Portable Antiquities Scheme finders win recognition at Dorset Archaeological Awards.

Date Published: Wednesday 2nd May 2007 Author: CAHT

Three amateur archaeologists and metal detector users have been placed second in the Dorset Archaeological Awards. The awards are made by the Dorset Archaeological Committee to give recognition to a wide range of projects and individuals in the county. First prize (the Cecil Colyer bowl) was awarded to Christopher Dalton for his three volume publication The Bells And Belfries Of Dorset.

The runner-up place was awarded to John and Verena Harper, together with Denise Parsons, who have been searching land at Compton Abbas for many years. Through metal detecting and surface collection they have retrieved flint, pottery, coins and metalwork dating from the Mesolithic (around 8300 BC) through virtually all periods and into to the 20th century. They have recorded their finds through the local Finds Liaison Officers (Dr Naomi Payne and Ciorstaidh Hayward Trevarthen) and have generated 146 records on Portable Antiquities Scheme database so far. They have a keen desire to discover more about their local area, to record what they unearth and to share the information with others.

Dr Bill Putnam, chair of the judging panel, outlined all the nominations for the award and explained what a difficult task the judging panel had had due to the generally high standard of the entries.

The awards were presented by HRH the Duke of Gloucester in a ceremony held at Sherborne Castle on Friday 27th May. The Duke was impressed by the range of projects represented in the eight nominations.

Contact: CAHT info@finds.org.uk 0207 323 88611