MBArchaeology

MBArchaeology Community Archaeology, Education & Research
South-West Wales / East Midlands

MBArchaeology is an Affiliate Member of the Council for British Archaeology and is run by consultant archaeologist Dr Matthew Beresford, specialising in Community Archaeology, Education & Research. Based in Nottinghamshire / Derbyshire, MBArchaeology offers educational talks, walks, workshops and courses on a whole variety of archaeological topics in both Community and Family Learning, Adult Educa

tion and with specialist groups. We also provide project design and support, training and supervision in archaeological field methods including surveying, planning, recording, excavation and finds analysis & interpretation. At present, we work with organisations including Derbyshire County Council, University of Nottingham, University of Leicester, Creswell Heritage Trust, Workers’ Educational Association, Bright Ideas Nottingham, Lincoln University, Embrace The Past and Bolsover District Council.

Home Education Archaeology SessionsCome and join us as we explore Ice Age hunters, Roman gladiators, Viking raiders, Neo...
15/05/2026

Home Education Archaeology Sessions

Come and join us as we explore Ice Age hunters, Roman gladiators, Viking raiders, Neolithic tomb builders and Medieval knights.

Learn about the past, handle artefacts, visit local sites and make new friends!

Sessions run in 5-week blocks on Tuesdays 10am - 12noon in Cardigan.

Next block starts 9th June.

£60 per child with a 50% reduction for siblings.

Email us at [email protected] to book your place.

ONLY THREE FAMILY SPACES LEFT NOW!

Just finished the Online Archaeology Lecture for May - 'Stone Circles of the Peak District".It explored several Late Neo...
13/05/2026

Just finished the Online Archaeology Lecture for May - 'Stone Circles of the Peak District".

It explored several Late Neolithic & Bronze Age circles including Arbor Low, Stoke Flat, Wet Withens, Doll Tor, Nine Ladies and the Barbrook circles.

Pictured is a field visit to Barbrook II circle with an adult ed group a few years ago.

Pulling all this research together showed that most of the above are embanked, stone settings feature 10ish stones and all are 0.5m or less in height except one stone at each which is twice as big (1m - 1.1m) and this is aligned S-W - the Midwinter Solstice sunset.

Next one in June is "Stonehenge: A Great British monument?" on Weds 17th June, 7pm:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/mbarchaeology-78481087773

Home Ed Archaeology - Prehistoric Pots..................................This week is our last session of this block, and...
12/05/2026

Home Ed Archaeology - Prehistoric Pots
..................................

This week is our last session of this block, and we finished off our prehistory topic by learning about and making our own pots!

Pottery was introduced to Britain around about 6000 years ago ( 4000BC ) at the start of the Neolithic.

Pots had round bottoms, and either no or limited decoration. They seem to have been produced and then purposefully broken to insert sherds into pits, ditches and tombs.

By 3500BC, new styles had appeared, with flat bases and more elaborate decoration.

Our group explored these forms and shapes, and had a go at making their own, decorating them however they chose.

Some cracking examples to round off the sessions!
......................................

The next 5-week block starts in Cardigan on Tues 9th June (we meet 10am - 12noon) and we will be exploring Romans & Vikings.

There are 3 family spaces opened up on these - it's £60 for the 5-weeks, with a 50% discount for any siblings.

Email [email protected] to book a place!

Our brand new Bluestone Archaeology Walks started today, and the weather was kind to us!The walks are circular, starting...
09/05/2026

Our brand new Bluestone Archaeology Walks started today, and the weather was kind to us!

The walks are circular, starting and ending at the Brewery, and are around 4 miles / 4.5hrs long (easy going, couple of uphill bits, couple of stiles, lota of stops to talk about the sites & archaeology).

They explore the importance throughout prehistory of Carn Ingli, the ancient woodland at Ty Canol, the Neolithc "portal dolmen" of Pentre Ifan, burial mounds, standing stones, field systems, enclosures and ideas around Stonehenge & the Preseli Bluestones.

The walk finishes with a complimentary pint back at Bluestone 🍺

There are now TWO SPACES opened up for the next walk on 13th June, FOUR SPACES for July (4th) and TWO SPACES for Aug (8th).

The final walk of the season is 5th September, with 6 spaces left.

For more info or to book on email [email protected]

St. Non's chapel - new and old.The new one was built in the 1930s, but even for a pagan it still feels quite soothing an...
08/05/2026

St. Non's chapel - new and old.

The new one was built in the 1930s, but even for a pagan it still feels quite soothing and spiritual somehow.

The old chapel was built at the side of the holy well, supposedly the site where Non gave birth to David (St David) in AD500 in the middle of thunder storms.

Obviously the chapel is now ruinous but the well is still well maintained (no pun intended!) - see my previous post for pics.

The whole complex is such a great place to visit with amazing views to sea and over to Skomer, and is definitely intriguing - id guess there is some earlier, pagan archaeology to the site as AD500 is very early for a Christian well (was it adopted from an earlier pagan one?) and there are a few albeit small standing stones in the same field as the old chapel...

Field trip out to the Neolithic portal dolmen of Gwal-y-Filiast yesterday with our Carmarthen Home Ed group.We explored ...
07/05/2026

Field trip out to the Neolithic portal dolmen of Gwal-y-Filiast yesterday with our Carmarthen Home Ed group.

We explored the idea of death & burial, how and why the monument may have been built, it's possible reference in the Mabonogion and the landscape it was built in.

Another 5-week block of Home Ed Archaeology starts on 10th June (10am - 12noon) in Carmarthen.

We have space for ONE more family if you fancy joining up.

We also run the sessions in Cardigan on Tuesdays (same times) starting 9th June - we have TWO family spaces available for these.

Contact us via DM or email [email protected] to book on

MAES HOWE DRAGON MUGFor several years, i ran a Norse-inspired brand combining fitness, culture and heritage.As part of t...
06/05/2026

MAES HOWE DRAGON MUG
For several years, i ran a Norse-inspired brand combining fitness, culture and heritage.

As part of this, i hand-carved and burned horns - this was my tribute to the "dragon" motif carved into the wall inside the Neolithic tomb of Maes Howe on Mainland Orkney.
The image is believed to have been carved sometime in the 12th century, by one of the Norsemen who broke into the tomb - anyone who knows the site will be familiar with the runic inscriptions.
The Vikings referred to the site as "Orkahaugr", and famously left their markers behind in the tomb.
Although said to be a dragon, no one really knows what it depicts - some say a lion, others a wolf - but as we know the Norsemen were on their way to fight in the Crusades, a dragon seems the most likey explanation (think of the broadly contemporary St. Michael and St. George depictions).
Also added a bind rune in honour of Thor 💪⚒⚡

Last week with our Carmarthen Home Ed group we explored the Neolithic period, looking at the introduction of pottery and...
04/05/2026

Last week with our Carmarthen Home Ed group we explored the Neolithic period, looking at the introduction of pottery and farming, tombs for the dead and henge monuments.

The kids then had a go at building their own, which they named TatwsHenge (TaterHenge) 😂

The purpose of using potatoes was to mimick the sarsens of Stonehenge, which were brough to site and then shaped in order to fit.

Some very creative henges here we're sure you'll agree!!

We will be running this session again in the morning with our Cardigan group...

Replica crofters houses at the Museum of Island Life, Isle of Skye.
03/05/2026

Replica crofters houses at the Museum of Island Life, Isle of Skye.

Our Online Archaeology Lecture for May is "STONE CIRCLES OF THE PEAK DISTRICT"Wednesday 13th May, 7pm GMT"Join award-win...
28/04/2026

Our Online Archaeology Lecture for May is

"STONE CIRCLES OF THE PEAK DISTRICT"

Wednesday 13th May, 7pm GMT

"Join award-winning archaeologist Dr. Matt Beresford as he explores the many & varied prehistoric stone circles of the Peak District.

From the complex landscape of Stanton Moor, to the miniature circle of Doll Tor, we will consider the placing in the landscape, construction, alignments and archaeology of several of the enigmatic monuments set across the hills and valleys of the Derbyshire Peak."

Details here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/stone-circles-in-the-peak-district-tickets-1985908817733?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/mbarchaeology-78481087773

Aprrox. 45mins - 1hr plus Q&A at the end.

ALL TALKS ARE RECORDED FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT ATTEND LIVE - SIMPLY PURCHASE A TICKET AND THEN EMAIL [email protected] AFTER THE EVENT HAS FINISHED TO GET THE VIDEO LINK.

Home Ed ArchaeologyA few images from today's field trip exploring Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and landscape archaeology ...
28/04/2026

Home Ed Archaeology

A few images from today's field trip exploring Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and landscape archaeology at Newport Sands, and the Neolithic portal dolmen of Pentre Ifan.

This was with our Cardigan Home Ed Archaeology group, which meet Tuesdays 10am - 12noon.

We have two spaces opened up for our next 5-week block of sessions, starting 9th June.

Contact us via [email protected] for more info / to book on!

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