Current WEAG Activities
WEAG undertakes research and excavation work at many sites. These site are generally in North London and Essex. The work is carried out mainly at the request of the land owner or a museum or other organisation. As WEAG is a community archaeology group it does not undertake work which is more appropriate for commercial archaeological companies to undertake.
Currently WEAG is excavating at Copped Hall, on behalf of the Copped Hall Trust, investigating the remains of the 16th Century Tudor Mansion. WEAG has also undertaken recent investigations at other sites, including Wanstead Park and Woodford County High School; further work may be carried out there and on other sites in future.
Copped Hall and the Copped Hall Trust Archaeological Project
WEAG is currently excavating at Copped Hall, on behalf of the Copped Hall Trust, investigating the remains of the 16th Century Tudor Mansion. This is a building known as ‘Old Copped Hall’ to differentiate it from the later, still standing, new Copped Hall on the same site..
WEAG operates several excavations at Copped Hall and these are listed below.
WEAG Members Dig
The 2025 Members Dig has now concluded. WEAG will be running another Members Dig in 2026. Dates to Be Confirmed.
Please visit WEAG’s Gallery page for information on what happened during this dig.
The Members Dig is for WEAG members only, all of whom are invited. Children are welcome to attend the dig from age 8, however those under the age of 16 need to be accompanied by a responsible adult. No prior experience is needed, but PLEASE DO NOT JUST TURN UP – let us know the dates you expect to attend (email: coppedhalldigs@outlook.com).
The format combines the usual digging activities with other work to progress the accession of previous finds and input to the reporting process. Please be flexible and cooperative about the things we ask you to do: what we ask will depend on what needs to be done, and there will be opportunities for digging, recording, finds processing, etc. to suit your preferences.
We do not charge a fee for this dig, but would welcome donations to contribute towards the cost of refreshments, materials and tools which need regular renewal.
Further instructions will be sent out about a week before the dig to those that have expressed an interest in attending. We have had issues with e-mails from WEAG addresses going into spam / junk folders, particularly if they have attachments, so please check these if you don’t hear anything.
Sundays at Copped Hall
Members are welcome to join us for Sundays at Copped Hall. These volunteer days will include activities like digging, finds processing or engaging with members of the public visiting the mansion.
These volunteer days run 10:00am to 5:00pm. If you are interested in taking part, please contact us at: coppedhalldigs@outlook.com.
(Subject to volunteer availability)
Public Digs
Archaeological Experience Weekends
If you have never dug on an archaeological site and would like to experience one, then WEAG on behalf of the Copped Hall Trust Archaeological Project, run a number of Archaeological Experience Weekends for absolute beginners. These digs are open to the public during July and August and include three Archaeology Experience Weekends (for absolute beginners).
For more information see the Experience Weekends page and the reports on the Informal Reports page
Field Schools
In the past we have run two 5 day Summer Field Schools, though we are not planning to run these in the 2025 season.
For more information see the Field Schools page and the reports on the Informal Reports page
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