By Isle of Wight Observer
To celebrate the National Festival of Archaeology, Newport Roman Villa will be hosting a FREE archaeology activity day on Saturday 27 July.
This includes free admission to Newport Roman Villa for visitors to enjoy the Roman remains, as well as a whole host of family friendly activities included.
The event, which has been organised by Isle of Wight Council’s Heritage Service, starts at 11am and activities will finish at 3pm, with no need to book – just turn up.
Frank Basford, Finds Liaison Officer for the Portable Antiquities Scheme, will be on site to identify any archaeological finds you may have found. There will be family friendly activities including a ‘mini dig’ and archaeology inspired craft activities.
Island heritage service’s human histories curator, Corina Westwood, said: “If you have found an artefact in your garden or on the beach, Frank will be able to identify it and it may even get recorded on the website and database of the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
“Our colleagues from the council’s County Archaeology and Historic Environment Service will also be on hand to give you an insight to the work they carry out.”
There will be an opportunity to find out more about the Historic Environment Record which details information about the Island from the earliest evidence of humans to the present day, and how this record is used this manage and protect the Island’s past.
There will be plenty of activities for families to test their archaeology skills – have a go at a sand pit excavation and reconstruct our broken pots. There will be a photo hunt around the site which will include some of the latest archaeological discoveries on the Island.
You can find the Roman Villa in Cypress Road, Newport, just a short walk from the town centre. Please note, the site is only partially accessible to wheelchair users.
For more information call (01983) 529720, email: museums@iow.gov.uk or visit: www.iwight.com/museums
