More News
- The three most recent Handbooks to the Pilgrimages of Hadrian's Wall (published 1999, 2009, and 2019), have all been digitised and are available on Frontiers of the Roman Empire website, hosted by the University of Vienna, along with a wealth of other interesting material. Follow this link for the right page. (It is in German, but if you scroll down below the first few publications you will quickly come to the Handbooks, with their titles in English).
- Archaeopress has taken over the publication of the multi-language series of books on the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, edited by our past President David Breeze. The 12 existing books will be brought together in a series together with 8 further titles in the pipeline. Archaeopress will seek to keep all up-to-date and make them available online. The publication of the next 4 in the series, on Egypt, the Eastern frontier, the Saxon Shore/Maritime Coast and Wales, has been made possible through the generous support of our member Richard Beleson.
- A new book giving comprehensive details of Roman County Durham, by our member David Mason has been published by Durham County Council. It is available now from their Record Office, at £37.50.
- A historical review by The Lancet’s psychiatry offshoot has been published, comparing the tactics of protecting the public against threats in World War II (with bombing) and today (with Covid-19).
- The Northumbrian magazine’s June 2020 issue contains a lengthy article by our member Diana Whaley, about the Name Books project which she and many other members have been engaged in, transcribing documents from the Ordnance Survey mapping exercise in Northumberland in the 1860s. Available on subscription or in newsagents.
- What Happened to West End Schools during Wartime? is the title of a new factsheet from St James Heritage and Environment Group. It includes a copy of a letter from the King to all schoolchildren; another of these was included among the Blair Papers bought at auction by the Antiquaries in 2019.
- The Co-operative College, chaired by July 2020 speaker Nigel Todd, has assembled a resource ‘bank’ of materials as part of their response to Black Lives Matter. It includes a link to a series of short films presented for the BBC in 2019 by historian David Olusoga exploring critical moments in Black British history from 1919 that have been forgotten or rarely discussed. There is also an article by Nigel himself, first published in 1987, on Black people on Tyneside in the 1860s
- Congratulations to our member John Poulter on being elected as a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, a (slightly) more prestigious body than our own. John is a retired systems analyst who has made an important contribution to understanding the planning of Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall, publishing journal articles on the topic, writing two British Archaeological Reports, and speaking at the Arbeia Conference among other places.
- Our member Jennifer DuCane has most generously donated Carrawburgh Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall to the nation. The fort had been cared for by her and her family since 1950, but, she says, "it has been a great privilege, but also a serious responsibility, to own Carrawburgh Roman Fort. The time has come to pass on this amazing site as a gift to the nation." Follow this link for Historic England's press release, and this one for a note by David Breeze and Lindsay Allason-Jones on the excavation and the stones found at Carrawburgh.
- On 27 November 2019 we bid successfully at auction for the 1813 membership certificate of Bridget Atkinson, the Society's first woman member, along with a number of other papers that probably came from our secretary Robert Blair. Many thanks to Les Jessop, of the Natural History Society of Northumbria, for alerting us to the item in the auction catalogue. A small group of transcribers has been assembled, and in due course digitised photos, and transcripts, will appear on our website.
- Northumberland Archives at Woodhorn has been successful in its Heritage Lottery Fund bid for a project around its holdings of manorial records. The project is programmed to start in spring 2020. Further details will be available shortly.
- Hexham Local History Society have releases the first version of their Photo Archive on their website, with over 500 images from the postcard collection of Colin Dallison. There are around 2000 slides also to come.
- RIB Online, the digital library of Roman inscriptions from Britain, has been relaunched in a much expanded form. Much of the hard work involved has been done by our member Scott Vanderbilt (in far-away California). Congratulations to Scott and his colleagues!
- Our leaflet Capital Newcastle; A Walk through Newcastle's Architectural Orders has just been reprinted. It is a fold-out pamphlet with a detailed explanation of the classical 'orders' of architecture on one side, and a map showing a walking route round Newcastle's city centre on the other, featuring eighteenth- to twentieth-century buildings that illustrate each element. Copies are free. If you would like some to distribute to local groups, schools, or your friends, please send an e-mail to author Alan Beale
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- North East Labour History Society has published transcripts of the personal memories of 60 people who have been involved in the labour movement from the North East, and are asking anyone with transcripts or notes of further oral history reviews to get in touch