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ARCHAEOLOGICAL DOWSING
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The purpose of the Group is to create and improve the ability to find archaeological and other underground features by means of dowsing and where possible encourage their uncovering to show that dowsing can make a significant contribution to reliable sub soil exploration.
The group has active and local representation throughout the UK and Eire and is a very lively section of the BSD.
We dowse both on site and with maps and visit many fascinating places, meeting some interesting characters in the process. Enjoy being in the company of like minded people who will pass on tips to help you improve your dowsing abilities. On trips out there is usually a pub meal involved where you get to know other members in convivial surroundings.
Contents
(last updated 6 March 2008)
ADG Activities in 2008
Dowsing Courses for Archaeology
List of Regional Contacts
'Opinion' article - Dowsing for Archaeologists, republished by kind permission of 'British Archaeology'
ADG activities in 2008
NATIONAL FIELD TRIP to Penrith, Cumbria, 17 th & 18 th MAY, 2008
Come and help map hither-to unrecorded hidden archaeology at
MAYBURGH HENGES, investigate a suspected henge at BROUGHAM HALL, and explore the famous LONG MEG and CASTLERIGG STONE CIRCLES.
ABOUT THE SITES: Mayburgh Henge is a large Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age ring-work, with boulder banks and one remaining standing stone near the centre. Were there more?
In the near-by village, Arthur's Round Table henge was ‘prettified' by Victorians, yet remains intriguing.
Two miles away, Brougham Hall was a fortified house whose curtain wall remains intact. It may partly over-lie an unrecorded henge, possibly associated with the ‘Mayburgh' complex. Does it?
‘Long Meg and her Daughters' Stone circle is largely intact, and Meg herself sports ‘meg. art'. She may have had a ‘husband'. Had she? And where did he stand?
Castlerigg Stone Circle , 16 miles west of Penrith, is arguably the most spectacularly-sited megalithic circle in Britain – and enigmatic at that. Can we discover more about it?
Contact JIM ANDREWS for details before May 1 st please. Tel 01539-443-435, or email j2dovewood@tiscali.co.uk
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The ADG is starting to collect case histories of archaeological dowsing surveys that have been validated by digging or geophysics. So if you've dowsed a Roman road or a Medieval building, or an Iron Age ditch, which was validated by a later excavation or geophysics survey, we'd love to see the details. These reports of dowsing surveys will be part of the ADG archive, which we can show archaeologists, to help them use dowsing in future. Janet Ridout Sharpe is the archivist and can give you information and help with these reports.
If you are interested in archaeological map dowsing opportunities, please let Sue Brown know. Email: suaugurbrown@ontel.com Or contact Sue for any other queries about the ADG.
John Baker - Chairman, Chris Francis - Treasurer, Sue Brown - Communications.
Archaeological Special Interest Group Regional Contacts
Chairman - John Baker 01322 525975 (evenings) Secretary and Treasurer - Chris Francis 01189
463928 Communications - Sue Brown 01635 47181 Membership Sec - Linda Prenter Minutes Secretary - Janet Ridout-Sharpe |
To become involved in your area we list regional
contacts below:
| South Central | South East |
| East Anglia | E Midlands |
| W. Midlands | N. Wales |
| S. Wales | S W England |
| N W England | N.E England |
| Scotland | Ireland |
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Dowsing for Archaeologists
by Sue Brown
The following article originally appeared in British Archaeology March/April 2006 p.53 and is reproduced with permission.
It's well known that dowsing is an essential tool for finding water. Farmers and breweries pay good money to water diviners to find water for their needs. So why is it that archaeologists regard dowsing with such suspicion?
It's not only water they can find. Philip Barker observed how useful dowsing is, in the absence of geophysical equipment and “in the right hands and given the right conditions”, for finding utilities such as gas pipes and electricity cables (Techniques of Archaeology, 3rd ed, Batsford 1995). It's possible to dowse for any underground features, as Philip Barker also comments on Richard Bailey's work (Bailey et al , Dowsing & Church Archaeology, Intercept 1988), “leaving no doubt as to the potential of the technique, though it has yet to be accepted by a majority of archaeologists as a basis for a research design”.
An independent archaeologist, Peter Ewence, has used dowsing to examine the Roman and Saxon history of Worcester cathedral and is currently undertaking dowsing surveys for the Hanleys Village Society. He has also produced dowsed surveys for National Trust sites. Edward Fawcett dowsed many gardens while he was an advisor to the National Trust on garden history, and he has lectured on this subject at the Architectural Association. Edward has dowsed successfully at Badbury Rings, where he was working with a geophysicist.
Elsewhere, productive liaisons are quietly taking place between archaeologists, local archaeological groups and experienced dowsers. John Baker, Colin Peal and Barry Hillman-Crouch have dowsed and dug on sites in Kent and Essex. John Wombell, an amateur archaeologist in northern Scotland, has dowsed and excavated on sites of all periods as a complementary tool to augment the usual methods of surveying and recording. Roman roads and forts have been dowsed and verified in Cumbria, Wales, Oxfordshire, Essex and Sussex.
John Greenwood of Nottingham Trent University teaches dowsing to his masters students in a module on site investigation that includes geophysical techniques. In Russia, it has been reported that geology students can only receive their degrees when they are able to demonstrate their competence in dowsing. The Russians have also been active in archaeological dowsing for many years (Chris Bird, The Divining Hand, Whitford Press 1993). Dowsing tuition is available annually at the Cressing Temple site in Essex, and has been taught during National Archaeology Week at Fishbourne Palace and Bignor Roman Villa in Sussex.
Archaeology has been described in this magazine as a “Cinderella discipline” (Opinion, Jul/Aug 2005). Jobs are hard to find and the work is poorly rewarded. It is not surprising, therefore, that archaeologists will not risk losing their reputation by acknowledging their use of dowsing!
Nevertheless, most people can dowse, and can find water pipes and land drains. They can also find pits, postholes and ditches.
However, it takes practice and experience to become a proficient archaeological dowser. We need to see evidence of sound dowsing practice, so if you know of a dowsing survey that has been rigorously tested by geophysics or excavation, whether it was successfully verified or not, please contact me. All information will be treated in the strictest confidence. It is only by the examination of secure case histories of archaeological dowsing that this tool will become acceptable to archaeologists everywhere.
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| The British Society of Dowsers: popular links | ||||
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