Vagabonding through ancient England with Fred Christensen

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE RIVER THAMES

Mr. Fred Christensen brings to our October 28th meeting special insights acquired and nurtured by a military sojourn. He retired after 28 years in the US Army Re-serves (including 5 years of active duty) as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1997, and pursued a second career in academe as a history teacher, University of Kentucky and other teaching assignments as well as numerous adult educational activities.


Mr. Christensen's approach to his subject is that of a scintillating travel/archaeological journey into the past.

England's heartland river is exceptionally rich in archaeological finds. From its source in the Cotswold past gravel beds revealing artifacts of all eras, through much-excavated Lon-don, to sites like Swanscombe near the estuary, the Thames has yielded evidence of half a million years of human activity.

Fred Christensen has hiked the full length of the Thames, filming it for class presentations, and will dis-cuss its archaeological heritage in this talk. He will emphasize the area around Dorchester, south of Oxford, with artifacts and earthworks from every era of prehistory. Paleolithic hand axes, neoithic henges, Celtic hillforts and Roman towns will all make their appearances in this presentation.

The CAS will meet at 3:00 pm at the Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington. admission is free and open to the public.