Saturday 24 September, 2022
10:00am BST - 4:00pm BST
The Sainsbury Institute’s Later Prehistoric Norfolk Project is pleased to invite you to visit our excavation of the Arminghall Henge just south of the city of Norwich, on our public open day on Saturday 24 September from 10:00 to 16:00. An online site tour will be available in early October, with full details on the project’s webpages.
The Arminghall Henge is dated to the later Neolithic/ early Bronze Age period. Aligned on the winter solstice, it consists of an inner and an outer ditch with a bank in between the two, with 8 large postholes at the centre of the monument. The site was excavated by JGD Clarke in the 1930s and published in 1936.
Basic questions remain unanswered about Arminghall – including the date of construction and its relationships with surrounding monuments, including another henge like monument just to the northwest. Come and see how we are seeking to answer these questions, through new targeted fieldwork, including geophysics, environmental sampling and excavation. The current best dating, from one of the 8 postholes, has a very large range and needs refining. We will be looking at phasing, and also its position in this prehistoric landscape at the confluence of the Rivers Tas and Yare, where there is a real density of monuments of this period.
The project is directed by Dr Andrew Hutcheson of the Centre for Archaeology and Heritage at the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, and is sponsored by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Society of Antiquaries of London and the Norfolk and Norwich Archaeological Society. We are delighted to be working with the Cambridge Archaeological Unit and the Restoration Trust. We are grateful to all of these organisations and the wonderful group of volunteers who have worked with us this year. We will also be welcoming colleagues from some of our valued Japanese partner organisations. The excavation will close as our exhibition Circles of Stone: Stonehenge and Japanese Prehistory opens at the Stonehenge Visitor Centre at the end of this month, organised in partnership with English Heritage, and generously sponsored by the Ishibashi Foundation.
Access
The site is an open grassed field, and wheelchair access may be limited. Please contact us on publicity@nnas.info if you require more detailed access information. Site access signed from White Horse Lane, Arminghall, Norwich, Norfolk, NR14 8SH. Parking is available on site. The site is a 15 minute taxi ride from Norwich Station.
COVID-19 Considerations
This event will run in line with local and national government guidelines at the time of the event.