MAY 2026 Talk
Professor Tony King gave us an excellent insight into how the Iron Age up to the Roman Invasion affected the New Forest . He covered how routes which exist today were formed and why they evolved. Nursling seems to have been an important place in these times. With a hoard of gold and silver found there. He discussed how money was minted there and how the discovery this hoard of gold and silver points to tributes paid to the Romans by local tribes. Indeed the coins discovered since those times show a pattern as to where tribes existed in the forest.A fascinating part of his talk covered LIDAR a laser based mapping tool which has enabled the discovery of many sites worthy of excavation in the forest because of its ability to survey through woods and vegetation. When the Romans invaded it appears some Tribes welcomed them and some resisted strongly . The talk provided information about how place names were formed and how Cadnam was a major crossroad still causing chaos with queues.
The dig in Trench 13 will be an interesting visit.