The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) is a means by which members of the public can record objects they have found on a large online database. Finds usually come from metal detecting but can also be the result of gardening and field walking. 

As a Finds Liaison Officer (FLO) it is my role to record these objects to help preserve the archaeological record and to help paint a picture of archaeological finds in Britain. Although it is voluntary for people to record their finds, we highly encourage people to do so otherwise important finds might be lost. However, people do have a legal duty to record finds which fall under the 1996 Treasure Act.

Last year the PAS recorded its 1,500,000^th find and in December we recorded the 5000^th find from West Berkshire.  There are now  over 7000 finds from the county as a whole. This year, to coincide with the Berkshire Archaeological Society’s 150^th anniversary I have come up with a list of 150 finds from 150 places in Berkshire.  Starting Monday 1^stMarch, I’ll be tweeting four of these per week on the @berkshireflo Twitter account using the hashtag #BAS150.  For those not on Twitter they will also be loaded to a page on the BAS web site on a weekly basis.

If you want to know more about the scheme in Berkshire, I can be contacted at philip.smither1(at)westberks.gov.uk.  I also have a weekly finds blog which can be found through the PAS county page for Berkshire, https://finds.org.uk/counties/berkshire/team/.

Phil Smither, Finds Liaison Officer, Berkshire

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Image: Silver-plated contemporary copy of a denarius of Septimius Severus (AD193 – 211) https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1020056

Berkshire Archaeology, the body which looks after archaeology in East Berkshire, has published its annual newsletter for 2020.  You can download it from this page.
https://www.readingtownhall.co.uk/explore-reading-history/berkshire-archaeology

Image: Near complete Samian bowl found along the route of the Arborfield Cross Relief Road © Wessex Archaeology

Berkshire Archaeological Journal volume 85 has been published. It will shortly be distributed to all members and subscribers.

Others can purchase a copy by emailing journal(at)berksarch.co.uk

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This is a special issue as it marks a collaboration with Cotswold Archchaeology. All articles are reports from excavations that they have conducted in and around Berkshire in the last 3 years.

CONTENTS

Foreword by Richard Massey

An Early Roman Site at Beech Hill Road, Spencers Wood, Berkshire by Richard Massey and Grace Perpetua Jones, with Adam Howard

Roman, medieval and post-medieval settlement at Cutbush Lane, Shinfield, Berkshire by Richard Massey and Joe Whelan

An Early Roman enclosed settlement at Kentwood Farm, Wokingham by Richard Massey and Joe Whelan

Iron Age and medieval features at Keephatch, Beech Lane, Wokingham by Jacek Gruszczynski and Matt Nichol.

Roman and medieval occupation at Shoppenhanger Manor, Maidenhead by Ray Kennedy and Richard Massey.

Berkshire Archaeological Society Events – from September 2020

Government advice is likely to remain that gatherings are not permitted or advised.  We are, therefore, planning to hold all BAS activities from September on Zoom.

See the events page for a list of monthly lectures. Synopses will be posted separately when available.

Members attending meetings on Zoom will be advised of meeting joining instructions beforehand. Not all Study Group meetings are listed as they are usually confirmed the week before.

from Julie Worsfold, BAS Lectures and Day School Organiser & Chair Communications Working Group

Image (think of it as geofizz!): This scanning electron microscope image shows COVID-19 virus (yellow), also known as 2019-nCoV and SARS-CoV-2, isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells (pink) cultured in the lab. Image credit: NIAID-RML / CC BY 2.0.