"Scratch the surface of Gloucestershire and you will find ancient Rome". Such is the claim of local historians and archaeologists and from the wealth of research carried out in the county it seems they may well be right.

Gloucester itself began life as a fortress at Kingsholm and then moved to what is now the city centre. Land around was granted to retired Roman soldiers and the Roman town of Glevum developed. Nearby Cirencester (Corinium) was one of Britain's largest Roman towns. These were only the high points of the Roman presence in the county for it is also well endowed with villa-farms, rural settlements, and with agricultural and industrial sites.

For people with an interest in the past (not just the Roman period, but the prehistoric, medieval and later periods as well, indeed up to the 19th century), the Gloucester and District Archaeological Research Group (GADARG) provides a focus. Established in 1967, it is over two hundred strong, composed of amateur (independent) and full-time archaeologists and local historians. Over the years, members have helped to research and record many sites of historical interest in Gloucestershire.

Excavation is part of what the Group does, but a lot of research work is put in before actually getting down to digging. There has to be prior evidence and this is obtained by various means, particularly aerial photography and fieldwalking, looking for pottery and scatters of building stone on the ground (usually after a field has been ploughed). If the site can be identified in local records, so much the better.

That's when the hard work begins. Sometimes it's necessary to go deep to recover evidence of early periods - as much as 4 metres in the centre of Gloucester, but much less on the Cotswolds where ploughing is already destroying valuable evidence. Working on a 'dig' is a very sociable activity. It can be an odd mix - hard shovelling to careful trowelling, painstakingly recovering fragile pieces of glass or pottery; of course as work proceeds the features revealed are carefully recorded, drawn and photographed. Then follows the work of analysing the structural evidence, documenting finds and finally of publishing a detailed report.

GADARG organises its own fieldwork projects such as Restivity Surveying and fieldwalking. As well as this, members are sometimes welcome at 'digs' organised by other organisations, including Time Team.

However, the Group’s interests not only cover archaeology, but local history as well. A project with which members have been involved is transcribing the 19th century Tithe records held at the County Record Office. These old documents have been used to produce accurate maps of individual parishes in the county showing all the old field names, buildings, mills etc. as they were in the 1840’s. Apart from being of general interest, this information is the basis of further local history research. Other activities of individual members included the surveying of old buildings by detailed drawings and photography.

In the winter months there are meetings in both Gloucester and Cheltenham on a wide range of archaeological and local history topics. These provide, for new and old members alike, the opportunity to learn more about the past. Visitors are always welcome at these meetings. In the summer there is a programme of visits to sites of historical and archaeological importance.