 200 years. Today, its exceptionally well-preserved remains, including the amphitheatre, baths, barracks and fortress walls, provide remarkable insight into life on Rome’s north-western frontier. Heneb: The Trust for Welsh Archaeology has been undertaking new major excavations at Caerleon as part of the redevelopment of Caerleon Comprehensive School revealing new insights on life in Roman Caerleon.

​​

​

​

25th February 2027

​

David Miles

Chief Archaeologist, English Heritage.

​

Sun Horse: Moon Horse.

​

   Hill figures or geoglyphs are a distinctive feature of the British landscape. The Uffington White Horse is the oldest, first documented in Anglo-Saxon charters and recorded as a medieval 'wonder' along with Stonehenge. David Miles will tell the story of his involvement with this magnificent, yet vulnerable, figure from the 1980s to the latest work in 2025. Why was it created, and how has it survived for three millennia?

​

​

​

11th March 2027

Annual General Meeting

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

​

​

​