A Symposium on Abingdon’s Prehistory

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Abingdons Prehistoric Earthworks
There will be an all day symposium on Saturday 18th July 2015 at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford on ‘Abingdon and its Prehistoric Earthworks’.
Abingdons Prehistoric Earthworks
The final lecture by Dr Zena Kamash will be about discoveries at Spring Road Cemetery. The pictures above shows the site in 2000 during excavation, and in 2015 with the new Garden of Remembrance.

The cemetery was created from agricultural land in 1940, and during the early years so many ancient graves were being disturbed to create new graves that it was decided to do some proper excavations before all the evidence got lost.

The Abingdon Area Archaeological and Historical, in conjunction with the Ashmolean Museum, is making a contribution to the National Festival of Archaeology 2015 by holding this one day free event in the Headley Lecture Theatre, Ashmolean Museum.

The Full Programme:
10:15 Dr. Gill Hey: Introduction
10:30 George Lambrick: The Drayton Cursus and other Monuments in the Development of Prehistoric Ceremonial and Funerary Complexes in the Upper Thames Valley.
11.30 Dr. Frances Healy: A Brief Life: placing the Abingdon Causewayed Enclosure in Time.
12.30 Lunch Break.
Time to look round a display of finds in the Ashmolean reserve collections from Barrow Hills, the Abingdon Causewayed Enclosure and other sites of relevance to Abingdon.
14.00 Dr. Alistair Barclay: Barrow Hills Excavation: thirty years on.
15.00 Dr. Zena Kamash: Excavations at Spring Road Cemetery, a Bronze Age Pit Circle and other discoveries.

Edible Abingdon

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Edible Abingdon
Behind the kiosk of the open air swimming pool there is a small area of edible plants.
Edible Abingdon
It is amazing to see how many different edible plants the Abingdon Carbon Cutters have managed to grow in such a small area. Lettuces are in season, and you can pick your own.
Edible Abingdon
The wild flower meadow nearby is also blooming.
Edible Abingdon
That is another project of Abingdon Carbon Cutters – with their “local response to climate change.”

Twinning English Language Course in Abingdon

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English Language Course
The Abingdon and District Twin Towns Society (ADTTS) are holding an English Language Course this week. The “students” arrived on Saturday 11th July. I met them, by chance, as they arrived at the Conduit Centre (part of Trinity Church) for a shared lunch on Sunday. They had been sight seeing in Abingdon that morning.

The “students” come from twin towns in Italy, France and Belgium. They will study each morning in the upstairs rooms at 35 Ock Street, then have afternoon outings to places like The Diamond Light Source, Dorchester, Henley-on-Thames, and Oxford.

Students stay with host families, and return home on 18th July. There was a German Language Course last month in twin town Schongau – with seven members of ADTTS attending.

Play and Activity Day at Southern Town Park

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Play and Activity Day at Southern Town Park
There was a lot going on at the Play and Activity Day at Southern Town Park. It already looks to be one of the best play areas in Abingdon with

  • the Zip Wire
  • the climbing and adventure area made out of wood, large boulders, and sand pits
  • the big round swing
  • the younger childrens’ play area
  • and the Basketball court

Into this setting were brought: a drumming workshop and go-carting.
Play and Activity Day at Southern Town Park
Behind the Mayor of Abingdon, Cllr Helen Pighills, can be seen body zorbing, giant Jengo, and dominos.
Play and Activity Day at Southern Town Park
Lots of other agencies were there. The local police and PCSOs were there building links with young people.
Play and Activity Day at Southern Town Park
The Fire Brigade were there letting children look round their fire engine.
Play and Activity Day at Southern Town Park
The basketball court had been turned into a mobile skatepark. A graffitti wall stood in front. The Abingdon Childrens’ Centres, and Mobile Childrens Centre (used for villages) were there, as was the library with some free books, and the Church in Abingdon supplying free drinks and cakes.

Lots of groups and agencies had been brought together for the Play and Activity Day at Southern Town Park. And the sunshine helped to make it a success.