A DAY OF talks and lectures will summarise the findings of the People of the Heath excavations and hear theories and conclusions about the Bronze Age people who lived in the area.
Overseen by Petersfield Museum, the project focussed on the Early Bronze Age burial mounds, or barrows, on the Heath.
These date from between 2,200 and 1,500 BC, but also uncovered were scores of earlier stone age artifacts, such as flint arrow heads.
A museum spokesman said: “Petersfield Heath has one of the most impressive and diverse barrow cemeteries in south-east England, boasting at least 21 monuments representing five or six different types.
“Six seasons of excavation into them has yielded exciting results relating to burials, monument forms and the contemporary environment.
“Also investigated was a rich Mesolithic (stone age) site on the Heath.
“This had not previously been examined archaeologically.”
The four-year project has generated new data and ideas about the local Mesolithic and Bronze Age populations, added the spokesman.
Now those leading the excavations, and related experts, will be presenting their views on the findings during the all-day conference in the Festival Hall.
The spokesman said: “Themes to be covered range from thoughts on the value of the project for local communities, including school children, to detailed insights into the structures of barrows.
“The contents of burial urns found in the Heath barrows and the significance of the intriguing grave goods from the Heath, will also be topics for discussion.
“And then beyond the local area, to broader considerations of barrows, fields and environments across the Bronze Age landscape.”
This includes the Rother Valley, and also areas of the South Downs National Park which were recently surveyed by air, which revealed Stone Age and Bronze Age field works, and even potential settlements.
The spokesman added: “This conference gives everyone the opportunity to hear not only about these local discoveries, but also about contemporary landscapes in Wessex, southern England and across the water in Holland.”
Knowledge of prehistoric archaeology is not essential as the conference on Saturday, March 24, from 9.30am to 5.30pm, is for everyone who would like to learn more about early communities in the region.
Although entry is free, those interested in going are urged to book in advance as places are limited.
For more information about the programme, and to reserve a place, visit the project’s website at: www.peopleoftheheath.com for further details.