National Archaeology Week at HM Tower of London

2008: Saturday, July 26 & Sunday, July 27
11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The Wood, Queen's Stairs, HM Tower of London EC3N 4AB

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The City of London Archaeological Society (COLAS) presents two days of free events and activities at HM Tower of London, with a rare opportunity to visit Tower Beach. This event is an extension to National Archaeology Week 2008, to take advantage of the best low tides on Tower Beach!

Throughout both days, activities -- mainly but not exclusively for children -- include exploring a spoil heap, making a mosaic, searching for environmental evidence, dating finds, learning an old coin forger's tricks, playing an ancient board game and dressing up as a Roman Briton. As well as objects generously loaned by public and private collections, the displays include many opportunities to handle real finds from excavations in London and archaeological work on the Thames foreshore.

COLAS stands include artefacts, reproductions, handling collections and interpretive material, covering a variety of topics from bones and burials, through flints and pots, to shoes and coins. The exhibits explore aspects of London life over two thousand years, from Roman costume to the 16th century kitchen, and demonstrate how archaeologists investigate the past and draw information from material of many kinds.

During the early afternoon's low tides, Thames 21 and HM Tower of London will host ‘Fun on the Foreshore’, with access to Tower Beach – provisionally, 13:00-15:00 on Saturday, and 14:00-16:00 on Sunday, weather and environmental conditions permitting.

A team of environmentalists and archaeologists will be on hand to answer your questions and identify your finds; please visit www.hrp.org.uk for more information. Sturdy footwear is recommended, a plastic bag and wet wipes may come in handy, and metal detectors are strictly prohibited!

COLAS will be in ‘The Wood’ by Queen's Stairs, facing the path on the embankment between the moat and the river, outside the Tower walls. The event is free, and does not require admission to HM Tower of London. This nationwide annual celebration of archaeology in action is coordinated by the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) and its Young Archaeologists' Club, with activities at museums and heritage centres all over the country. Most of this year's events are scheduled for July 12-20; visit the National Archaeology Week site for more information.

This weekend at the Tower is scheduled to coincide with low tide at Tower Beach, which allows about two hours' of beachcombing around the middle of the day. This is the only time of the year when the public are allowed onto this stretch of the foreshore (once the City's own unlikely Lido, but now a carefully secured Crown Property), a holiday enjoyed by adults and children alike.

The Chairman of the City of London Archaeological Society, Rose Baillie, has written an accessible short History of the Children's Beach at The Tower of London, which will be available from the COLAS stall on the day.

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