July 2006 (update Sept 2006): Dayschool to honour the memory of Bob Thomson

A dayschool entitled 'Ou est les dishes de chafing?' will be held on Saturday 7th October 2006 at the Tudor Merchant's Hall, Southampton. An invitation to participate is available here. (Word doc) The programme is now available here.

April 2006: MPRG Conference 2006

The programme for our conference in June at Chester is now available here (Word document, 77 kb)

January 2006: Livorno Conference

As reported in Newsletter 53, further details of the Society for Post Medieval Archaeology's Livorno Conference are now available by clicking here (pdf document, 22 kb, revised version of 13 March 2006).

December 2005: News of a job:

Professional Training Opportunities at English Heritage
£14,130 per annum, rising to £14,555 from 1 April 2006; closing date 6 January 2006; interviews week beginning 16 January 2006.
The Institute of Field Archaeologists, the Institute of Historic Building Conservation and English Heritage have teamed up to offer five year-long professional training placements to provide work-based learning opportunities in specialisms related to the historic environment. Placements are provided and supervised by English Heritage and administered by the IFA in partnership with IHBC. The placements are designed for those with some experience of historic environment practice, but who have not yet had the opportunity to develop more specialist skills and competencies, and may contribute towards an appropriate vocational qualification.
Placements are available in archaeological investigation (based in Exeter), aerial survey and investigation (based in York), architectural investigation (based in York), architectural graphics (based in York), and ceramics/finds study (based Sussex/Hampshire). Placements will begin on 1 February 2006 or as soon as possible thereafter.
Candidates should ideally have a relevant degree with 6 to 18 months postgraduate work experience in UK historic environment practice or comparable practical experience in a heritage discipline. Application is by CV and covering letter (please state clearly which placement(s) you are applying for) and should be sent to Kate Geary, Institute of Field Archaeologists, SHES, University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 227, Reading RG6 6AB.

December 2005: More news from Derek Hall on the Ceramics Production Centres Database:

The aim of the project is to create a five-language web-based database of pottery production centres across Europe, for the historic time-range AD 400 to 2000, linked to a suite of maps.

The data will be extracted from records held digitally in many European countries, with limited new collection to fill gaps. They will be entered into a field structure already established and tested for part of the time-range in one of the participant countries. This prototype format provides a research resource of pottery production from domestic to industrial, and by expanding the geographical spread it will log the distribution of similar products on a Europe-wide canvas, and thereby chart continent-wide historic patterns of trade, as well as of craftsmen, techniques and ideas. The database will be illuminated by a series of country-specific narrative texts, highlighting recent discoveries and research.

Data-collection will create two research posts in the coordinating country, and one in each contributing country. The data structure is open-ended, so the project is able to offer a welcome to new partners to join and contribute during the life of the project. A secondary but vital objective is to create a five-language thesaurus of archaeological ceramic terms relating to production centres.

The resource is aimed at social and economic historians, students and teachers of design and technology, practising potters, collectors, arts professionals and social scientists, as well as the core audiences of practising ceramic archaeologists and the informed public.

Leading the consortium is the Medieval Pottery Research Group, a charitable organisation based in the UK with an international membership. It was closely involved in setting up the prototype database, and has promoted the present initiative under the aegis of the European Association of Archaeologists. It is supported by the Institutes of Archaeology in London and Oxford, UK. A first submission has now been made to the econtentplus European funding programme by the countries of Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales, Italy, Germany, Poland, France and Belgium. If anyone wants any further information or would like to aid our search for matched funding could they please contact the Secretary (Derek Hall, email: derek.hall1@blueyonder.co.uk).

November 2005: A new page has been added for advertising exhibitions which may be of interest to members. It will be linked from this page and can be found here.

August 2005: Derek Hall (Secretary, European Ceramics Production Centres Database) has provided the following report on the European Production Centres Workshop, Oxford, held on 28th and 29th April 2005:

This two day workshop was attended by at least 40 delegates from 15 European countries. The first day's session concentrated on presentations that gave the background to the proposed project and detailed the situation as regards current research on pottery production in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern and Southern Ireland, Denmark, Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. On the morning of the second day our Southern European colleagues told us how things stood in Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Istria, Albania and Greece. For the afternoon session the delegates split into two workshops to discuss the proposed format of the database and the types of narrative text that would need to be used. A final session chaired by Frans Verhaege and Derek Hall summarised proceedings and suggested the way forward. A summary of proceedings has just been circulated to all delegates who are members of a group e-mail which now resides on Derek's home broadband system.

This proved to be a highly enjoyable workshop and, given the level of interest and quality of presentations, can only help to promote the benefits of this proposed European wide database. It is intended to present a suggested costed project design as part of the workshop at this year's EAA conference in Cork in September. In closing this report I would like to acknowledge the support of all our sponsors without whom we would not have been able to proceed, they were English Heritage, Historic Scotland, CBA, Society for Medieval Archaeology, Archaeopress, the British Council Albania, the Russell Trust and the University of Oxford. Can I also thank Jane Holdsworth and Anne Boyle for helping with administrative matters over the two days and David Wilkinson of Oxford Archaeology for the guided tour of Oxford (despite my heckling). Finally I would like to thank Maureen Mellor for her continuing support in pushing this project forward.

July 2005: From: Cathy Batt and Assunta Trapanese, Dept of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, email: C.M.Batt@bradford.ac.uk:

As part of an EU project on archaeomagnetic dating, we are conducting an evaluation of a variety sampling and orientation methods for archaeomagnetism. Ideally we want to try these methods out on burnt clay features of recent, known date, so we can see whether they give the expected results. We would be very grateful to hear of any experimental heating of hearths, ovens, furnaces and other structures over the new few months, or that have recently taken place. We are happy to travel anywhere in the UK to take samples. The sampling is fairly destructive, so it would need to be a structure that is no longer needed. If you can help, please get in touch.

June 2005: information on a post-doctoral fellowship on Pottery in Ancient Societies at the University of Brussels is available here (pdf document 669Kb). The closing date for applications is 31st July.

May 2005: Newsletter 51 is now online, as are final details for the 2005 conference in either webpage or pdf formats.

Feb 2005: Proposed workshop on the creation of a database of European medieval and post medieval production centres, 28th and 29th April 2005.

The European production centres working group is to hold a two day workshop in Oxford at the end of April. With participants from at least thirteen countries including Albania, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Scotland, Slovenia and Wales, the intention will be to refine the project specifications prior to a submission for European funding. If anyone is interested in attending can they please register their interest as soon as possible with Derek Hall, Secretary of the Working Group at dhall@suat.demon.co.uk on the understanding that places are limited.

Jan 2005: Newsletter 50 is now online, and details of the 2005 Conference, with advanced booking form and discount can be found here.

Sept 2004: Please note that the East Midlands and North-East Regional Group meeting which was to be held on 2nd October in York has been cancelled.

July 2004: added a new photo gallery for conference pictures, including some of the recent conference in Winchester and the 2001 Edinburgh meeting. A page on the newly published Medieval Ceramics Vol. 25 is available here. Also publication sales forms updated and contact information revised following the AGM.

May 2004: Preliminary Programme and booking form for the 2004 Conference now available. Newsletter 48 now published. News of a forthcoming Regional Group Meeting in York.

March 2004: The Ceramics and Glass collections of the Museum of London is now opening to the public for the first time since being relocated to its resource centre in Hackney (Mortimer Wheeler House). The new state-of-the-art store houses ceramic and glass objects dating from 4000BC to the present day. The resource will be accessible to the public by appointment from April. To mark the opening, there is an opportunity to see the collection on an open day in March. On Saturday, 20 March, the theme will be the ceramics collection. Curators will give tours and collections management staff will be on hand to discuss the current project to unpack, install and catalogue the material and there will be a Roman pottery demonstration. The event is free and takes place between 11-1 and 2-4. Places may be limited so it is advised to book in advance via the Museum's Box Office on 0870 444 3850. See the Museum's website for more details www.museumoflondon.org.uk

Jan 2004: The new newsletter is available now, and there are also details of the forthcoming 2004 conference and call for papers.

June 2003: The website is back online. We are now with a new host because the previous one disappeared, having taken money for services which he didn't provide. Keep your fingers crossed that we don't have any more problems now.

Please note that the MPRG address has changed, and is now c/o Museum of London Specialist Services, 46 Eagle Wharf Road, London N1 7ED.

MPRG Occasional Paper 2, Minimum Standards for the Processing, Recording, Analysis and Publication of Post-Roman Ceramics, is now available. Click here for further details. If you have already bought a copy, please note that there are a few errors - an erratum slip is available here. The Appendix, a list of Ceramic Reference Collections in the UK, is available here.

The MPRG Bibliography is now online in searchable database form, at http://ntserver002.liv.ac.uk/mprg/, courtesy of the University of Liverpool.

The latest annual Journal to be published is Medieval Ceramics Volume 24 for 2000.

Newsletters are published three times a year, in April, August and December. The latest issue, is available online now.