Press Release

After months of preparation for the provision of COVID-19 secure events over the King Alfred Weekend, the Hyde900 2020 Community Dig took place over four days on the site of Hyde Abbey in the now traditional (for Hyde900) downpours of rain. For a time, gazebos erected over the trench positions provided some cover for hardy participants of the Dig. However, the winds on Friday put paid to a couple of them! 

The Dig sites were in no fewer than four separate gardens made available by householders, making this the largest and most ambitious Dig put on by Hyde900. The project was run with the help of members of Hyde900, local experts and WARG, a Winchester archaeology and history group. Hundreds of hours of planning were put in by a dedicated team to ensure the Dig met all government guidelines, so as to provide as safe an environment as possible for those taking part. Dig organiser and Hyde900 trustee, David Spurling, said “The level of enthusiasm of those participating – over 200 in total – was extraordinary, especially given the amount of wind and water thrown at them as they dug.”

In the ‘finds’ tent, the items discovered were processed. Here there was excitement aplenty as muddy finds were cleaned to reveal priceless artefacts, all adding to the understanding of the history of this important Abbey which was commissioned by Henry 1 in 1110 as the final resting place of Alfred the Great. As well as fragments of stone, columns and an abacus from the Abbey, this year we were delighted to discover part of a Neolithic flint, a Roman pot and some pieces of Mediaeval encaustic tiles with a pattern not hitherto seen.

In the gardens were uncovered the remains of ‘robbed out’ Hyde Abbey walls and also part of the Bridewell floor and walls – the prison built over the remains of the Abbey in 1788 to serve the county.

Steve Brine MP came with his son to help dig. They were thrilled to find an oyster shell – one of a collection of shells discovered from what must have been the remains of the Abbey kitchens. Steve said, “Well done the volunteers of Winchester’s Hyde900 for organising another Community Dig today. A huge amount of work given the COVID-safe requirement and the elements.”

The Mayor, Councillor Patrick Cunningham, arrived with his family on Sunday to take a tour of the Dig sites. They were fascinated to learn what lay beneath these Hyde gardens and intrigued to be able to handle such ancient artefacts. Dr John Crook, consultant archaeologist to Winchester Cathedral, St George’s Windsor and St Cross Hospital Winchester, was on hand to explain the importance of the finds in one of the gardens, where we discovered the continuation of an Abbey wall and pavement found in an adjoining garden during the Community Digs in 2017 and 2018. Some of those discoveries are now exhibited in the City Museum, courtesy of the Hampshire Cultural Trust, in two display stands: part of a cloistral arch and fascinating finds from the two Digs.

Other notable events during the Hyde900 King Alfred Weekend were:

An absorbing lecture by Dr Patrick Ottaway on the subject “King Alfred of Wessex: England’s greatest town planner?” Link to the recording at www.hyde900.org.uk

The annual King Alfred Service at St Bartholomew’s Church, in King Alfred Place (www.threesaints.org.uk), the only remaining Abbey building still in use; followed by a blessing and laying of flowers on the gravestones in Hyde Abbey Garden, marking the putative burial place of Alfred, Aelswitha and their son Edward the Elder.

Guided walks around the area of the Abbey and visits to Hyde Abbey Garden.

Community Dig 2020 Gallery

To see an enlarged version please click on the image

1 Young archaeologists in the making

2 Cleaning a 900-year old oyster shell

3 Elouise's find being closely studied

4 David Ashby recording contextual information

5 Fragments of encaustic tiles_ one with a 'new' leaf-type pattern

6 An egg-tray used for sorting finds

7 Steve Brine MP's fourth Dig experience_ using the sieve given to him on a previous occasion

8 The newly disccovered late 13 C to early 14th C wall revealed adjoing the refectory building

9 Cara_ having a great time as an amateur archaeologist

10 Paul McCulloch being interviewed and obviouly enjoying excavating his own garden

11 David Spurling explains a find to a young volunteer

12 Whole families came to enjoy the Hyde900 Dig

13 Flowers on Royal gravestones in Hyde Abbey Garden

14 The mayor is shown a find by Briony Lalor_ site supervisor for Hyde900

15 Voussoirs forming part of a cloistral arch

16 City Museum exhibition stand

16 item(s)

To see an enlarged version please click on the image

Please click HERE to access the Dig Participant Guide

Please click HERE for the 2020 Hyde900 Community Dig Site Map

We would recommend that you join Hyde900 as this will enable you be alerted to future digs – and the many other exciting events put on by Hyde900.

For more information about participating in the dig click here

Hyde900 have organised a further community dig event to take place October 22^nd to 25^th to coincide with the Council of British Archaeology Festival of Archaeology and Hyde900’s annual King Alfred Weekend. Extensive COVID-19 mitigation measures are in place to make this as safe an experience as possible, and the dig meets government guidelines in full. However local and national guidelines may change at any time prior to the dig which might lead to its postponement. In this case all those booked will be contacted immediately.

Due to these restrictions the number of places on the dig this year is severely restricted, so we advise booking as soon as possible.

The cost per 2 hour session is £12 unless you are a member of Hyde900, in which case the cost is £8. Children 11 and under are free.

Membership of Hyde900 costs £10/year for individual members, £15/year for households.

We would recommend that you join Hyde900 as this will enable you be alerted to future digs – and the many other exciting events put on by Hyde900.

The history of Hyde Abbey and the 2020 Hyde900 Community Dig: an introduction by Professor Martin Biddle

Please note the following additional points in respect of any booking

• Should the dig have to be postponed, your fees will be refunded on request, or held over against any a booking at a future Hyde900 event
• Any participant under 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult and will need to be booked in.
• You will receive a confirmation of booking following completion of your booking(s).
• There are certain COVID-19 measures which are requirements of attendance at the dig. These include the need to wear face coverings unless the participants are under 12 years old or have particular health conditions.
• A further confirmation of booking will be sent 4 days in advance of the start of the dig with detailed instructions on the need for Covid-19 precautions together with joining instructions

You can still learn about archaeology and be trained in finds processing – unless there are further changes to government guidelines!

As you will be aware, from Monday 14th September new regulations have been introduced, restricting social gatherings to no  more than 6 people, both inside and outside. Unless government guidelines change, we are planning to operate the dig as four or five separate and independant events, each with Covid-19 mitigation measures in place to protect both the participants taking part and the volunteers organising and managing the dig.

We want to reassure you that we are taking all possible precautions to make the sites as safe as possible and look forward to seeing you on site soon.

We hope very much to be able to offer an exciting opportunity for you to get involved in the dig with many opportunities such as excavating, finds processing and logging finds.

To be kept informed on the dig and other exciting Hyde900 projects, you can register HERE .