Call for Papers: BIRAG Conference 2026!
Join us in Cromford, Derbyshire (Sept 4-6) to investigate new interpretations of ancient art. Our own committee member, George, is part of this significant event!
Details: birag.co.uk
#RockArt #Archaeology #DeepHistory
#1902Committee (1/2)
The new Archaeology and Conservation in Derbyshire (ACID) magazine is out now! 🛠🏺💎
Read the annual round-up of archaeological highlights in #Derbyshire and the #PeakDistrict during 2025...
👉 http://bit.ly/ACID-mag
You can also pick up your free hardcopy from our National Park Centre in Bakewell.
Nine Ladies Stone Circle on Stanton Moor, Derbyshire from a visit on 22nd February last year 🪨❤️ #StandingStoneSunday
22.02.2026 10:18 — 👍 26 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
A rather mud-smeared stoneware jug, sitting on a brick wall, in the middle of an archaeological site. The writing on the jug reads 'Young's Botanic (Brewery), Derby'. Image credit Wessex Archaeology
#FindsFriday
Fresh out of the ground two years ago, at Castleward in Derby
An intact stoneware flagon from Young's Botanic Brewery, Derby. This company was active in late 19th-early 20th century, and specialised in these lovely stoneware containers. I wonder if there was any botanical beer inside?
The Milky Way and the Cork Stone, Stanton Moor, Peak District, Derbyshire.
#Photography
A muddy digital camera, showing a preview image of a rather ephemeral and puddle-filled archaeological feature, at Boulton Moor, Derby.
Muddy feature, muddy camera, muddy site
Spare a thought for field archaeologists today. Zero degrees, driving sleet, rain forecast every day for a week
Full disclosure - I'm sitting at a warm dining room table! But kudos (and 📸credit) to PCA on site at Boulton Moor, Derby
#Derbyshire #Archaeology
a two-tiered theatre filled with people sat down attending Derbyshire Archaeology Day at The Winding Wheel theatre in Chesterfield. Photo by me.
Landscape archaeologist David Went standing on stage pointing at a screen during his presentation at Derbyshire Archaeology Day. Photo by me.
A man with a beard and a flat cap sat in a theatre crowd holding a microphone during the Q&A section of a talk at Derbyshire Archaeology Day 2026
Alex Cave from Derbyshire Records Office stood on a stage at Derbyshire Archaeology Day giving a talk about her archive project. Photo by me.
A few of my photos from a fab time at Derbyshire Archaeology Day 2026 in Chesterfield. Full of fantastic talks, great archaeology chats between speakers, and the infamous Colin Merrony book stall! January 2027 seems a long way off! Maybe some sort of Summer heritage social is in order? #archaeology
03.02.2026 08:53 — 👍 6 🔁 2 💬 2 📌 0PS if you are the gent who lent us a laser pointer when ours ran out of juice, and then left before we could return it, please do DM me and I will post it to you!
02.02.2026 10:44 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
People browsing an archaeology book stall, Derbyshire Archaeology Day 2026, 📸Derbyshire HER
View from above of the stalls at the Winding Wheel Theatre, Chesterfield - people sitting, standing, milling around and talking, waiting for the event to start. A stage and screen with image reading 'Happy 75th birthday, Peak District National Park' 📸Derbyshire HER
A very full circle at the Winding Wheel Theatre, Chesterfield, as people take their seats for Derbyshire Archaeology Day 2026 📸Derbyshire HER
Anna Clark and Prof George Nash giving a presentation on new rock art at Rowtor Rocks, Birchover, Derbyshire Archaeology Day 2026. A stage with lecterns, image on the screen reading 'The Deer Stone', rock engraving of a cervid 📸Derbyshire HER
Derbyshire Archaeology Day 2026 - what a great day on Saturday. A packed house, 8 diverse and fascinating talks, engaging speakers, informed and stimulating discussion and debate.
Thank you to all our speakers and to everyone who came - we couldn't do it without you.
#Derbyshire #Archaeology
Anchor Church caves, Foremark, Derbyshire, showing the caves cut into a sandstone cliff at the southern edge of the Trent floodplain, overlooking a palaeochannel (and, at the present moment, the active Swarkestone South gravel quarry). Image credit Prof Mark Horton
Anchor Church caves, Foremark, Derbyshire. The door and window shown are of Anglo-Saxon style and believed by Prof Ed Simons (Royal Agricultural University) to demonstrate an early date - perhaps 9th century - for the caves. Image credit Edmund Simons
The interior of the Anchor Church caves, Foremark, Derbyshire. The Anglo-Saxon or medieval hermitage was enlarged and altered during the 18th century to allow use as a picturesque dining room associated with Foremark Hall, with doorways widened to admit well-dressed ladies. Image credit Edmund Simons
The Anchor Church, Foremark - a former hermit's cave with possible Anglo-Saxon origins (there is a legendary link with St Eardwulf, a deposed Northumbrian king/hermit who died in 830). Later repurposed (18C) as a dining-room-with-a-view for Foremark Hall!
her.derbyshire.gov.uk/Monument/MDR...
Not a tiny fragment, nor a single sherd of pottery, but a full, voluminous Anglo-Saxon space from the 9th century at St Wystan’s in Repton, Derbyshire. The spiral columns - perhaps a memory of St Peter’s shrine. Holy air encased in stone. Betjeman’s words describe it perfectly.
26.01.2026 07:00 — 👍 149 🔁 18 💬 1 📌 2
A glass bead held between finger and thumb. The bead is a dark, almost black glass, with spiral decorations in a cream or white colour. Thought to be Late Iron Age or Roman, Boulton Moor, Derby. Image credit PCA Archaeology
Well hello there - literally fresh out of the ground on #FindsFriday
This lovely bead from the ongoing excavations by PCA at Boulton Moor, Derby. We think Late Iron Age or Roman, but specialist confirmation is awaited!
#Derbyshire #Archaeology
Cervid panel at Rowtor Rocks - head with antlers to left, body and legs to the right. There is a baby deer bottom right (not showing particularly well here). Possibly Mesolithic based on comparison with similar engravings in Scandinavia. Photo my own
Bovine engraving at Rowtor Rocks, thought to be an aurochs. The head is missing (top left), but the curve of the back flows left to right into the animal's tail, with the forelegs and hind legs visible in relief below. Photo - my own
The 'Rosetta Stone' at Rowtor Rocks, an unusually complex abstract rock art panel on a boulder, probably dating from the Early Bronze Age. A cross within concentric circles, surrounded by flames or petals, with cup and ring around. Photo: my own
At Rowtor Rocks to see new prehistoric rock art with Anna Clark and Prof George Nash, on one of the wettest mornings the Peak District could muster (yep that's wet)
You can find out more at Derbyshire Archaeology Day, last few tickets here: chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk/shows/derbys...
Stoke Flat: Froggatt Edge stone circle is set on a flat shelf, overlooking the picturesque Derwent Valley. Often referred to as Stoke Flat, the site is complex, though now sadly quite ruined.
14.01.2026 19:29 — 👍 31 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 1
Colour image of medieval ridge and furrow earthworks in Tissington today with a dusting of snow and bright sunshine.
The ridge and furrow at #Tissington was looking fantastic today. #Derbyshire #PeakDistrict #Medieval
10.01.2026 22:02 — 👍 74 🔁 13 💬 2 📌 0
A Magdelenian period bone plaque, etched with the profile of a horse
For #FindsFriday and #YearOfTheHorse, a stunning little profile of a Prsewalski type ancient horse. Magdalenian era bone plaque found in the C19th in Robin Hood Cave, Creswell Crags. Pretty sure the original is in the BM, this is at Creswell Crags Museum. Beautiful economy of line
09.01.2026 08:25 — 👍 19 🔁 5 💬 0 📌 1😂
09.01.2026 11:42 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A black and white cat with mesmeric hypnotising eyes sits inside an empty veg box. Photo and cat: my own
Programme for Derbyshire Archaeology Day 2026, Sat Jan 31st at the Winding Wheel, Chesterfield. 9:15 – 9:40 Arrival & registration Tea and coffee available to purchase 9:45 – 9:50 Martha Jasko-Lawrence (Buxton Museum) Welcome 9:50 – 10:20 Graham Murray & John Thomas (ULAS) In the Shadow of the Crooked Spire: Recent excavations at Rykneld Square, Chesterfield 10:20 – 11:00 Steve Malone and Laura Parker (York Archaeology) Derventio, the Little City. A small town in the Roman north. 11:00 – 11:30 Tea and coffee (available to purchase) 11:30 – 12:00 Alex Cave (Derbyshire Record Office) Landscapes Unlocked – saving a unique National Park image archive 12:00 – 12:30 Dave Went (Historic England) Circular arguments? More thoughts on the mysterious ‘Parwich Rings’ 12:30 – 13:40 Lunch (not provided but there are cafes, sandwich shops and pubs nearby) 13:40 – 14:10 Tim Cockrell (Bolsterstone Archaeology & Heritage Group) Between Crags and Streams: Hallowed Journeys and Dwelling in Sheffield's Prehistoric Upland 14:10 – 14:40 George Nash and Anna Clark (Derbyshire Rock Art Group) Rowtor Rocks: prehistoric art and ritual in the White Peak 14:40 – 15:10 Tea and coffee (available to purchase) 15:10 – 15:40 Ben Turner (Archaeological Research Services Ltd) Investigating evidence for a medieval chapel at Rowthorne, near Glapwell 15:40 – 16:10 15:40 – 16:10 Catherine Parker Heath and Natalie Ward, PDNPA. Updates on ‘People of the Peak’ and ‘A Peak Archaeological Research Framework’ 16:10 Closing remarks 16:20 Depart
Look into my eyes, look into my eyes. Derbyshire Archaeology Day is almost sold out, get your tickets now!
Saturday 31st January, Winding Wheel Theatre, Chesterfield.
Tickets here, only a handful left! chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk/shows/derbys...
You're back in the room
You know it's a proper trench when you need a ladder to escape
09.01.2026 10:34 — 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
B/W photo of the Viking Age ditch excavated at Repton (taken somewhere late 70s/early 80s). A (brave) archaeologist stands at the base of a 4.5m standing section holding a ranging pole. Image credit Derby Museum/Prof Martin Biddle
Ooh yeah, we got big sections. This is the Viking-age ditch at Repton, sometimes in the early 80s. 4.5m - who needs a hard hat?!
09.01.2026 10:18 — 👍 23 🔁 4 💬 2 📌 0
The Reality of archaeology, an occasional series:
Looking at this photo from a recent Turkish excavation, the first 20 years of my career are thinking 'What's that wimp doing wearing a hard hat?' while the second 20 years is screaming 'Get the fuck out of there you twat!!'
B/W photo of the Viking Age ditch excavated at Repton (taken somewhere late 70s/early 80s). A (brave) archaeologist stands at the base of a 4.5m standing section holding a ranging pole. Image credit Derby Museum/Prof Martin Biddle
Ooh yeah, we got big sections. This is the Viking-age ditch at Repton, sometimes in the early 80s. 4.5m - who needs a hard hat?!
09.01.2026 10:18 — 👍 23 🔁 4 💬 2 📌 0
A black and white image showing thick snow on ground, as 3 people walk through. One man is pulling a sledge containing milk bottles, with a woman pushing it from behind. They are dressed in winter coats and warm headwear. There is a row of houses in the background
Here's one way to get in your supplies through a snow drift... milk delivery in Matlock, powered by a sledge, in the winter of 1963.
#snowday
Sorry for the jargon! We record heritage stuff on Derbyshire Historic Environment Record (HER) which has its own website here her.derbyshire.gov.uk. I usually link to the relevant record when I post photos, but this time there wasn't one! 'Enhancement' means we're going to make a new record for it.
06.01.2026 16:10 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Low winter sun picks out ridge and furrow earthworks with superimposed lead mining remains, near Oker (South Darley parish). Green pasture fields with drystone walls and thorn scrub. 📸 my own
Before the snow came ...
Low winter sun picks out curving ridge and furrow earthworks with superimposed lead mining remains, near Oker (South Darley parish)
Looking at the HER there doesn't seem to be an entry - time for some enhancement!
#Derbyshire #archaeology #MedievalMonday
Minninglow from above Grangemill
#minninglow #googlepixel10proxl #teampixel #Grangemill #peakdistrict
Colour image of a door set behind the brickwork of a 17th century porch with a large sandstone lintel.
For this week’s offering for #AdoorableThursday is this shy number sheltering in the shadows.
#Snelston #Derbyshire
📅 A date for your diary - a packed day with a rich variety of archaeological and heritage projects across the Peak District and Derbyshire. 😃
Derbyshire Archaeology Day
31 January 2026
Winding Wheel, Chesterfield
Book now:
https://chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk/shows/derbyshire-archaeology-day-2026/
A wintery St Michael and All Angels' Church at Kniveton in Derbyshire. The church is mostly 12th century in date, with the west tower added in the 13th century. The windows were renewed in c.1663, and the church restored in 1870. 📸 My own #SteepleSaturday #Kniveton #Derbyshire
20.12.2025 07:30 — 👍 39 🔁 3 💬 2 📌 0
Drone shot of Minninglow Hill in the snow. A circle of recent plantation, elderly beeches on the summit thought to have been planted in the 18th century, and the Neolithic chambered tomb and two bowl barrows. Image credit Derbyshire Times
A tad late for #TombTuesday, you may recall I am keen on pix of Minninglow ...
This one is for everyone hoping Christmas will be less monsoony. The Neolithic chambered tomb and bowl barrows on the summit showing nicely in the snow.
her.derbyshire.gov.uk/Monument/MDR...
#Derbyshire #archaeology
