Update from the Society Curator
As the night’s draw in and we start to face the cold, dark of winter, I’ve had the opportunity to do some reflection on all the things I’ve been up to as KAS Curator since the last magazine came out.
KAS & LEGISE CONFERENCE
On October 25th the Kent Archaeological Society’s Archaeology Research Group (ARG) and the Landscape Explorers Group in the South East (LEGISE) held their first shared Archaeology and Metal Detecting conference at the wonderful Aylesford Priory. The day was fully packed with excellent speakers and stunning displays of archaeology and metal-detecting finds. Displays were present from the KAS, LEGISE, the Kent Portable Antiquities Scheme team of former FLO Isabelle and Treasure Finds Liaison Assistant Emily, while detecting displays were brought by Cinque Ports Metal Detecting Club, West Kent Metal Detecting, Invicta and Cantium Metal Detecting and Royal Phoenix Metal Detecting Club.
[fg]jpg|KAS Curator at LEGISE event, image courtesy of David Barwell|Image[/fg]
The program was fully packed, with talks from Clive Sinclair and Keith Parfitt discussing the results of their survey of relationships between metal detectorists and archaeologists, which was overwhelmingly positive. This was followed by talks from David Barwell on landscape recording in Norfolk, the flagship approach to metal detecting promoted by LEGISE, and by David Holman on the recording of Iron Age coins since the introduction of the Treasure Act 1996. The next talk was by former Kent FLO Isabelle Diggle, speaking on the importance of communication and collaboration when excavating hoard finds. Our final talk of the day came from Dr Heidi Stoner, senior lecturer in Archaeology at Canterbury Christchurch University and recently appointed KAS trustee, on a new project investigating the two Viking Ages of Kent – stay tuned for more on that!
The overall takeaway from the conference was clear: in Kent at least detectorists and archaeologists are willing and often do work together well, long gone are the days of shouting matches and arguments over the hobby. We hope to host an annual conference alongside LEGISE to build on this partnership.
Thank you to Isle Heritage CIC who very kindly sponsored the event with a generous donation.
[fg]jpg|Isle Heritage CIC logo|Image[/fg]
OUTREACH
Alongside my “day-job” of cataloguing, caring for and maintaining the society’s archaeological collection, I have also been working on building links with the research and experimental archaeology community in the County. We were recently joined by Nick Checksfield (Mail Restoration | Nick Checksfield) who wanted to investigate two maille chains held in the KAS collection from Bifrons (KAS 615 and KAS 616). These had always been described as “chains” with one being possibly used to suspend a dagger or knife and the second holding two Frankish style brooches in a female grave.
Nick and his apprentice, Elizabeth, spent a number of hours examining the objects under microscope and taking detailed photos. Nick will be creating a replica of the maille for his living history group – wulfheodenas. Nick’s thoughts are still in their infancy regarding these objects but, he believes this may be a very early example of maille, likely from the sleeve of a maille shirt and may be of late Romano-British or very early Anglo-Saxon; with the only other comparable objects being found at Sutton Hoo.
[fg]jpg|KAS 615 from Bifrons Grave 71, courtesy of the Trustees of the Kent Archaeological Society|Image[/fg]
[fg]jpg|Nick Checksfield and Elizabeth Champion examining KAS 615 and KAS 616 in the KAS Library, image courtesy of Andy Ward|Image[/fg]
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I hope to hear from Nick soon with further thoughts and we will be seeking potential funding to further conserve and analyse the finds in due course.
I have also been busy giving a number of public outreach talks throughout the county, with more to come in the new year. In October I gave a sold-out talk at Maidstone Museum on The Vikings in Kent, which I am due to give again to the Faversham Society and others in 2026. Do check out our website for more details once they are published.
In November I gave my second talk to the Cinque Ports Metal Detecting Club, this one on my role as KAS Curator. They are always a friendly bunch, and I thoroughly enjoy talking about my work and the wider work of the Society.
[fg]jpg|Welcome to SMA Conference in Liverpool, image courtesy of Andy Ward|Image[/fg]
I have also ventured further afield to give a talk titled Community Archaeological Archives: A Perspective from Kent at the Society for Museum Archaeology Conference at Liverpool Museum. This conference was recorded and I hope to share my talk on our website soon. While there, I looked around their archaeology gallery and managed to spot this lovely Samian vessel from Kent. I believe that this likely originated from the Pudding Pan Rock Wreck, the majority of which is on display in the excellent Lives in Our Landscape Gallery at Maidstone Museum.
CUR8
Society Archivist Craig and I have continued leading sessions for the wonderful Cur8 group at Maidstone Museum. Sessions in October and November involved a behind-the-scenes tour of Maidstone Museum’s stores, led by Collections Manager Sam Harris, and a focus on social media in heritage, with the young people creating a “12 Days of Christmas” parody Instagram video using their favourite objects in the museum.
[fg]jpg|Pudding Pan Wreck Samian ware bowl, on display in Liverpool Museum, image courtesy of Andy Ward|Image[/fg]
COLLECTIONS VOLUNTEERING
Due to the flooding at Maidstone Community Support Centre, we had to postpone much of our in-person volunteering work on the Society’s collections. However, I am very pleased to say the reinstatement work has now been completed at the centre, and in the new year I hope to restart more regular volunteering projects.
If you are interested in volunteering with the Society’s archaeological collections, which will include repacking, photography and cataloguing, please do reach out to me at:
curator@kentarchaeology.org.uk
On the 6th December we will be hosting our final session of the year and plan to make it especially Christmassy. Each of the Cur8 attendees will be presented with a certificate of attendance from the KAS, and we hope to see many of them back in 2026.
Thank you to The Gallagher Group for providing Maidstone Museum with the funding to host the Cur8 sessions, and to Maidstone Museum for asking us to run the sessions on their behalf.
ARG ANNUAL FIELDWORK CONFERENCE
Archaeological Investigations and Research on Thanet and around the Wantsum Shore
On Saturday 22nd November, the Archaeology Research Group of the KAS hosted its annual fieldwork conference focusing on investigations and research on Thanet and around the Wantsum Shore. A full programme of speakers was heard by 82 attendees, the largest ARG conference audience to date.
Talks included updates on the commercial work being undertaken throughout Thanet and monitored by the Heritage Conservation Team at Kent County Council, which led nicely into a talk on the Thanet Mapping Project. This was followed by talks on the Abbey Farm Roman Villa site; a joint Kent Archaeological Society and Trust for Thanet Archaeology training excavation; and an in-depth look at the magical world of pottery identification encapsulated by the Magus Nigel McPherson-Grant.
After a lunch break where attendees caught up with one another and purchased books on Thanet’s archaeology, we enjoyed four more presentations. The first covered 6,000 years of archaeology uncovered at Thanet Earth, followed by more recent discoveries of two Palaeolithic handaxes from Margate beach. Seeing these handaxes in person really stole the show.
Our final two talks for the day focused on the Ozengell Anglo-Saxon cemetery collection, purchased by the Society in 2022, before we finished with a journey through the history of the Isle of Thanet Archaeological Society (IOTAS), who sadly closed their doors in 2025 following 50 years of successfully promoting the island’s past.
We would like to thank all our attendees and speakers for making the long drive to Aylesford Priory. This conference was the second such ‘area-focused’ day following our successful conference on the Darent Valley. We welcome suggestions for our next conference focus, to take place in November 2026. Do reach out at:
secARG@kentarchaeology.org.uk
SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATE
The Society’s social media channels have gone from strength to strength this year. In October we established our TikTok channel, which now has 1,078 followers. Our Bluesky channel, set up in November 2024, has 448 followers – can we hit 500 before the end of the year?
Our Facebook and Instagram profiles, where we share the majority of our content, continue to grow. We have 4,214 followers on Facebook, with the majority ranging in age from 35 to 65+ and a higher percentage being women, a common trend across social media platforms. Our Instagram has 517 followers, but we are hitting 6,300 views in the last 30 days alone.
What content do you want to see us posting on our social media? Let me know by emailing:
andy.ward@kentarchaeology.org.uk
If you run your own social media channels as an archaeological or historical group and want us to share your material, do email me or tag The Kent Archaeological Society in your posts.
All photographs courtesy of the Kent Archaeological Society, 2025.
[fg]jpg|Two Palaeolithic handaxes found on Margate beach, image courtesy of Steve Tomlinson|Image[/fg]
