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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.
John Baker (Chair of the BSD Archaeology SIG) Discovered dowsing by accident some 10 years ago and having a general interest in archaeology became involved with a local archaeological Group. Founder member of the London and Thamesside Dowsers and currently Chairman. John was asked to set up a BSD special interest group for archaeological dowsing in 2004, was voted in as its Chairman in Jan 2005, and co-opted onto Council shortly thereafter, until stepping down in October 2008.
Contents
(last updated 17 April 2009)
ADG Activities in 2009
List of Regional Contacts
'Opinion' article - Dowsing for Archaeologists, republished by kind permission of 'British Archaeology'
ADG Field trips 2009
There are several sites around the country that would benefit from a dowsing survey, before the archaeologists get to work on them. Do contact us if you are interested in helping with a dowsing survey on these sites.
18 July 2009
Keith Harmon is running a dowsing trip to Gunnersbury Park, Ealing on 18th July. Contact him on 0208 8751 0417 or email nrgft@hotmail.com for more details.
12/13th. September 2009
ADG Field Trip to Hill Farm, Gestingthorpe, Essex. CO9 3BL
John Baker and Colin Peal will lead a field trip for experienced archaeological dowsers to this arable farm noted for it's countryside stewardship. Excavations by the farmer/landowner from 1947-77 in one field revealed evidence of a substantial Roman settlement including foundations of a villa.
A club room with toilets etc. adjacent to the Roman Museum at Hill Farm will be available to us.
Gathering point on Friday and Saturday evenings will be the Bell Inn, Castle Hedingham, about three miles from the site, where we can have pub grub and drinks in a room of our own. You will need to supply your own daytime food and drink. There is a kettle is on site.
Please bring large measuring tapes and flag markers or similar, if you have them.
Cost £5.00 per day for BSD members, £10.00 per day for non members. This charge helps cover Public Liability insurance etc.
Contact Colin Peal for further details, including local B&Bs : colin.peal@btinternet.com Tel 01787 460644
Buxton, Derbyshire.
The Romans called Buxton ‘Aqua Arnumetiae', meaning the Goddess of the water and grove. Arnu or Danu was the original goddess that lived in Buxton before ending up in Ireland. She presided over three wells; a healing spring, hot water spring (St Annes Well) and a fresh water spring, which along with her ‘Temple' have never been found. A potential trip could investigate Poole's Cavern and the surrounding Iron Age Fortress for clues. Many stone circles are in the vicinity of this area.
Contact Sue Brown : suaugurbrown@onetel.com Tel 01635 47181
Penrith, Cumbria: A possible medieval manor, Roman road and other interesting earlier features to dowse.
Contact Jim Andrews: jimjudy@btinternet.com Tel 015394 43435
Calstock , Cornwall: The University of Exeter were researching medieval silver mining at Bere Feres in Devon, when they found a document referring to an Iron Age ‘castra' at Calstock in Cornwall. Near the church they found, not an Iron Age enclosure, but a large Roman fort. It would be good to examine this by dowsing to see if the interior is typical of other Roman forts and to find the connections with roads, rivers and the sea. For more information see: http://sogaer.exeter.ac.uk/archaeology/research/calstock-fort.shtml
Contact Nigel Twinn: tavistocktwins@btinternet.com Tel 01822 612403
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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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