Wessex Archaeology

Time Team report We are pleased to announce that the post-excavation reports for Series 18 (first broadcast in 2011) are now available to read online or download via our Time Team Reports page. This year, since Channel 4 have reorganised their Time Team website, we have also linked to the episode pages on the Channel 4 website. There it is possible to view the episodes themselves. Just click the "Watch now on 4oD" link underneath the site summary.

Wessex Archaeology are responsible for making sure that all Time Team’s trenches are properly recorded, using standard techniques, and that a report is compiled at the end of the dig, to present the results. We work closely with the people carrying out the site survey, the geophysical survey and the landscape survey, all of whose results are incorporated in our reports.

You can also follow the latest news and behind-the-scenes work from Time Team on the Time Team Digital website.

Visit our Time Team Reports page to find out more.

• Time Team

Mark WilliamsWessex Archaeology has begun working with Mid Kent College to develop a series of lectures based upon the use of science in archaeology.

The aim of these lectures is to demonstrate to science students that the traditional image of scientists in stuffy white lab coats with clip boards doesn’t always hold true. Archaeological scientists of are often out there in the field carrying out data collection in the mud and the rain. To be fair there we have our fair share of lab coats and clip boards too!

In December 2011, the first lecture, by Project Manager Mark Williams, highlighted some of the ways that the sciences are routinely used in archaeology; the purpose of the lecture was to pave the way for future more specialised talks. The lecture series will continue through 2012.

If you require any information regarding these lectures please contact Mark Williams (m.williams@wessexarch.co.uk).

Mark Williams will be presenting the preliminary results of some of work undertaken by Wessex Archaeology over the past year in a lecture on Friday 20th January 2012. This is part of the Maidstone Area Archaeological Group’s programme of presentations. Find out more about this talk.

• Wessex Archaeology Rochester

After a busy summer and autumn it’s time for a seasonal breather – and another blog post from the Sheffield team.  The past six months have seen our ever expanding field team busy with some large scale excavations and a plethora of smaller scale work, watching briefs and geophysics, over a wide area including Derbyshire, County Durham, Leicestershire and South Yorkshire.

Whilst monitoring pipeline works at Draycott, Derbyshire, our team discovered a group of cremation burials – these are probably prehistoric and we are excitedly awaiting the carbon-dating results to prove this.  At Hope Quarry, Derbyshire and Adwick-le-Street, South Yorkshire, our teams have uncovered parts of Iron Age and Romano-British field systems – although the diggers at Adwick were disappointed not to find evidence of a nearby Anglo-Saxon cemetery! Work at Conisborough, South Yorkshire examined a double ditch and bank associated with a medieval deer park, once a hunting ground for the kings of England but long since disappeared from the local landscape.

The Sheffield team are always interested in our industrial heritage. We have recently investigated part of a 19th century iron works and corn mill in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, furnaces at a glass bottle works in Mexborough, South Yorkshire, and coal mining activity at Langsett, South Yorkshire.  We’ve also completed reports on major iron works at Clay Cross, Derbyshire and Kirkstall Forge, Leeds.

Our largest sites have been large-scale wind farm projects in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Work between Easington and Saltend followed on from our geophysics earlier in the year and discovered prehistoric, Roman and medieval sites, with some interesting finds including part of a jet bracelet, a bone whistle and a decorative face from a Roman flagon (pictured).

Decorative face from a Roman flagon

Not content with our own backyard, the Sheffield team regularly works with our other offices, on projects as far flung as North Wales and West Sussex, and ranging from gravel quarries in the glorious sunshine to sites on mountainsides in the driving rain – all part of life in a busy archaeology office!

• Wessex Archaeology Sheffield

Wessex Archaeology (WA) has been re-appointed as the Government’s contractor for Archaeological Services in relation to the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 (PWA). The contract, managed by English Heritage for DCMS, runs from the 1st April 2012 to the 31st March 2013.

The principal aim of the contract is to supply advice to English Heritage, Historic Scotland, Cadw, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency to enable them to advise their respective Secretary of State, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Ireland Ministers, as appropriate, about issues of designation and licensing under the PWA 1973.

Since Spring 2003 WA has delivered the contract.  This involves fieldwork to monitor, record and investigate designated wrecks, and assess sites that may require designation.   

We are pleased to have been re-appointed, and we are looking forward to working with the heritage agencies, licensee teams and other stakeholders over the next year.

During the following weeks, we will report on some of the fieldwork undertaken as part contract over 2011.  Keep an eye out for upcoming news on Splash, our Coastal & Marine archaeology blog.

Diver investigating wreck © Crown copyright, photo taken by Wessex Archaeology

• Splash

Last Friday Gemma Ingason and Katie Card joined pupils at Baden Powell and St Peter’s Middle School to each deliver five one-hour workshops on the Tudors for Year 5 and World War Two for Year 6. 

Pupils at Baden Powell and St Peter’s Middle School enjoying the workshop

The sessions began by introducing how maritime archaeologists find out about the past by using different methods such as diving, research and geophysical survey.

Year 5 became detectives identifying artefacts from a mystery box and trying to work out who their owner was. Children examined coins, medieval pottery, wooden pulley, nit combs and a potato. They discovered the owner was a Tudor sailor. Students discussed what life would have been like on board a Tudor ship.

Meanwhile in Year 6, the children identified fragments recovered from the seabed and tried to work out what they came from. They were excited to discover that the artefacts belonged to a German aeroplane called a Junkers JU 88.

One lucky pupil from each class donned an authentic aviator’s suit. The class discussed the different parts of the uniform, including a scarf map, knife tied to the suit with a string and woolly gloves.

The children were brilliant and very much enjoyed learning about their maritime past.

Trying on an authentic aviator’s suit

• Splash

3D Laser Scanning for HeritageOriginally published in 2007, the new 2011 revision (2nd edition) of 3D Laser Scanning for Heritage has been published by English Heritage. It is available to download as a PDF from their website (other formats may also be requested). Once again this key guidance document has been published under the aegis of Heritage3D.

Wessex Archaeology are pleased to have supplied three case studies to the 2nd edition: Tamworth Castle, Sandsfoot Castle and Wakehurst Place.

For more information about our geomatics services, please see our geomatics pages; there is an ever growing list of case studies and more information about our techniques such as Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS).

• News

In advance of filming for the new BBC series “The Manor Reborn” Wessex Archaeology were commissioned by the National Trust to undertake a programme of archaeological investigation and recording of the Grade I listed Avebury Manor. This would provide accurate dating of the various parts of the house, and to provide a record of the house before the transformation of its interiors.

The four part series begins on Thursday 24 November on BBC One at 9pm.

Find out more about our work at Avebury Manor.

The South range at Avebury Manor added c.1601 and significantly altered 1740.

• News

Staff in Wessex Archaeology's Salisbury office are taking part in a pilot project entitled 'Operation Nightingale' to explore the potential of using archaeology as a tool in the rehabilitation of injured servicemen and women. The project is being led by Richard Osgood of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation who Wessex regularly works for on Salisbury Plain, and Sgt Diarmaid Walshe of 1 Rifles. In the first stage of the pilot Dave Norcott helped with an environmental archaeology (auger) survey on Salisbury Plain before the 11 soldiers from the Rifles visited Portway House for some practical demonstrations.

Operation Nightingale: Dave Norcott explains the archaeology of Salisbury Plain

The preliminary results of the pilot have been so encouraging that further trials are planned.

Phil Harding with participants of Operation Nightingale

Continuing our involvement in this project, we have just hosted our first two work placements from the Rifles. James and Paul have spent two weeks with us, taking part in various activities but also following their own interests. James worked with Jackie McKinley, learning about human bone, while Paul brushed up his artistic skills in the Drawing Office. Both commented on how welcome we made them feel, and they gave us excellent feedback about their time here.

Illustrating finds

This is an extremely worthwhile project and all concerned have enjoyed the experience so far. Thanks must go to those who helped James and Paul, by introducing them to various aspects of our work, and working with them over the last two weeks.

James learning about human bone with Jackie McKinley

• News

In 2008, Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Countryside Properties to excavate at Whitelands Farm, the site of the new Kingsmere development in Bicester. The results of this excavation are being published in the local journal, Oxoniensia. This year we developed teaching resources and a display about the excavation for the local school, St Edburg’s. Katie Card and Nicolas Bigourdan recently visited St Edburg’s School in Bicester to talk to the pupils about their local history. Katie tells us all about it:

“In October, Nic and I visited the school to talk to the children about the archaeology at Kingsmere Development.

“During their morning assembly we started by asking the children what they thought an archaeologist did. I went on to explain how archaeologists use different methods, such as geophysical survey and excavation, to find out about the people who lived here in the past.

Katie Card explains what archaeologists do during St Edburg's school assembly

Handling real artefacts“In their class groups, the children became archaeologists for the day. They handled objects discovered during the excavations and tried to identify them. Nic and I were on hand to give them clues. The objects included a 250,000 year old stone tool, some Roman pottery and grave goods from a Beaker burial, including a flint blade and bone toggle which are over 4000 years old.

“The day was a great success and the children enjoyed being able to handle real artefacts found near their school. We even made it into the local newspaper.”

Finds from the excavation are currently on display at the St Edburg’s School along with a leaflet and display posters. A teacher’s pack full of activities suitable for KS1 and KS2 is also available to download.

Handling, identiying and talking about the artefacts brought into the classroom

• News

Robert Key FSA has succeeded Professor Geoffrey Wainwright as the Chairman of Wessex Archaeology's Board of Directors, who has retired after seven years of duty.

Robert taught economics in Edinburgh and London between 1967 and 1983, and served as MP for Salisbury from 1983 to 2010. He was a founder Minister at the new Department of National Heritage in 1992 (now DCMS) where he was responsible for Museums and Galleries, Heritage and Archaeology, Royal Parks and Palaces and for the national lottery. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 2007.

• News

As Britain moves into another tempestuous Autumn/Winter with our staff employed on numerous wet watching briefs and muddy evaluations we thought it would be a good opportunity to report on some of the research work conducted by our staff in more exotic (and sunnier) locations around the world this year.

The Forum at Pompeii

Daniel Jackson, one of our archaeologists based in Rochester, spent part of the summer working with the Via Consolare Project, a multinational team researching the ancient city of Pompeii, Italy. The VCP have been working in Pompeii since 2005 recording and analysing two important, and often overlooked, areas of the city. This year the focus of the research was Insula VII, 6, a city block close to the main forum of Pompeii which was heavily damaged during the Second World War.

Surveying the excavations in the front rooms of two shops in Insula VII.6

Using a combination of geophysical survey, historic building recording and targeted excavation the team have been able to reveal a large amount of information about the development of the area as well as providing an important permanent record of the current condition of the remains. The research has demonstrated that although the structural remains in the area were very badly affected by the bombing the subsurface stratigraphy appears to have remained well preserved. The investigations have produced important new information regarding not only the final phase of the city, prior to the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD, but also the development and evolution of this key central area.

Wessex Archaeology is fully supportive of staff continuing academic research as it is often through this interaction between the commercial and academic communities that new techniques and technologies are developed and improved. By taking advantage of these advances in archaeological computing and fieldwork we can work more efficiently and offer innovative high tech solutions to our clients.

• Wessex Archaeology Rochester