New group launched for aspiring archaeologists

Derek Bilston decided to start one during last year’s lockdown as there aren’t any in the area.

He said: “There will be research and field walking and excavation. I enjoy getting out and about in the countryside and exploring and finding things on or in the ground.”

The group currently has 15 members and will be exploring the area in and around Petworth including Midhurst.

He said: “My interest in archaeology goes back a long way. In the 1970s it was fossil collecting where I lived in the Midlands.

“Then in the 1990s I took up archaeology on an amateur basis and volunteered on a local dig on a Roman site near Litchfield.

“I also helped out doing some geophysics at Wroxeter Roman city near Shrewsbury, using the latest Ground Penetrating Radar.

“And I have carried out an historical and archaeological survey on my own at an historic church in Cornwall, using various equipment, since the 1990s.”

Current membership is £10 for the year.

For more information, visit www.petwortharchaeologysociety.com