Dowsing and Archaeology

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.

Don Bryan
"Don Bryan (elected Chair of the BSD Archaeology SIG in September 2011) was introduced to dowsing some 50 years ago when the Warden of Salisbury Youth Hostel demonstrated how he could trace the water pipes and buried cables around the hostel by dowsing. This one event greatly influenced Don and his dowsing interest had started.
Whilst serving with British Telecomm, Don used his dowsing skills to locate telephone cables deeply buried underground. After taking early retirement Don took a degree in archaeology at Southampton University and on completion was offered a tutor's post, teaching archaeology to mature students. Some of these students became founder members of the Hampshire Archaeological Dowsers (HADS) with Don as their Archaeological Director. From just a few members at its formation, HADS has grown in membership and reputation and now has a membership of 34. HADS is actively engaged in a programme of researching the Roman road system of Wessex and other archaeological sites in the region.

Contents
Last updated 29 April 2013
ADG Activities in 2013
'Opinion' article - Dowsing for Archaeologists, republished by kind permission of 'British Archaeology'

ADG Field Trips and Events 2013

Archaeological Special Interest Group Contacts
Chairman	Don Bryan Tel : 02380 267667 E Mail - don.bryan@virgin.net
Secretary	Edwina Cole Tel: 01489 583249 email: edmadshed.cole@gmail.com

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

Have fun with all your archaeological dowsing projects this year!

Dowsing for Archaeologists

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.