Who We Are & How We Started The Barrow Archaeology Group is a community-led initiative based in South Derbyshire. The project was set in motion in January 2026 by a core committee of six. Four of us are actively involved in archaeology in various forms, bringing a deep shared passion for local history. Crucially, across all six committee members, we bring a rich mix of background experience, business knowledge, and professional skill sets. This diverse capability allows us to manage and run a well-rounded community project that effectively covers all the bases—from fieldwork and site recording to project administration and public outreach.
A central inspiration for forming the group was to build directly upon the outstanding foundations laid by the previous local history research group, whose work you can read about on their pages. We wanted to pay homage to their extensive documentary research and historical work by adding a hands-on, physical element—combining their groundwork with active field investigations.
Today, we bring together local residents, families, and enthusiastic volunteers to investigate over 1,500 years of village history beneath our feet—from garden test-pit excavations to geophysical resistivity surveys across the landscape.
What We Hope to Gain Our primary goal is to foster community pride, connection, and a deeper understanding of our shared past through accessible, hands-on archaeology. By training local volunteers in soil handling, recording techniques, and artifact identification, we aim to empower everyone—regardless of prior experience—to contribute directly to original historical research.
Looking to the Future As we continue to process and analyse artifacts alongside specialists, we are working toward presenting our discoveries back to the community through local showcase events and detailed dig reports. Moving forward, we aim to expand our research with advanced training in geophysical surveying and stratigraphic excavation, maintaining our momentum as we prepare for our next major community dig event.
