About Us
The South Somerset Archaeological Research Group (SSARG) was formed in May 2009 when the South East Somerset Archaeological Society (SESAS) joined the South Cadbury Environs Project (SCEP) Volunteers Association. SSARG is an Associate Member of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society and The Council for British Archaeology.
For more information about the Committee, including contact email addresses, and how to find us, please follow the links in the menu to the left.
Aim
SSARG’s Aim is to contribute to the understanding, appreciation and protection of the historic environment of South Somerset through high quality archaeological research, and increasing participation and enjoyment of the historic environment by local people.
We try to do this by running a number of field and research projects which fit into overall Research Guidelines (the link opens a pdf version of the Guidelines) and aim to complement regional priorities. All of our research projects have their own research plans, whilst findings are written up as internal documents (some of which you will find on this website), notified to the Somerset HER and where appropriate published in local journals or other publications.
We aim to enable people of all backgrounds to participate in the archaeology of South Somerset, be that by taking part in fieldwork, processing and analysing archaeological finds and information, coming to talks and workshops or visiting local sites. Many of our members have a great deal of experience in archaeology, some of it from a professional background, several of them with qualifications in archaeology and related subjects. Part of SSARG’s ethos is to share that knowledge and experience and mentor people so that they can take as full a part as they wish in the activities of the group. We are always happy to welcome students seeking experience as well as complete beginners.
Funding
SSARG is funded by membership subscription, donations and proceeds of fundraising activities. We have a close relationship with a small local archaeological company GeoFlo and are able to share and rent equipment. However, we only operate because of people’s generosity.
History
SESAS was formed in the 1950s and had an illustrious history in carrying out fieldwork in the area. SESAS members formed the basis of the volunteer workforce of the South Cadbury Environs Project (SCEP) in the mid 1990s under the direction of Richard Tabor.
SCEP went on to attract funding to employ Richard from the Leverhulme Trust (2000-2004) and the Arts and Humanities Research Board (2004-2008) in association with the universities of Bristol and Oxford. It built up a large number of regular local volunteers as well as offering fieldwork opportunities for many undergraduate and postgraduate students from a number of universities.
The SCEP volunteers formed themselves into a voluntary association and took over responsibility for the project after academic funding ceased and Richard left to pursue a new career in March 2008. It became clear that the aims of SCEPVA and SESAS were complementary and a merger took place in order to ensure the future for the members of both organisations.
The SCEP section of this website gives further information on the work and findings of SCEP so far.