One of his first acts was to put down the notorious 'reivers' or brigands who were terrorising the borderlands between the two countries, and in the following centuries, peace gradually brought prosperity. This process has been gradually revealed in the stunning excavations at Glenochar in Southern Lanarkshire where Tam Ward and the Biggar Museum Trust have been conducting a Bastle project since 1981, and now have revealed a complete village , or fermtoun, together with the bastle, or manor house at its centre. This is a stunning account of a stunning achievement. After many years of fieldwalking, they decided to investigate a Roman pottery scatter at Littlehay. Newark Castle Amateur work comes in many different forms.
Some projects are wholly amateur, others are amateur work under professional direction.
An outstanding example of this is the work at Newark Castle. The castle is one of the most spectacular castles in the Midlands, but the spectacular part is the great eastern wall facing over the River Trent. Behind, virtually everything has disappeared. John Samuels raised funds, and laid on a hugely popular excavation to look for the remains of the rest of the castle. It is commonly believed that the advent of 'PPG 16', the government regulations for rescue archaeology, has removed the need for amateur rescue excavations.