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Snapshot of the Open Day at Wickham Market

Date Written

26 June 2025

Author

Niki Wachtel

Projects

Sizewell C,
A mother and son sat at a table colouring in activity sheets

On the 14th of June, OCA hosted an Open Day to showcase our excavations at Wickham Market. The day was filled with engaging opportunities, including viewing artefacts from the site, informational boards, and short videos from the excavation, as well as a chance to speak with Sizewell C’s artist in residence, Les Bicknell, about his thought provoking work and hands-on experiences with replica finds and activities for all ages. Many fantastic photos were captured throughout the day, which can be seen here for a glimpse into the excitement of the day’s events!

Photo of a young girl digging through a sand pit activity
A young explorer digging for artefacts in our sand pit activity.
Photo of a young boy wearing a Roman soldier replica outfit
Getting a feel for Roman battle wear with our replicas.
Photo of OCA staff members happily speaking with Sizewell C's artist in residence at a display case
Les Bicknell enjoying a chat with Hadley Sharman and Liberty Goldspink.
A photo of a mother and son working together to put together pieces of broken pottery
Family teamwork piecing together some broken pottery.
Photo of an OCA staff member and visiting members of the public leaning over a display case looking pottery inside the case
BJ Ware pointing out some of the fantastic pottery found on site.
Photo of a young boy wearing a replica Roman helmet
Deciding exactly which Roman helmet he might prefer for his next adventure!
Photo of an OCA staff member showing a visitor replicas from next to a display case
Jake Clarke explaining how we identify artefacts from site.
Photo of a young girl and her father sitting at a table and putting together pieces of a broken pot
Piecing together the puzzle of our broken pottery activity.
Photo of an OCA staff member standing behind a display table and speaking to a family
BJ Ware expanding on our excavations and discoveries with visiting families.
Photo of Sizewell C's artist in residence speaking to a visitor while they look at his display on future archaeology
Les Bicknell and visitors imagine the future of archaeology and what that might look like.
Photo of an OCA staff member speaking enthusiastically with a visiting member of the public
Hadley Sharman sharing the excitement of our excavations.
Photo of an OCA staff member leaning in to look at a display case of artefacts with visitors leaning in to look at them.
Niki Wachtel discussing artefacts from recent excavations.
Photo of a young girl trying out writing on a replica wax writing tablet
Using Roman tools from our replicas to learn about their use, first hand.
A photo of an OCA staff member speaking with visitors about a display case of artefacts
Kendall Gammon answering questions about our work.
Photo of a young girl sitting and looking at a piece of pottery she found in a sand pit activity
Making an exciting discovery from within our sand pits!
Photo of OCA staff members laughing with a visitor as he shows them photos on his phone in front of a display case
Liberty Goldspink and Niki Wachtel sharing in the joy of what we’ve uncovered.
Photo of a young boy sitting at a table and piecing together pieces of a broken pot
Sorting through our broken pottery to see what fits.
Photo of an OCA staff member smiling as she speaks with a family from behind a display case
Having a cheerful conversation with Indie Jago.
Photo of a family sat down and digging in a sand pit together
Getting a hands-on feel for archaeology and troweling in the sand!
Photo of three OCA staff members sitting at a table and colouring in activity sheets
Rosalind Davidson, Liberty Goldspink and Emilia Hawthorne, having fun designing their own Roman coins and villages.
OCA staff member showing visitors replicas and local handling finds
Rosalind Davidson showing our replicas and local handling finds.
Photo of a mother sitting down watching her son dig through a sand pit activity
Assessing some of the artefacts discovered in our sand pits.
Members of the public holding replicas and talking with an OCA staff member about related artefacts
Enjoying a hands-on comparison of our replicas with artefacts from site.
A photo of a pair of families digging in a sand pit activity
Families exploring our sand pits together, to see what they find!
Photo of a young boy speaking to an OCA staff member in front of a display case
Sharing interests and getting insights from Hadley Sharman.
Photo of an OCA staff member looking at a table of replicas with a family
Rosalind Davidson relating our replicas to what we’ve found during our excavations.
Photo of an OCA staff member speaking to a visitor in front of an information board
Liberty Goldspink talking through what we’re finding.
Photo of an OCA staff member sitting next to a sand pit activity looking surprised at a young girl who also looks surprised while she holds an item from a sand pit
Finding surprising artefacts appearing in the sand pits!
Photo of OCA staff members speaking to two visitors from behind a display table
Hadley Sharman and Indie Jago highlighting some of the details of our findings.
Photo of a visitor reading an information board
Taking in some of the informative boards that explain what we’ve learned from our excavations.

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