Hendon and District Archaeological Society (HADAS) is an amateur archaeological society based in the

London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London boroughs, London borough in North London. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It forms part of Outer London and is the largest ...

, England, and is registered as a charity with the UK

Charity Commission , type = Non-ministerial government department , seal = , seal_caption = , logo = Charity Commission for England and Wales logo.svg , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , ...

(Registration number 269949).

History

HADAS was founded in 1961 by Themistocles Constantinides to investigate the Saxon origins of

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

and since has grown to over 150 members covering the whole of the London Borough of Barnet, and addressing all archaeological periods. Its two declared objectives are to undertake archaeological and historical research, and education for the public benefit, with particular reference to the London Borough of Barnet.

Archaeological activities

The society has been active in many excavations and other fieldwork in the Borough of Barnet and surrounding areas, the results of which are published in the Society's Journal and newsletters, or published in books such as ''A Place in Time – The London Borough of Barnet up to c.1500'' (). The first excavation in 1961 was at the ruins of Church End Farm, near the parish church of Hendon St Mary's. Further excavations have included the West Heath Mesolithic camp site at

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, Roman Hendon, medieval

Chipping Barnet Chipping Barnet or High Barnet is a suburban market town in north London, forming part of the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is a suburban development built around a 12th-century settlement, and is located north-northwest of Charing Cr ...

, and the Roman site of Sulloniacis at

Brockley Hill Brockley Hill, Stanmore, is an area of high ground on the outskirts of North London, England. The hill, which rises to above sea level, is traversed by the A5 road. It follows the course of the Roman road known as Watling Street. The hill is ...

, a centre of Roman pottery production.Museum of London “A Research Framework for London Archaeology”, 2002, Page 10

/ref> With the introduction of the UK Government's PPG 16 (Planning Policy Guidance 16: Archaeology and Planning) in 1990, the opportunities for amateur societies to undertake invasive archaeology, such as excavations, reduced greatly and so the Society has developed its use of non-invasive techniques such as ground resistivity analysis, and expanded its activities towards its other stated goal, that of education.

Educational activities

A training programme was created in 2003 in association with

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public university, public research university, located in Bloomsbury, London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the federal Universit ...

, University of London, in the area of post-excavation analysis. The first instance of this was run under the title “Post-Excavation: Analysis of materials from the Ted Sammes archive”, and resulted in a book published in 2006 in association with Birkbeck College and the

Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall, London, Gui ...

entitled ''The Last Hendon Farm: The archaeology and history of Church End Farm'' (). This book won a commendation at the British Archaeology Awards (BAA) in 2006 in the section for the Pitt-Rivers Award for the best project by a volunteer organisation. The latest course in this series is entitled “Looking at Finds – A Practical Course in Post-Excavation Studies”, and is tutored by Jacqui Pearce BA, FSA, MlfA, of the Museum of London Archaeological Service (

MoLAS MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) is an archaeology and built heritage practice and independent charitable company registered with the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA), providing a wide range of professional archaeological servic ...

). Under the UK Government's Equivalent or Lower Qualification regulations (ELQ) the cost of providing this course through Birkbeck College would have increased significantly and it is now provided independently by HADAS. In April 2011 HADAS and Jacqui Pearce were jointly awarded the

Ralph Merrifield Ralph Merrifield (22 August 1913 – 9 January 1995) was an English museum curator and archaeologist. Described as "the father of London's modern archaeology", Merrifield was a specialist in the archaeology of both Roman London and magical pra ...

Award for London Archaeology for this course by LAMAS (London and Middlesex Archaeological Society). Training excavations are performed for local schools, such as Hendon School and St Mary's CoE High School, Hendon, with the aim of introducing archaeological concepts and skills to young people. These excavations are operated in conjunction with the Widening Participation Initiative of

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, University of London (UCL), and took place either in the school's own grounds or in those of the

Church Farmhouse Museum Church Farmhouse Museum was in a Grade II* listed 17th-century farmhouse in Hendon, north London, in the London Borough of Barnet – the oldest surviving dwelling in Hendon. The museum had two period rooms, a period kitchen and scullery, two ...

in Hendon, a facility that has now closed. Barnet Council voted to withdraw funding from Church Farmhouse Museum, as well as Barnet Museum, from April 2011. The council's cabinet met on 13 December 2010 and approved the budget for 2010/2011 which included this proposal. There was a period of public consultation up to 17 January 2011, followed by a final recommendation by the Cabinet in February, as a result of which the museum closed on 31 March 2011. A programme of monthly lectures on archaeological or historical topics is open to the public. Given by external subject-matter specialists, these take place on a Tuesday at Avenue House, East End Road,

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...

, N3 3QE. HADAS also participates in the

Council for British Archaeology The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) is an educational charity established in 1944 in the UK. It works to involve people in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and futu ...

’s annual

Festival of British Archaeology The Festival of Archaeology is a fortnight-long festival coordinated by the Council for British Archaeology (CBA). It is an annual UK-wide festival, during which events take place across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. History The ...

, designed to stimulate public interest in archaeology, usually providing an active demonstration for the public, such as in 2009 a demonstration of Roman cookery techniques and kitchenware.Council for British Archaeology
/ref> In 2010, the HADAS contribution to this festival was an excavation in the grounds of Church Farmhouse Museum, Hendon, and the survey and excavation of a

second world war World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

public air-raid shelter and bunker complex in Sunny Hill Park, Hendon, in conjunction with Subterranea Britannica.

References

External links

HADAS website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendon And District Archaeological Society History of the London Borough of Barnet Clubs and societies in London Archaeological organizations Public archaeology Archaeology of London Organisations based in the London Borough of Barnet