When farming began in Surrey

David Draper reports from the Archaeology group’s recent meeting

The Archaeology group learnt about the origins of farming in the Surrey area (photo by David Draper)

Frank Pemberton, one of the founder members of our Archaeology group and himself a distinguished archaeologist, fascinated us with a talk on Neolithic and Bronze Age farming.

Providing us with an extensive reading list and copies of some books he had used for his talk, Frank led us through a series of illustrations that allowed us to sense the the environment of people living in our area in such a distant past. He showed us pictures of the remains of settlements, pottery and tools, as well as diagrams of the distribution of our ancestors across Surrey during this long period.

We were encouraged to reflect on how farming first began in the region and rapidly became the way of life, leaving behind the days of the hunter-gatherer. The dwellings were considered as well as household items.

The talk was, as always by Frank, one which skillfully blended fact and humour. We all felt inspired to learn more, even if no one knows why these people built square houses and why they later changed them to round ones.