Our Story
By the turn of the century, adult education was thriving in Hampshire. Don Bryan was teaching Archaeology and numbers of interested people found their way to his classes. By 2007 some of his ex-students were still keen to meet up to continue learning about the history and archaeology of the local area. It was at one of these meetings that he explained how dowsing could be one of the tools that was used to reveal secrets of ancient sites.
The group set off to find evidence of Roman roads in the area and dowsing became a regular feature of their work. By April 2008 an evening dowsing group was established, with members becoming more skilled and confident. By July they dowsed the site at St Cross where a dig was to be held. The results were fascinating and meetings became more regular.
By 2009 the group had attracted a few more members who were meeting locally and further afield, at Nursling, Lepe Beach, the New Forest and on the Stonehenge landscape. Just before Christmas it was decided to formalise arrangements and Hampshire Archaeological Dowsers was born. The inaugural meeting was held at The Otter in Otterbourne and 4 of the people who met that day are still Officers as well as founder members. They are
Don Bryan – Archaeological Director, Paul Herbert – Chairman, Gill Herbert – Secretary, and Edwina Cole - Treasurer
In 2010 the group joined the British Society of Dowsers as an affiliated group and enjoyed the first of its annual residential trips. Dartmoor proved to be interesting and great fun, laying the foundation for trips every year since except for during the Pandemic. Places visited have included Cumbria, Hadrian’s Wall, South Wales, Northumbria, Kent and Herefordshire to name but a few.
The first meeting place was the Hundred Men’s Hall at St Cross just outside Winchester. This was the venue for talks during the winter months as well as the annual Christmas fish n chip supper.
By 2012 a full colour brochure was produced advertising the activities for the year. This encouraged more members to join the group. Newcomers were, and are, always encouraged to practice their dowsing skills alongside others. A new brochure is still produced annually, alongside a newly developed web site.
About this time the group became well known nationally as Don became Chair of the Special Interest Group of the BSD Archaeology section and Edwina became Secretary. This raised the profile of Archaeological dowsing and many people enjoyed the workshops that were held in venues across the country. In 2011 Don was given the BSD Merit Award in recognition of his work in creating Hampshire Archaeological Dowsers. In 2013 the Pogson Cup was awarded to Hampshire Archaeological Dowsers for their work in raising the profile and increasing the credibility of Archaeological Dowsing. In 2015 Edwina was awarded the Avebury Cup in recognition of her outstanding commitment to the promotion and practice of Archaeological Dowsing, and in 2016 Don was awarded the Avebury Cup for his inspirational leadership of the group.
Archaeology remains the bedrock of the group’s activities and Don has organised at least 2 digs which have given members the opportunity to participate and literally get their hands dirty!
The group is much larger now…numbering 45 members at the last count. In 2023 we celebrated our 15th anniversary. 2 years on, members can look forward to a packed programme of activities including a week’s residential in North Wales.