The Archaeologist 72 - The Institute for Archaeologists

Transcription

Summer 2009
Number 72
The ARCHAEOLOGIST
This issue:
RECESSION,
HERITAGE
PROTECTION &
TREATMENT OF
HUMAN BURIALS
Implementing
the Heritage
Protection
Reforms
p18
Digging even
deeper: further
job losses in
archaeology
p20
An Advisory
Panel for the
Archaeology
of all burials
in England?
p38
C
page 19
page 26
O N T E N T S
1
Contents
2
Editorial
3
View from the Chair Gerry Wait
4
From the Finds Tray
6
The first NVQs in Archaeological Practice Kate Geary
7
Prospect/IfA careers event Kate Geary
8
HLF Workplace Learning Bursary holders: where are they now? Kate Geary and Andrea Bradley
9
IfA Special Interest Groups
10
The Jobs Information Service and the economic downturn Lynne Bevan
12
Engaging with the Historic Environment: Continuing Education and Archaeology Richard Lee
14
Heritage protection in England and Wales Alison Taylor
16
Heritage Protection in Scotland Simon Gilmour and Alison Taylor
18
Implementing the Heritage Protection Reforms: a report on local authority and English Heritage
staff resources
page 42
page 46
19
HMS Victory: the UK’s ethical and policy challenge? Dave Parham
20
Digging even deeper: further job losses in archaeology Kenneth Aitchison
21
IfA Registered Organisations and the recession Laura Schaaf
22
Out of Recession Roland Smith
24
Archaeology, the economy, and me: a view from the Diggers Forum Christopher Clarke
26
Archaeology and the demise of the Celtic Tiger James Eogan and Eoin Sullivan
28
An Advisory Panel for the Archaeology of all burials in England? Bill White
30
Burial law reform and archaeology Andrew Tucker
31
Professional Institutions beware John Hunter
32
Mortui viventes docent (The Dead Teach the Living) Charlotte Roberts
34
London’s Buried Bones: Wellcome reactions Anna Aldous and Sebastian Payne
36
Human remains, archaeologists and pagans: any common ground? Corinne Duhig
38
Bones in boxes – whatever are they for? Mike Allen
40
Worcester Cathedral: excavating human remains in a Christian context Christopher Guy
42
Is it right to excavate and study human remains? Re-examining the issues of Jewbury Sebastian Payne
44
Bioarchaeology and cultural history in Cambodia Nancy Beavan Athfield, Louise Shewan,
Richard Armstrong, Dougald O’Reilly
46
‘Known Unto God’ – excavating an Australian soldier of the Great War Martin Brown and Richard Osgood
48
Reviews Alison Taylor
53
New Prehistoric Monograph Series Michael Allen
54
New members
55
Registered Organisations and Members News
56
Obituary: Ian Shepherd Ian Ralston
Summer 2009 Number 72
1
E d i t o r i a l
Recession, heritage protection and treatment of
human burials
This summer issue of TA was originally designed to
cover three topical themes which I hoped would see
some resolution before we went to press. These
were recession and its effects on archaeological
employment; heritage protection legislation; and issues
surrounding excavation and post-excavation treatment
of human remains. In the event, heritage protection,
for which we had been most confident, will almost
certainly not go ahead in this Parliament, although
progress has been made in Scotland. Unfortunately
some of this progress is not all good, as Simon
Gilmour explains, and it demonstrates how carefully
we must watch general planning guidance for
weakening of developer-funding principles, and how
much our curatorial archaeologists deserve support.
Changing economic impacts on archaeology, which
IfA hopes to track regularly, are not a simple story
either. At least things seem to have stopped getting
worse quite so quickly and most commercial
archaeological organisations have been able to adapt
to changed circumstances, though not without pain
(see Chris Clarke, P24 for a personal perspective on
Kenny Aitchison’s figures, P20). Far worse is the story
in Ireland, where many British archaeologists have
been working. We were all aware how closely
archaeology and development were linked but
perhaps forgot how fast things could go the wrong
way. There are a few measures that individuals and
organisations can take to help survive these times, as
we have tried to show in these pages, and hopefully,
in the process, we can get a better grip on issues
such as quality publication and tackling failures in
2
Notes to contributors
legislation, for which we have not always spared
enough time. IfA will be looking at every way it can
help members in this situation, both in the immediate
and longer term.
Successive papers on aspects of dealing with human
remains were intended to explore how archaeologists
were approaching vexed issues that have driven
consultations, for example on possible reburial of
Neolithic bones from Avebury. Together, these stories
make a powerful case for studying bones, even ones
held in archives for many years and we hope they
will help inform future debate. We have just learned
from the Ministry of Justice (P30) that progress is now
being made to resolve current issues in a sympathetic
way.
Next TA will be compiled by Kathryn Whittington
and will concentrate on this year’s IfA conference, so
do contact [email protected] if
you would like to contribute an article. I will be back
in the autumn.
Alison Taylor
[email protected]
Apology
The photograph of Cosmeston Archaeology
project published in TA 71, p6, was in fact taken
by Paul Belford at a National Archaeology Week
event at Ironbridge Gorge Museum.
Contributions and letter/emails are always welcome. TA is made
EDITED by Alison Taylor,
IfA, SHES,
Themes and deadlines
with any authors, artists or photographers, please notify the editor.
University of Reading,
Autumn: IfA Conference papers
Accessed digitally, web links are especially useful in articles, so do
Whiteknights, PO Box 227
and Annual Report
include these where relevant. Short articles (max. 1000 words) are
READING RG6 6AB
deadline: 24 July 2009
preferred. They should be sent as an email attachment, which must
include captions and credits for illustrations. The editor will edit and
DESIGNED and TYPESET
Archaeology in Scotland
shorten if necessary. Illustrations are very important. These can be
by Sue Cawood
and Wales
supplied as originals, on CD or as email atttachments, at a minimum
deadline: 15 October 2009
Gerry Wait
It’s a tough time...
I am writing this while listening to Radio 4 dissect the
Chancellor’s budget. This is not improving my mood,
and I doubt that either the Budget or its immediate
aftermath, or the second of IfA’s quarterly review of
the impacts of the recession upon our profession
(p20) will have done much for our optimism. It’s a
tough time.
There is however much else to report and consider,
and much is good news too. Your Council voted to set
pay minima at inflation (we chose the Consumer
Price Index) – and this time CPI was at 3.2%. Thus we
have managed an unexpected step to improving pay
for our members relative to other sectors. However, in
a time of severe recession this will be hard to sustain
– raising pay levels while many of our members fear
for their jobs has obvious risks.
This illustrates the dilemma Council faces regularly –
how we please individual members and our
Registered Organisations. The relationship is not
always easy, and sometimes, like the pay issue, it has
potential for conflict. The problem of pay minima
continues and Council is dedicated to making as
many improvements as possible during difficult times.
Another current concern may sound boring – but it’s
not. Council and staff are now beginning to write a
‘strategic plan’ to replace the one written ten years
ago – to guide the Institute for the next ten years. We
hope to have the basis of this plan for consultation to
members at the AGM next October. It will be short
and to the point, and it is important because it will
set out both how we plan to manage in the recession,
and how we plan to develop as the recession ends
and the economy recovers.
Despite the recession we had a successful conference
in Torquay – and the sun did shine! The venue was
excellent, the food good (although indoor BBQ is a
bit odd), the bar served real ale, and the sessions
were very good indeed. Kirsten Collins and her team
in the IfA office did a superb job organising and
managing it all – a big Thank You to them all.
Gerry Wait
Chair, IfA
... much is good news too.
Delegates enjoying
a session in Torquay
digitally available through our website and if this raises copyright issues
Winter:
VIEW from
the CHAIR
resolution of 500 kb. More detailed Notes for contributors for each issue
PRINTED by Duffield
are available from the editor. Opinions expressed in The Archaeologist
Printers Ltd (Leeds)
are those of the authors, and are not necessarily those of IfA.
The Archaeologist
3
F R O M T H E F I N D S T R AY
Interacting with a professional institute – your views needed
IfA is taking part in a PARN (Professional Associations
Research Network) survey, collecting information about the
way individuals use the internet, other networks and how they
would like to interact with their professional institute. It would
also be helpful to IfA to have a better understanding of how
you would like us to communicate with you, so it would be
good if you could complete a survey that can be found at
http://snaponline.snapsurveys.com/surveylogin.asp?k=124031
248417, by 31 July.
IfA on Twitter
Following the trend set by other heritage organisations and
several IfA Registered Organisations, for those of you who
can cope with this sort of thing IfA can now be followed on
Twitter http://twitter.com/InstituteArch. We will be updating
this with news items of interest to our members.
Is England’s Past for Everyone?
2-3 October
The Victoria County History’s Heritage Lottery-funded
project, England’s Past for Everyone, will conclude in
February 2010. This conference will assess the achievements
of the project, and colleagues from heritage, education,
publishing and local government will also speak about their
experiences of promoting the historic environment to new
audiences. Topics will include outreach projects; identifying
local funding partners; and working with schools. For details
see www.EnglandsPastforEveryone.org.uk/conference.
European Landscape Convention – English Heritage Action
Plan
The European Landscape Convention (ELC), in force in the UK
since 2007, exists ‘to encourage the sustainable protection,
management and planning of the European landscape as the
context for people’s lives and as part of their common
heritage’. English Heritage’s Action Plan will co-ordinate
existing landscape work, plan for areas where more work is
needed and raise awareness of its aims within English Heritage
and the historic environment sector. It has been drafted in the
context of DEFRA’s Framework for Implementation of the ELC,
written by Natural England and English Heritage. See
http://www.helm.org.uk/server/show/nav.20574.
4
Standard and guidance for the creation, compilation,
transfer and deposition of archaeological archives
At the IfA AGM last year, this Standard and guidance
was adopted in draft form for one year. At the 2009
AGM, it will be proposed for full adoption. The draft
standard can be seen on IfA’s website. Members
wishing to make further comments can do so to
[email protected], as soon as possible.
Recording the Past: how European countries deal with portable antiquities
Monday 7 September 2009
BP lecture theatre, British Museum
This Portable Antiquities Scheme conference will widen understanding of how European countries deal with portable
antiquities and promote best practice. Questions examined will include: Is there a legal requirement for finders to report
archaeological objects? Does the state claim ownership of them? Is it permissible to search for such finds with a metaldetector or by other means? How many objects are reported each year? Do the systems in place work as well as they
could? The conference will identify the main strengths and weaknesses of different approaches across Europe. Speakers
include archaeologists from England, Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Slovenia, Hungary and
Poland.
To book, send contact details and a cheque for £15 payable to The British Museum to Claire Costin, Department of Portable
Antiquities & Treasure, The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. [email protected].
Stonehenge again
In May, Government at last announced its decision to
go ahead with new visitor facilities for Stonehenge, and
closure and grassing over of the A344 (but no changes
to the A 303 dual carriageway, for which there had
been ambitious plans). The site, Airman’s Corner, 11/2
miles west of the current visitor centre, will have
access to the Stones by a transit system or on foot. If
planning permission and funding (still an unresolved
problem) are obtained new facilities (scaled down
from original proposals) are scheduled to open in
2012. Archaeological and wildlife conservation and
the Stones’ setting will be improved by restoration of
grassland and removal of car parks and some other
services to the new facilities.
Heritage Open Days
With the sad demise of the Civic Trust (the
national organisation – local trusts continue)
English Heritage has taken over administration
of Heritage Open Days. This event, where more
than 3500 historic and unusual buildings are
open to the public for free, will take place as
planned on 10 to 13 September. There is no
information is yet available about the future of
the Civic Trust’s other responsibilities.
The Archaeologist
Festival of British Archaeology
18 July to 2 August
CBA has just launched a new website for its Festival of
British Archaeology. More than 600 excavations, guided
walks, re-enactments, demonstrations, lectures etc will
take place across Britain in this fortnight. Events can be
searched by postcode, event type and date at
www.archaeologyfestival.org.uk/whatson. Or you can sign
up to Festival e-newsletters at www.britarch.net/mailman/
listinfo/festival-news, or use the organisers’ section, with
downloadable promotional material to support event
organisers, at www.archaeologyfestival.org.uk/organiser.
Coroner for Treasure
In the Second Reading of the Coroners and Justice Bill, in
the Lords, Lord Bach, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of
State at the Ministry of Justice, announced that the Government
accepts the case for a separate Coroner for Treasure, for which
the Society of Antiquaries of London, the British Museum and
APPAG have been lobbying. Rupert Redesdale also asked for
measures to be restored to extend the obligation to report
treasure from just the finder to anyone who comes into
possession of it (a case made by the British Museum’s
experience in monitoring e-Bay), and for the coroner to have
power to require a finder to hand over a find as well as just
reporting it.
The future of archive services
Views are being sought on the Government’s proposed new policy on archives. The consultation document, Archives for the 21st
century, is a response to the challenges of the digital age and the opportunities to make archives more accessible, but with fewer
depositories. For more information see http://www.mla.gov.uk/news_and_views/press/releases/2009/Archives_consultation. The
deadline for responses is 12 August.
New Chair of English Heritage
After an interim period of less than one year when an
archaeologist, Barry Cunliffe, was left in charge of English
Heritage, a politician takes over again from 27 July. Baroness Kay
Andrews was formerly Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government. She was a policy adviser
on education, science, and social policy to Neil Kinnock, 1986
to1992, and then the founder Director of Education Extra, a UKwide educational charity created to ‘put after-school activities
and learning within the reach of every child’. In 2003, she was
appointed Government Whip in the Lords.
New ministers
Ben Bradshaw has been appointed Secretary of
State at the Department of Culture, Media and
Sport. Before entering Parliament in 1997 he was
a newspaper and radio journalist. He was made
a Minister in the Foreign Office in 2001, then
Deputy Leader of the Commons and
Environment Minister before joining the Health
team in 2007. Supporting him with responsibility
for most of our services is Barbara Follett as
Minister for Culture, Creative Industries and
Tourism. John Denham, previously Secretary of
State for Innovation, Universities and Skills,
becomes the new Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government.
5
The first NVQs in Archaeological Practice
Kate Geary
NVQs
Lindsey Buster and
Ben Jervis celebrate
On 7 January 2009 archaeologists and training
professionals gathered in Southampton to celebrate
the awarding of the first NVQs in Archaeological
Practice. These have been developed by IfA on behalf
of the Archaeology Training Forum, working with the
awarding body EDI. They have been piloted with
trainees on IfA’s workplace learning programme
placements, funded by English Heritage and HLF.
with Gerry Wait,
Chair of IfA and
Chris Daniel,
EDI Business
Development
The first NVQ was awarded to Ben Jervis who has
just completed a specialist placement in medieval
pottery with Southampton City Council and the
Medieval Pottery Research Group. Hot on his heels
Manager
were Lindsey Buster, with a placement in Historical
Archaeology with ARCUS in Sheffield and Julie
Lochrie, who has been training to be a prehistoric
finds specialist with Headland Archaeology in
Edinburgh. Julie has been kept on by Headland
Archaeology in a specialist role following her
placement while Ben and Lindsey are moving on to
do PhDs. Lindsey believes that the NVQ, which
accredits practical skills gained in the workplace,
helped her gain her funded PhD position. All three
worked hard to gain the Qualification and make the
most of the opportunities afforded by the workplace
learning programme and were warmly congratulated
by IfA and EDI representatives. Also present was
Mary Harvey who will soon complete her NVQ and
who has been training with the Nautical Archaeology
Society in Portsmouth.
As well as trainees on the workplace learning
programme, the NVQ is available to anyone working
in archaeology (paid or voluntary) and who can
gather the appropriate evidence. IfA is currently
working with a group of amateur archaeologists and
staff from the University of Manchester
Archaeological Unit to accredit skills gained through
involvement with community archaeology projects
and through local archaeology groups. Because it is
a modular, and therefore flexible, qualification, the
NVQ is also ideal for accrediting on-the-job learning
and can be adapted to accredit professional training
within archaeological organisations.
For more information about the Qualification and the IfA’s workplace learning programme, see www.archaeologists.net.
Contacts for partner organisations are
Archaeology Training Forum: www.britarch.ac.uk/training/atf.html
ARCUS: www.shef.ac.uk/arcus/
Education Development International: www.ediplc.com
English Heritage: www.english-heritage.org.uk
Heritage Lottery Fund: www.hlf.org.uk
Headland Archaeology: www.headlandarchaeology.com/
UMAU: www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/umfac/umau/
Medieval Pottery Research Group: www.medievalpottery.org.uk/
Nautical Archaeology Society: www.nasportsmouth.org.uk/
Southampton City Council Archaeology Service: www.southampton.gov.uk/leisure/localhistoryandheritage/archaeology/default.asp
Kate Geary
Training and Standards manager
[email protected]
6
The Archaeologist
Prospect/IfA careers event
Kate Geary
Some girls have all
the fun - Shona
Williams at English
Heritage, HLF
Earlier this year, Prospect and IfA ran a
two-day careers event aimed primarily at
trainees on the IfA’s placement schemes.
The event included sector specific and
general careers advice with sessions on
job hunting, applications & CV writing and
interview techniques. Given the current
state of the jobs market in archaeology,
this was a timely opportunity to brush up
on CV writing and interview skills as well
as getting some useful careers advice.
Some of the techniques and tips we
learned might be useful to others and so
are outlined below.
The general careers advice session was based around
workshops. The first looked at understanding and
evaluating the skills you already have, interpreting
the language of recruitment and understanding
recruiters’ requirements. The jargon of recruitment,
with its ‘competencies’ and ‘behaviours’, can be a bit
impenetrable but is the key to understanding what
the recruiters want. The second session looked at
how to market your skills. Recruitment panels will
want to see evidence of the skills you claim in your
application and CV, and the importance of giving
relevant recent examples cannot be stressed enough.
Applicants for any jobs need to make it easy for
recruiters to find the information they need. In most
cases, there will be many more applications that
there are jobs and nowadays recruitment panels may
have hundreds to sift through, so presenting your
application or CV clearly and concisely is crucial.
Applications and CVs should always be tailored to
the specific job opportunity you are applying for:
generic applications which do not address the
requirements of the post will be rejected. This
session was followed up with advice on interview
techniques. Selling yourself and your skills can be a
pretty uncomfortable experience but being able to
perform well at interview is a vital skill in itself.
placement in Aerial
Survey © English
Heritage
The final session looked at job hunting strategies.
Not all jobs are advertised and well thought out
speculative applications can be worthwhile. The
importance of building up your own network of
contacts was stressed, not just for finding jobs but
for developing better understanding of different roles
and opportunities and as a source of advice and
information.
Presenting yourself and your skills effectively is a
crucial tool when competition for jobs increases.
Now is a good time to think about the skills you
have and how you can sell yourself most effectively
in the jobs market.
Kate Geary
IfA Training and Standards manager
[email protected]
7
HLF Workplace Learning Bursary holders:
where are they now?
Kate Geary and Andrea Bradley
IfA’s Workplace Learning Bursaries project, funded by
the HLF, is a four-year project which has run since
January 2006. Placements for the final year are
currently being filled and IfA is seeking alternative
funding sources to keep the scheme going beyond
2010. It seems timely to review the achievements of
our placements to date and to look at where our
trainees over the past three years have ended up.
So far, the scheme has provided workplace learning
opportunities for 29 trainees at 23 archaeological
organisations including commercial practices, local
authority planning departments, museums, trusts and
national heritage bodies in England, Scotland, Wales
and Northern Ireland: 19 of those placements are
now complete.
All the HLF trainees are asked to fill in a completers’
questionnaire at the end of their placements as part
of HLF’s evaluation of the scheme, and are
encouraged to keep in touch informally to let us
know their progress. Although we don’t have
information for all of them, the majority have kept in
Frances Taylor at University of Reading, HLF placement in Graphics for Archaeology
© University of Reading
contact and have gone on to gain posts in relevant
areas of the heritage sector. Three are studying for
PhDs and found that the practical skills they gained
on their placements (bioarchaeology, historical
archaeology and medieval pottery) helped them get
the funding they needed for further study. Four of the
trainees were offered positions by their host
organisations: Oliver Russell is now HER Assistant at
Worcestershire County Council, Gemma Hudson is
Project Supervisor and Surveyor at AOC Scotland,
Julie Lochrie is a part-time Finds Officer at Headland
Archaeology and will be starting a PhD shortly, and
Mary Harvey stayed on with the Nautical
Archaeology Society.
One of our first trainees, Tessa Poller, who undertook
a Field Survey placement with RCAHMS, became a
full time Research Support Officer with the
Department of Archaeology at the University of
Glasgow, Eliza Algassar is an Archaeological
Planning and Conservation Officer at Cambridgeshire
County Council, Melanie Partlett worked as an air
photo interpreter with ARC Ltd in York before moving
to work as an HLC Project Assistant with North
Yorkshire County Council and Sarah Howard, who
undertook a placement in Conservation Management
at the Lake District National Park, was appointed to
an HER post with South Yorkshire Archaeology
Service in Sheffield.
We have received considerable positive feedback
from hosts, trainees and organisations that
subsequently employ them, showing the value of
opportunities like these. Finding funding to ensure
that IfA can keep delivering placements and,
perhaps more importantly, encouraging the industry
to adopt, value and fund the model of structured
workplace learning are challenges that now need to
be addressed.
Kate Geary
Training and Standards manager
[email protected]
Andrea Bradley
Bursaries Co-ordinator
[email protected]
8
The Archaeologist
SPECIAL INTEREST
GROUPS
Illustrators & Surveyors Special Interest
Group (ISSIG)
ISSIG has been gathering information about the
professions and careers of archaeological illustrators
and surveyors to determine what areas are of concern
for its members. A detailed survey has been
completed and analysed, and although the number of
respondents was smaller than we would have liked it
has provided interesting results for the group to
follow up. The survey will be published and available
to the membership shortly.
Over and above the expected concerns about pay
and conditions and career development the greatest
response was the need for training. There was an
overwhelming demand for advanced computer
training in both specialist areas to enhance existing
skills and to broaden experience of digital
applications and their use within an archaeological
context. Entry level training for those wishing to
begin a career in archaeological visualisation is also
lacking, as well as provision to skill the voluntary
sector. Training provision will be one of the main
areas for investigation and discussion for the group,
with the intention of both formulating training policy
and establishing courses to supplement what is
normally provided in-house. Consultation with
educational bodies and senior members of the
professions is already underway.
ISSIG has a major and increasing role in the
establishment of standards and guidelines for spatial
recording to enhance and improve the visual
archaeological record and also to ensure compatibility
of data and enable comparability between excavation
visual records. To this end finances are being sought
to write and publish an agreed set of standards and
guidelines establishing good practice.
Membership is open to anybody working in the
various disciplines producing archaeological graphics
in the broadest sense. IfA and AAI&S members may
join the group for free, while non-members are asked
to pay £5 to cover mailing costs. News of the group’s
activities can be found on the Illustration & Survey
Group section of the IfA website, or if you require
any further information contact the ISSIG Chair.
Rob Read
ISSIG Chair
[email protected]
Laura Templeton
[email protected]
01905 855419
IfA Scottish Group AGM
23 October, Glasgow
This 2009 AGM will be followed by a social event.
Meanwhile, SGIfA’s newsletter is available at
http://www.archaeologists.net/modules/icontent/inPag
es/docs/groups/NewsletterJune09.pdf
IfA Geophysics Special Interest Group
This Group is conducting research into archiving
practices, standards and guidance within geophysics.
A major part of this project is to collect information
on current practice, how geophysicists view the
wider issue of archiving, and what they would like to
see available in the future.
There is a questionnaire at
www.harewoodgeophysical.com/geosig/archival.php,
and we would very much like to have more
responses, especially from contractors. A report will
be produced from the results of this survey. This is
one of the largest consultations into geophysical
archiving practice within the heritage sector and
submissions from all countries, surveyors, curators,
academics and anyone else with an interest are
welcome (and are anonymous).
9
JIS
The Jobs Information Service
and the economic downturn
Lynne Bevan
Aitchison estimated the self-employed specialist rate
should be at least £200 per day in order to cover
travel expenses, equipment, conference attendance,
holiday provision and potential periods of sickness.
There are certainly issues which archaeologists
should be aware of before accepting such contracts.
IfA has set up a working group to look into these
issues and will be producing guidance in due course.
Meanwhile, if in doubt, contact your tax office.
Branching out – the re-enactment group Quintains and Coronels
doing a session with Kirsty Nichol at Weoley Castle Ruins,
Branching out
Birmingham. Kirsty works part time at Weoley Castle and part time
When archaeological work is scarce my
recommendation is to move into related fields.
Speaking from experience, one possible direction
involves heritage education, community history,
visitor service posts at the National Trust, English
Heritage or museums, as well as oral history, or even
costumed interpretation. Such jobs will increase your
skills as well as enhancing your CV. Unfortunately,
many heritage jobs, particularly temporary or
seasonal ‘visitor service’ posts can be very low paid.
Read the small print since there is often no sick pay
or holiday pay provision and ‘keeping visitor service
areas clean’ may extend to the lavatories. You are
heritage professionals, not professional cleaners. That
said, some of these heritage jobs are better-paid than
archaeology and may provide an enjoyable stop-gap
or even lead to a whole new career. I have certainly
enjoyed branching into such roles.
at Birmingham Archaeology as Education & Outreach Manager. She
combines continuing interests in field archaeology, especially First
and Second World War defences, with museum outreach work.
Photograph: Kirsty Nichol
available jobs has increased, so has our remit. Even
before we launched our successful email service in
2004 we decided to include all heritage-based and
related jobs, as well as research posts and
studentships.
The changing jobs market and JIS
I have worked as an archaeologist now for 21 years and
compiled the JIS bulletin for the last 18. Like most
archaeologists, I have had direct experience of
unemployment, low pay, short-term contracts and
redundancy during my career. However, rather than
dwelling on the current economic crisis and its effects
on the heritage job market, this article describes how
JIS has changed over the years and is continuing to
adapt to the challenges we are facing. I also hope to
provide a few ideas about how individuals can come
through this difficult period and remain in archaeology.
Jobs and the Bulletin
Originally the JIS bulletin was posted out to IfA
members, with all the adverts – mainly for fieldwork
– copied from newspapers and specialist journals.
We started to include paid advertisements from the
mid-1990s, introducing cheaper advertising for our
institutional subscribers. Registered Organisations are
now entitled to unlimited free advertising for all their
jobs and courses, and JIS is circulated by email to
members for free. Our adverts are now sourced from
a great range of publications and websites. As the
definition of heritage has widened and the range of
10
The IfA has fought long and hard for better pay and
working conditions in archaeology and it seemed that
last year we were finally getting somewhere. Then the
downturn led rapidly to many redundancies and job
insecurity, even in previously secure organisations.
Although the excavation side has slowed down
alarmingly, people are still advertising with us,
mainly for jobs at AIfA level and above, but recently
we have had to query and, in some cases, reject
adverts from organisations seeking to employ people
at below our minimum rates. Despite the severity of
the situation we cannot afford to drop our standards,
and neither should employers.
The downturn has also resulted in advertisements for
archaeologists to join temporary pools for
employment on an ‘as and when’ basis, a moneysaving practice taking the place of the shortest
temporary contracts. This ‘archaeological temping’
might be better than nothing, but some may find that
working for brief, intermittent periods interferes with
payment of their Job Seekers’ Allowance and other
benefits.
There has also been an increase in adverts for field
archaeologists to work on a ‘self-employed’ basis, ie
the company does not have to pay NI contributions
or sickness or holiday pay. Many people offering
specialist services, like myself, work for companies
on this basis, but we have to charge a much higher
daily rate than recent advertisements offer. Kenny
The Archaeologist
you have a passion for the subject because you will
need it to complete the three year course, which will
take even longer on a part-time basis. In terms of
personal achievement, gaining a PhD is priceless, but
do bear in mind that it will not automatically
guarantee you an academic job, as these are
increasingly few and far between.
Looking ahead
While the nature of the jobs market has changed and
things will be difficult for those in field archaeology
for two more years at least, the number of jobs we
advertise in the JIS bulletin has remained fairly
constant. The types of jobs have changed
dramatically and individuals must adapt, at least in
the short term, to take advantage of these new
opportunities while archaeological jobs are scarce.
Hone your CV. Increase your skills. Beware of low
paid work or questionable employment practices. Let
me know about your experiences and how you
would like the JIS to help you.
Lynne Bevan
JIS Editor
[email protected]
JIS
Increasing skills
Job seekers in all fields are always advised to increase
their skills. One way is to take advantage of free
courses offered by your Jobcentre Plus, particularly IT
courses. IT skills are often specified in job
descriptions particularly where report-writing or data
entry is required. Use these skills to update your CV,
adapting it for every job you apply for.
IfA Workplace Learning Bursaries (p8) and other
placements and internships provide excellent
opportunities to increase your professional skills
while gaining valuable paid work experience. You
might also consider embarking on a postgraduate
course. AHRC and other bursaries may amount to
more than an annual digging wage, especially since
they are tax free, but it is not necessarily worth
incurring debt to do a postgraduate degree, which
many archaeologists already hold, when employment
is uncertain at the end. A PGCE may be of more use
if you are interested in heritage education. This may
also be funded.
To undertake PhD study applicants must usually
already have a relevant Masters degree, but in some
cases those with equivalent experience in field, office
or lab will be welcomed. Only embark on a PhD if
11
Engaging with the historic environment:
■ Continuing Education and archaeology
Mick’s classes and the rest as they say is history,
with Time Team commencing in 1994 and attracting
a whole new clientele for archaeology. At the time
of writing, however, the Centre for Continuing
Education at Bristol will close in 2009. This follows
closure of continuing education centres at
Manchester, Reading, Cardiff, Leeds, Newcastle,
Birmingham, Durham, Southampton, Stirling, St
Andrews, and Surrey, and we may yet see further
victims.
Worcester Butts
excavation on-site
study room material.
Photograph: Richard
Engaging with the historic environment
Lee
12
Continuing Education, or Lifelong
Learning, and prior to that Extra-Mural Studies,
has a long and honourable history within our
profession. The genre followed establishment
of county societies in the 1800s, and in the
1940s archaeology and local history were
taken up by, notably, Maurice Beresford and
Alan Aberg in Leeds, Graham Webster in
Birmingham, WG Hoskins at Leicester, and
Maurice Barley in Nottingham. Since then
archaeology in the continuing education
sector has introduced many individuals to the
profession and created a large body of
research data. Yet to many it is a peripheral
area of the discipline. As with community
heritage groups, the archaeological profession
often has a blind spot when it comes to
continuing education and the work it has
produced over the last fifty-plus years.
■ Lost centres
Until the rise of professional archaeological
organisations, continuing education furnished
substantial research fieldwork. Many future
academics, professionals, and long term volunteers
got their start there and some are still involved.
The University of Bristol has the highest profile, as
the academic home of Mick Aston. It was during
his tenure at Bristol that Tony Robinson took
The closures are for financial reasons rather than
falling student numbers or lack of interest. Whereas
once universities saw continuing education as a
public service that formed part of their outreach
provision, now it must generate a profit. It is not just
a social activity for retired people; it is an active
contributor in archaeology’s contribution to the RAE
(Research Assessment Exercise) programme. To lose
this archaeological provision would be a serious
blow to sixty-plus years of research and to long-term
partnerships. Engaging with the Historic Environment,
a CBA research programme funded by English
Heritage, has therefore been set up to examine and
report on what is currently happening to archaeology
in the continuing education sector.
■ Damage to archaeology
Quite a number of students follow their academic
achievements by forming community archaeology
groups in their own areas, then undertaking fieldwork
and research. In addition, research for this EHE
project has shown that there are increasing numbers
of students in their twenties who are looking to take
accredited archaeology courses to help change career
to our discipline. This can be attested from Cornwall
to Cumbria and all points between. So, at a time
when undergraduate numbers for archaeology are
falling and there is a threat to jobs in the professional
sector, the long-established continuing education
sector is also being hit.
Potential damage is arguably greater than the threat
posed to professional archaeological organisations by
the economy: the latter will eventually bounce back,
but once continuing education centres close they are
unlikely to return. The regional void may send more
students to the Open University, whose introduction
of archaeology Distance Learning modules has
proven popular. However, local archaeology
networks, established through education, will be
severed and local fieldwork opportunities reduced.
The Archaeologist
Another loss is for students interested in the NVQ in
Archaeological Practice at their local continuing
education department.
Closure of continuing education centres at
universities across the UK threatens to damage
archaeological education at a part-time level, and it
also breaks the research partnerships that have been
built-up over many years. For our profession the
continuing education sector is a vital one: it
undertakes research that would not otherwise take
place, it is a place where new archaeologists are
recruited to the profession, and it provides education
and training for those who would not take a full-time
undergraduate degree in the subject but do want to
work in the discipline.
Engaging with the historic environment
Richard Lee
Engaging with the historic environment:
■ Community Heritage groups
Within the voluntary sector there are individuals with
experience of excavation and survey to equal many
professionals. Amateur or community groups,
sometimes linked to county societies, have been
around since the early 19th century, with Sussex
Archaeological Society and Cornwall Archaeological
Society as examples with long histories. As part of
Engaging with the Historic Environment we are
examining community groups that may have had
links with university centres for continuing education.
Traditionally there has been this link, although new
research demonstrates this is not as close as it once
was. Community archaeology is an area that CBA has
been researching recently, starting by forming the
Community Archaeology Forum (CAF) in 2006. CBA’s
research demonstrates there are now around 1200
community heritage groups across the UK, including
county societies with over 150 years of history and new
regional groups which are in the process of forming.
project may get them involved. Such people may
well not have heard of the CBA or English Heritage,
or be aware that they have a county or city
archaeologist, and so this project aims to ensure the
right links are in place so that connections can be
made. New blood is essential for archaeology, and
continuing education and community archaeology
groups have a history of bringing that to our
discipline. Without enormous contributions from
both these twin backgrounds, archaeology would not
be as we know it today.
■ Practical fieldwork
In identifying a selection of community groups to
investigate it became apparent just how many are
conducting practical fieldwork. Whether field
walking, a hedgerow survey, excavation, or recording
industrial archaeological remains, these groups are
undertaking Herculean tasks. The work is published,
often quickly, and alongside grey literature there will
often be a popular account that reaches a larger
audience. Yet, to many of our profession most of the
groups and their research can seem invisible. Having
visited fieldwork projects throughout 2008, I was
struck that they were producing work equivalent to
the professional sector, both in the field and on
paper.
Archaeology courses in continuing education 1999-2009
(Compiled by Don Henson and Richard Lee, 1999-2009)
Richard Lee
Project Officer (Continuing Education)
Engaging with the Historic Environment
Council for British Archaeology
St Mary’s House, 66 Bootham
York YO30 7BZ
http://www.britarch.ac.uk
Number of universities
Number of courses
1999/00
39
1327
2004/05
33
1124
2007/08
31
761
2008/09
22
515
A community
excavation in Roman
Worcester, in
advance of a new
library and history
centre. This work was
the community
excavation aspect of
Many of these community groups have often formed
within the last fifteen years, often in response to Time
Team. This is still a great recruiting zone for
archaeology, with many viewers thinking, ‘I’d like to
do that’, but not knowing how to, or who to contact.
Or an article in a local newspaper about an ongoing
the PPG16 project,
built into the project
design by the City
Archaeologist.
Photograph: Richard
Lee
13
Good – Little Doward Camp, Herefordshire.
In the mid-20th century this Iron Age hillfort was
planted with conifers and the earthworks became
invisible. After discussions between Herefordshire
Archaeology and the new owners, the Woodland
Trust, the conifers were felled and the monument
revealed anew. Limited fencing and a new water
supply will allow a grazing herd of cattle to help
control vegetation, and the land can return to a
traditional mix of upland pasture, managed scrub
and veteran trees for long-term public enjoyment.
Photograph: copyright English Heritage
Policy Planning Statement (PPS)
At the time of writing the final touches are
Heritage protection in
England and Wales
being put to this high-level document, which is
Alison Taylor
broad, on the lines of Councils may wish to
seen as a replacement to PPGs 15 and 16 in
England, to be supported by practice guidance.
Advice to local authorities for example will be
consider……. All being well, the document will
be out for consultation by the time you receive
TA, and there will then be three months for this
consultation. It is vital that archaeological
organisations do make their opinions heard
(IfA certainly will). The final PPS, together with
the important guidance notes (on the lines of
It is expected that councils will….) is expected
at the end of 2009. Any signs of weakening
of the developer-funding principles of the
PPGs will be resisted, and indeed substantial
improvements, especially with regard to
publication standards, conservation, storage
and display of finds, and outreach services,
will be expected. A parliamentary question by
Bad – Snodhill Castle, Herefordshire.
Since its private purchase in the 1970s this medieval border castle has
been totally neglected, with the masonry deteriorating, cracks
widening and the site swamped with invasive vegetation. Once the
focal point for a small rural community, it has become virtually
inaccessible. All efforts to engage with the owners have proved
unsuccessful. Photograph: copyright English Heritage
Lib Dem Richard Younger-Ross on 8 June
chased a date for the new PPS, and Minister
for Culture Barbara Follett assured him that a
draft would be published this summer, to come
into force early next year. We know that
politicians in both houses will do their best to
support heritage protection issues.
14
The Archaeologist
It is vital that archaeological organisations
do make their opinions heard
Heritage Protection Bill
The Draft Bill is said to be ‘fairly complete’ and we
know is supported by all parties. DCMS was seeking
a slot in the legislative programme for the next
session, but we have just learned that almost certainly
this will not happen, and therefore HPR will not be
adopted this Parliamentary session. MPs including
Richard Younger-Ross, Sir Patrick Cormack and Ed
Vaizey, Conservative Shadow Secretary continue to
press for the Bill through questions in Parliament.
Government Vision Statement
DCMS is also involved in preparing a Vision
Statement on the historic environment, for release in
September (no consultation is needed on this). A
higher-level document signed up by all Government
departments, this will cover all of Government’s
involvement with the historic environment, especially
its own estate and should be a useful guide to the
direction of Government thinking.
Pre-application and application procedures for
nationally significant infrastructure projects –
consultation
The Archaeology Forum (TAF), including IfA, has
responded to the consultation on a suite of draft
regulations and guidance documents that set out the
procedures for pre-application consultation for
infrastructure projects. Unfortunately, cover of
provisions for the historic environment is poor and
TAF considers that it requires detailed revision to
align it with requirements even of current planning
guidance. The new system should, if anything, be
more rigorous than the one that it supersedes. All
nationally important infrastructure projects should
require an Environmental Impact Assessment, and all
types of projects will require provision for the
investigation, evaluation and protection of the
archaeological interest in a proposal site and of all
historic assets (designated or non-designated) that
would be affected by the development. The Forum’s
members urge that the pre-application and
application procedures should include proper
recognition of the full extent of historic environment
issues that need to be taken into account, in
accordance with current planning guidance in PPG
15 and 16, given the major impact that major
infrastructure projects are likely to have on heritage
assets.
Sites at risk in England
A new report by English Heritage shows that, despite
numerous management programmes which have
reduced the number of Monuments at Risk by almost
900 since last year, they are still almost six times as
likely to be at risk as Grade I or II* buildings.
Although progress since last year has shown the
benefits of improving information, raising awareness
and engaging in dialogue with owners and
managers, there is still a long way to go, and this
will be made much more difficult in the current
economic climate. A full list of England’s scheduled
monuments most at risk from decay, neglect and
pressure from farming and development, published in
English Heritage’s Heritage at Risk Register 2009,
highlights the challenges of saving archaeological
sites that do not generate an income. For details on
these threatened monuments see the new Heritage at
Risk website www.english-heritage.org.uk/risk.
Wales: the value of the historic environment
The Welsh Heritage Minister, Alun Ffred Jones has
launched the Welsh Historic Environment Position
Statement covering 2008. Published by Cadw, the
Statement gives figures which highlight economic
and social impacts of the historic environment.
Figures include the statistic that 30 staffed Cadw sites
generate visitor expenditure of some £41.8m, whilst
Townscheme Partnership and Townscape Heritage
Initiatives, which promote job creation and
regeneration of run down historic towns through
conservation, were offered almost £800,000 by Cadw
in 2007-08 and levered in a further £52m. For more
information see http://wales.gov.uk/news/topic/
culture/2009/090507historic/?lang=en
Alison Taylor
[email protected]
15
HERITAGE PROTECTION IN SCOTLAND
Simon Gilmour and Alison Taylor
Scottish Planning Policy consultation
The Scottish Government Directorate for the Built
Environment invited responses to its draft Scottish
Planning Policy (SPP) paper by 24 June 2009. The
document is not considered to be a review of
established policy – merely a streamlining and
simplification process bringing together previously
separate areas of community engagement, sustainable
development, seventeen subject policy statements, and
a statement on the outcomes of the planning process.
The Scottish Government stressed that there should be
no change to existing policy, and no change to the
outcomes of the planning process as a result of the
removal of what it sees as duplication across different
documents. Of the subject policies, several impact on
the historic environment to some degree, but the main
issue for archaeologists is simplification of SPP23:
Planning and the Historic Environment. It was only a
year ago that we were consulted at length on SPP23
itself, which brought together National Planning Policy
Guidance (NPPG) 5: Archaeology and Planning and
NPPG18: Planning and the Historic Environment,
again as a simplification and streamlining process and
not as a review of existing policy. SPP23 was
published in October 2008.
The consolidated SPP reduces SPP23 from 15 pages
to two, leading to a feeling of wasted effort and
resources in the already stretched NGO sector. There
has been wholesale removal of anything that is not
strictly policy (guidance, background contextual
information, model policies etc) and a rewording of
key policies. It is apparently considered that material
missing from SPP should be contained in the Scottish
Historic Environment Policy (SHEP), which, we are
told, carries equal weight in the planning process.
However, this is not explicit in the SPP document
itself, and SHEP does not cover the management of
the historic environment via the planning process.
There are several important rewordings in the SPP
that weaken policy intent, as well as crucial aspects
of SPP23 that are missing. For example, paragraph 12
of SPP23 states that both statutory and non-statutory
historic environment designations are a material
consideration in the planning process. No such clear
paragraph exists in the SPP and indeed, where there
are references to material considerations in the
planning process this is watered down to ‘can be’ (eg
SPP paragraph 91). Pre-application advice has been
removed, as has SPP23’s commitment to ensure
planning authorities have access to a SMR and/or
HER. Much of this does not currently figure in SHEP
16
either, and so we are left with a gaping hole in the
protection of our historic environment in Scotland if
the SPP is published as it stands with no concurrent
review of the SHEP.
It cannot be overstated how poor this SPP is
compared to SPP23 (itself something of a
disappointment). Every response to the consultation
has deplored the present consolidated document. It
also highlights the paucity of information and
policies in SHEP. We now require, and must insist on,
an urgent review of SHEP to ensure that any and all
weakening of SPP is at least rebutted in a stronger
and more coherent SHEP.
Simon Gilmour
Director, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
National Museums Scotland
Chambers Street
Edinburgh EH1 1JF
[email protected]
THE ANCIENT MONUMENTS AND LISTED
BUILDINGS (AMENDMENT) (SCOTLAND) BILL
‘The Ancient Monuments and Listed Buildings
(Amendment) (Scotland) Bill will introduce a series
of provisions that will help Scottish Ministers and
local planning authorities manage sustainably
Scotland’s unique and irreplaceable historic
environment for the benefit of future generations. The
Bill is also part of a much wider programme of
change in the operation of the heritage protection
system being progressed by Historic Scotland and the
rest of Scottish Government in partnership with local
authorities’.
Rather than aiming at a programme that requires the
level of Government time through both civil service
input and legislative space in a crowded
Parliamentary agenda that new heritage protection
measures in England involves (above), the Scottish
Government has gone for more modest tidying up
measures. In this, it is probably useful that Historic
Scotland is still part of Government, rather than
having the ‘arms length’ position of English Heritage.
The Bill has been issued after discussions by the
Historic Environment Advisory Council for Scotland
(HEACS, now sadly abolished) and with the historic
environment sector, which identified gaps and
weaknesses in the current system that could be sorted
with some modest but focused legislative
amendment. It was Historic Scotland itself that came
up with proposals for the Bill, which is out for
consultation until 14 August.
The Archaeologist
The most significant proposals seem to be
Section 2. It will now be an offence if a scheduled
monument is disturbed, as well as damaged, ‘where
such disturbance affects the conservation, stability or
national importance of the monument’. The level of
proven damage is therefore lower than if damage has
to be proven. It should therefore be possible to use
the legislation to protect plough damage sites without
extensive and intrusive investigations.
Section 4 removes the ‘defence of ignorance’ from
the 1979 Act with regards to damaging monuments.
This specifically includes unauthorised use of metal
detectors, but again removes a defence that is all too
easily invoked. This will require, however, a
concurrent investment in an information campaign to
ensure that landowners and the public have access to
knowledge about where exactly designated areas are,
and preferably their value.
Section 5 will raise the level of fines to £50,000 for
offences tried summarily (up from £10,000). The
extent of any financial gain will also be taken into
account.
Section 6 will amend and clarify the powers of
inspectors to enter land to inspect scheduled
monuments, making quick reactions to complaints
more feasible.
Section 7 will make it easier to insist on
unauthorised works on scheduled monuments being
put right, and also ‘to specify works that are to cease’
through immediate stop notices. Again, the
occasional need for quick reactions and the powers
to enforce restitution will make Inspectors’ work
more effective.
Sections 8, 9 and 10 affect powers to provide better
services for the public at Guardianship properties
(information, interpretation, toilets etc). Again, ability
to respond fast and flexibly ought to improve the
conditions and appeal of monuments, as well as
providing more public benefits.
For the full report, and to send a response, see
http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/about/
consultations/currentconsultations.htm.
Scottish Marine Bill
Just introduced to the Scottish Parliament, this
includes welcome provisions for protection of the
marine historic environment. The Bill can be
downloaded from http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/
Environment/16440/marine-bill-consultation.
Scotland’s historic environment: sustaining the
environment
At least it is recognised that Scotland historic
buildings, monuments and archaeology are
economically of value. They contribute more than
£2.3 billion to the Scottish economy and are a key
factor in ensuring sustained economic growth,
according to research recently published. A report
from the Historic Environment Advisory Council for
Scotland (HEACS) shows Scotland’s historic
environment supports more than 60,000 full time
employees. As Culture Minister Michael Russell said
in welcoming the research ‘For the first time we have
clear evidence of just how much our historic
environment contributes, not only to our sense of
identity and place, but also to our national
economy’. Elizabeth Burns, Chair of HEACS, also
pointed out that ‘further investment in the historic
environment would bring even greater economic
returns’. To read the report see www.heacs.org
Alison Taylor
[email protected]
17
IMPLEMENTING THE HERITAGE PROTECTION REFORMS:
a report on local authority and English Heritage staff resources
HMS Victory:
The UK’s ethical and
policy challenge?
English Heritage, the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers
and the Institute of Historic Building Conservation
Dave Parham
This report examines current (autumn 2008) and recent staff
resources for archaeology and building conservation within
English local authorities, and the English Heritage staff
resource that supports them. It is part of the evidence base
to inform introduction of the Heritage Protection Reforms,
and it responds to concerns expressed by the Parliamentary
Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport regarding
the capacity of local authorities to implement such reforms.
The authors reckon that HPR itself will not have a major
impact on staff requirements, but that in its wider sense of
promoting integration of planning processes and community
interests it will have resource implications.
Percentage of the national resource broken down by region. There are some variations but
modest improvement overall, despite some decline in the South East and North West English
Heritage regions. A continuing downward trajectory would cause many problems
Staffing figures for conservation officers and
archaeologists in local authorities in different regions
are given for 2003, 2006 and 2008. There are
considerable regional variations, with the greatest
increase in London conservation staff (which has the
highest regional average, contrasting with their
archaeologists, who have the lowest average). Some
regions show decline, but overall the number of
archaeologists employed in local government has
increased modestly over the past ten years, with a
small drop between 2006 and 2008. There is a
similar pattern in conservation services. Problems
will come if the downward trajectory continues
Because of the importance of authorities not losing
scarce skills and specialist staff during the downturn
the report urges further work on local authority
duties, powers and responsibilities, to provide models
for effective delivery of historic environment services;
regular ALGAO and IHBC surveys, annually at first,
to understand the changing landscape of local
authority historic environment staffing; pressing
DCLG and DCMS for a statement reaffirming that
historic environment services are integral to planning
departments and discouraging cuts in historic
environment staffing during the current economic
downturn; and for DCLG to collect development
control figures on more planning permission
categories so that historic environment workloads
can be better understood.
The report finishes with a table of an impressive 99
key activities of the historic environment services that
arise from legislation and government policy
guidance, showing whether these are statutory or
proactive/reactive activities, and how much each will
be affected by HPR.
Age band distribution for professions (local government
archaeologists). Archaeologists are broadly similar in age profiles to
other professionals
The full report can be read on HELM at
http://www.helm.org.uk/upload/pdf/Implementing_HPR_Staff_Resources_20090507152928.pdf?1241770327
18
The Archaeologist
The discovery of a warship wreck, alleged to be that
of HMS Victory (lost 1744) by Odyssey Marine
Exploration (OME), a US commercial archaeological
company, poses significant issues for both the UK
government and the marine archaeological
community. Not least of these are the continued
application of salvage law to archaeological
recoveries, the issue of adequate funding to ‘rescue’
sites at risk and the vexed question of disposals.
HMS Victory Ship: Artwork of HMS Victory, a first-rate Royal Navy
warship wrecked in the English Channel, 1744. (Artwork by John
The law is complex. Within territorial waters (0-12
nautical miles offshore) the Protection of Wrecks Act
1973 can regulate recovery but any recoveries are
potentially subject to salvage claims. Typically, unless
a museum can be found to purchase the finds, they
are returned to the salvor in lieu of salvage. Beyond
12 nautical miles the UK cannot prohibit recovery,
other than for its warships (sovereign vessels immune
from salvage). OME is seeking to enter into an
agreement with the UK government to recover items
from Victory but this may involve some recoveries
being returned to OME for eventual sale. OME raises
funding from commercial investors for its operations.
Supporters of private sector commercial funding of
maritime archaeology point to a lack of public
funding to excavate sites at risk (the site is deep and
the technology to conduct archaeology in such a
challenging environment is extremely expensive).
They also point to the payment of ‘treasure trove’ on
land and the disposals policies of museums as
evidence of the hypocrisy of an ethic of no sale of
recoveries and maintenance of a collection in
perpetuity.
DCMS continues to embrace salvage law as an
‘incentive to honesty’ for finders of historic wreck; a
situation it says is roughly comparable to Treasure
Trove on land, which has been used so successfully
to engage with the metal detector community.
Marine archaeologists remain troubled by
archaeology driven by a need to recoup investors’
costs with a profit margin, fearing the profit motive
Batchelor. Photo courtesy of Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. © 2009)
...is it best to leave Victory to be dispersed by
tide and trawling... or let its artefacts be partly
dispersed by return to a salvor?
may on occasions drive the archaeological process.
The Joint Nautical Archaeology Policy Committee
and the Nautical Archaeology Society have long
argued for the removal of salvage law from historic
wreck, a demand echoed by the Marine Archaeology
Legislation Project, a research project funded by
English Heritage. However all recognise some reward
system must be put in place for discoveries /
recoveries but the future paucity of public funding
makes this unlikely.
So is it best to leave Victory to be dispersed by tide
and trawling, as OME alleges is happening, or let its
artefacts be partly dispersed by return to a salvor?
Hard financial times and hard issues for the
archaeological community.
Dave Parham
Senior Lecturer in Marine Archaeology, Program
Leader BSc Marine Archaeology
The School of Conservation Sciences
Bournemouth University
19
I f A REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS
Digging even
DEEPER:
further job losses
in archaeology
AND THE
Laura Schaaf
Kenneth Aitchison
The economic downturn continues to have a direct and negative effect upon archaeology. In a
very few months, archaeology has been transformed from a briskly expanding profession to one
that is losing trained staff fast. Figures from IfA’s first rapid survey of Registered Organisations and
FAME members were published in TA 71; since then, those statistics have been updated – and jobs
have continued to be lost.
We estimate that, following the loss of 345 archaeological jobs between 1
October 2008 and 1 January 2009, a further 195 jobs were lost by 1 April
2009. Since summer 2007 we have lost 1 in 6 commercial archaeological
posts, or nearly 10% of professional archaeologists. Fieldwork skills in
particular are being lost, with the skills of junior fieldworkers (contributors
to excavation, historic building and other surveys) being worst affected.
The full report is available at http://www.archaeologists.net/modules/
news/article.php?storyid=376.
Some respondents offered comments on the situation
Regarding the market –
The work that seems to have vanished almost totally is the small
evaluation for commercial/private housing developers – this was a
staple for smaller units and single traders.
Some people still seem to be quoting crazy prices just to get
work. From the figures we’ve seen in feedback from tenders there
are still some unsustainably low prices out there.
Sadly any improvements in market conditions will probably be the
result of less organisations competing for the work, rather than
any increase in work.
Regarding redundancies –
We are losing some good people who may or may not re-enter the
profession, but those most affected are the more recent graduates
and those who perhaps do not fit the model of a modern-day
professional archaeologist.
The fact of the matter is that we are laying off some highly skilled
staff, some of whom have worked for us for five years plus.
20
RECESSION
The future still looks bleak, with further losses
anticipated. Business confidence remains poor
(although not as low levels as in January) with most
employers expecting the situation to deteriorate
further in the coming twelve months, and for more
commercial archaeological businesses to cease
trading. We now know that at least one company
has, with the agreement of their staff, switched to
working shorter hours, and some companies are
being forced to reformat to carry on – Lindsey
Archaeological Services Ltd has now passed all its
business to Naomi Field Archaeological Consultancy
(which can be contacted at the same address and
phone number as LAS Ltd were using).
One respondent told us that they fear that the
recession might be seen as ‘a good time to get rid of
a unit’ that a host organisation – such as a university
or local authority – might not value any more. And
on precisely that note, IfA has been informed that the
University of Manchester will close the University of
Manchester Archaeological Unit on 31 July (UMAU is
the commercial, contracting company – not to be
confused with the Greater Manchester Archaeology
Unit, which provides a curatorial service to the ten
local authority districts). This is a sad end to an
enterprise that began in 1980. It represents a serious
loss to archaeology in the north west of England and
to industrial archaeology in particular.
Kenneth Aitchison
IfA Head of Projects and Professional Development
The Archaeologist
As Chair of the Registered Organisations Committee
I have been asked to comment on the effects of the
recession on Registered Organisations. Views
expressed here take account of informal discussions
with organisations of different types, sizes and
locations. Currently there are over 60 diverse
Registered Organisations, the majority operating
within the commercial sector, as well as planning
advisory services, one national heritage body and
one society. They include commercial practices, sole
traders and parts of local authorities, universities and
museums.
The main impact of the recession has been loss of
jobs (see Kenneth Aitchison p20) in the fieldwork
sector. Registered Organisations are concerned about
the loss to the sector of experienced and skilled
professionals and many posts at junior and
practitioner level. If practitioners leave the profession,
basic training will need to be repeated, for
organisations make a significant commitment to
training as part of the requirements of registration.
Organisations are attempting to lessen the impact of
the recession by retaining as many experienced,
multi-skilled and flexible staff as possible, if
necessary introducing part-time working.
Another concern in the commercial sector is the
reduction in large and medium sized projects. This
makes planning ahead difficult, and small projects
also entail greater management pro rata. Whilst there
are still enquiries about new projects, these are often
delayed or put on hold. So far the recession has
mostly hit commercial projects, particularly in the
property and house building sectors, and there has
been less impact on central and local governmentfunded projects, though this may well change. A
worrying issue is that organisations have noticed
increases in jobs which appear to be unrealistically
priced.
Many Registered Organisations have full programmes
of post-excavation work at present, but there are
reports of difficulties in getting payment of funds
promised. Currently this puts pressure on specialist
disciplines and even delays in completing
programmes, but more
worrying are concerns
about future postexcavation work
following the
reduction in new
projects. Organisations
providing consultancy
services report that price
is highly important to their
clients and that it is
becoming harder to secure
resources for post-excavation work.
They confirm that potential projects are
being put on hold and they are also concerned about
the loss of experience and skills to the sector and of
people who could contribute to consultancy practices
in the future. Some historic environment advisory
services report a reduction in new planning
applications. Registered Organisations across the
sector comment on the present state of uncertainty,
although only one has ceased trading. Applications
for registration continue, and to date no organisation
due to apply for registration has indicated it will be
withdrawing.
A matter of concern to Registered Organisations
which will be considered by Council is the annual
IfA -recommended minimum pay levels. The
recession may mean that closing the gap with other
professions gets off to a slower start. Registered
Organisations have been supportive of addressing this
gap but many are concerned that their ability to act
at present is severely affected.
It is clear that the recession is having a significant
impact and IfA must continue to provide support. In
recognition of the difficult economic climate Council
has frozen annual fees this year. The Committee
remains committed to the registration scheme and to
ensuring that organisations accepted can demonstrate
that they comply with IfA standards.
Laura Schaaf
Chair, Registered Organisations Committee
[email protected]
21
Out of Recession
• helping us, through identifying potential
internships, secondments or work placements, to
support efforts to retain skills within the sector
• outsourcing or subcontracting work or tasks
where the private sector can provide value
• improving understanding of EIA provisions
amongst regulators
Roland Smith
B a ck l o g a rch ive s
Some issues have been brought up the agenda as a
result of the recession. FAME welcomes, for example,
the recent attention paid by English Heritage, ALGAO
and others to the issue of un-deposited and undepositable archives, albeit this is as a result of the
fear of the consequences of commercial failure.
Backlog archives have been a major concern for our
members for several years and resolution still seems
years away. It is therefore to be hoped that one
positive outcome will be review and reform of current
archiving policy, particularly the adoption of common
and robust approaches to selection and retention.
FAME (the Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers), formerly SCAUM (Standing
Conference of Archaeological Unit Managers), represents the views of employers and managers –
for planners: the postrecession future should
a distinct interest group. We employ many people in the profession and both implement policy
involve greater dialogue
and are instrumental in its development through practice. On a day-to-day basis we protect,
between parties interested
enhance and increase our understanding of the historic environment.
There is no doubt that, over the last 12 months, most
archaeological employers have witnessed the most
challenging trading conditions they have ever had to
face. The speed and depth of the downturn has
resulted in great uncertainty for all, especially in the
latter parts of 2008.
After much anecdotal evidence of the impacts of the
recession, the IfA and FAME survey on job losses in
the last six months (p20) has been invaluable in
quantifying the level to which the sector is currently
contracting. This has been important in providing
some reassurance to employers that the impacts are
being felt universally and that job losses have,
unfortunately, been a reality for small, medium and
large alike. The toll that these losses have had on
individuals and senior managers is not to be
underestimated. In particular the imminent closure of
the University of Manchester Archaeological Unit is
deeply regretted, as are the potential loss of skills and
expertise to the sector as well as considerable
investment and success in community archaeology.
22
Archaeology as training
in the benefit of the
archaeology
Unfortunately FAME’s members expect trading
conditions to continue to be poor throughout 2009.
While practices will be devising and implementing
their own strategies to weather the economic
downturn, there are a number of areas in which our
colleagues in local authorities and the national
heritage agencies can help ameliorate some impacts
on our businesses. These include
• persuading statutory undertakers to safeguard the
historic environment in line with normal
development processes
• working with practices to ensure assessment,
post-excavation and publication programmes are
achieved within a reasonable timeframe, without
pressure for the early discharge of conditions
• securing funding from developers in bond, to
insure against insolvency
• working towards more consistent curatorial
practice across local authorities
• implementing PPG15 more consistently
The Archaeologist
O ve rc o m i n g c o m p a r t m e n t a l i s a t i o n
It is also a positive impact that such issues have
encouraged communication and consultation
between different areas of our sector. FAME, ALGAO
and IfA, for example, have met recently to consider
areas of mutual concern arising from recession. Such
developments offer the prospect that, coming out of
recession, there is real opportunity for developing
new co-operative and collaborative approaches to
working within the historic environment. One
consequence of the extraordinary growth of our
sector in the last ten years has been increasing
compartmentalisation into contracting, curatorial
practice and academia. In particular FAME’s members
are concerned that there is inadequate dialogue
between them, as employers, and our colleagues in
higher education, who provide graduate entrants into
the profession.
N ew e m p h a s e s
In terms of new approaches to our work much
depends on the new Planning Policy Statement for
the historic environment. While FAME expects that
the fundamental principles of PPGs 15 and 16, which
have fuelled the growth and development of our
profession, will not be weakened in any way, the
wording of the statement has the potential to put new
emphases on the way that we work. In particular
FAME will argue the case for
• improved regulation, specifically introducing
‘barriers to professional practice’, that encourages
and incentivises good practice and raises
standards
• adequate funding and provision of appropriate
repositories for archaeological archives
• greater opportunities for innovation in the
dissemination of the results of our work to the
public
As regards the last point, FAME welcomes the recent
debate, led by Roger Thomas of English Heritage, at
the IfA’s annual conference about the impacts of
PPG16 and particularly whether the public and
academic benefits have been commensurate with the
large sums of money being spent on developerfunded archaeology. In effect this was a call to the
profession to reinvigorate the way that it undertakes
developer-led archaeology and to return to a more
intellectual basis that maximises knowledge of the
past and public benefit. As part of this process the
best publication and dissemination programmes are
essential, and archives should be part of our lasting
legacy.
Gain and pain
In conclusion, the last 18 months have been
extraordinarily difficult for archaeological practices.
While there is probably more pain still to come,
there are a number of key developments, principally
the new Planning Policy Statement and a new sense
of partnership and co-operation, that can enable the
profession to emerge from recession reinvigorated
and energised. However for the commercial arm of
the sector to achieve real, long term, progress, much
depends on fundamental changes to the
archaeological market and the framework in which
practices operate.
In the meantime, FAME’s contribution to the debate
on the post-recession future for the sector is
hampered by the absence of a dedicated advocate for
its members. It is a high priority for FAME to secure
such an advocate in 2009.
Roland Smith
Chair, FAME
C/o Wessex Archaeology
Portway House
Old Sarum Park
Salisbury
Wiltshire SP4 6EB
[email protected]
www.famearchaeology.co.uk
...for the commercial arm of
the sector to achieve real,
long term, progress, much
depends on fundamental
changes to the
archaeological market and
the framework in which
practices operate.
23
Archaeology,
the economy,
and me:
a view from
Chris Clarke
Only those who have been living under a
rock or holidaying in the deepest reaches of
Siberia for the past six months would have
not noticed how bad the current economic
climate has become. These dramatic times
are not only limited to this country, but are
having drastic effects across the world. In
this situation, we are not alone.
Reliance on construction industry
On a more domestic scale, it is now obvious that
industries within the historic environment, especially
archaeological fieldwork contractors, are suffering
financially to a significant degree. Vulnerability is
caused by their overwhelming reliance on the
construction and development industries for income,
two industries close to the heart of this recession.
After so many years of bountiful growth and stability,
the speed at which the recession has struck has
shocked many, and like other industries affected we
ask: ‘Should we have seen this coming?’ and ‘Was it
all too good to be true?’
Tough decisions
From my position in an established fieldwork
organisation, I look across my sector and see many
scared people. Many archaeologists today are too
young to have been employed during the last major
recession, while the older hands know the
consequences if things continue the way they are.
Those in management have had to make many tough
decisions in a short space of time, with a clear remit
of drastically cutting outgoings or facing foreclosure
by the banks. In regard to staffing, the first phase was
24
deciding which of the temporary staff contracts not to
renew, the focus then switching to core staff
members, with the result that long serving,
experienced employees now need employment in a
shrinking sector. For some it is not only the loss of a
job, but of a passion they have enjoyed for so long.
Several organisations have tried to lessen
redundancies by instigating a 4-day working week,
and some smaller teams have already gone under.
‘How long can I survive like this?’
On a personal level, I am still grateful for having a
job, knowing though that redundancy looms in the
background. The price has been a decrease in my
monthly wage which, as archaeological wages are
not great to begin with, is a significant blow. With cut
backs in personal spending, this can be made to
work in the short term, but this situation is likely to
change. ‘How long can I survive like this?’ is a
question many people I know are asking. Even before
the recession I was frequently questioning myself
about the feasibility of remaining employed in
archaeology, and what alternative careers were
possible. The poignancy of this question has now
redoubled.
the skills and experience required, just at a point
when new staff are required to hit the ground
running. To attract the type of labour that is required,
we must make sure attractive wage levels are offered.
The opportunity to do this is there, if the
recommendations of the IfA’s Benchmarking
Committee are pushed forward at the right moment.
This is also a suitable time for organisations to reevaluate their staffing conditions, and see how
reviews of efficiency and structure can be used as
positive tools. If done in combination with training,
then previously existing skills and knowledge can be
shared to create a more diverse and multi-skilled
flexible work place.
Conditions at the moment are far from rosy. Many
hard choices have been made, and we all face a
tough time before things improve. It is also time to
take stock, consider the position of the employer
(while still keeping the welfare of the employee in
keen focus), and begin to work out how we will
emerge at the other side of the recession. Hopefully
taking one more step towards the strong professional
industry we want it to become.
In the meantime, I will be counting my pennies
closely and keeping my options in focus, with the
view to riding out these tough times in the most
optimistic way possible.
Chris Clarke
Chair, Diggers Forum
[email protected]
07751 612574
Reinitiating backlog projects
To give in to pessimism now would be the equivalent
of throwing in the towel. The industry may have been
an innocent victim in this whole sorry situation, but
our actions now will determine how we arrive on the
other side. The economy will recover, but how long it
will take? My money (what little is left) is on the short
and sharp route. I am no economist but it is my
experience of working with developers for nearly ten
years that tells me that these professionals will be
champing at the bit to return to the profits they
previously experienced. Any sign that the economy is
looking up may reinitiate backlogged project
portfolios with speed.
Attractive wage levels?!
Commercial archaeological organisations must also
look to the future and to the point of recovery. What
state will the industry be in is a question we must ask
ourselves. To exploit a recovering market place
means attracting back a skilled work force, which
may be trickier than it sounds. The alternative is to
rely on inexperienced staff that will take time to gain
The Archaeologist
25
ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE DEMISE OF
THE CELTIC TIGER
private sector but also in public service and
universities. Surveys revealed the exponential growth
in archaeologists employed in Irish archaeology, from
650 in 2002 to 1709 in 2007 (McDermott C and La
Piscopia P 2008).
James Eogan and Eoin Sullivan
The era of the so-called ‘Celtic Tiger’ saw
unprecedented economic growth in the Republic of
Ireland. Much of this was stimulated by investment in
residential property leading to construction of more
than 80,000 housing units per annum at the height of
the building boom in 2005 and 2006 (CHL
Consulting Co Ltd 2002). This period also saw
significant private investment in commercial,
industrial and retail developments, and public-sector
investment in infrastructure such as roads, railways
and pipeline networks, funded by buoyant exchequer
receipts. Many of these developments required
archaeological evaluation and mitigation, reflected in
the increase in archaeological excavations reported
in the annual Excavations Bulletin (from 214 in 1993
to the peak of 2044 in 2003). The first decline in
excavations since 1993 was recorded in 2004 and
continued in 2005.
Data provided by the National Monuments Service of
the Department of the Environment, Heritage and
Local Government, indicate that approvals for
archaeological excavation in subsequent years
continued to fall (numbers in 2006 include
retrospective issues for national road projects,
following the National Monuments (amendment)
Act). Figures for the first fifteen weeks of 2009
suggest that excavations will drop back to levels last
recorded in 1999.
EXPONENTIAL GROWTH
The annual statistics represent various types of
archaeological excavation. On average, test
excavations represent 49% of the annual total in the
Bulletin, monitoring 26%, resolution 18% and
research 7% (Eogan J 2008). Between 1993 and 2003
average excavations carried out by each director
increased from three a year in 1993 to a peak of
eleven in 2003. This demonstrates that the increase in
excavation was partly facilitated by an increase in
productivity by excavation directors. Over the same
period data suggest that the proportion of excavations
carried out by directors employed by archaeological
companies rose from 20% in 1993 to 71% in 2004.
Rapid economic growth also led to an increase in
people employed in archaeology – principally in the
An early medieval
SHARP DECLINE
Now the archaeological profession in Ireland is
facing significant challenges. The Institute of
Archaeologists of Ireland (IAI) has gathered accurate
baseline data to enable the Institute to best represent
the profession. The recent IAI survey Employment
levels in Irish Archaeology, based upon 21 responses
from across the profession, revealed that between
July 2008 and January 2009 there was a 52%
reduction in the total number of archaeological staff
employed in Ireland (www.iai.ie). Further analysis
reveals that there was an 82% reduction in contract
archaeologists in this period.
FUTURE PROSPECTS
The situation is not totally bleak. Statistics from the
Irish Antiquities Division of the National Museum of
Ireland suggest that significant post-excavation
analysis is being undertaken, keeping archaeologists
and post-excavation specialists in employment and
providing a revenue stream for archaeological
companies. The prospects for the future are harder to
predict: undoubtedly the economic growth
experienced in the last 15 years was unsustainable,
notwithstanding the external shock of a global
banking crisis and recession. What is not yet clear is
what level of archaeological activity will be
sustained. It will be interesting to see if work
undertaken by sole-traders increases, as redundancy
has already stimulated formation of at least one new
company.
secular enclosed
MORE EFFICIENT LEGAL FRAMEWORK?
One welcome consequence is a review of
archaeological policy and practice currently
underway by the Minister for the Environment,
Heritage and Local Government. This process is
intended to lead to new primary legislation to
provide a more efficient legal framework for the
regulation of archaeology and greater recognition of
and protection for archaeology under planning
legislation.
settlement at
Stonecarthy West
and Knockadrina,
Co. Kilkenny.
Excavation, in
advance of
construction of the
N9/N10 road
project in 2008
employed an
average team of 16
The archaeological profession in the Republic of
Ireland was innovative in response to the boom,
putting in place staff, structures and mechanisms that
ensured that archaeology was not sacrificed in the
face of economic development. It now faces different
challenges and it is to be hoped that we can react in
a similarly creative fashion to our changed
circumstances.
archaeologists per
week. Photograph:
Airshots Ltd
26
The Archaeologist
James Eogan
Senior Archaeologist, Irish National Roads Authority
Vice-Chair, Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland
[email protected]
Happier days Archaeological
excavation in
Eoin Sullivan
Director, Gort Archaeology
Development Officer, Institute of Archaeologists of
Ireland
[email protected]
advance of
construction of the
M8 road scheme, in
the vicinity of a late
medieval tower
house at
Brian Duffy, Chief Archaeologist and Martin Reid,
Archaeologist, National Monuments Service,
Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local
Government and Eamonn P Kelly, Keeper, and
Pádraig Clancy, Assistant Keeper, Irish Antiquities
Division, National Museum of Ireland are thanked for
providing data on the volume of licence applications
to their respective organisations.
Twomileborris, Co.
Tipperary.
Photograph: J Eogan
CHL Consulting Co Ltd 2002 The Future Demand for Archaeologists in
Ireland. A Report to the Heritage Council and the Institute of
Archaeologists of Ireland. CHL Consultants, Dublin
Eogan J 2008 Archaeology and the Celtic Tiger. Poster presented at WAC6 (http://www.wac6.org/livesite/posters/poster_files/WAC_154_Eogan.pdf)
McDermott C and La Piscopia P 2008 Discovering the Archaeologists of
Europe: Ireland. A Report to the Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland and
the Heritage Council. IAI, Dublin
27
An undisturbed corner of Highgate cemetery.
Photograph: Sam Cawood
The Melbourn case
An Advisory Panel for
the Archaeology of
all burials in England?
Bill White
Human remains: a dynamic issue
During the early 21st century there was
unprecedented activity over consultation, guidance
and the law with regard to human remains in
England, their burial, excavation, exhumation,
analysis, curation, exhibition, repatriation and
reburial (ADCA 2004, Brickley and McKinley 2004,
DCMS 2003, 2004, Church of England/English
Heritage 2005, Department of Constitutional Affairs
2006, Human Tissue Act 2006). Two of the
consultation processes led to published guidance,
backed by Advisory Panels to resolve any problems
that arose. Publication of Guidance for Best Practice
for Treatment of Human Remains Excavated from
Burial Grounds in England in January 2005 led to an
Advisory Panel for the Archaeology of Christian
Burials in England (APACBE) that October. Similarly,
Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in
Museums, by the Cultural Property Unit of the
Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in
October 2005 led to the Human Remains Advisory
Service (HRAS) in March 2006. However, these two
advisory panels had very different experiences.
28
APACBE has had four annual meetings and in the
meantime has been involved in casework (see
www.britarch.ac.uk/churches/humanremains). HRAS
held an inaugural meeting and was then involved in
a single consultation in its short history. To the
surprise of its overseers, advice was requested not on
the expected vibrant issue of the de-accession and
repatriation of human remains of overseas origin but
instead concerned an indigenous English example.
Melbourn Parish Council repeated its request to
DCMS of 2002 that Cambridgeshire County Council
be advised to release from storage 60 seventh-century
Anglo-Saxon skeletons excavated at Melbourn in
2000. This time, DCMS selected three advisors from
the HRAS panel to enquire why the Parish Council
wished to rebury the remains in a modern cemetery,
whether the archaeological remains had any cultural
significance for the cemetery and, if not, whether
geographical proximity ought to compensate for the
chronological and liturgical discontinuity and/or
research value of the remains. It appeared that the
simple application of DCMS Guidance (Section
3.3.2) ruled against a cultural or genealogical case
for burial in the Melbourn cemetery but one advisor
held out in favour of the geographical propinquity
and imagined spiritual significance argument. After
six months DCMS called a halt to this evaluation on
the grounds of lack of agreement. Cambridgeshire
County Council were informed, and wrote to DCMS
on 21 February 2007 acknowledging that it was
better to highlight an intractable problem rather than
waste resources trying to solve it (Caldon 2007). In
the face of this failure, Mark Caldon of DCMS
formally wound up HRAS.
The Human Remains Subject Specialist Network
(SSN)
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Association
(MLA) set up 25 SSNs. Hedley Swain, then of the
Museum of London, acquired funding from MLA to
set up the Human Remains SSN, with 27 UK
museums and groups represented. However, in the
next funding round this failed to receive a grant and
was left with just a poorly-populated website
(www.humanremains.specialistnetwork.org.uk ) and a
mission ‘to provide mutual support and information
transfer between individuals representing institutions
that hold accessioned collections of human remains.’
It has neither a constitution nor funding. It was
approached by DCMS to review the Guidance and
The Archaeologist
suggest improvements, provided that these do not
amount to wholesale revision. Members volunteered
to provide minor amendments to the Guidance, such
as including hair and nails in the definition of human
remains to promote consistency with the Human
Tissue Act, but were not equipped to lead on the
issue.
A new APABE?
DCMS therefore agreed that APACBE ought to
broaden its remit to deal with all periods of burial in
England, in effect replacing HRAS. It stipulated that
the new body must have adequate representation of
the museums sector. The proposal was consulted
upon this year, one consideration being the
composition of the Panel. After three months there
had been 35 responses. There was broad agreement
on the need for such an advisory group and the only
real dissention was over the representation that the
Panel should reflect. A minority (four groups) felt that
there were concerns at the overlap with advice for
the museums sector (eg SSN), but this ignores the
realities of commercial archaeology in the UK.
Several museums have their own archaeology arm
and, likewise, archaeological commercial
organisations often curate human remains. Indeed,
the Museum of London is involved in every stage
from archaeological planning and tendering, through
excavation and processing to osteological analysis,
publication and reburial or curation of the remains
seamlessly – and we are not alone.
The Human Remains SSN in its response reiterated
that it performs the broader function relating to
museum collections of human remains (some
museums have different considerations because their
holdings are of a medical or pathological nature), but
is very willing for museum representation on the
proposed APABE panel. This view was supported by
26 of the 35 responders, and is the DCMS view. The
minority who favoured museum issues being
confined to the SSN wanted a remodelled SSN,
which will need substantial funding.
ADCA 2004 Archaeological requirements for works on churches and
churchyards, ADCA Guidance Note 1
Brickley M and McKinley J 2004 Guidance on the standards for recording
human remains IfA Paper No 7
Caldon M 2007 ‘Questioning human remains’ Museums Journal July
2007, 14
Church of England and English Heritage 2005 Guidance for best practice
for treatment of human remains excavated from Christian burial grounds
in England, C of E, English Heritage
DCMS 2003 The report of the working group on human remains, DCMS
DCMS 2004 Care of historic human remains: a consultation report of the
working group on human remains, DCMS
DCMS 2005 Guidance for the care of human remains in museums,
DCMS
Department of Constitutional Affairs 2006 Burial law and policy in the
21st century
www.hta.gov.uk/about_hta/human_tissue_act cfm
PS There seems to be a happy resolution of the
Melbourn case, as the parish council has agreed to
rebury one man, one woman and one child,
selected by an osteoarchaeologist, Corinne Duhig,
marked with a commemorative plaque, other
skeletons to remain in archaeological storage (Ed).
Osteologists at
work in the
Centre for
Human
Bioarchaeology.
©Museum of
London
A new APABE, structured to reflect multi-cultural
England (in the first instance, as the other nations
have different legislation and organisations) and the
institutions involved in the care of human remains
therefore seems a proposal that has wide support and
should give archaeologists, museum professionals
and others working with ancient burials the sort of
consistent, authoritative and carefully thoughtthrough guidance they deserve today.
Bill White
Museum of London Centre for Human Bioarchaology
29
Burial law reform and archaeology
Burial law reform and archaeology
Andrew Tucker
The Government’s intention to amend
legislation governing burials will impact on
ways which archaeologists will be able to
exhume human remains in future. Following
the Government’s review of burial law in 2004,
a number of problems were identified in
legislation never designed for archaeological
needs and the initial view was that there might
not be a power to issue exhumation licences or
other consents in circumstances where there
was no evident burial ground. On reflection it
was agreed that there was no reason why a
licence could not be issued in such cases.
Whether licences or directions could authorise
anything more than exhumation and
subsequent reinterment proved more
intractable. However, following discussions
with representatives of the archaeological
community, a temporary solution was found
and was announced in April 2008.
In the longer term it was clear that legislation needed
amending. There was little prospect of a slot in the
Parliamentary timetable for primary legislation for
this purpose, but a Legislative Reform Order (LRO)
may offer a solution, as it enables a limited range
of amendments through secondary legislation.
Provisions are considered in Committee rather than
on the floor of the House, and an order is expressly
designed to be used where it is intended to
deregulate, modernise or make administrative
changes to a regulatory system rather than introduce
more substantial or controversial amendments.
Meetings with archaeological representatives helped
identify how best to improve the legislation. With the
help of IfA and others, costs and benefits were
identified, shaping a future package on which it is
intended to invite views later this year. In broad terms,
the new scheme will reshape the existing licensing
regime to facilitate exhumation of human remains for
archaeological purposes and the retention of such
remains for scientific study, display or other related
purposes, where this may be required. There might
even be an argument to disapply the need for
licensing altogether where there is no real need for
the Government to exercise site by site controls. The
need for such controls seems harder to justify the
older the remains are, and we are therefore exploring
the possibility of allowing remains over a given age –
200 years is the working hypothesis – to be exhumed
without a licence. This is not to imply that older
remains should not be treated appropriately, and there
is potential to limit unlicensed exhumations to those
undertaken by, or under the directions of, members of
suitable, self-regulating, professional bodies. It would
still be necessary to comply with statutory conditions
to ensure that work was carried out safely, respectfully
and sensitively. The new legislation should also make
clear what does, and what does not, come within its
scope, to ensure that regulation is focused on what it
is important to protect.
As a result of the scheme introduced in April 2008
there will be some exhumation licences with a time
limit for reinterment by spring 2010. If there is a need
to retain the remains beyond that date, applications
must be made shortly beforehand. We expect
licences issued prior to the new scheme will
continue to have effect after the proposed changes
have been introduced until the remains have been
reinterred or reburial conditions have been amended.
The plan is for proposals to be presented for
consultation quite soon, supported by an Impact
Assessment looking at the costs and benefits of
reform, and a draft LRO which will show the detail of
the proposed legislation. Following an assessment of
the responses and any changes that need to be made
as a result, the LRO would be introduced into
Parliament and be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.
Thereafter, if the Order is approved, implementation
would follow, probably in spring/summer 2010.
Andrew Tucker
Coroners and Burials Division
[email protected]
PROFESSIONAL
INSTITUTIONS
BEWARE
John Hunter
IfA members may not have heard yet
of the demise of the Council for the
Registration of Forensic Practitioners
(CRFP), the body that validated
competence to practice in the
forensic arena, but it is a useful
cautionary tale for those putting
much faith (and resources) into
Government directives. The CRFP
register gave accreditation to
specialists in skills such as
fingerprinting, blood spatter,
accident and fire, scene of crime
investigation and others spheres of
forensic expertise, including forensic
archaeology and anthropology.
CRFP was set in the late 1990s on the back of a
Government enquiry that sought to prevent
miscarriages of justice such as the ‘Birmingham Six’.
Bank-rolled by the Home Office through the National
Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) it set out to
provide the courts with forensic specialists whose
experience and competence, established by peer
review, could be guaranteed by the courts. Police
forces and barristers were able to use the register to
ensure that experts they commissioned were up to
the mark, in much the same way that Registered
Organisations and MIfA status can be used for
defining standards and fitness for purpose.
The process of validation was similar if slightly more
complex than that of IfA.
30
The Archaeologist
A typical scenario.
Partly exposed
Competence was defined through a set of generic
and specialist criteria, and registration cost £165 pa
across the board and required renewal every four
years. Registration fees tended to be paid by
employers, several of whom were police forces. By
the end of 2008 the number of registrants was
approaching 5000 – a figure nowhere near the
maximum possible, but a meaty proportion
nonetheless and representing a workable and
effective professional body.
human remains
found during
building operations.
How long have they
been there? Who is
the individual? Has
an offence been
committed?
Photograph: John
Hunter
Crude estimates suggested that almost double that
figure was needed for CRFP to be financially viable
and independent when NPIA funds tapered off. This
fact, combined with the appointment of a Forensic
Regulator and a Government interest more acutely
inclined towards external accreditation appears to
have resulted in the NPIA withdrawal of funds. CRFP
ceased to trade at short notice on 31 March this year.
Anyone who has been concerned with setting up the
IfA, its validation and disciplinary processes,
committee structure, publicity, mission and the entire
plethora of systems involved will appreciate just how
much effort has been let out with the bath water.
The forensic world is now in an undefined period of
limbo. It would seem that forensic competency,
including that of archaeologists and anthropologists
will be defined by a series of uncomfortably fitting
ISOs.
John Hunter
Professor of Ancient History and Archaeology
University of Birmingham
Birmingham B15 2TT
31
(The Dead Teach the Living)
Mortui viventes docent is the motto of the
Paleopathology Association, founded in 1973 in the
United States. It cuts straight to the chase of the aim
of this short paper: to show the value of excavating,
studying and curating human remains for future
research. It explains why so many people in
universities and in contract archaeology are keen to
focus on cemetery excavations and analyses of
human remains, exploring what our ancestors can tell
us about their past and how that can help us cope
with the present and plan for the future. It explains
why the public of all ages and backgrounds are keen
to visit museums, attend educational classes and
lectures, and watch television programmes featuring
skeletons. It also explains why so many students want
to study human remains at undergraduate, Masters
and PhD levels.
Ethics and respect
These groups of people today have more affinity to a
skeleton than to anything else excavated from an
archaeological site – ‘we all possess a skeleton and
we appear to want to know more about it’ (Roberts
2009:1). Ignoring the central part of any
archaeological site, the humans, would disregard a
key part of the jigsaw puzzle of reconstruction. The
dead can teach the living about the past, have done
for a long time, and continue to do so. However,
excavation, study and curation of human remains
should always be carried out with the highest ethical
standards and respect for the dignity of these once
living people; to ignore these ‘rules’ is unacceptable.
Furthermore, there has to be a reason to study human
remains and this must go beyond curiosity; study is a
privilege and not a right.
Tracking TB
To illustrate one way that death teaches the living
I will focus on a current project that focuses on a
particular health problem. The project’s aims grew
out of appreciating the modern context of the
infectious disease tuberculosis and thinking how
archaeology might help tackle the future course of
this infection. Biomolecular archaeology of ancient
tuberculosis (TB) in Britain and Europe is
Tuberculous spine from post-medieval Abingdon (by permission
of Don Ortner)
32
The Archaeologist
Natural Environmental Reasearch Council-funded
(http://www.dur.ac.uk/archaeology/research/projects
/?mode=project&id=353) and concerns a reemerging infectious disease that was responsible for
1.6 million deaths in 2005 (http://www.who.int/
mediacentre/factsheets/fs104/en/index.html ). It is
not just a developing country infection but has a high
frequency today in major British cities. It is the
culmination of a global history probably extending
over 3 million years in the Old World, originating in
Africa. In the past poverty, high population density,
movement of people, and contact with infected
animals were probably the main factors that enabled
TB to develop (Roberts and Buikstra 2003). Humans
contract TB via droplet spread (coughing and
sneezing) or through consuming infected meat and
milk from animals. If not treated, the infection
spreads to the bone, changes in the spine most often
being used for diagnosis in palaeopathology.
Skeletal evidence
The first clear historical evidence for TB dates back to
China at 2700 BC, but the first skeletal evidence is
from Italy dated to 5800±90 BC (Canci et al 1996),
and in the New World (South America) dating to AD
700. In Britain the first skeletal evidence (confirmed
with ancient DNA analysis) is from the Iron Age
(400–230 BC) at Tarrant Hinton, Dorset (Mays and
Taylor 2003). Despite its long history TB has not
reduced in virulence. Indeed, although the
development of antibiotic therapy in the 1940s
brought the hope of TB’s eradication, by the end of
the century the disease was again on the rise, and it
is now considered by the World Health Organisation
to be a global emergency. Antibiotic resistance, HIV,
poverty, certain occupations, migration, and lack of
access to health care are key factors for many today
who bear the burden of TB.
Old and New Worlds
In this project we are studying the origin and
evolution of the causative agents (strains) in Britain
and other parts of Europe. Using ancient DNA
analysis of bone samples from diagnosed tuberculous
skeletons from different archaeological sites and dates
(prehistory to the post-medieval periods), we hope to
chart appearances and changes in strains of TB
through time in different parts of Europe. This will be
in relation to the impact of variables related to what
we know about socio-cultural, economic and
political context at specific points in time. We are
extending our research to study the relationships
between strains present in skeletons from the Old
and New Worlds, both pre- and post-Columbian
contact (late 15th century AD), by collaborating with
Arizona State University’s, School of Human
Evolution and Social Change. Our colleagues there
are working on ancient DNA of tuberculosis in the
New World. The ultimate aim is to contribute to
understanding today’s problem by using data on TB
bacteria strain evolution.
Two points are important here: firstly, we are indeed
using the dead to teach the living, and we may find
vital information that could help develop new
medications in the future. We are not promising but
we are trying. Secondly, we are reliant on curated
skeletal remains from many sites where tuberculous
skeletons have been identified, acknowledging the
work of archaeologists who excavated the sites and
the bioarchaeologists who identified skeletons with
bone changes of tuberculosis. We need the cooperation of museums and other institututions that
curate skeletal remains, and we have indeed gained
much co-operation with sample acquisition, for
which we are very grateful.
Curation of skeletal remains and ready acess is vital
for such projects; as methods of analysis develop,
more complex and challenging questions can be
asked. We should celebrate this fact, and pursue
studies that are relevant to today’s society and its
future survival.
Professor Charlotte Roberts
Department of Archaeology
Durham University
South Road
Durham DH1 3LE
Mortui viventes docent
Mortui
viventes
docent
Charlotte Roberts
Canci A and Minozzi S, Borgognini Tarli S 1996 New
evidence of tuberclous spondylitis from Neolithic
Liguria. Int J Osteoarchaeology 6:497-5-1
Mays S and Taylor GM 2003 A prehistoric case of
tuberculosis from Britain. Int J Osteoarchaeology
13:189-196
Roberts CA Human remains in archaeology. A
handbook. York, Council for British Archaeology
Roberts CA, Buikstra JE 2008 The bioarchaeology of
tuberculosis. A global view on a re-emerging disease.
PB. Gainesville, Florida, Florida University Press
33
on specific issues or questions, these were
encouraged to leave their comments in a book placed
in a small side-room. The Wellcome Trust has kindly
made available a copy of this book of comments.
They are, of course, no more than the views of people
who chose to go the exhibition, and then chose to
leave comments. But provided this is kept in mind,
they give us some insight into visitors’ reactions.
The first and most obvious thing to emerge is that the
comments were overwhelmingly positive:
Number
Positive
Other / neutral
Negative
Total
London’s Buried Bones:
Wellcome reactions
Anna Aldous
and Sebastian
Payne
Adjective
The museum world is at the moment sensitive in its
treatment of human remains. The Wellcome
Exhibition was clearly carefully and well designed
with this sensitivity in mind. Complete skeletons were
laid out in display cases at waist level, labels were at
the side of each case, not intruding on the skeletons,
and light levels were low.
Insightful
Anna Aldous
Strategy Department
English Heritage
Sebastian Payne
Chief Scientist
English Heritage
94%
5%
1%
Of course, visitors to an exhibition of this kind are a
self-selecting group, and should not be taken as
reflecting the views of others. But if a large number
of Londoners were deeply upset or worried by the
exhibition of human remains, it seems likely that
there would have been more directly negative
comment.
What this seems to show fairly clearly is that,
provided proper sensitivity is shown and an
exhibition has serious purpose, most people regard
the exhibition of human skeletons as acceptable, and
welcome for the insights it gives us into our shared
humanity and mortality. Museum professionals are
probably worrying too much about possible public
concern.
Number of
Exhibiting London bodies © The Wellcome Trust
comments
using this
adjective
Positive
Neutral/
Negative
Uncertain
Interesting
Fascinating
Good / Great
Excellent
Informative
Amazing
Fantastic
Brilliant
Wonderful
Beautiful
Inspiring
Intriguing
Unique
34
Many thanks are due to Emily Sargent and Rachel
Collins of Wellcome Collection for help with
preparing this article.
Percentage
Counts of the adjectives used in the comments
showed that these were again overwhelmingly
positive – the two commonest adjectives were
‘interesting’ (178) and ‘fascinating’ (118), followed by
‘good’, ‘great’, ‘excellent’, ‘amazing’, ‘fantastic’ and
‘brilliant’. Negative adjectives were scarce – just one
‘boring’ and one ‘disappointing’. No one seemed to
be particularly shocked or worried.
Last summer, the Wellcome Collection
staged an exhibition of human skeletons
from the Museum of London’s Centre for
Human Bioarchaeology. Its purpose was to
show, from human skeletons excavated in
London dating from the Roman period to
the 19th century, how the study of human
remains gives us a direct sense of
individuals in the past and how they lived,
and, in particular how the rough and
tumble of everyday life, and the effects of
disease and poor living conditions, can be
seen from the traces they leave on bones
and teeth.
The exhibition attracted large numbers of visitors from
Britain and abroad; without being asked to comment
753
41
9
803
Reading through the comments (and drawings – quite
a few of these from children) reflected the same
general approval. Occasional comments were
uncertain or questioning: ‘Whilst fascinating, I am
uncertain as to whether human remains should be
put on public display’, ‘Does no one stop to think
and contemplate what right do we have to put
human remains on display?’. But most were
straightforwardly appreciative: ‘Very interesting …
and treated with a great deal of respect’; ‘Something
a text book just cannot give you’; ‘I wonder what the
people of tomorrow will say about our bones’; ‘5
stars!’.
178
118
57
56
37
27
27
24
18
12
Educational
11
10
Sad
10
Emotional
9
6
4
Boring
1
Poignant
1
1
Disappointing
1
The Archaeologist
35
Human remains, archaeologists and pagans:
Recently, the Council of British Druid Orders made a
request for reburial of the child skeleton from Avebury.
The resulting English Heritage/National Trust
consultation has brought into the media an apparent
conflict between archaeology, seen as cold science, and
its insensitivity to the beliefs of modern European
pagans and our pre-Christian ancestors. Yet, is this
really so? As an osteoarchaeologist and a pagan, I do
not find that my professional practice conflicts with my
beliefs.
Burial and the afterlife: what do modern
pagans believe?
Intercutting AngloSaxon graves at
Barrington AngloSaxon cemetery: a
richly-equipped
double burial but
Belief that can be held about the fate of the soul
include extinguishment, reincarnation, an afterlife in
an otherworld, future re-birth or some level of
continuing existence in this world. The first might
require total dissolution of the body before the soul
also achieves dissolution, hence the need for
cremation or undisturbed burial over a long period;
others contain some possibility of involvement in the
world of the living and hence potential concern
about the disposal of one’s body and care of its grave.
Amongst modern pagans there is plurality of beliefs,
and no prescriptive scripture or requirement for
compliance to any creed. The Pagan Federation, the
umbrella organisation for British pagans, contains this
diversity and merely requires members to
acknowledge broad principles of shared belief, none
of which refer to the soul or the afterlife. In terms of
attitudes to the dead, their website summarises:
‘[Divinities] may include revered ancestors and, for a
while, the newly dead, who may or may not choose
to leave the world of the living for good.’
Amongst modern Druids, belief in reincarnation is
common, or death is seen as ‘passing to the
summerlands’, from which vague otherworld
ancestors, or at least the recently-dead, can return at
Samhain (Halloween). References in classical writers
to the original Druids indicate a doctrine of
reincarnation or transmigration:
‘the principal point of their teaching is that the
soul does not perish, and that after death it passes
from one body into another’ (Caesar);
‘you tell us that the same spirit has a body again
elsewhere, and that death ... is but the mid-point
of a long life’ (Lucan);
lower limbs
removed by later
interments (Malim
and Hines 1998
p139)
‘among them the doctrine of Pythagoras prevails,
according to which the souls of men are immortal,
and after a fixed term recommence to live, taking
upon themselves a new body’ (Diodorus).
Adherents of Witchcraft/Wicca also tend to believe in
reincarnation, succeeding lives leading towards a
perfected state and ultimate release from the material
world.
There is a closer link between the followers of
Heathenry/Northern Tradition/Odinism/Asatru and
those they recognise as their spiritual ancestors. In
essence this is the religion of the Anglo-Saxons and
their Germanic contemporaries, is represented in
Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic literature and writers such
as Tacitus (and is now the joint official religion of
Iceland). Heathenry’s focus on honourable conduct
and an enduring reputation gives little attention to
the afterlife. Souls go to the halls of various gods and
do not return; treating graves and human remains
with care is simply part of respect for the ancestors.
any common ground?
Past beliefs
It is not necessary to rehearse here what we know of
funerary practice in Britain (Lucy 2000, Parker-Pearson
1999, Taylor 2001) except to say that the variety of
depositional types and a range of material and ritual
‘expense’ implies similarly varied beliefs. While the
funeral and burial was a rite of passage for the spirit, it
was also a mechanism to aid adjustment of survivors,
reintegrate the community and make social statements
– and these having been done, the burial itself usually
gradually loses its relevance. Intercutting of graves and
re-deposition of bones in early Anglo-Saxon
cemeteries suggests little care for the burials’ integrity
over time, despite the initial investment.
Reasons for reburial?
An undisturbed burial and slow reduction of a body
into its native ground, in order to retain a unity of
land and spirit, is but one view that might have been
held by some of our ancestors. If one holds this view,
then removal prevents tranquillity for the soul
[reburial would give] ... the deep peace and rest of
the good earth, such as we (unless we prefer
cremation) would wish ourselves, undisturbed, or
at least, replaced in the earth after any
exhumation, until our bones became the soil of
future generations. (CoBDO website)
Further, there are assertions that excavated human
remains are not being used
archaeologists ... have evidence over and above
what is actually required at the moment, or in the
future, ... the remains that they have in storage, or
at least some of them, are indeed surplus to
requirements. ... unknown specimens which sit in
cardboard boxes in dark basements, because they
are just more of the same, for which no one
seems to have any practical use ....
Those of us who work with human remains will find
this surprising: new questions and new techniques,
particularly in the field of ancient DNA, allow
assemblages to be revisited repeatedly.
Common ground?
On the other hand, Emma Restall-Orr, a leading
shamanic druid of Honouring the Ancient Dead,
expresses her view eloquently
Corinne Duhig
As an animist, I perceive and experience human
remains as enspirited, in other words, as still
humming with the stories of the individual, their
community and their landscape. ... they retain a
connection to the living, and thus deserve the
consideration of ... those with whom they have
some relational link, whether closely through
blood or cultural commonalities, or more broadly
through a shared landscape and long history.
(Interview with Pagans for Archaeology)
And HAD’s press release on the Avebury consultation
HAD’s more broadly reaching representation of
British Paganisms [in contrast to CoBDO’s] informs
that there is not a unanimous call for reburial ....
While there are many whose animism and
reverence for ancestors fuels a visceral need to
rebury excavated remains, there are others for
whom the stories gleaned and the material
presence of the ancestral remains are more
important than reburial.
Archaeology, though fed by the application of various
sciences, is one of the humanities. Our value of the
past we have in common with modern pagans. As an
osteoarchaeologist I believe the ancient human remains
to be no more than ‘diaries’ but I want to use those
remains to tell the stories of individuals of the past. In
that way I honour our ancestors, whoever they were
and whatever they believed, in a truly pagan spirit.
Corinne Duhig
Forensic Archaeologist and Osteoarcheologist
[email protected]
01223 311796
Lucy S 2000 The Anglo-Saxon way of death. Stroud: Sutton Publishing Ltd
Malim T and J Hines 1998 The Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Edix Hill
(Barrington A), Cambridgeshire CBA Research Report 112
Parker-Pearson M 1999 The archaeology of death and burial. Stroud:
Sutton Publishing
Taylor A 2001 Burial practice in early England. Stroud: Tempus Publishing
Council of British Druid Orders (www.cobdo.org.uk)
Pagan Federation (www.paganfed.org)
Pagans for Archaeology (archaeopagans.blogspot.com)
Honouring the Ancient Dead (www.honour.org.uk)
36
The Archaeologist
37
Mike Allen with the Wor barrow bones in Salisbury and South
Wiltshire Museum
Many argue that when human bones and
other environmental evidence have been
studied they can be re-buried or discarded
analyst found, the museum (Salisbury and South
Wiltshire Museum) were only too delighted. They
could realise the original aims of the deposition and
reduce the quantity of boxes stored in limited archive
space.
General Pitt Rivers
Imagine my trepidation, therefore, when I had the
opportunity potentially to examine a whole set of
Neolithic human bones from a long barrow in
association with English Heritage-funded training and
research, with radiocarbon dating and Bayesian
modelling. The barrow? Wor Barrow, Dorset, no less,
excavated by General Pitt Rivers. The training and
research would dovetail into impressive and
groundbreaking work on dating long barrows by
Alasdair Whittle and the doyenne of radiocarbon
dating modelling, Alex Bayliss, and also into recently
completed and published research in Cranborne
Chase by Charly French, Helen Lewis, Martin Green,
myself and others.
as they will no longer add to knowledge.
Others insist that anything that has been
accessioned is sacrosanct and cannot be
sampled for analysis. As an environmental
archaeologist, I have seen both sides and
would like to make a case for the value of
archive material and for its proper use –
and for my ideal curator.
B O N E S I N B OX E S
–
whatever are they for?
A
s a field and environmental archaeologist I have,
on occasion over the past 25 years, wished to
augment field-collected data with material collected
by previous archaeologists and now in a museum
archive. When I requested the opportunity to process
and analyse soil samples taken from early and mid20th century excavations to recover land snails,
charcoal and other soil/sediment characteristics to
augment my research on prehistoric landscapes, on
several occasions access to these ‘unstable’,
unprocessed, soil samples was denied. Had denial to
some of my requests been accompanied with
comments such as ‘the research proposed on the
samples was not considered of great enough value or
38
Mike Allen
significance to warrant their processing and loss for
the archive’, I might have appreciated such refusals,
but often it was because ‘they were a part of the
archive’, and ‘that the museum had a duty to curate
and conserve the material in the archive’! So what is
the archive for, if not for study by later generations
with new ideas and techniques?
There were, of course, museums that did facilitate my
research requests; and work on samples from the
Curwen’s excavations around Lewes, Sussex were
analysed as a part of work published in 1995. Where
samples from more recent excavations at Vespasian’s
Camp had been taken for land snail analysis but no
The Archaeologist
Obtaining the bones
We were fortunate indeed to find Jane Ellis-Schön,
curator at Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum.
She thought like an archaeologist and her philosophy
was that the archives should be available for further
education and research; her role was one of
facilitating good and approved research on the
material within her guardianship. An application to
examine the archives, undertake research on the
excavation records, and remove samples for AMS
radiocarbon dating and modelling was welcomed.
After concerted preliminary research and selection,
key long bones and antlers were selected for presampling examination of potential pathology. Whilst
this work was in progress the possibility of
undertaking DNA or stable isotope analysis was
considered, so the items were to include a number
of human skulls or mandibles too.
Just what a museum should be!
The agreed day of removal fell during half term,
and Salisbury & South Wilts Museum was buzzing
with school children during an educational event;
many had faces painted as Egyptians, and others
were dressed, in a fashion, like pharaohs with sheets
and robes. I was in the archives hidden from view,
clipboard in hand and white coat donned, searching
the hand-made boxes General Pitt Rivers had
commissioned to store the human bones. After
removing bones and placing a card indicating what
had been removed, by whom and when, I carefully
boxed up the human remains. But one of the skulls
on my list was not in the archive ... it was on display.
No problem, said Jane Ellis-Schön, getting keys to the
display cabinet, politely parting groups of children
and opening the case. The human skull was carefully
lifted with gloved hands and popped into an
appropriate box. Thus, during that moment, the
gallery entertained school children bedecked in
ancient Egyptian attire and following a history (or
prehistory) trail; a couple of university students
reading labels and assiduously taking notes; a curator
aiding research by lending material on display, and
researcher obtaining primary material for study. ...
just what a museum should be!
Learning from the human bones
Potential research and new information the human
bones can offer is incalculable. Already this project,
originally just a simple one to date Neolithic
inhumations in Wor barrow, offers much greater
potential. The possibility exists for full reanalysis of
the human remains by Martin Smith from
Bournemouth University, who has recently
published a book on skeletons from Neolithic long
barrows (p50). The dating may allow us to
determine the longevity of use of the monument;
how long, at the generational scale, did the several
phases of mortuary practices last before being
entombed in the chalk and earthen barrow –
centuries, generations or decades? How long was it
between the primary and secondary burial practices
– could they have known, or known of each other?
Further, the possibility of DNA and isotope analysis
may allow us to examine whether they were all local
or whether some lived and were brought up further
afield – we already know that Neolithic skeletons
found not far from Wor barrow (Cranborne lady and
accompanying children) originated from Mendip,
and the Amesbury Archer from the Alps. Were those
buried in Wor barrow all related to each other and
belong to the same extended family? Such questions
will help us to continue to make huge leaps in our
understanding of the British Neolithic and of our
past. These were questions that we could not
conceive were possible answering (or even asking) a
generation ago, let alone when Pitt Rivers excavated
them in 1893-4.
So thank goodness for museum archives and for
responsible curators – without them both our, and the
next, generations would be much poorer in
information and the lack of such remains for study
would stifle and retard our understanding of people
and communities who lived here before us.
Mike Allen
Allen Environmental Archaeology
Senior Lecturer Bournemouth University
[email protected]
39
Worcester
Burials below the
Cathedral from the
north-west
north-west.
quadrant of the
Photograph by
Chapter House.
Christopher Guy,
Photograph by
© Dean and
Christopher Guy,
Chapter of
© Dean and
Worcester
Chapter of
Cathedral
Worcester
Cathedral
WORCESTER
CATHEDRAL:
excavating human remains
in a Christian context
Christopher
Guy
Work on burials within Worcester Cathedral is a
useful case history for illustrating the ways human
remains are treated within a tightly subscribed
scenario with strict state and formal Christian
oversight. The Cathedral has been a centre for
Christian worship since at least the late 7th century,
with documentary evidence for two Saxon cathedrals
predating the present one, which was started in 1084.
Documents refer to the cemetery associated with the
first Saxon cathedral and to the Norman castle taking
in part of the monastic cemetery. During the
medieval period the Cathedral cemetery was the
main site for burial of the population of Worcester.
Therefore any excavation within or around the
Cathedral is likely to encounter human remains.
LICENSING SYSTEMS
Archaeological work at Worcester Cathedral requires
the approval of numerous bodies. The entire precinct is
a scheduled monument, and application also has to be
made to the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England
(which governs works to Anglican cathedrals). Unlike
40
parish churches, where approval for the disturbance of
human remains can be granted under the Faculty
system, a licence has to be obtained from the Ministry
of Justice to comply with the 1857 Burials Act. The
presumption when undertaking any excavation at the
Cathedral is that, whenever possible, articulated
skeletons will be left in situ. However, this is not
always feasible. For example, an excavation inside the
Chapter House in 2003 in advance of underfloor
heating and a new stone floor required digging to a
depth of 600mm below the existing wooden floor in
order to lay insulation etc.
Documentary research only produced reference to
one burial, ‘at the entrance to the chapter house’, in
1170. In the event, the remains of the first burials to
be discovered were found at a depth of 200mm, just
below the joists supporting the Victorian floor. The
options were to cease excavation and install a new
floor without underfloor heating or to lift those
burials where the highest level of the bones was less
than 500mm below finished floor level. In
consultation with English Heritage and the Cathedrals
Fabric Commission the latter option was agreed.
EARLY POPULATION
By the end of the excavation just over 180 articulated
skeletons had been lifted, with many others left in
situ. Almost all date from the Saxon period and
include men, women and children. The discovery of
these burials has provided an opportunity for the
skeletons of a random sample of the lay population
The Archaeologist
of Anglo-Saxon Worcester to be analysed, to learn
more about their diet, health and stature.
CHILD BURIALS
An initial analysis of the articulated skeletons was
carried out by Jo Buckberry of the University of
Bradford, while detailed analysis is being undertaken
by post-graduate students at the Institute of
Archaeology, University of London, under the
guidance of Tony Waldron. The work so far has
shown that 43% of the individuals were under 15
years old when they died, a greater number than
normally found in skeletal assemblages, and there
was also a relatively large number of foetuses and
neonates, reflecting Christian insistence on the
importance of treating every soul equally. When
completed, the information from the analysis will be
combined with the evidence of coffins, stone
arrangements and burial position to build a better
picture of Anglo-Saxon burial rites.
ACCESS TO REMAINS
Following completion of analysis the skeletons will
be reinterred in a charnel crypt to the north of the
Cathedral. This was constructed in 1224, when the
Lady Chapel at the east end of the Cathedral was
built on the site of the post-Conquest monks’
cemetery. The reburial will thus be within
consecrated ground and will be carried out with due
reverence and an appropriate ceremony. However,
most crucially, it will still be possible to access the
remains so that they can be re-studied should a
compelling case be made for this to be done.
REBURIAL
One skeleton from the site has already been reburied.
This was found within a stone-lined grave aligned on
the Norman entrance to the Chapter House and
dated from the late 14th or early15th century.
Disarticulated human bones were found in the upper
fills of this grave. Although the floor of the grave was
lower than the depth agreed as the limit of
excavation, it was felt that – in this instance – the
grave should be fully excavated. The CFCE agreed,
subject to reinterment of the remains within the
original grave. Only the lower legs were found in situ
but much of the rest of the skeleton was still present
within the disturbed fills. Following analysis, the
skeleton was laid out on the floor of the grave and a
short service of re-commital was led by the Very
Reverend Peter Marshall (Dean of Worcester) before
the grave was back-filled and the new floor laid over
it. A large quantity of disarticulated human bone was
found throughout the cemetery, reflecting the way the
cemetery was used and reused over the centuries, the
familiar pattern that is found too in parish churches.
These bones will also be studied and reinterred in the
charnel crypt in due course.
Christopher Guy
Worcester Cathedral Archaeologist
Chapter Office
8 College Yard
Worcester WR1 2LA
41
Reburying the human remains from Jewbury.
Photograph: Anne Grauer
There has been much recent soul-searching about
whether it is right to excavate and study human
remains. This has been triggered by the Human Tissue
Act 2004, a response to ways in which hospitals and
medical researchers have treated recent human
remains, and to the issue of the repatriation from
British museums of remains collected during the
colonial era. The issues are different for older
skeletons from British archaeological excavations, but
when concerns are expressed we need a sensitive
and reasonable way to consider how much weight to
give to them. Ignoring them is not a sensible course
of action.
Jewish cemetery
Is it right
to excavate
and study
human
remains?
Re-examining
the issues of
Jewbury
The problem can be illustrated by a particularly
difficult and sensitive case – excavation of Jewbury
cemetery in York. In 1980, the City of York Council
wanted to develop open land known as Jewbury, just
outside the Roman and medieval walls. There was
documentary evidence that this land had been a
cemetery for the Jewish community in York before
their expulsion in 1290: a slightly later source
described it as antiquum cimiterium Judaeorum, and
it is clear that the relevant land was owned at the
time by members of the Jewish community. So when
CoYC brought in the York Archaeological Trust to
advise, they in their turn contacted the office of the
Chief Rabbi, Dr Immanuel Jakobowitz, who advised
that an evaluation excavation was acceptable
provided that any burials were treated with respect.
The trial excavation in 1982 showed that there were
large numbers of well-preserved burials oriented
north-south. The Chief Rabbi’s office decided that the
burials were probably not Jewish, mainly because
they were not oriented east-west. They therefore had
no objection to excavation, again provided that the
human remains were treated with respect and
reburied. Full excavation was therefore agreed in
areas due to be disturbed by development. Around
400 burials were excavated. It was clear from pottery
in the grave fills that most were medieval (some were
Roman). Most were coffined, there was little
intercutting, and almost no grave goods. While there
were some unexpected findings – particularly the
common use of iron coffin nails and other fittings
(not acceptable in Orthodox Jewish practice), there
was little doubt that the medieval burials were 13thcentury and Jewish.
Rapid reburial
Sebastian Payne
42
As the Home Office licence stipulated reburial within
a year, plans to study the remains were taken forward
The Archaeologist
quickly. However, ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups from
Gateshead and Macclesfield became concerned and
made forceful representations, as a result of which
the Chief Rabbi said that the skeletons should be
reburied quickly. Study of the bones was brought to a
premature end; the bones were handed over to a
Jewish group and, after a delay of some months, were
buried in part of the area they had come from.
Were the right decisions made? Should the burials
have been excavated? And should their study have
been stopped like this? Recent guidelines don’t cover
this situation; but the approaches they take suggest a
more general set of questions that it may be useful to
consider.
What would the individual or community that the
dead person came from have wanted? On the basis
of knowledge of general Jewish practice, not
disturbing burials would have been important. There
are, however, indications (eg use of nails and
orientation of the burials) that the York community
may not have conformed with modern Orthodox
practice.
Does any particular individual or group of
individuals have more right to decide what happens
to these human remains than anyone else? On the
same basis, it is clear that the Jewish community has
closer links with these burials than most of the British
population, and the cemetery was well looked after
before its abandonment was caused by expulsion of
the Jews. Whether a very Orthodox group has a
better right to assert links with the dead than liberal
Jews or those of the Reform tradition, is more
questionable. Those now living in York also have an
interest created by place.
What harm or benefit is done by a particular course
of action? This question requires us to consider not
only the feelings of religious communities, but also
archaeologists, scientists and others who believe that
it is wrong not to study and try to understand our
past, and possible contributions to science and
medicine as well as to archaeology and history.
Is a particular course of action reversible or
irreversible? Because knowledge changes and beliefs
may change, a reversible action is to be preferred.
This recognises the rights of unborn generations, and
that what appears right today may not appear so in
the future.
Applying these principles to Jewbury with the benefit
of hindsight and with a present mindset, the decision
to excavate on a large scale now seems rather
questionable. There wasn’t much doubt that the
burials were Jewish and this, coupled with
knowledge of Jewish beliefs about burial and
recognition of the irreversibility of excavation,
suggests that we might think more carefully about
whether development and excavation were justified,
despite the economic benefit of development.
However, once the burials had been excavated, we
would probably be less ready to stop their study, as
any additional harm done by this is small.
Wrong decisions?
In retrospect, it appears that doubt about whether it
was really right to excavate the burials may have
made it more difficult to resist pressure to make the
second questionable decision to stop study; and that
this may have been reinforced by the fear of negative
publicity. Whether we would have made different
decisions now is unknowable; but I hope we would
now have a clearer framework within which to weigh
up and try to balance different and conflicting
considerations.
Particular thanks for information and for helpful
discussion are due to Richard Hall, Nick Pearson and
Christine Kyriakou of YAT, to Don Brothwell and Terry
O’Connor of York University, and to Anne Grauer of
Loyola University of Chicago. I am particularly
grateful to Nick Pearson, who bore the brunt of
events. It is a tribute to him and to others involved in
the post-excavation study that so much was achieved
in spite of what happened.
Sebastian Payne
Chief Scientist
English Heritage
Lilley JM, Stroud G, Brothwell DR and Williamson MH (eds), 1994
The Jewish burial ground at Jewbury, The Archaeology of York 12:
The Medieval cemeteries 3, YAT / CBA
Human Tissue Act 2004
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2004/ukpga_20040030_en_1
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publichealth/Scientificdevelopmentgeneticsand
bioethics/Tissue/Tissuegeneralinformation/DH_4102169
DCMS 2005 Guidance for the care of human remains in museums
http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/GuidanceHumanRemains
11Oct.pdf
Church of England / English Heritage 2005 Guidance for best practice
for treatment of human remains excavated from Christian burial grounds
in England.
http://www.helm.org.uk/upload/pdf/Guidance_for_best_practice_for_
treatment_of_human_remains_excavated_from_Christian_burial_grounds
_in_England.pdf?1245085103
43
B I OA R C H A E O LO G Y
AND CULTURAL
HISTORY
Nancy Beavan Athfield, Louise Shewan,
Richard Armstrong, Dougald O’Reilly
Dougald Reilly at Angkor Wat
BIOARCHAEOLOGY
Health, human mobility and social differentiation are
fundamental to three archaeological issues of
mainland south east Asia – the nature of early
agrarian rice growing communities, the impact of
‘Indianisation’ on the formation of the state, and the
development and demise of empires. Accompanying
these cultural transformations is changing
accessibility, distribution and use of resources, often
linked to population movement. By employing
integrated bioarchaeological analysis of human
skeletal remains – the physical attributes and
evidence of disease combined with isotopic evidence
for variability of diet and migration, gauged with a
reliable chronology – we can enhance understanding
of temporal changes in residential behaviour, ritual
traditions, health and mobility of agricultural
communities in the formative stages of state
development during the rise and decline of south east
Asia’s most powerful state, centred on Angkor.
A team from the University of Sydney, led by
Dougald O’Reilly, is studying diet, mobility
and social organisation from Cambodian skeletal
assemblages c 2500 BC to the 17th century AD.
The project utilises interdisciplinary collaborations
with Rafter Radiocarbon at GNS Science, New
Zealand and the Australian National University’s
NEW DATING FOR BONE
Our research design utilises major advances in
isotopic analytical techniques to extract cultural
information, and the latest methods to date cremated
bone. In addition to establishing a chronology for
isotopic change, we will pursue a significant issue
regarding poor preservation of bone for dating in
Research School of Earth Sciences to enhance
traditional archaeological techniques.
Much of our early knowledge of Cambodian cultural
history was based on fragmentary textual evidence
and sparse references in Chinese annals from the first
centuries AD. Early archaeological research gleaned
insights about the rise of the Khmer Empire from
monumental architecture, art and Sanskrit
inscriptions, while recent excavation and analysis
have focused on individual sites, settlement patterns,
palaeoenvironmental issues and pre-state
developments.
Human tooth cross sections and enamel fragments prepared for in-situ analysis of strontium and oxygen by Laser-Ablation ICP-MS and
SHRIMP (Sensitive High Resolution Ion Micro Probe). Photograph: Richard Armstrong
44
The Archaeologist
IN
CAMBODIA
south east Asian sites and similar environmental
regions. Bone consists of a mineral fraction,
bioapatite, and a protein fraction, collagen, which is
the material of choice for radiocarbon analysis.
Alternating wet/dry conditions and heat can rapidly
degrade collagen; while the bioapatite fraction will
appear to remain largely intact, its crystalline
structure can become contaminated with carbonates
from environmental sources, leading to spurious
radiocarbon ages. We are trialing techniques at Rafter
Radiocarbon to identify the extent of burial alteration
using techniques such as Particle Induced X-ray
Emission (PIXE) analysis of elemental concentrations
of manganese to identify the extent of bioapatite
degradation. Additionally, results from recent
experiments suggest that in some specific cases, a
modified chemical treatment technique might allow
reliable dating of this mineral fraction of bone.
To examine residential mobility and environmental
variability, we will use state of the art analytical
equipment and sampling procedures pioneered at the
Australian National University for laser-ablation ICPMS and SHRIMP (Sensitive High Resolution Ion
MicroProbe) for in-situ strontium and oxygen isotope
analysis. Both techniques require only extremely
small sample sizes and permit the isotopic mapping
of skeletal material at unprecedented spatial
resolution, providing highly detailed records of
environmental change and migration.
JAR BURIALS
Regional and temporal changes in documented
mortuary practices are an aspect of our research, but
we also have the exciting opportunity to investigate a
heretofore unknown practice. Since 2003 I have
studied enigmatic jar burial sites in the Cardamom
Mountains of southern Cambodia, and this intriguing
research is incorporated into our current project. In
the Cardamoms we find a culturally unique custom
of secondary internment of multiple skeletons in
large pottery jars, which were then placed in natural
rock ledges at remote locations throughout the
Cardamom massif. Preliminary analysis from the first
site to be analysed indicates its use from AD 1440 to
perhaps as late as AD1630. Questions about who
created these sites and how long the practice lasted
will be addressed by radiocarbon dating and isotopic
analysis of skeletal material for clues about residency
and diet, at two more of the estimated thirteen such
sites in the massif.
The enigmatic secondary jar burials of the Cardamom Mountains,
Cambodia. Photograph: John Miksic
We are hoping that this integration of advanced
isotopic analytical techniques with classical
archaeological methods for physical skeletal analysis
will enhance our understanding of temporal changes
in population, health, diet, and patterns of mobility of
the agrarian communities of the 2nd and 1st
millennia BC, through to the formative stages of state
development, and into the late- and post-Angkorian
world after the 15th century AD.
Nancy Beavan-Athfield
Rafter Radiocarbon
GNS Science, New Zealand
[email protected]
PIXE graph of characteristic x-rays produced by particle atom
interaction which identifies elemental makeup of the three samples
of chemically treated bone carbonate, showing major elemental
peaks. Here levels of Manganese (Mn) are highest for KVC(22), a
bone carbonate sample returning
14C
ages in agreement with
associated tooth protein.
45
Australians on parade in Martin Brown’s
village © Market Lavington Museum
‘Known Unto God’ –
excavating an Australian soldier
of the Great War
Martin Brown and Richard Osgood
We are soon going to a military funeral. It is the funeral of a
man who once probably paraded in the Wiltshire village of
one author (Martin’s) and who may have known the
grandfather of another (Richard’s). It also happens to be the
funeral for a man whose remains we recovered in an
excavation in 2008. Archaeology of Great War sites and in
particular the sensitivities of recovering remains throws up
some unusual challenges.
The authors, both archaeologists with Defence
Estates, are also members of the European Group for
Great War Archaeology; No-Man’s-Land. On one of
our excavations we recovered the body of an Allied
soldier next to the old German front line near
Ploegsteert Wood in Wallonia.
Dealing with a soldier’s body
The procedure for dealing with finds of human
remains from the Great War is strictly controlled in
this part of Belgium. Excavation work soon confirmed
that we had a soldier’s body rather than simply an
isolated boot and at this point work stopped. We
reported the find to the local police station who, in
turn informed the army. After several police visits and
one from the Royal Procurator the army
representative arrived to supervise exhumation.
Although this work is normally carried out by the
Belgian Army, in this instance they were happy to
defer to our team as we had a full forensic set-up. We
had further calls to make, informing the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) in
the UK and Ypres and then the Joint Casualty and
Compassionate Centre of the MoD in Gloucester.
Round-the-clock vigil
Our excavation work aimed, as much as on any
archaeological site, at gaining maximum information
about the man, his life and death, and perhaps even
his identity. The site was covered with a tent and
fenced to prevent visitors getting too close (not
entirely successfully) and an embargo on press
coverage was enforced throughout the team. Forensic
recovery of a body takes its time – longer than that
taken to excavate a skeleton on many sites of earlier
vintage. Our team worked with the constant fear of
looting – the man we found was NEVER left alone
and a round-the-clock vigil was mounted in order
that no looting of artefacts for souvenirs at night was
possible.
Australian insignia and a live hand grenade
We soon found insignia that showed the soldier to
have been an Australian, from the attacks of 1917,
and thus a further layer of protocol with the
Australian Embassy was required. When excavation
and recording were completed, the remains of the
soldier were taken by the Belgian Army on behalf of
the CWGC prior to a forensic pathological and
dentistry report being undertaken. After rapid
conserving and recording of all artefacts, including
microscopy work, these too were handed over to the
Army and now reside with the Australian Embassy –
the only artefact not retained being a live hand
grenade found with the soldier’s equipment. Although
part of the original panoply of arms, after being
recorded, this artefact was disposed of by our on-site
Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) cover.
The artefacts not only revealed the man’s nationality,
they told much about his death. Unlike many burials
they had not been placed in a grave by grieving
relatives in a defined ritual; they spoke more about
him – being provided by his Regiment or collected
by him.
Personal connections
Many of the excavation team had a personal
connection to the Great War, often with stories of
family members and their roles in the conflict – one
even had a relative amongst those ‘missing’ in the
immediate locality. As such, this work differs hugely
from work connected to a Roman cemetery
or a Bronze Age burial. At the end of
the excavation we held a small,
quiet ceremony on site to
remember the man and those
others that had suffered in
this area over 90 years
ago.
Another personal
connection – Richard
Osgood’s grandfather
served in the same
campaign and in the
same Australian Third
Division (in the
artillery). He was
wounded but
survived the
war
A name on a headstone
On returning to
England news of our
discovery was released
and we were soon
faced with emails from
Australia from those
whose relatives were
amongst the missing from
Messines – could this be
their relative – could they be
tested for DNA in efforts to
identify and bury the soldier? The
Australian government and army
history unit are now heavily engaged in the
next stage – to identify the man. The Australian
military attaché did not want us to show images of
the body which might be seen by children or
grandchildren. Hence you will not see a photo of the
man here. Yet he was a man, not an artefact, one
with a narrative. All efforts are now being made to
ensure that when we attend the funeral, there will be
a name on a headstone with a ceremony attended by
family members flown out by the Australian
government. Otherwise, he will still be buried – as an
Australian soldier of the Great War, known unto God.
Full details of this project including the recovery of
the soldier will appear this summer in Excavating
Plugstreet, the archaeology of a Great War Battlefield,
Martin Brown and Richard Osgood (Haynes, Yeovil).
Martin Brown
Richard Osgood
Historic Environment Team, Defence Estates
Building 21, Westdown Camp
Tilshead
Salisbury SP3 4RS
Artefacts found with the soldier his Australian insignia (a button,
46
collar dog ‘Rising Sun’ badge, and
The nearby cemetery of Toronto Avenue. Toronto Avenue is the last resting place of large
shoulder title ‘Australia’). © No-
numbers of Australians – most from the 33rd Btn and killed on the morning of the Messines
Man’s-Land Archaeology
attack. Our man probably served in this unit
The Archaeologist
47
how much new knowledge is currently being gained
from re-studying old collections.
Charlotte A Roberts
Practical handbooks in Archaeology No 19
CBA 2009 292pp £20
And this is how and why we should look at ancient
human remains.
Prof Roberts has produced an authoritative guide that
takes us through ethical and religious concerns,
current legal requirements in England and Wales,
Scotland and Northern Ireland, ways the dead have
been disposed of, recommended excavation and
processing techniques, how to analyse bones, how
diseases may be recognised, other scientific
techniques and their possibilities, and some
suggestions for further research and exploration. Each
chapter ends with key learning points for student
readers, and there are clear diagrams and other aids
to learning.
The scale of the research potential is of course
enormous. She quotes 10,516 skeletons from
Spitalfields alone, and cemeteries of all periods are
being discovered and excavated in large numbers
every year, being one type of site it is impossible for
a developer to ignore. Thus archaeologists must
constantly balance responsibilities to the dead, to the
living and to science. In this we are fortunate for the
public, when consulted, seem to trust archaeologists
to get this right. Long-term curation of bones is also
supported, again fortunately, as new statistics show
48
A Neolithic ring ditch and later prehistoric
features at Staines Road Farm, Shepperton
Phil Jones
Although all issues are covered, this is a practical text
book that concentrates on practical concerns. There
is useful advice on the effects of different burial
environments and on what to look out for during
excavation and recording, and instructions for
processing and packing (tough but no doubt fair –
hard water can be damaging, no exposure to direct
sunlight, fancy boxes….). Health and safety
instructions are fairly reassuring – risks of contracting
disease are ‘highly negligible’ except for more recent
burials, but these are rather hair raising. It is
interesting and reassuring to note that the best way to
estimate height is to measure the skeleton in the
ground rather than using mathematical models in the
lab. Train and trust your diggers! When studying
disease, we must face the paradox that bones tend to
reveal what people survived not what they died from,
as bone change takes time and a strong immune
system. And data can inform us how people coped
with trauma and disease, with splints and dressings,
copper alloy plates attached to joints, as well as
trepanation. Her discussion of problems of age at
death estimation unfortunately destroys some of the
faith non-scientists place in these statistics, but it is
good to be directed to non-archaeological records for
back-up on ageing, at least for medieval and modern
remains. The only weak point is descriptions of burial
practices, too great a topic to tackle alongside the
scientific issues.
Useful too are descriptions of the relevant ‘hard
sciences’ such as histological methods, radiography,
ancient DNA and the stable isotope analysis which is
having such an impact on our understanding of
migration. There is also appreciation of archaeology’s
contribution to understanding modern diseases –
apparently we can’t for example blame farm animals
for TB, as human had it first (by 5800+/-90 BC).
Looking to the future, Charlotte Roberts pleads for
improvements in curation conditions, for more
debate on destructive sampling and for better
dialogue with bioarchaeologists before reburial is
pursued. Most especially she wants more access to
and publication of grey literature that contains
skeleton analysis, but ‘of key importance is the
development of a database of curated skeletal
remains in Britain’.
The Archaeologist
SpoilHeap Monograph 1 2008 84pp £10 + £2.50 p&p
To order, or for further details please contact:
Jane Robertson, Surrey History Centre, 130 Goldsworth
Road, Woking GU21 6ND (01483 518778,
[email protected]
This is a rescued publication of work carried out in
1989, fortunately written by one of the original
excavation team. The main monument consisted of a
segmented circular ditch of the mid-4th millennium
BC, lined with white clay and with partial remains of
a crouched and a supine burial in the ditch, from
which some bones had been removed after
decomposition of soft tissue. The preferred
explanation for this is inadvertent disturbance when
the burial had been forgotten. There was no burial or
other feature within the ring, so the monument
presumably had some other function. The ditch fill
also contained antler picks and dog or wolf remains,
and an important assemblage of Neolithic pottery.
Adjacent occupation dating a millennium later
included a burnt mound with hearth and boiling pit,
and close by was a pit alignment leading to the River
Ash, which itself flows into the Thames. The ditch
also produced a great quantity of struck flint,
generally poor quality and gathered from the
immediate locality. Refits were noted, and one can
assume the mound was used as a knapping site, in
the manner of many later barrows. If forced to
classify this monument, the author plumps for a small
henge, and it would be useful to have seen this
reflected in the title and summary (always read the
final discussion first……..).
People of the long barrows: life, death and
burial in the earlier Neolithic
Martin Smith and Megan Brickley
The History Press 2009 192pp £18.99
Several hundred long mounds are the most common
and characteristic monuments of the earlier Neolithic
(c. 4000 – 3000 BC), unevenly spread through Britain
and paralleled by similar mounds in NW Europe.
Recent Bayesian analysis (Bayliss and Whittle 2007)
suggests the time span for burial was much shorter
than previously thought, basically 3700 – 3600 BC.
Though their functions were broader the vast majority
contain burials, and it is the burials rather than the
It is a miracle to get a 20-year-old excavation of such
an unconventional site into this clear well-presented
format, all analyses in place and due consideration
for inevitable anomalies. It even includes some oldfashioned virtues such as fine and plentiful flint and
pottery drawings. This is the first SpoilHeap venture
which, if pursued, should bring many deserving sites
to proper attention.
architecture of the mounds or other aspects of life
that concerns these authors, both biological
anthropologists. The burials they discuss supply the
first significant quantity of human remains from
prehistoric Britain and, although individual
collections are described as ‘small, fragmented and
poorly documented’, together and with continued
analysis their potential for insight into the first
agriculturalists is immense.
Exploring genetic traits for example, for familial
relationships, they show that bones that have been
recently re-examined demonstrate quite close
relationships, and that these have considerable
R E V I E W S
R E V I E W S
Human remains in archaeology:
a handbook
49
Life and death in a Roman city: Excavation
of Roman cemetery with a mass grave at
120-122 London Road, Gloucester
Andrew Simmonds, Nicholas Marqez-Grant and
Louse Loe
Oxford Archaeology Monograph No 6 2008 182pp £19.99
Work on part of a cemetery established for the
nearby fortress in Gloucester in the Neronian period
and used by the succeeding colonia until the 4th
century contained a sequence of cremation and
inhumation burials plus a mass grave and two carved
tombstones. A small number of 1st-century burials
included crouched bodies in the native fashion
alongside cremations, some in urns and
Despite regional variations in the form of
monuments, treatment of bodies is broadly similar
through Britain. A common feature is evidence for
continued attention to handling the bones, with
varied spatial arrangements performed over long
periods (we are reminded too of the possibilities of
antiquarian activities, no doubt often unrecorded,
that have also disturbed and rearranged/removed
bones). Neolithic bones were clearly protected from
excessive damage in a terrain where wolves and
dogs, known to totally destroy exposed skeletons,
were common, so excarnation by exposure generally
does not fit the evidence on many sites. Clues for the
spread of gluten and lactose intolerance into modern
Britain form another fascinating thread that can be
studied through the rapid spread of these earliest
agriculturalists.
50
accompanied by grave goods, such as gaming sets
and glass unguent bottles, in a very different tradition
that in this area arrived with the army in AD 49. From
the 2nd century the burials (64 of them) are all
inhumations with few grave goods, and the site is
considered a fairly low status area of a much larger
cemetery. The most significant element of the site was
a mass grave which contained a haphazard jumble of
around 90 bodies, thought to result from the
Antonine Plague of smallpox (165 – 189 AD). The
entangled skeletons, which required complicated
new recording systems to be devised, fitted the
demography of other burials on the site in sex
(though with an even higher proportion of men to
women, 2.5:1) and physical attributes, but the age
range fitted a ‘living population’ rather than usual
The Archaeologist
The Black Death cemetery, East Smithfield,
London
Ian Grainger, Duncan Hawkins, Lynne Cowal and
Richard Mikolski
MoLAS Monograph 43 2008 63 pp £10.95 hb
As part of the City’s mechanisms for coping with the
plague of 1348-1350 two emergency burial grounds
were opened, one on this site. Excavations of some
759 burials, some in orderly individual graves but
most in mass burial trenches and a pit, enabled the
first analysis of a large-scale cemetery of this kind in
Britain. In contrast to Gloucester’s Roman plague pit
(above), bodies were carefully placed and packed
densely, up to five deep, with infants fitted into spare
spaces. A few were in coffins, occasionally with
ash/charcoal (one with fish bones: hearth rakings?).
Some still had buckles for fastening underwear, and
coins, some in purses, occurred (presumably no one
wanted to come too close to infected corpses). Apart
from one prone and one flexed body, all were supine
and extended. Age profiles did not mark this site
particularly as a catastrophe cemetery, for it varied
from normal attritional cemeteries only in that there
were few infants and few over 45. Despite brave
attempts, analysis of the bones has not yet
contributed to debates on the causes of Black Death.
Average heights were slightly on the low side for later
medieval cemeteries, and teeth showed dietary
deficiencies in childhood, so perhaps this was a
weaker than usual portion of the population, but no
differences were found in adults who would have
been children during famines earlier in the 14th
century and younger adults.
mortality profiles. Most had died in the prime of life,
and there were no signs of violence. Two gravestones,
one dedicated to a slave boy and one to a soldier
were other exceptional finds. Another interesting if
not unexpected result of this excavation is that
isotope analysis demonstrates a range of origins for
the population, some local, some from elsewhere in
Britain, some Mediterranean and two from some
other non-UK source.
The monograph is set out clearly and for ease of use,
in a concise version of the traditional format and with
helpful use of colour throughout. Oxford
Archaeology has set the bar high and this quality of
report is now accepted as almost standard for
significant sites.
R E V I E W S
R E V I E W S
potential for ancient DNA in relation to modern
populations, mesolithic predecessors and their NW
European contemporaries. Perceptions of the period
are challenged by the growing body of evidence for
violence, with perimortem fractures inflicted by axes
and clubs as well as arrows wounds being far more
common than might be expected. As there is new
evidence that individuals from barrows were
contemporary with (and possibly actually were) the
builders of Crickley Hill, this may be no coincidence.
It is also puzzling to note that there are more
individuals with disabling conditions than normally
found in archaeological samples or normal
populations.
This is challenging read, with (Leverhume-backed)
data so fresh it is in places hard to digest. The authors
certainly make the case for new techniques that
justify extensive re-examination of available human
remains of this date. It will be interesting to see how
immediate results are fitted into or refined by
archaeologists approaching evidence from other
perspectives.
51
R E V I E W S
St Marylebone church and burial ground in
the 18th and 19th centuries
Adrian Miles, Natasha Powers and Robin WroeBrown with Don Walker
women being churched after childbirth and eight
children being baptized, all together in the small
church. Tables of burial fees giving prices for different
age and social groups demonstrate that some
members of society expect more careful and
therefore long-lasting burials than others – a
housekeeper’s child under 8 buried in the common
area was the cheapest, at 7s 4d, and a vault in the
best burying ground costing £16 16d the most
expensive. Documentary and archaeological
evidence are combined to give a vivid picture of the
contemporary funeral trade, which in its attitudes is
enlightening for students of other periods of death,
and there is a horrific picture of mortality, with nearly
half the population of this advanced parish dying
under 10 years old. Numerous name plates enable
various personal histories to be associated with
graves, the most significant being that of Charles
Wesley, Methodist hymn writer, and his family. Other
evidence includes dentistry, feet malformed by
fashionable shoes, TB (very common), syphilis
(surprisingly rare), fist fights, autopsies, pipe smoking
and the effects of corsets.
As in the Black Death report (above), interdisciplinary
strands needed to research and analyse evidence for
a site of this nature are superbly knitted together and
lavishly published in hard back, with (for
Marylebone) plentiful use of colour and
reproductions of contemporary illustrations. The
reports demonstrate just how much archaeologists are
now able to contribute to history of all periods.
MoLAS Monograph 46 2008 172pp £18.95 hb
Between the existence of a medieval and a 19thcentury church a small brick one was in use here in
Marylebone, 1742 to 1817, serving a relatively
wealthy population. Its congregation, preserved
beneath a school playing field, is examined here. The
burials included 107 named examples, several
burials in crypts, 348 wooden coffins and 57 lead
ones.
Alison Taylor
[email protected]
The Prehistoric Society has just launched
(at its Europa conference in York on 30
May) a new monograph series under Series
Editors Mike Allen and David McOmish.
This will fill a need that the Prehistoric
Society identified for good-quality books
on prehistoric themes, concentrating on
research projects and conference papers,
but not single excavation reports. These will
complement the Society’s respected
Proceedings, with broader treatment of key
research areas. The series has a distinctive
format; the books are published in hard
cover and imaginatively designed.
Two volumes have already been announced at a
special pre-publication discount of £25 (full price
£35). For further details of all these titles, see
‘Research Papers’, on the Prehistoric Society’s
website, www.prehistoricsociety.org.
The Prehistoric Society will keep IfA members posted
of special offers on the volumes.
Michael Allen
Series Editor
Already published is From Bann flakes to Bushmills;
papers in honour of Professor Peter Woodman (eds
Nyree Finlay, Sinéad McCartan, Nicky Milner &
Caroline Wickham-Jones). This covers many aspects
of predominantly Mesolithic archaeology in Ireland,
mainland Britain and north-west Europe, reflecting
the range and breadth of Peter’s own interests and the
international esteem in which his work is held.
Next will be Land and People: papers in memory of
John G Evans, edited by Michael J Allen, Niall
Sharples and Terry O’Connor, celebrating John
Evans’s pioneering contribution to environmental
archaeology. Papers considering prehistoric farming,
past landscapes, and how people engaged with the
countryside in which they lived required both
archaeological and environmental archaeological
enquiry.
Materialitas: shaping stone, carving identity, edited by
Blaze O’Connor, Gabriel Cooney and John
Chapman, explores the power and effect of stone
through the meanings that emerged out of people’s
engagement and encounters with its physical
properties. Focused primarily on the Neolithic and
Bronze Age of Atlantic Europe it brings together
authors working on the materiality of stone objects,
rock art, monuments and quarrying activity.
The report benefits from exceptional documentary
evidence. This includes contemporary drawings,
parish and burial accounts and even an eye witness
(and eye-watering) description of life inside the
church in 1807. Then, despite the parish being the
‘largest and most opulent in the capital’, poor
facilities meant that at the time of the visit there were
five corpses awaiting burial lying on trestles, five
52
NEW PREHISTORIC MONOGRAPH SERIES
A fourth volume, on the British Chalcolithic, is under
preparation for publication in 2010.
The Archaeologist
53
ELECTED
TRANSFERS
54
Member (MIFA)
Associate (AIFA)
Practitioner (PIFA)
Affiliate
Student
Hal Bishop
Susan Casey
Martin Cuthbert
Nicole Bailie
David Abell
John Bryant
Gregory Crees
Simon Davidson
Thomas Bishop
Nathalie Andrews
Timothy Carew
Christopher Faine
John Griffiths
Hannah Boden
Stuart Barnes
Sean Kingsley
Rachel Fosberry
Anthony Haskins
Garry Chidgey
Olga Bassinne
Ann Reynolds
Alison Hamer
Lilly Hodges
Martin Dearne
Nathan Blick
Nick Thorpe
Heather Hopkins
Paul Humphreys
Clare Gillett
Sarah Cattell
Helen Wickstead
Kirsten Jarrett
Paul Murtagh
Sarah Goodwin
Amber Cottee
Ken Wiggins
Hana Lewis
Diarmuid
Sandra Hamblett
David Cranham
Jamillia Hawa
Sarah Dewar
Ray McBride
O’Seaneachain
John McCarthy
Fiona Pink
Robert Heron
Paul Dickinson
Sophie Nicol
Michelle Statton
Laura Hussey
Luise Erfurth
Matthew Parker
Juha-Matti Vuorinen
Ashley Jillett
Gareth Evans
Oliver Pryce
Barry Lane
Elizabeth
Daniel Rhodes
Joanne Lathan
Emma Ruddle
Lisa McCaig
Richard Grove
Michael Sims
Roisin McCarthy
Sarah Irwin
Marc Steinmetzer
Suzanne
Tina Jakielski
Gerard Thacker
McGalliard
Sean Wallis
Freshwater
Sarah James
Michael McQueen
Robert Lee
Ruth Messer
David Mennear
Dennis Morgan
Robert Moody
Philip O’Kane
David Mullen
Trevor Reynolds
Katherine Neustadt
Joanne Roberts
Constantinos
Ewa Rutkowska
Papadopoulos
Marie Sanders
Chris Rackham
Anna Silmon
Jeremy Revell
Odele Smith
James Rodliff
Andro Stosic
Robert Slack
Hazel Williams
Heather Smart
Charles Stonebridge
Alicia Swindells
James Walker
Gerald Wilkinson
Jemima Woolverton
Member (MIFA)
Associate (AIFA)
Practitioner (PIFA)
Affiliate
Student
Michael Court
Alisdair Curtis
Emily Plunkett
Alison McQuitty
Lesley McEwan
Amanda Forster
Charlotte Dawson
Ashley Strutt
Neil Griffin
Claire Herbert
Matthew Town
Laurence Hayes
Gareth Rees
Krystyna Truscoe
Helen Maclean
Claire Statter
Jacob Warrender
R e g i s t e re d O r g a n i s a t i o n s &
M e m b e r s N ew s
Cotswold Wessex Archaeology
One element in the Government’s response to the
recession has been to bring forward infrastructure
investment where possible as part of a £1billion fiscal
stimulation package. The A46 Newark-Widmerpool
road scheme in Nottinghamshire is one such project.
Originally scheduled to start in 2012/13, the revised
schedule means that archaeologists (Cotswold
Archaeology and Wessex Archaeology) have chosen
to work in partnership.
Although the A46 scheme has been under
consideration for many years, and had recently been
examined by Public Inquiry, the revised schedule
means that not all of the archaeological evaluation
can now take place before construction starts. As a
result these surveys will be completed when work
begins at sites already identified for investigation. The
logistical and programming challenge facing the
Highways Agency, the Contractor – Balfour Beatty –
and the archaeology team of the scheme designers
Scott Wilson ranges from surveys of an English Civil
War battlefield to the excavations at the Roman small
town of Margidunum.
Cotswold Wessex Archaeology (CWA) emerged from
a keenly contested tender competition as the
successful joint venture contractor. The partnership
builds on their previous experience with the scheme
as individual companies and is another example of
Registered Organisations adapting to the challenging
business environment by adopting new ways of
approaching large projects that are logistically and
financially demanding.
Excavation at Henry VIII’s Palace at Oatlands. Foundations of the
privy court gatehouse range, including an octagonal turret, and the
semicircular base of the bay window that lit the queen’s bedroom.
SpoilHeap Publications: a new monograph series
Two Registered Organisations, Surrey County
Archaeological Unit and Archaeology South-East,
have just launched a new monograph series, starting
with A Neolithic ring ditch and later prehistoric
features at Staines Road Farm, Shepperton (see
review, PXX). Two further monographs will be
available this summer, on the Roman and medieval
town of Staines and on Henry VIII’s palace at
Oatlands, Weybridge. Other volumes are in hand,
and they would welcome enquiries from more
organisations. The initial impetus is for reports based
on excavations in south-east England, but wider
heritage themes are not excluded.
Starting work on the A46 © Cotswold Wessex Archaeology
For further details contact Jane Robertson, Surrey
History Centre, 130 Goldsworth Road, Woking
GU21 6ND ([email protected])
Peter McKeague
Honours for Members
The recent Honours list included OBEs for strong IfA
supporters Professor David John Breeze (Hon MIfA
924), lately Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments,
Historic Scotland, and for Professor Ian Ralston (MIfA
588 and Hon Chair 1991/2), both of them for
services to archaeology in Scotland.
George Mudie
Leonora O’Brien
Richard Oram
Alex Rose-Deacon
Daniel Still
Ian Travers
Sarah Watt
The Archaeologist
M E M B E R S
M E M B E R S
N ew m e m b e r s
55
M E M B E R S
O b i t u a ry
Ian Alexander George Shepherd MIfA 118
1951–2009
Ian Shepherd, the first local authority archaeologist in
Scotland, joined the planning department of
Grampian Regional Council in 1975; he was
eventually Principal Archaeologist and Team Leader
for Aberdeenshire Council, also covering Angus and
Moray. Apart from four seasons of excavation on the
Beaker settlement at Rosinish in the Outer Hebrides,
he spent his entire professional life in this area of
north east Scotland, whose archaeology, historic
buildings, and landscapes he knew intimately.
Ian effectively and enthusiastically developed a sites
and monuments record and all the other components
of a professional archaeological service for north east
Scotland from scratch. His work inside the planning
system and council extended into research and
teaching, for he was a keen populariser and a serious
academic researcher. Many new sites were
discovered during his programmes of aerial survey
from 1977, undertaken both to recover cropmarks in
the fertile lowlands of the Laigh of Moray and
elsewhere in the summer months, and upstanding
remains year-round in the upland moors. He also
undertook fieldwork and excavations. His principal
dig, with his wife Alexandra (Lekky) (MIfA 117) was
in the testing environment of Covesea Cave on the
Moray coast, in use from Late Bronze Age to Pictish
times; but he also rescued numerous Bronze Age
burials, disturbed by quarrying, ploughing or new
housing. Other archaeologists benefited too from his
advice on projects in the region, notably Richard
Bradley (eg at Broomend of Crichie, Inverurie) and
myself (at Burghead).
Ian also contributed significantly to Trusts and other
initiatives concerned with historic buildings,
archaeology and heritage. These included Elgin
Archaeological Heritage; Kinloss Abbey; Pitsligo
Castle; Burghead Headland; the Museum of Scottish
Lighthouses at Fraserburgh; Archaeolink Prehistory
Park, Oyne; and Aberdeenshire Historic Kirkyards. He
was also a keen extra-mural lecturer at Aberdeen
University and beyond (including to postgraduate
students in Cultural Resource Management at
Edinburgh). He produced over 60 significant
publications, plus a huge range of leaflets and guidebooks, specialist studies (particularly on Beaker burials
and Bronze Age jet artefacts), regional archaeological
overviews and monographs on architecture. Two
56
Ian Shepherd with Lekky near Orkney, c 1970
general surveys have been republished: his Exploring
Scotland’s Heritage: Grampian (1986) as Aberdeen
and North-East Scotland (1996); and Gordon: an
illustrated architectural guide (1994) as Aberdeenshire:
Donside and Strathbogie (2006). Both are quiet
triumphs. Co-written with Moira Greig, Grampian’s
Past: its archaeology from the air (1996) showcases
their aerial photographs of historic buildings and
archaeological sites.
He believed passionately in the importance of
Scotland’s archaeology, in which he played a central
role. He was first chair of the Association of Regional
and Islands Archaeologists, now ALGAO Scotland.
He wrote cogently on issues concerning archaeology
and planning, notably on the deleterious impacts of
certain afforestation schemes, and was a key
supporter of initiatives involving local authority
archaeological services in partnership with RCAHMS.
Ian also carried out important roles for the Society of
Antiquaries of Scotland. For almost a decade from
1982 he edited the Proceedings; and from 1999 until
a few months before his death, he chaired its
Research Committee. He had an international
reputation amongst Bronze Age specialists, and was
for many years Secretary of the Bronze Age Studies
Group. Ian’s knowledge of the prehistory, history and
personalities of north east Scotland were
encyclopaedic, but this was knowledge lightly borne
and that he was prepared to share with anyone.
He is survived by his mother, his wife Lekky, and
their daughters Bryony and Sunniva.
Ian Ralston
Professor of Later European Prehistory
School of History, Classics and Archaeology
The University, Edinburgh, EH1 1LT
The Archaeologist

The Archaeologist 72 - The Institute for Archaeologists

Transcription

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