waveneyarchaeology@gmail.com

September Meeting – Professor Carenza Lewis – Plague Pits

For our September meeting we are very pleased to welcome Professor Carenza Lewis as our guest speaker. Carenza, who comes from the Waveney Valley, is probably best known as one of the main presenters of Time Team, the programme which over twenty years did so much to bring accessible archaeology to a wider public.

Carenza’s talk is titled “Plague Pits- New evidence for the impact of the Black Death”. The Black Death killed millions as it swept across medieval Europe and Asia, but its impact on communities has hitherto been difficult to assess due to a lack of robust contemporary data. Professor Carenza Lewis will talk about her ten-year programme of 2,000 public archaeological excavations in rural villages and small towns which has produced new evidence to show that the population overall was reduced by around 45% after the Black Death, and has also revealed exactly where its impact was most and least severely felt. She will consider the potential for this research to extend into in Europe and beyond, and show how it can involve members of the public of all ages and backgrounds.

The usual refreshments will be served. We’re working on the biscuits.

We’re meeting at Needham Village Hall, High Road, Needham, IP20 9LB on Saturday 15th September at 2.00pm. All welcome, members £2.00, non-members £3.00. All welcome.

Leave a Reply