Winter 2007Number 66

This issue:

CLIMATE CHANGEAND THEHISTORICENVIRONMENT

Reducing energyuse in traditionalbuildingsp22

Guidance onclimate changeand the historicenvironmentp26

The eroding siteson Scotland’scoastp33

The ARCHAEOLOGIST

Institute of Field ArchaeologistsSHES, University of Reading, Whiteknights

PO Box 227, Reading RG6 6ABtel 0118 378 6446fax 0118 378 6448

email admin@archaeologists.netwebsite www.archaeologists.net

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Contents

Editorial

Finds Tray

Happy Birthday: IFA is 25 Michael Dawson

Happy Birthday: the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of

Scotland is 100 Diana Murray

Happy Birthday: the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales

is also 100 Peter Wakelin

Happy Birthday: the Society of Antiquaries of London is 300

The future of the IFA: AGM debate Kathryn Whittington and Peter Hinton

Vocational skills and academic courses Kate Geary

Delivery of developers’ obligations Tim Howard

Jobs in British Archaeology 2006 James Drummond Murray

W(h)ither the profession Michael Heaton

Meeting the climate change challenge – at the next IFA conference Gill Chitty

Adapting to rural land use change: a view from ALGAO:UK Ken Smith

The Environment Agency: protecting the historic environment Ed Wilson

Reducing energy use in traditional buildings Phil Ogley

Sustainability and the SPAB Douglas Kent

Terraced housing: a threat to the planet? Lynne Walker

Guidance on climate change and the historic environment Steve Trow and Rowan Whimster

Preserving Norway’s cultural heritage in a changing climate Thomas Risan

Climate change and coastal archaeology: adapting to change Martin Bell

The eroding sites on Scotland’s coast Tom Dawson

Drowned landscapes past and future: the Isles of Scilly Charles Johns and Jacqui Mulville

Drowned in the Mesolithic: life beneath the Solent Garry Momber

Some climate changes of the past: the value of tree-ring data Mike Baillie

Insects: sensitive indicators of climate change Harry Kenward

Chronological tools for studying human interaction with past abrupt climate change

Simon Blockley. Christine Lane, Anna Oh

Lentils as climatic indicators? Chris Stevens

Cumulative impacts from offshore renewable energy Jill Hind

Piling and archaeology: English Heritage guidance note Jim Williams

Protecting wreck sites: more English Heritage guidance Mark Dunkley

Lost at sea: New study of plane crash sites Euan McNeill

Black Environment Network conference Jane Evans

New members

Members news

Obituary: Robina McNeil

Letter: Nicholas Johnson

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Climate change and the historic environment

Floods in many areas of England last summer werea brutal reminder that weather can turn very nasty,even in mild British climes. As bridges were washedaway, homes and offices flooded, communicationscut and water supplies lost, people felt vulnerableand there were dreadful fears about how thehistoric environment could suffer. In the event,although houses and their contents in low-lyingareas were damaged, most historic buildings andsites (and, most mercifully, archaeological stores)were on slightly higher ground, and escaped.Excavations were of course disrupted, as were

HERs and other archaeological organisations but itappears that disasters were averted.

Lessons must be learned however, before watersrise higher next time. Guidelines on disasterplanning must be heeded; duplicate records must bekept in safe places; areas liable to flood must neverbe used for storage; historic buildings needspecialist treatment that may be quite different tomodern ones (rapid drying by industrialdehumidifiers is especially dangerous for oldwoodwork). Over-reliance on modern technologyshould be avoided, for electricity may be the firstthing to fail, and we must avoid cures that areworse than the disease. As articles in this TAdemonstrate, some government initiatives tocounteract global change could themselves do great harm and need assessing like any otherdevelopment. Whether it is windfarms, biomasscrops on old pastures, massive flood defences insensitive areas, demolition of terraced houses, orreplacement of wooden sash windows with short-lived uPVC units, archaeologists and other heritageprofessional need to ensure their expertise isheeded.

But climate change in nothing new forarchaeologists. We know it has happened before,and that people had to adapt or die. This has longbeen familiar territory to archaeologists andscientists working on the Palaeolithic, and now it isbeing studied in later contexts. Such data may be abit rough at present, but surely could become aunique contribution that our profession can make tounderstanding what lies before us.

Alison TaylorAlison.taylor@archaeologists.net

FROM THE FINDS TRAY

Bad ArchaeologyMembers if IFA will not normally be involved in such a thing, but if you want to see some de-bunking of fringe archaeology and various other dubious approaches go towww.badarchaeology.net. The contact is

James DoeserInstitute of ArchaeologyUniversity College London31-34 Gordon SquareLondon WC1H 0PY

Blarney Castle Mark Samuel MIFA 2175 and Kate Hamlyn havejust published Blarney Castle: its history,development & purpose, arising out of Mark’sinterest in Irish tower houses. The book dealswith the castle from archaeological, historical andcultural perspectives, and takes a properlyarchaeological attitude to the much-kissed BlarneyStone.

New legislative programme The Queen’s Speech this November included,as very much hoped, a Heritage Protection DraftBill. This bill would bring forward theprogramme described in TA 64, 5, for a singleregister of heritage assets, improved recordsand public consultation, reform of classconsents that allow ploughing of scheduledsites, statutory HERs, and guidance to localauthorities on historic environment services.Now we just need money to pay for thisprogramme…

Also promised was a Cultural Property (ArmedConflict) Draft Bill, allowing the UK to ratify the1954 Convention on the Protection of CulturalProperty in the Event of Armed Conflict(Hague Convention) and to accede to theConvention’s two Protocols of 1954 and 1999.This would formalise the UK’s responsibilitiesas part of the international community torespect of the cultural property of othernations, and has been widely demanded inresponse to the damage inflicted in particularon archaeological sites and museums in Iraqand Afghanistan.

Contributions and letter/emails are always welcome. It is intended

to make TA digitally available to institutions through the SAL/CBA

e-publications initiative. If this raises copyright issues with any

authors, artists or photographers, please notify the editor. Short

articles (max. 1000 words) are preferred. They should be sent as an

email attachment, which must include captions and credits for

illustrations. The editor will edit and shorten if necessary. Illustrations

are very important. These can be supplied as originals, on CD or as

emails, at a minimum resolution of 500 kb. More detailed Notes for

contributors for each issue are available from the editor.

Opinions expressed in The Archaeologist are those of the authors,

and are not necessarily those of IFA.

EDITED by Alison Taylor, IFA,

SHES, University of Reading,

Whiteknights, PO Box 227

READING RG6 6AB

DESIGNED and TYPESET by

Sue Cawood

PRINTED by Duffield Printers

Ltd (Leeds)

Notes to contributors

Themes and deadlines

Spring: Training in archaeology

deadline: 7 January 2008

Summer: Archaeology and

archaeologists in Europe

deadline: 15 March 2008

Autumn: IFA Conference papers and

Annual Report

deadline: 15 June 2008

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Ed

it

or

ia

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Silchester this summer. Wet weather

hampered work on many excavations

New pay scalesFollowing the outcome of the local government pay negotiations for2007/08 the IFA recommended minimum salaries from 1 April 2007 arePIFA level responsibilities - £14,197AIFA level responsibilities - £16,536MIFA level responsibilities - £21,412

These minima should also include the following (as agreed by IFA Councilfrom 1 April 2007)• 37.5 hour average working week• employer pension contribution of 6%, subject to any reasonable

qualifying period• 20 days annual leave excluding statutory holidays• minimum sick leave allowance of 1 month on full pay, subject to any

reasonable qualifying period

In some cases employers may find themselves unable to meet theserequirements. Whilst this is not best employment practice, IFA will expectany shortfall in benefits to be compensated for in pay.

Why History MattersThis campaign by Heritage Link and other heritage organisations has gathered pace, as 1.2million people pledged their support and got involved in its activities. The latest publication ismade up of quotations by some ofthese people, expressing why historymeans so much to them and should be so valued by us all. ‘If onlypoliticians would study history!’ is theconcluding heart-felt cry.

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Scotland’s Rural PastAt a time of birthdays andcentenaries, the Scotland’s rural pastproject (see TA 64, 32-33)celebrated its first birthday withthe launch of a website,www.scotlandsruralpast.org.uk.Backed by RCAHMS, the projectsupports local communities ininvestigating remains of long-abandoned settlements in theirarea, in the process learningvaluable new techniques and skillsin archaeological identification,surveying and recording. Thewebsite includes guidance notesand a full list of projects aroundScotland, forthcoming events andtraining opportunities, and anonline form for uploadingrecorded information and images.

Training at Deeside. Crown Copyright 2007

RCAHMS

FISH and IFAThe Forum on Information Standards in Heritage (FISH) isforming a new IFA Special Interest Group for discussion anddevelopment of information standards for archaeologicalpractice. IFA Council approved formation of the group thisNovember and the group is now finalising the constitution.The IFA structure benefits FISH by giving a formal constitutionand status for the first time, and will also benefit practisingarchaeologists. The expertise that FISH has in developingstandards for national and local historic environment recordscan now contribute to shaping the more detailed recordscreated by archaeological work, and it broadens the standardssetting role of IFA. Anyone interest in joining should contactedmund.lee@english-heritage.org.uk. FISH is online atwww.fish-forum.info.

FROM THE FINDS TRAY

This winter sees significant birthdays formajor bodies active in British archaeology.The venerable Society of Antiquaries ofLondon turns 300 this December and iscelebrating in fine style; both our twosurviving Royal Commissions, for Wales andScotland, are flourishing and reach their firstcentenary in February; and IFA (the youngsterbut growing fast) will achieve its first quartercentury, dating from our first Councilmeeting on 21 December 1982. This thereforeseemed a good time to ask for updates on lifeso far and where each felt they were beingled. Mike Dawson, Chair of IFA, starts off.

‘Our 25th anniversary occurs at significant momentin the development of professional practice, whennew legislation is promised and we have a chanceof seeing universal evidence-based conservation atlast. This is a time when archaeologists are to befound in all areas of professional practice, not onlywithin the historic environment, but in conservationin its widest sense, in education, tourism,regeneration and town and country planning.

The impact of professional practice is receivinggreater scrutiny both within academia and bygovernment. Issues of accreditation, of expertopinion, of cultural resource management areconstantly tested in public enquiries, by the mediaand in commercial practice. IFA is larger today thanever before, our training initiatives and RAO schemesprovide a benchmark of due diligence which exhibitsthe profession’s determination and confidence to theoutside world. Yet shortage of resources couldthreaten the new legislation and has implications forthe Institute’s initiatives on training. In at least twoshire counties abolition or reduction in status ofarchaeological posts destroys effective curation anddevelopment control at a time of accelerating

development. In higher education changes to thefunding base to favour first degree students couldimpact on essential professional qualifications.The Institute lobbies on behalf of its members in allthese areas, co-operating with other professionalorganisations to work more effectively. The 25thanniversary is, therefore, an opportunity to lookforward with confidence.

It is also a time for innovation. More effectivemember services, greater authority in negotiation,improved stature are all areas which will helpimprove the status, careers and prospects of ourmembers. The Institute needs to increase itsmembership to overcome perceptions that the sectoris fissile, to argue effectively to government, toaddress those organisations that argue for lessarchaeology. The Institute needs to maintain itsposition as an innovative organisation but one thatcan deliver. Our modernising review will addresssuch issues as the published output of the Institute,increasing the range of standard and guidance,improving emphasis on CPD, professional trainingand practice qualifications, and reforming themembership validation processes to encouragemembership throughout the sector. We will almostcertainly need to change the name of the Institute toreflect its broad role in archaeology and historicenvironment conservation. It will also meanincreasing cooperation with other professionalinstitutes and organisations through jointcommittees, groups and projects.

But at the heart of the Institute is a partnershipbetween its Council and staff and its members, toachieve these objectives. I look forward to the next25 years as the Institute grows not only in influencebut in the numbers and level of involvement of itsmembership’.

Michael DawsonIFA Chair

IFA is 25

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Plea from IFA officeSome of your post to us is being delayed or even going astray because the fullcorrect address is not used. Being within a university it is vital that porters knowexactly where to deliver. Can all members ensure their databases and pre-printedlabels are up to date, and make sure they contact us at

Institute of Field ArchaeologistsSHES, University of ReadingWhiteknights, PO Box 227Reading RG6 6AB

More remindersWith this TA is enclosed the Yearbook and directory amendment sheet. Do pleaselet us have your correct details (including any email address) as soon as possible,so the 2008 edition can come out accurately and on time.

New IFA staffWe have two new members of staff - Emily Peto on the Membership Team, andRichard Constable as part-time admin assistant.

HappyBirthday!

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The Welsh Royal Commission alsocelebrates its centenary in 2008, a yearafter the National Museum of Wales andNational Library of Wales. The creation ofthese three institutions a hundred yearsago points up their relevance to thedevelopment of national identity, (eventhough the Commission was based inLondon until the second world war).

Like its sister bodies in England and Scotland, theCommission was a logical development from theAncient Monuments Act of 1882, because it createda schedule of monuments of national importancethrough ‘inventories’, county by county, whichwould ‘specify those which seem most worthy ofpreservation.’ In Wales, the first inventory waspublished in 1912, and 21 were produced before theemphasis shifted to thematic, synoptic publications(21 of these also produced so far).

The Commission has grown and changedimmeasurably over its century. The NationalBuilding Record was absorbed in 1963 and theArchaeological Branch of the Ordnance Survey inthe early 1980s. Its archival role has continued todevelop, and the National Monuments Record forWales was created as its formal archive in 1963. Thisis now the largest photographic archive in Wales,with 1.25 million photographs, 67,000 drawings and3 million pages of textual descriptions. Its sitedatabase provides information about 77,000buildings and monuments across Wales, availableon line since 2003 at www.coflein.gov.uk, inpartnership with RCAHMS.

Royal commissions traditionally have short-termtasks, but investigation and archive functions for thehistoric environment are of permanent value. Therehas been a transformation in the diversity offeatures of the historic environment that societydeems worthy of record (chapels are now as worthyof study as castles, off-shore archaeology is asimportant as upland sites). Like its parallel Welshinstitutions of 1907-8 the Commission isemphatically about the future of Wales as well as itspast.

The resources of the Commission no longer justfacilitate decisions about protection andconservation but provide a permanent archive forheritage information, inform the planning process,drive outreach activities and advance understandingof subjects crucial to the character and identity ofWales.

Peter WakelinSecretaryRCAHMW

Not a subject for Royal Commissions in 1908,

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in North Wales,

completed in 1805 to carry the Ellesmere

Canal over the Dee Valley, is recognised as an

influential engineering masterpiece. The Royal

Commission is working with partners on the

nomination of the site for World Heritage Site

status. Crown Copyright: RCAHMW

RCAHMS has been the memory keeper of the nation’s built environment sinceFebruary 1908, when the firstCommissioners were charged to make aninventory of the Ancient and HistoricalMonuments and constructions connected withor illustrative of the contemporary culture,civilisation and conditions of life of the peoplein Scotland from the earliest times to the year1707… And to specify those which seem mostworthy of preservation. Subsequent Warrantsremoved the cut-off date of 1707 andadded duties such as recording maritimesites. Today, the fundamental task is still tosurvey, record and collect, to form theNational Collection.

The first Inventory, Berwickshire, 1909, was notillustrated, but the second, Sutherland, containedmeasured plans, drawings and photographs, setting the principles for a basic record. Nowadays,much of this is achieved using methodologiesundreamed of in 1908. The results can be analysedusing GIS and 3D modelling and disseminateddigitally using web technology. One key questionwe will be addressing during the Centenary Year isthe future of this approach. Do these concepts stillmeet the requirements of recording the builtheritage of Scotland in order to better understandand manage it?

In 1966 the collections of the Scottish NationalBuildings Record and the National Art Survey werecombined with those of RCAHMS to create theNational Monuments Record of Scotland. Theemphasis now leaned more towards public service.From 1976 the Commission embarked on an aerialphotographic survey programme, and in 1983 therecords and functions of the Ordnance SurveyArchaeology Branch were incorporated. By 1992, themore flexibly updated record was regarded as theinventory and core to the organisation, freeingpublications to be more analytical, contextual andthematic. Other notable strengths of RCAHMSCollections are aerial photographic collections,architects’ papers, industrial papers, personalpapers of significant figures and excavation records.In 2008, the collections will be used to mount fourmajor exhibitions of original material in Edinburgh.

RCAHMS has placed itself in the forefront ofheritage management information systems. We mustnow ask what form should a future online recordtake and how can online Wiki-style publiccontributions be incorporated?

The present public interest in the historicenvironment could not have been foreseen in 1908,and our latest development is engagement ineducation and outreach activities. In our centenaryyear, alongside community activities and workshopsrelated to projects such as Basil Spence andScotland’s rural past, we are undertaking a publicvote for Scotland’s Treasured Places(www.treasuredplaces.org), through which thepublic can engage with us as we celebrate 100 yearsof building a picture of Scotland’s past.

Diana MurraySecretaryRCAHMS

Surveying team in

Perthshire. Crown

Copyright: RCAHMS

SC370235

The Royal Commission onthe Ancient and HistoricalMonuments of Wales is also 100Peter Wakelin

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The Royal Commission onthe Ancient and HistoricalMonuments of Scotland is 100Diana Murray

HappyBirthday!

HappyBirthday!

T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

The Society of Antiquaries of Londoncounts its foundation from 5 December1707, when three friends met in a pub todiscuss ‘Antiquities’ and vowed to meetweekly thereafter, on pain of a 6d fine.This simple formula worked, they gaineda Royal Charter in 1751 and, as there wereno museums or other repositories at thetime, they made an impressive collectionof artefacts, drawings and engravings(many commissioned by the Society),maps, books, paintings and other ratherrandom antiquities. Their connectionswent nation-wide, and many itemsgathered in the 18th and 19th centuries inparticular are of huge importance formodern scholarship. Today it has about2500 Fellows, all proposed and voted in bytheir peers and all experts in some aspectof the material past.

Since 1874 the Society has leased Burlington House,a magnificent 19th-century building in a quadranglein Piccadilly that it shares with other learnedsocieties and the Royal Academy. This venue isfamiliar to many, as most archaeologicalorganisations holding meetings in London comehere (IFA’s AGM and party usually start theautumn season). Its superb library too is well usedby IFA members. The property that it actually owns– Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire – couldn’t bemore of a contrast. This 17th-century Cotswoldfarmhouse in a remote location by the Thames wasthe homely summer residence of William Morrisand his family, and is full of memorabilia from thattime, much of it of huge importance to scholarswith pre-Raphaelite interests or involved in design.

Apart from the library and its collections, theactivities of the Society include weekly lecturesthroughout term time (sandwiched betweenexcellent teas before and sherry after), an ambitiouspublication programme that includes theAntiquaries Journal, support for research andconservation through grants, effective publicadvocacy and debate, fortnightly dissemination ofanything likely to be of interest to Fellows throughSALON (online and chatty and available to IFAmembers by emailing ccatling@sal.org.uk) andgeneral support for the heritage sector.

This Tercentenary year is being celebrated with anexhibition called Making History, which has justclosed at the Royal Academy (its fine catalogue isstill available) and a festival programme of keynotepublic lectures to be held all around the BritishIsles, details of which can be found on the Society’swebsite at www.sal.org.uk.

Mike Dawson (Chair of IFA) argued that withsuccesses in recruitment, advocacy, standard setting, qualifications, learning placements and payand conditions the Institute is growing fast.Convergence in the historic environment sector, theHeritage Protection white paper and the PARNreport have provided greater incentives to initiateand implement change and to address areas of theprofession where the IFA is under represented.

Gerry Wait (Giffords) believes that we will suffer a loss of relevance if the historic environment sector lacks a voice that government cannotoverlook: we must not fail to integrate when oursector is squeezed. Gifford has responded to market pressure to give a unified response onenvironmental matters: an institute for the historicenvironment must similarly represent the diversityof our sector.

Kasia Gdaniec (Cambridgeshire County Councilhistoric environment service) pointed out the rangeof professionals working in the historicenvironment, and the opportunities for integratingarchaeologists and conservation officers to ensurethat planners, developers and the publicunderstand that best practice is founded on codes,standards and recognising membership of aprofessional body that includes a range of heritagesector interests.

Jez Taylor (Diggers Forum) recognised the desire tobroaden the membership base of the Institute and

urged a clear commitment to increase support forarchaeologists working for contractingorganisations. Cynicism about the Institute’scommitment to field archaeologists and improvingtheir often appalling pay and conditions hasdiminished. Field archaeology is a core disciplinewithin the profession with a popular public profilebut low regard amongst archaeologists. Council isgenuinely concerned about the problems: themembership as a whole should give dueconsideration to the role of field archaeologists.

Victoria Hunns (member of IFA and IHBC andSenior Historic Environment Specialist for NaturalEngland, whose conservation work includes themanagement and conservation of archaeologicalremains, historic buildings and designedlandscapes) welcomed the Institute’s recognitionthat its name does not reflect the remit of itsmembers and may deter potential members. Thearchaeological profession includes those thatconserve the historic environment by enablingchange through the planning process and those thatundertake fieldwork to inform conservation ordesign decisions. The institute needs to appeal to allinvolved in investigating, managing or conservingour cultural heritage.

Seán O’Reilly (Director, IHBC) clarified that IHBCis keen to talk but did not want to discuss merger atthe time of the PARN report. Mike Dawsonreported that he and Dave Chetwyn (Chair, IHBC)are setting up a joint committee.

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The future of the IFA: AGM debate

Kathryn Whittington and Peter Hinton300The Society of Antiquariesof London is 300

HappyBirthday!

IFA’s Annual General Meeting on 1 October 2007 at the Society ofAntiquaries of London included discussions on the Institute’s future, inparticular whether it should expand beyond its traditional archaeologicalremit, following the recent PARN report (seeTA 64, 6, and IFA website)

10 T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

Hal Dalwood pointed out that academicarchaeologists do not feel an affinity for the historicenvironment, and Andrew Marvell considershimself an archaeologist not a historic environmentprofessional. Mike Bishop argued that theperception that all archaeologists are excavators hasheld the IFA back: we need to explain that this is abroad church. John Woodhead reasoned that as IFAportrays itself as a broad church it is to be expectedthat individuals fear a loss of identity: the solutionlies in expanding the Special Interest Groups.

Nick Johnson (Cornwall County Council) said thatHeritage Protection Reform has set the agenda forthe next generation. Cornwall will have a unitaryauthority with a single service: the old distinctionsare no longer valid and it is gross inefficiency not tohave a single professional body. The two institutes(IFA & IHBC) should merge and if that does nothappen then IFA should change its name and widenits remit. So far the councils of the twoorganisations have talked, but the members arebaffled why there hasn’t been a merger. MikeDawson reported that IFA Council would support amerger, but Seán O’Reilly pointed out that it takestwo to merge and requires understanding. IHBChas a very diverse membership – 400 architects, 400planners, 56 archaeologists etc. Nevertheless wehave to be more integrated.

Summing up, Peter Hinton concluded that themembership is responsible for many aspects ofinvestigating and protecting the historicenvironment, but others’ understanding ofarchaeology is narrower than reality. Professionalinstitutes are about conforming to a code ofconduct, and commitment to this stays with youwherever you go – it is good to see enthusiasm forjoint working from sister organisations overseas. Ina sector where professional practice is not regulatedby law it is difficult to draw boundaries. We canonly be ‘an’, not ‘the’, institute for the historicenvironment. Seán O’Reilly has said that IHBC isthe primary institute for a minority of its membersand is the secondary affiliation for the remainder;we could ask IHBC to fulfil the same role for thearchaeologists as it does for other professions. Weneed to tackle the perception that the IFA should

only represent those who are involved in theinvestigation and interpretation of the historicenvironment: our Mission Statement the IFA exists toadvance the practice of archaeology and allied disciplinesby promoting professional standards and ethics forconserving, managing, understanding and promotingenjoyment of heritage has used similar words since1982. Our proposals reflect the vision of ourfounders.

The public sector at national and increasingly atlocal level has integrated archaeologists andbuilding conservation professionals, as have theprivate sector and voluntary sectors: theprofessional institutes lag behind. We were askedwhat would happen if the membership voted for amerger. If the other body is unwilling we cannot doit. Council has decided we must achieve a unifiedhistoric environment institute, if not with IHBCthen alone. We must reform and may have to leaveour comfort zone – we must recognise the value ofthe archaeology word, for all its scope is widelyunderestimated, and reassure members that we willnot homogenise into something bland. To beattractive to the whole sector we will reviewmembership entry requirements and may find thatwe do not need to alter them significantly, but howwe promote membership will need major changes.We cannot go forward divided and uncertain. Wemust seek consensus but not unanimity; progressnot procrastination. While we may not find a newname that has anything other than minority appeal,Council has the vision and backing to deliver realreforms.

A transcript of this debate is available on IFA’swebsite, there will be a conference on the future ofthe Institute in the winter, and an action plan for thefuture will be presented and discussed at IFA’sconference in Swansea (18-20 March 2008)

Kathryn WhittingtonPublicity AdministratorInstitute of Field Archaeologists

Peter HintonChief ExecutiveInstitute of Field Archaeologists

11

As reported in TA 65, the Qualification inArchaeological Practice was launched earlier thisyear, based on National Occupational Standards,units of competence which describe what acompetent person should be able to do in aparticular job role. Since the launch, IFA has beenworking with the Archaeology Subject Centre of theHigher Education Academy and a selection ofpartner universities to examine the scope for usingNOS and the new qualification to make archaeologydegrees more vocationally relevant.

The aim is to align archaeology teaching at highereducation institutions with the needs of employersand employees. By describing the knowledge andskills required for archaeological work, the NOSgive us a means to assess how far relevant skills arebeing taught in higher education. The project willbegin by comparing existing course frameworksfrom a sample of universities with the performance,knowledge and skills requirements of the NOS, toassess where they meet those requirements andwhere they need to be developed and adapted.

Partner universities have been chosen to represent a range of courses including dedicated Masterscourses in archaeological practice at Birminghamand Manchester, a sample of undergraduate courses at Liverpool, Sheffield, Glasgow andLampeter, a distance learning course at Leicester, a foundation degree course at Bournemouth and a continuing education course at Sussex. An initial assessment of course modules for theundergraduate programme at Liverpool showedthat, although none of the modules met all theperformance and assessment requirements of theNOS, many contributed significantly and there wasconsiderable scope for adapting modules to alignwith these.

A ‘self-help guide’ will be produced so that otherhigher education institutions can relate their ownprovision to the NOS and the vocationalqualification, and the project will developguidelines for future curriculum development. Atthe end of the project, a workshop will explore anyproblems with the self-help toolkit followingpractical application by universities not involved inthe original project.

Hopefully, by integrating the requirements of theNOS into academic course frameworks universitieswill be able to deliver academic and vocationalqualifications together in archaeological practice inthe future.

More information on the Qualification inArchaeological Practice can be found on the IFAwebsite at http://www.archaeologists.net/modules/icontent/index.php?page=199.

Kate Geary IFA Training & Standards co-ordinator

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Vocational skills

academiccourses

Kate Geary

&

training

The future of the IFA: AGM debate

T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t 13

Planning conditions and section 52 agreementsexisted but, in a time of ‘boom and bust’, it wasscant consolation to have a legally enforceablecondition when the money was long gone. Suchrisks still exist and one means of providing greatersecurity to underpin obligations is to utilise aperformance bond, an instrument whereby a bankor other financial institution guarantees toreimburse the local authority if agreed obligationsare not delivered. English Heritage, in Enablingdevelopment and the conservation of heritage assets,2001, highlighted the potential for the use ofperformance bonds in this context. They are alsowidely used for highway works and feature inDCLG’s Communities and local government’s practiceguide on planning obligations.

Delivery is of course just as much a problem forarchaeologists, and outstanding work is often left ina precarious position, particularly post-excavationwork once the new building is up. Enforcementprocedures do exist, but are not always fullyutilised, leading to frustration when dealing withcontractors whose fees have dried up. Also, if

The 1980s and ’90s saw a number of high profileplanning cases in which lucrative developmentcontrary to planning policy was argued to be justifiablein view of associated benefits. In many cases thosebenefits were cultural. For instance, significant retaildevelopment was proposed on greenfield land ownedby Lord Romsey in Hampshire on the basis that fundsgenerated would assist in repair and upkeep of Grade Ilisted Broadlands House. In this, as in other cases, thecertainty of delivery was a very real issue.

obligations are not precisely defined (or archaeology services cannot justify the imposition of costs for such things as community involvement) the presence of a bond will add little.Furthermore, government appears to be movingaway from the idea. For instance, in the 1990s theDepartment of the Environment commissioned astudy of bonds to secure the restoration of oldmineral sites, but its successor department hasrecently (in the newly published Minerals PolicyStatement 1) set its face against their use save inexceptional circumstances (such as where there `isreliable evidence of the likelihood of either financial ortechnical failure but these concerns are not such as tojustify the refusal of permission’). Mineral PlanningAuthorities are advised that they ‘should not seekfinancial guarantees from applicants, prior to the grant of planning permission, to deal with possible futurebreaches of planning controls that can be dealt withthrough existing planning enforcement powers andprocedures’.

Nevertheless, bonds have been used in relation toarchaeological works (John Williams, pers comm)and could have a role in the future. Otherdevelopments in planning law and policy, such asthe Planning Gain Supplement (effectively a tax onplanning gain) recently debated in Parliament, arenot likely to provide funds for archaeology.Likewise, the tariff being piloted in section 106agreements in Milton Keynes provides funds forinfrastructure not for heritage.

Archaeologists and archaeological organisations(including IFA) are closely involved in consultationsupon planning and other legislative and policyreform. We intend, in partnership with relevantbodies, to produce sample conditions and planningobligations to facilitate the delivery of heritagebenefits.

By the time you read this it will be nearly 2008 buthere is the review of jobs in IFA’s Jobs InformationService for 2006. The number of jobs slipped backslightly from the high of 2005 but was still a healthy199.

For site assistants, from the 39 differentadvertisements, there was a slight improvement inpay but the rate of increase of the previous twoyears slowed markedly. Compared to virtually allother categories site assistants certainly got a rawdeal this year (not for the first time I hear themchorus). It will be interesting to see next year’sfigure as the word on the street is that it has beenhard to find site assistants this year. Supervisorswere almost stationary last year, still below the AIFAminimum of £16,137 (though ‘supervisor’ meansdifferent things in different organisations: IFA’s newbenchmarking exercise may achieve greaterstandardisation here). The field officer/projectofficer grade marched forward by £1000 as did

project managers (never a grade to be left behind).Junior CRM/SMR posts moved forward arespectable £1400 on average from 29 postsadvertised but, in a leap reminiscent of FTSE’sdirectors, senior posts increased by £4000 from 12advertisements and smashed through the £30kbarrier (as in 2002 but that was only from two jobs).Specialists made a welcome leap forward, up over£2000 to £19,250 – perhaps there is a future in brickand tile after all. Illustrators were up £2k to £17,734,again a healthy increase from a healthy number ofjobs (28) after several years of stagnation. Let ushope this is a start of a trend and not a one-off.

Overall there has a been a encouraging growth formost groups, apart from those at the very bottom –site assistants. This must not be allowed to become atrend. Under £300 a week is simply not acceptable.

The only category that saw a decrease wasconsultants, whose average dropped around £500.

12

DELIVERY OF DEVELOPERS’

OBLIGATIONS Tim Howard

AV WAGE NO OF ADS MENTION AV WAGE AV WAGE AV WAGE AV WAGE AV WAGE AV WAGE IFA MINIMA

2006 IFA 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 APRIL 06

Excavator/ site assistant £14,294 39 £14,179 £13,710 £12.903 £13,232 £12,378 £12,024 £13,854(PIFA)

Supervisor £15,879 17 £15,900 - £14,765 £14,806 £12,741 £12,868 £16,137(AIFA)

Field Officer / Project Officer £18,593 31 £17,598 £16,563 £16,592 £18,489 £15,572 £15,518 £20,895(MIFA)

Project manager £23,350 23 £22,259 £20,957 £19,701 £21,536 £20,881 £19,447

Junior CRM / SMR £19,380 29 £17,992 £16,941 £17,274 £15,563 £17,532 £15,608

Senior CRM / SMR £30,104 12 £26,024 £21,397 £23.840 £30,605 £23,012 £23,486

Specialists £19,250 13 £17,011 £15,254 £17,170 £14,992 £16,531 £14,632

Illustrators £17,734 28 £15,778 £15,992 £16,914 £14,085 £14,908 £15,497

Consultants £19,421 7 £20,000 - - - - -

199 (210)

W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6

£

£Jobs in British Archaeology 2006

James Drummond-Murray

14 15T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

a stake in the project and our execution of it doesnot feature in any IFA guidance. RICS, RIBA andICE put the client at the centre of their codes ofconduct and practice notes. Professionals are paid tofurther the interests of the client through theexercise of their intellectual skills. Obligation to aclient is the key component of most legal definitionsof a profession; it is termed the ‘fiduciaryrelationship’. Until we can demonstrate that we areprepared to enter into this, we will continue to betreated as contractors rather than professionals.

Michael Heatonmike@archaeology.demon.co.uk

Aitchison K 2000 ‘Survey ofArchaeological Specialists’, LandwardArchaeology Research Reports 00/08January 2000

Cullingworth B and Nadin V 2002 Townand Country Planning in the UK. 13thEdition

Latham M 1994 Constructing the Team,Final report of the government/industry reviewof procurement and contractual arrangementsin the UK construction industry HMSO,London, 1994, p 7

Murdoch J and Hughes W 1996Construction Contracts: Law andManagement. (Spon)

planners, is explicit that PPG16 does not requiredevelopers to pay for analysis or publications costs.How did we allow that interpretation to gounchallenged? Possibly because most of our‘outreach’ is directed at school children.

Secondly, our general ignorance andmisunderstanding of property developmenteconomics leads us to under-value ourselves andour skills. Whilst desk-study and evaluation costsare broadly equivalent to basic geotechnical siteinvestigation costs, the archaeological costs arisingfrom development are insignificant compared tototal development prices. This does not mean weshould be profligate, but it does mean we can affordto charge more.

Thirdly, our inherited protocols make professionalinfluence difficult to exercise. Whilst it is right thatlocal planning authority curatorial archaeologistsshould identify development sites with potentialarchaeological issues, should the same personshould dictate how those issues are resolved? Thenorm is a prescriptive specification which detersdevelopment of alternative techniques or value-based analyses. We are treated and paid ascontractors or, worse, proxies of local government,rather than professionals.

� No journalWe have no canon of methodological analysis. Other professionals, especially in the constructionindustry, have a growing library of peer-reviewedmethodological analyses through which newtechniques and opinions are developed and tested.We have Barker and three small clusters ofmethodological review from SouthamptonUniversity, Kent County Council and EnglishHeritage. These are one-offs: there is no journal ofarchaeological practice.

� No cl ient focusBut our greatest failing is our lack of client focus.The word ‘client’ appears once in IFA’s Code ofconduct: in an amendment to notification proceduresat Rule 1.4. The possibility that the client might have

� Under paid?Certainly, senior members of our profession earnless than Chartered Surveyors, but salaries forgraduate archaeologists are equivalent to those ofgraduate surveyors (c.£12-£14k). This does not riseuntil individuals acquire, on their own initiative,Chartered status or other recognition. But why dowe pay our directors less than the constructionprofessions? It is possibly because mostarchaeological contractors track the NJCC payrestraint mechanism for local government; the IFApublishes ‘recommended’ pay rates that are lowerthan those enjoyed by the construction professionsand it has sought (TA 63, 4-5) to publishrecommended ‘charge-out’ rates for specialists lowerthan those enjoyed by specialist constructionprofessionals.

We should be able to pay more, because archaeologyis actually more profitable than construction! TheLatham Report (1994) quotes an average profit of1% for the construction industry, but the publiclydeposited accounts of most of our larger companiessuggest 3% is the average for archaeology.Unfortunately, our turnovers are pitifully smallcompared to other ‘Specialist Contractors’.Monetarist theory expected us to raise our prices tothe ‘market clearing price’. Unfortunately, no onetold us.

� Under- tra ined?Certainly, most newly-graduated archaeologists areill-equipped technically and intellectually for thedemands of professional archaeological practice, butit was always so: most of us working before PPG16followed an academic qualification with practicalexperience on ‘the circuit’, and have managed quite

well. A bibliography of peer-reviewed publicationsis a proof of practical and intellectual competence.Anyone with a bibliography and 10-15 yearsexperience in excavation, the specialisms,publication and management knows what agraduate archaeologist needs to learn in order toprogress and be useful. The ATF has gone to greatlengths to codify that body of knowledge and haspromulgated vocational courses to teach it, whilstbursaries have been funded to ensure that someaspirant archaeologists won’t have to pay for theirown training. This is welcome, but is it the IFA’sresponsibility to provide training and will there everbe enough bursaries?

In the construction professions, students are taughtthe technical and professional skills needed by theindustry, but they are not considered competent andeligible for chartered status – ie to call themselvesprofessional – until they have completed aprogramme of peer-reviewed in-service training.The RICS calls this the Assessment of ProfessionalCompetence (APC). Responsibility for progressingthrough the APC rests wholly with the individual;the employer is obliged only to provide theopportunity, whilst RICS sets the parameters.Anecdotal evidence suggests a 40% fail rate at theRICS interview. This strategy could be appliedeasily to archaeology.

� Under-valued?Undoubtedly, but primarily by ourselves. Thecontinuing success of Time Team and its manyimitators demonstrates an enormous public interestin what we do, but we have failed to translate thatstakeholder interest into influence and hard cash.Asked by the author for a list of ‘recognised’professions and institutions engaged in the heritagesector, neither RICS, RIBA or RTPI mentioned IFA orprofessional archaeologists; we have no standingcommittees on archaeological issues with them,despite the problems archaeology causes theirmembers; and we ignored overtures from theConstruction Confederation and the NationalBuilding Specification. The standard text book onthe planning system (Cullingworth and Nadin,2002), read by all architects, surveyors and town

W(h ) i t he r t he p ro f e s s i on

W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6

Seventeen years after planning guidance created a market for

professional archaeologists and ten years after IFA’s business

plan set out a ‘road map’ to full professional status, most

practising archaeologists still feel underpaid, under-trained

and under-valued. Are there alternatives?

Change could be effected. All vocationally-oriented

archaeological degrees should include modules

on Property Development Economics, Contract

Law and Administration, and Professional Law –

and we should develop an APC programme.

Whither the profession or wither the profession, it is

in our hands.

? Michael Heaton �

�

17T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

Some actual effects on archaeology and the historicenvironment are already clear. These include• rising sea levels and coastal erosion• more frequent storms and heavy rainfall • flooding, landslips and erosion.

Although it is heavy rainfall that has dominated thisyear’s weather in the UK, changing seasonalpatterns will also bring drought and the risk ofdrying out for vulnerable wetlands andarchaeological sites.

In addition to these direct effects there are theindirect impacts from adaptation and mitigationmeasures being introduced to deal with climatechange and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.These include• renewable energy development, on land and

offshore• flood and coastal defence construction• energy efficiency measures which impact on

historic buildings• biomass crops that increase plough damage and

erosion on marginal land• changes to historic buildings

Monitoring and understandingClear directions for future research and policy inarchaeology emerged. First, there was a familiarmessage: we lack good data about the pace,mechanisms and effects of climate change on thehistoric environment. Systematic monitoring, datacollection and research are all in short supply. Theconditions of in situ preservation in buried depositshave been a subject of research for a decade or morebut mechanisms for remote and in situ monitoringwill become increasingly important. Good qualityinformation is essential to underpin the secondmessage: the need for well-informed choices aboutaction, based on better understanding of the level ofrisk.

Difficult choicesNot that archaeologists and heritage agencies havebeen slow to react. Initiatives already underwayrange from major coastal zone and wetland surveyprogrammes to individual projects to mitigatedamaging effects (re-locating historic buildings,constructing flood defences, introducinggroundwater monitoring), to undertaking detailedrecording in advance of loss. But society needs to beinformed about difficult choices about historicplaces under pressure for change. Archaeologistsneed to learn fast and then share that knowledgewith local communities.

Buildings and sites at riskWe also need new skills and capacity. Manyarchaeological operations will take place in thecontext of disaster recovery, salvage and emergencyrecording following flooding, landslip and buildingsubsidence. The built heritage will receive theimpacts of extreme weather and of mitigationmeasures more severely than buried archaeologicalsites. The demand for above ground recording willincrease in advance of demolition or imminentcollapse, or to aid relocation and reconstruction ofbuildings being moved to a safer location. Coastalerosion will be one of the most challenging effects.A study for the National Trust indicated that by2100 up to 60% of the coastline that it manageswould have eroded up to 200 metres. Some 500archaeological sites and historic buildings would beat risk on the Trust’s estate alone.

Archaeological creativityExamples of archaeological creativity are alreadyemerging. In Scotland, the Shorewatch programme,working with CSA’s Adopt-a-Monument scheme, isa great example. Unst Archaeology Group’s projecton Shetland began as an investigation of an IronAge house eroding on the shore and evolved into acommunity project to conserve and present thestructure for the public, in the knowledge that itseventual erosion remains inevitable (see p33–4). Theproject has been an important and positive part ofthe process of coming terms with the pace of coastalerosion and the need to recover something for thecommunity from what will be lost.

Archaeology can make an important contribution tothe national debate about climate change, byinvolving people and revealing ways in which wehave always adapted and transformed ourrelationship with the environment. Can archaeologyas a discipline tell a new and richer story of climatechange, helping society come to terms with changesthat are happening?

This is the theme for the climate change challengesession at IFA conference next March. We live todayin an environment that society has come to regardas generally favourable for humans and predictablystable while, as archaeologists know, the truth isthat here in western Europe we have just beenhaving a fairly settled patch for a few centuries.

Details of the IFA conference and programme are onthe website at www.archaeologists.net

The Adapting archaeology conference presentationsand CBA’s new Climate Change pages are athttp://www.britarch.ac.uk/conserve/climatehome.html .

The Shorewatch project is athttp://www.shorewatch.co.uk/

Gill ChittyCouncil for British ArchaeologyGillchitty@britarch.ac.uk

Meeting the climate change challenge – at the next IFA conferenceGill Chitty

W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6

Coastal recording by volunteers in the Shorewatch

Project. Photograph: Tom Dawson, SCAPE

As coastlines come under pressure intertidal archaeology will be

increasingly vulnerable. Photograph: Jason Wood

Torrential rain triggered the Boscastle disaster in 2004: demand for emergency recording will increase

to respond to extreme weather events. Photograph: National Trust

16

ver seventy leading archaeologists and conservation

specialists met in July for CBA’s climate change event with the

Council for Scottish Archaeology and UCL Centre for Sustainable

Heritage. Adapting Archaeology: foresight for climate change

presented some sobering scenarios for climate and presented an

overview of current research into its effects on the historic

environment. A series of thought-provoking presentations on

actions needed in response to the rapid changes already affecting

our landscape covered coastlines, countryside, and historic

buildings. This was the first opportunity for archaeologists to

explore together some forward thinking on the likely effects of

climate change for our discipline and how priorities in

archaeology will need to be adapted to meet this new challenge.

O

18 T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

archaeology. Conversely, lack of provision could seeabandonment of land with detrimentalconsequences for archaeology and landscapecharacter.

Losing characterFewer frosts means more pests, so traditionalplanting schemes in historic gardens will becomeincreasingly difficult to maintain. Historicallyauthentic tree planting schemes may also becomeuntenable. Beech trees will be the first to be affectedby increased temperatures in the south and east,with a loss to local distinctiveness and landscapecharacter. We need to re-examine the philosophicalbases used to justify actions for both woodlandmanagement and traditional garden plantingschemes. We claim that we are managing change,but are we? Do we maintain the status quo morethan we manage change? We need to identify waysto inform prioritisation, because we are going tolose many sites and landscapes without appropriaterecording.

19

Food or fuel?Indirect threats include biofuel and biomass crops.Both have implications for the historic environment through impact on historic landscapecharacter, root penetration and de-watering, not allof which are fully understood. Associated BritishFoods and BP are to invest £200 million in a 400million litres per annum bioethanol plant,consuming 1 million tons of wheat sourced inBritain. The UK aims for 5% of motor fuel to bebiofuel by 2010. Production conflicts – food or fuel?– and increased prices – seem inevitable.Intensification of agriculture is likely to be theanswer, to benefit from commodity price increases.Environmental stewardship is already experiencingsome resistance to sign-up in the face of the currentincrease in wheat prices.

Losing land57% of English Grade 1 land, containing greatnumbers of archaeological sites, lies below 5m OD,with a significant proportion at risk of either loss,episodic inundation, salination, storm surges orsevere weather events. Drier summers and soilmoisture loss could see traditional arable cropsmove from the south and east to the north and west,where intensification will involve ploughing ofexisting pasture. Replacing pasture could see oldintake again under cultivation and pressure onmoorland itself to provide grassland for flocks andherds.

Some generic adaptation principles have beenproposed by biodiversity colleagues to reducevulnerability and manage for uncertainty (Mitchellet al 2007), and these are equally applicable to thehistoric environment. These cover ways to reducedirect and indirect impacts, to increase resilienceand to accommodate change. Key requirements aremonitoring and surveillance, development of anevidence base, and knowledge transfer andcommunication.

Biodiversity connectionsResearch is needed to improve our understandingof the impacts of climate change and to developevaluation and management methodologies, while the impacts of existing and proposedadaptation policies should be quantified locally,regionally and nationally; robust headline indicatorsof climate change impacts on the historicenvironment need developing and testing; and thisunderstanding must input into legislation, policyand practice.

The England Biodiversity strategy identifies sevenkey messages� climate change is happening� it is a new and rapidly growing threat� we need to revise our approaches� we need to start to adapt our policies and

activities now� there are many things we can do on the basis of

existing knowledge� our understanding of impacts is still developing� we need to cope with an uncertain future

These are all relevant to the historic environmentsector. They underline the need for partnership, theidentification of not just those with whom thethreats and the solutions have resonance – inbiodiversity, agriculture, landscape management –but in town and country planning, in mineralsprovision, those developing legislative and policyresponses. These are also seeking solutions to thiscommon problem.

Ken SmithChair, ALGAO:UK

Mitchell RJ et al 2007 ‘England BiodiversityStrategy – Towards adaptation to climate change.’Defra. (http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/resprog/findings/ebs-climate-change.pdf)

W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6

� Coastal retreat

at Sidmouth,

Devon: over half of

our coastline may

be eroded by up to

200m in the next

century.

Photograph: Jason

Wood

� Upland

erosion, Coledale

Hause, Cumbria:

both drought and

heavy rainfall

intensify erosion

effects. Photograph:

Lake District

National Park

Adapting to rural land use change: a view from ALGAO:UKKen Smith

Direct impacts on the rural historic environmentinclude rising sea levels, inundation and rainfall inmore intense bursts. Extreme weather events willresult in more frequent and severe flooding.Cropping regimes will change, with less land leftbare over winter. Farm buildings will be required tohouse stock that now over-winter outside, orstocking levels may be reduced to enable wet landto sustain the impact of animals and equipment.Increased temperatures will reduce soil moisture,and cultivation patterns may shift as arable farmingmoves north in pursuit of higher rainfall. Reducedsoil moisture levels will affect which crops aregrown and therefore how the land is managed.Deep-rooting crops have a significant impact onburied archaeology, through root penetration andde-watering. Historic landscape may have tochange, to accommodate larger or differentmachinery. Increased demand for summer stockshelters is likely in remote locations with impacts onthe character of the historic landscape, on traditionalfarm buildings and on any associated buried

As part of CBA’s conference AdaptingArchaeology: foresight for climate change, Ken Smith, on behalf of ALGAO:UK looked at some of the impacts climate changes will have on historic landscape character and local distinctiveness, whether from the changes themselves or measures beingtaken to counteract such changes.

20 21T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

the archaeological profession is to manage thiscoastal change, to prepare and prioritise resourcesto mitigate these natural impacts.

As flood defences structures have developed overmany years they are often tightly bound intoexisting buildings along river corridors, forming acoherent line of flood defence. When thesestructures have historic significance there areparticular approaches which can minimise thephysical and visual impact. This can includemodifications to existing buildings, making thempart of the defended line, temporary flood defencesor the upstream storage of flood water.

PRESERVING PEATOne factor that dictates the scale of a flood is thespeed at which water moves from upland areasdown through the tributaries into major riversystems. These rates of flow are monitored by theEnvironment Agency, to help predict if and whenflooding will occur. The slower this water enters thesystem the more time there is for our rivers todischarge naturally into the sea. Upland peat areasplay an important role here. Peat acts as a sponge,holding back water and delaying peak flood events.This flood defence role is another reason to protectthese archaeologically important areas. Peat also hasa more direct role in climatic change, forwaterlogged plant material within it acts as a vaststore of carbon. When peat erodes this carbon isreleased as a greenhouse gas.

Upland peat is a good example of the intricateinterrelationship between the historic environment,flooding and climate change. It will only be bytaking a holistic approach that we can tackle theenvironmental challenges of the modern world.

INFORMING DEBATEThe Environment Agency archaeological team areworking with engineers to record, protect andpreserve the heritage and legacy of earliergenerations of engineers. But are there ways that weas archaeologists could inform the climate changedebate? We have the information and the skills toillustrate how people have adapted to past changesin the natural environment. We can also illustratehow failure to adapt to change has led to humanand environmental disaster. The archaeologicalrecord is rich with examples of human adaptation toenvironmental change, of the use of sustainableenergy sources and of a close relationship withnatural systems: all lessons which need to be retoldtoday.

THREATENED BY DEFENCESFlood banks disturb the ground on which they arebuilt and also require large borrow pits. These notonly disturb archaeological sites but cause localisedchanges in soil conditions. The NEAS archaeologicalteam lead in selecting sites for borrow pits andoversee archaeological monitoring duringgeotechnical ground investigations. Similarly, floodwalls in constricted urban locations may have asurface footprint narrower than flood defences butneed foundations that are several metres in widthand depth. Because of their less visually intrusivenature they are often the preferred choice by localauthorities and communities, so NEASarchaeologists work with other Agency staff toprotect the historic environment through carefuldesign, modification to accommodatearchaeologically sensitive elements and carefullandscaping.

We are also exploiting new sources of archaeologicalinformation, including the Environment Agency’sown extensive LiDAR archive, which gives highresolution images of earthwork sites and historiclandscapes. This enables us to move archaeologicalrisk away from the construction phase of our projectsby undertaking the majority of archaeological workin the pre-construction window.

LEAVING MONUMENTS AT RISKHard coastal defences, whether concrete walls orrock armour boulders, pose their own problems.Often rich intertidal habitats are lost, as the coast isprevented from changing in a natural and gradualway. Our coastlines will inevitably change as sealevels rise and our challenge is to find sustainableways to manage that change.

In some locations hard coastal defences will beabandoned, reducing pressure on coastal habitatsand allowing a more sustainable coastal defenceregime to operate. There will, however, beimplications for the historic environment. Somecoastal defences currently protect monuments andwithdrawal of these defences may removeprotection from natural erosion. One challenge for

T H E E N V I R O N M E N T A G E N C Y :p r o t e c t i n g t h e h i s t o r i c e n v i r o n m e n t

Ed Wilson

Ed WilsonEd.Wilson@environment-agency.gov.uk

NEAS Archaeologists

Phil CatherallNorthern England

and East Anglia:01904 822680

Ed Wilson Centraland South-Western

England. Wales: 0121 7084625

Steve Kemp Thames and the South-East:

01903 832158

Archaeological

excavation of the

footprint of a new

flood bank at

Burton Abbey,

Staffordshire.

Oxford Archaeology

Environment

Agency staff

inspecting the flood

level markers on the

banks of the River

Trent in

Nottingham. The

changing climate

will result in an

increased frequency

in extreme weather

events

Environment

Agency repairs to

the tidal gates in

Abererch, North

Wales. The

Environment

Agency own a large

number of historic

water management

structures. Many

still perform

important functions

and require regular

maintenance and

repair

The British summer of 2007 saw some of the mostsignificant flooding for a generation. Clearly theclimate is changing; the frequency of extremeweather events will increase and sea levels rise,with significant implications for the historicenvironment. The Environment Agency managesflood risk in England and Wales and now has an in-house team of archaeologists who manage theinterface between heritage and the strategicprotection of property and life from flooding.

LIVING BY THE WATERHuman settlement has always been dependent on afresh water supply for irrigation, domestic use andfood. Settlement sites of all periods aresubsequently concentrated along our rivers. Rivervalleys and coastlines are focal points for othernatural resources, in many cases forming a definingelement of the landscape. They also have greatstrategic value, forming borders between groups ofpeople and also providing the transport corridorsthat linked them.

HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT ADVICEEnvironment Agency projects regularly need toconstruct substantial linear barriers or excavate newpools or channels in these archaeologically sensitiveenvironments, and flood risk management projectscan often have implications for the historicenvironment. These challenges are managed by adedicated environmental risk management team,the National Environmental Assessment Service(NEAS), which includes archaeologists who adviseimpact assessment teams and EnvironmentAgency’s engineers on historic environment issuesand assessment procedures.

This team has significantly improved themanagement of archaeological risk in theorganisation, making archaeological management akey feature within larger programmes. NEASarchaeologists have developed their own bestpractice guidance built around a proactive approach.We can take direct responsibility for archaeologicalmanagement and are recognised within the heritagesector as a setter of good practice.

W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6

23W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

It is estimated that two-thirds of the 2050 building stock exists today and that at current

rates it will take a thousand years to replace. About 20% of that stock pre-dates 1919 and

is therefore likely to be of traditional construction. If carbon emissions from the building

sector as a whole are to be cut by 60%, traditional buildings will have to make a big

contribution. But are the standard recommendations of government, local authorities (and

interested members of the building trades) really the best way forward when dealing with

traditional buildings?

Importance of understandingIt is a conservation imperative that thedevelopment and significance of a structure isunderstood before making changes that mightharm that significance, and this includesimprovements to energy efficiency in traditionalbuildings.

To begin with, understanding breathingperformance is vital when making energyefficiency improvements, or wall insulation couldbecome the new cement (a disaster). Failing tounderstand the ‘breathing’ nature of a traditionalbuilding can lead to damp, decay, the spalling ofsoft masonry and even structural failure. We mustunderstand too how the building is used: bywhom, for what purpose, and with whatrequirements. The heating strategy for a churchused only on Sundays will be different from thatfor one used for playgroups every day. Buildingswith sensitive contents may need humiditycontrols, others not.

Understand energy use To understand how buildings perform thermally is essential, and a year-long programme oftemperature and humidity monitoring, togetherwith an analysis of actual fuel usage, is theminimum before investment in changing heatingor insulation. Fan pressurisation tests, nowcompulsory for new buildings, should be used todetermine the size and location of draughts, andthermographic imagery and dampness testing canhelp identify where problems exist.

First steps: change usage and addressmaintenanceBetter habits should be the next recommendation:turning off lights and appliances in empty rooms,reducing lighting levels, using blinds and shuttersto regulate light and heat loss etc. Intelligentheating controls, light sensors, timers on vendingmachines and similar measures all save energy.Attending to causes of damp will save energy aswell as fabric decay; damp walls are poorinsulators, they need more energy to heat up andmore ventilation to dry them out. Repairingwindows and doors makes them less draughty.Servicing an existing boiler is often better for theenvironment than replacing it. Cleaning windowsand light fittings cuts lighting bills.

When all of these measures have been taken theenergy use of the building should be reassessed.Only at this stage can informed decisions be madeabout costly, intrusive interventions such asinsulation or solar panels.

Beware of predictionsUnfortunately, predicting likely savings is difficult –standard computer models of building energy use,like SAP and SBEM, make assumptions based uponmodern construction and usage that don’t hold forolder buildings. We have to make sure that modelsaccurately reflect current realities before trustingtheir predictions.

Take the opportunities Equally, we must take opportunities when theyarise. When roofing repairs are needed, as theywere at the National Trust’s Greys Court, it wouldbe criminal (metaphorically and possibly literally)to miss the chance to insulate the new roof. Allrepairs and alterations to historic buildings nowmust be made with thermal performance, both forinsulation and air-tightness, in mind. Upgrades are available for most elements of traditionalbuildings, though insulation of solid walls remainsexperimental. When changes have been madeowners are strongly encouraged to continueenvironmental monitoring, to measure actualchanges in fuel usages, and to share theirexperiences, good and bad, with others.

Sometimes, grand gestures just don’t make sense fortraditional buildings. Solar panels and wind turbinesare rarely visually acceptable, and historic roofs mayneed strengthening before they can support suchdevices. Whatever double-glazing salesmen may say,replacing wooden sashes with uPVC units is bothvisually unacceptable and environmentally unsound,as such units have a short life and a heavy carbonfootprint for manufacture and disposal. Rather thanmeasures which will harm the fabric and won’t payfor themselves, consider measures outside thebuilding, such as public transport systems andelectricity from 100% renewable sources.

As with all alterations to historic buildings, caution,compatibility and reversibility have to be guidingprinciples.

In summary, older and traditional buildings can riseto the challenge of reducing carbon emissions. Butthey will do so in different ways than modernbuildings, ways that are developed from anunderstanding of the building rather than a relianceon standard solutions.

Phil Ogley, Oxley Conservation8a Friday Street, Henley-on-ThamesOxfordshire RG9 1AH01491-414191phil@oxleyconservation.co.ukwww.oxleyconservation.co.uk

� An extreme example of

the damage caused by

cement render on traditional

buildings. Photograph:

Oxley Conservation

� Adding an insulation to create a

‘warm’ roof on a grade I listed mansion.

Photograph: Oxley Conservation

Cotton and hemp insulation

tightly packed between

rafters. This is one of several

insulation products with good

environmental credentials

that are compatible with

traditional building

performance. Photograph:

Oxley Conservation �

�A fan pressurisation test in a traditional building. Here the test

was repeated frequently during works to give instant feedback on the

success of work to fill cracks. Photograph: Oxley Conservation

22

REDUCING ENERGY USE inTRADITIONAL BUILDINGS Phil Ogley

25W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 624 T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

A great many people live happily in terracedhousing (like me- Ed). Warm, secure, efficient inspace and use of services, good for community lifeand for transport (if not for parking) and, above all,already built, they would appear to meet anycarbon emission agenda. Yet the government hasdeclared that mass demolition of such properties isnecessary, bringing it into conflict with EnglishHeritage, CBA and some very angry residents.

Homes Under Threat (HUT) is one communitygroup that has made its feelings felt. At aconference last summer, representatives fromtwenty areas affected by demolition proposalscalled on Hazel Blears, Minister of Communitiesand Local Government, to take a new look at theplanned Compulsory Purchase Orders within thecontroversial Housing Pathfinder Programme andother local communities blighted by threat of thebulldozer. Their spokesperson Sylvia Wilson ofNelson, Lancashire, said ‘It does not make sense for thegovernment to be destroying communities by knockingpeople’s homes down’ . Prof Anne Power (LSE) added‘There is a crisis of affordable housing… so don’t knockdown affordable housing! Refurbishment is much moreenvironmentally sound than building new!’ TheHousing Pathfinder programme, which continues toroll across the north of England, was singled out forparticular criticism

As Phil Ogley (p22) described, the basic principle ofgood architectural conservation is to preserve asmuch of the original fabric as possible. Regularmaintenance will reduce (or obviate) the need forrepairs later, and Morris encouraged us to ‘stave offdecay by daily care, to prop a perilous wall or menda leaking roof’. SPAB runs an annual NationalMaintenance Week to highlight the importance ofgood upkeep. By comparison, replacement is worsefor both conservation and resources. It is illogical toreplace long-lived wooden windows that need alittle repair with double-glazed units with a short,30-year life (less in many cases).

A general premise of like-for-like materials isendorsed. This can be advantageousenvironmentally because traditional materials,including unfired earth, lime mortar and timber,require less energy than steel, concrete andaluminium. Traditional materials should also beavailable locally, avoiding transport. By advocatingthat new material should be fitted to the old and notthe old adapted to accept the new, more ancientfabric is saved. Good conservation practiceencourages responsible methods over short-termexpediency. Spray-on insulation is currently beingheavily marketed for the undersides of roofs, forinstance, but its use can be environmentallyirresponsible. Such treatments prevent properinspection, hinder reuse of slates or tiles andincrease the risk of timber decay.

SPAB has always emphasised that it is essential tounderstand how old buildings work, including theirneed to ‘breathe’. Over-insulating and over-draughtproofing an old building may simply makeit warm and damp – potentially increasingcondensation, timber decay, mould growth andhealth problems such as asthma. However, as PhilOgley points out, ‘quick wins’ can often be achievedwithout major intervention. Loft insulation usingnatural materials like wool, lagging hot watercylinders and improving boiler controls areharmlessly beneficial.

Given the right approach and understanding, it ispossible to improve the thermal efficiency of oldbuildings. It is other sectors, especially aviation,which will do more damage. Changes to thegovernment’s approach are urgently required if weare to tread more lightly on the planet.

Douglas KentSPAB Technical Secretary

Energy Efficient Historic Homes: Case Studies (CE138),Energy Saving Trust 2005 (www.est.org.uk)

A listed 17th-century cottage

century near Stansted

Airport. Airport operator

BAA is being forced to

remove unsuitable plastic

windows that it has installed

illegally, after SPAB alerted

the local authority to

unauthorised work. Owners

of old buildings need to be

aware of their

responsibilities, despite

commercial and

governmental pressures to

undertake unsuitable works

The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings

(SPAB) accepts that everyone must reduce their

ecological footprint. We also believe that building

conservation is inherently sustainable and that the

Society’s overarching philosophy of ‘conservative

repair’ offers a guiding framework that is as relevant

now as it was when William Morris founded us in

1877. Sustainable living involves more than just

cutting heating bills – it is a whole attitude of mind.

It can be worrying too when refurbishmentprogrammes are aimed at achieving zero carbonhomes at all costs. A considerable proportion of theWhitefield Lancs Masterplan, Design and AccessStatement (09/03/2007 Maccreanor Lavington outlineplanning application) for example is taken up withthe Sustainable Energy Strategy. The issue is how tomake refurbished terraced housing as energy efficientas possible and for the site (Conservation Area) whatsystem will be used to generate heat and power.Unfortunately, the recommended doors and windowsare not available in this area, and set up costs forprovision of biomass boilers, biofuel CHP using asunken store etc (eg, £30,000 for a 6KW wind turbine,which is in any case unsuitable for this area) areprohibitive for affordable housing, ‘Nevertheless theywill be considered as a key element of the marketingof the finished scheme and enhance the image of thedevelopment’.

Whilst in no way decrying the need for action to cutdown carbon emissions that lead to climate change,let change be done in a way that does not destroy ordamage historic fabric and historic character. Let italso be change that has public support andunderstanding. We should start from facts on howefficient historic housing is. Research must be doneand published incorporating evidence on embodiedenergy and density of housing.

Lynne WalkerHistoric Buildings OfficerCouncil for British Archaeology

Terraced housing at

Portland Street,

Whitefield, Nelson

Lancs and the Leeds

Liverpool Canal.

These houses will

now be retained, but

their traditional

character will change

Sustainabilityand the

SPAB Douglas Kent

Te r raced hous ing :

a threat to the planet?Lynne Walker

27W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 626 T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

Conservation Bulletin trailerHard on the heels of this special edition of TA, thespring 2008 issue of English Heritage’s ConservationBulletin will also be devoted to the topical theme ofglobal warming.

Now that climate change is high up on thegovernment’s agenda, no private, public orvoluntary sector organisation can afford not to bethinking about how it will affect their own specialistarea of interest. But just what are the implicationsfor the historic environment sector, and when arethey going to occur? And given the currentscenarios and governmental responses to them,what kinds of adaptation and mitigation strategiesshould we putting in place?

The aim of the issue will be to provide anauthoritative overview of the likely impacts ofclimate change and climate-change-led governmentpolicy on the main facets of the historicenvironment – conserved heritage buildings,housing and commercial buildings still in everydayeconomic use, historic parks and gardens, buriedarchaeological remains, traditional rural landscapes,the coastal and maritime zone.

For each, the aim will be to confirm what is knownabout the direct and indirect impacts (alreadyexperienced and/or anticipated); what we don’t yetknow (but need to find out more about), and whatpeople are already doing (or planning to do) byway of mitigation and adaptation.

English

Heritage

will be

publishing this

updated edition

of Climate change

and the historic

environment early

in 2008

Possible threats to historic assets includethe direct impacts of climate change andalso the impact of adaptive responses, andpolicies to increase renewable energysupplies and reduce the demand forenergy. English Heritage published aninitial position statement Climate changeand the historic environment in January2006. Such is the rapidity with whichgovernment policy in this area isdeveloping that we plan to produce anupdated second edition early in 2008.

English Heritage has been undertaking researchrelated to climate change since the mid-1990s, whenwe instigated a strategic review of coastalarchaeology in the face of rising sea levels andpossible increases in storminess on our maritimeheritage. Since then we have considerablybroadened the range of our climate change-relatedresearch and published guidance on a wide range ofallied topics.

The revised version of Climate change and the historicenvironment will provide a high level summary ofthe issues, suited to the non-specialist. It willsignpost the reader to the principal sources on thescience of climate change, key aspects of thegovernment’s strategic response and the increasingrange of English Heritage research and guidance onthe issue. It will examine the risks and uncertaintiesin climate change predictions and consider thedifficulty of translating predictions into practicalmanagement actions. It will also consider whatlessons today’s policy makers might draw from the

historic record and will set out the criteria for futureEH research in this area.

Climate change and HELMThe current edition of Climate change and the historicenvironment and other relevant English Heritageguidance can be accessed at the Historic Environment– Local Management website:www.helm.org.uk/climatechange. Other usefuldocuments that can be downloaded (or obtained asfree hard copies from English Heritage’s CustomerServices department) include• English Heritage 2002: Building regulations and

historic buildings• English Heritage 2003: Coastal defence and the

historic environment: English Heritage Guidance• English Heritage 2004: Flooding and historic

buildings: technical advice note • English Heritage 2005: Wind energy and the historic

environment• UCL Centre for Sustainable Heritage 2005:Climate

change and the historic environment• English Heritage 2006: Climate change and the

historic environment• English Heritage 2007: Biomass energy and the

historic environment

Over the coming months, further advice and linkswill be added, in particular on micro-renewableenergy generation. In addition, English Heritage isdeveloping a separate website intended to providedetailed advice to householders on adapting theirhistoric properties to climate change. It is intendedthat this will be launched early in 2008 and will becontinually developed thereafter.

For those who are not already on the subscriptionlist, Conservation Bulletin is published three times ayear by English Heritage and circulated free ofcharge to 15,000 conservation specialists, opinion-formers and decision-makers. If you would like tobe added to the mailing list call 020 7973 3253 oremail mailinglist@english-heritage.org.uk. Currentand past issues of the bulletin can also bedownloaded from www.english-heritage.org.uk/conservationbulletin.

Stephen TrowHead of Rural and Environmental PolicyPolicy and CommunicationsEnglish Heritage

Rowan WhimsterEditor, Conservation BulletinWhimster Associates Ltd

Guidance on climatechange and the historicenvironmentSteve Trow

Climate change has the potential to seriously damage the historic environment and to impair future generations’ enjoyment of their cultural heritage.

29W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

with the use of flood-maps (available from theNorwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate).Areas vulnerable to erosion must be included.

WindThe increase in strong winds is thought to be minor,but could still cause damage. More precipitationwill increase the effect of wind forces in trees with aheavier canopy, paired with wind, leading to morewind throws. Forestry ‘best practice’ may be able toreduce damage to the cultural heritage, and mapswith wind-exposed forests containingmonuments/sites must be made.

Precipitation and mean temperature Higher temperatures will lead to thawing of eternalsnow and glaciers, exposing artefacts previouslylocked in a permanent frozen state in theNorwegian mountains. Plans for how these objectsand finds should be registered and secured must bedeveloped, based on a model from an ongoingresearch project ‘Kulturminner og løsfunn ved breerog snøfonner i høyfjellet’.

Increased thaw/frost-cyclesDamage to rock art sites will increase withfrost/thaw-cycles. Such damage must also beexpected in other cultural heritage sites. Preventiverisk and vulnerability analyses and contingency planstherefore need to be undertaken as soon as possible.

At the same time, measures taken to secure humanlife, infrastructure, drainage or drinking water maylead to secondary effects on cultural heritage. Thusit is important that area analyses and planning forthe municipality incorporates monuments andcultural environments in contingency planning.

CLIMATE: Adapting to extreme weather changes in themunicipalities aims to make a ‘pilot manual’ for themunicipalities of Norway, to prepare for theexpected changes.

Wind throw has

damaged a turf-covered

cairn, in Grong

municipality. The

frequency of wind

throws is thought to

increase in the future,

thus future damage to

sites/monuments must

be expected.

Photograph: May-Liss

Bøe Sollund

Rock painting under an

overhang, with damage

that probably stems

from frost action and

weathering, in Sandnes

municipality.

Photograph: Thomas

Risan

Half a grave mound

remains after heavy

erosion has toppled

the other half down a

brink, in Grong

municipality.

Photograph: May-Liss

Bøe Sollund

Extensive climate changes in the near future will

affect our cultural heritage, from monuments and

sites, through cultural environments, to the entire

landscape. The CLIMATE: Adapting to extreme

weather changes in the municipalities project was

initiated in 2006 with participants from seven

environmental institutes in Norway. This project

covers a broad field of issues, amongst them

extreme weather and cultural heritage. The

Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage

Research (NIKU) is responsible for cultural

heritage issues in this research project, which will

conclude in 2011.

Challenges for the municipalitiesRegClim data suggest that the municipalities couldface• increases in mean annual temperature between

2.5 and 3ºC• increases in thaw/frost cycles• increases in precipitation of between 5 and 20%,

mostly in the autumn• drier summers in southern and eastern Norway • more frequent extreme precipitation, especially in

western Norway• minor increases in day wind speeds

The municipalities have an obligation to performRisk and vulnerability analyses. However, 64% of

Norwegian municipalities lack such analysesrelated to area planning, although 67% haveperformed some form of risk and vulnerabilityanalysis during the past four years.

Consequences for the cultural heritageWe urgently need to look at• the consequences for cultural environments and

heritage sites• actions that could hinder or decelerate the effects

of climate changes, and other preventivemeasures

• contingency plans • which types of areas in a given municipality are

exposed to what kind of threat

Control inventories in Grong municipality inTrøndelag have shown an increase in damage tomonuments caused by weather incidents in 1999-2005 compared with 1972-1999. ‘Natural’ damagewas caused by flooding, windfall and erosion.Significantly, all climate change scenarios nowdescribe an increase in extreme weather occurrences.

Floods Changes in the soil conditions caused by increasedfloods and flash floods may affect the preservationconditions of archaeological sites. Areas threatenedby damage/loss of sites/monuments should bedefined spatially by GIS analyses. This can be doneby analyses of slopes, soil type and drainage and

Thomas RisanThe Norwegian Institute forCultural Heritage Researchthomas.risan@niku.no

Preserving NORWAY’scultural heritage in a changing climate Thomas Risan

A house is rocking

gently down the stream,

Lauvsneselva in

Flatanger municipality,

Norway, illustrating

problems with both

flood and erosion.

Photograph: Ole Martin

Dahle

28

30 T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t 31W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6

Europe, inundated churches and medieval villages.One example is the church of St Piran, Cornwall,recently excavated from beneath its dune cover.

ADAPTING TO DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENTSThe archaeological record in areas of coastal wetland,such as the Severn Estuary, shows that pastcommunities had ways of life adapted to thesedynamic environments. Occupation was oftenseasonal and the wetlands were used for specificactivities: grazing, fishing, salt extraction, trade,communication etc. Today, as low-lying coastalwetlands have been reclaimed by drainage and seawalls, permanent settlement is possible but theresulting communities become more vulnerable tothe effects of extreme flood events.

RISING SEA LEVELSDuring the 20th century tide-gauge data show thatglobal sea level has risen by between 1 and 2mm peryear, thus 100-200mm for the century, with anaccelerating rate of rise. This is a consequence ofglobal warming leading to the thermal expansion ofseawater, the reduction of glaciers and ice caps andwastage of Greenland and Antarctic ice. A recentdramatic manifestation of ice reduction has been theNorth West Passage between Canada and the Arcticwhich defeated 19th-century explorers such asFranklin but which this summer has been more icefree and open later in the year than ever recorded,leading to talk of a new shipping route through thisenvironmentally sensitive area. TheIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predictsthat sea level is likely to rise by about 0.5m in thenext century, the rate depending on how successfulgovernments are in reducing the emissions whichlead to global warming. The tardy response of theworld’s biggest energy user, the USA, and thedramatic acceleration of industrialisation in Chinamake it clear that we will be in the upper range ofestimated sea-level rises.

NEW SITES REVEALEDWe are also seeing increasing incidence of extremeweather events such as storms, floods and droughts,as recent events illustrate. Many archaeological sitesin the intertidal zone are obscured by mud or sanduntil a storm sweeps the covering sediment away,revealing buildings, trackways, human and animalfootprints etc. A single storm in the Severn Estuaryon 30 August 1992 for example led to a huge increaseof known archaeological sites at Goldcliff in SouthWales, with three wooden buildings, manytrackways and the planks of a Bronze Age boatrevealed. More recently, Mesolithic human footprintshave been discovered undergoing active erosion by

Coastal environments are favoured

locations for settlement, yet the settlers are

more affected by climate change than most

inland communities. They are faced with

the consequences of long-term sea-level

rise and transgression phases when marine influence extends further inland, or regressions

when marine influence retreats seaward and peats form over marine sediments. The factors

driving these changes are several. Global ice budgets and temperature affect the volume of

water in the oceans, while episodes of increased wave activity and storms lead to

inundations. Sea-level rise and transgression phases are generally manifest as storm and

flood events, dangerous and frightening

for communities. People lived with such

perturbation because of the rich resources

and often favourable climate of the

coastal zone and, perhaps, because of the

allure of communication with exotic

other worlds.

SAND DUNE INUNDATIONCoastal dunes present one example of the effect ofclimate change on past communities. In dunesphases of sand deposition are interrupted bystabilisation phases, when soils form. Sanddeposition is associated with strong onshore windsand a wider foreshore that is exposed to winderosion at low tide. One period which fits thismodel is the Little Ice Age (AD 1550 to 1850), whendune mobilisation, right up the Atlantic coast of

the sea. Archaeologists must be alert to suchopportunities, for sites can be destroyed as fast asthey are uncovered.

Sea-level rise and increased storminess also lead tocoastal erosion. During visits this summer to sanddune sites in South West England manyarchaeological sites were discovered exposed in cliffsections and undergoing erosion. Such naturalsections through buried soils, field systems andsettlements represent a considerable archaeologicaland palaeoenvironmental resource.

‘MANAGED REALIGNMENT’ Some sites subject to erosion will, for reasons ofproperty value etc, be protected by sea walls,construction of which can impact on archaeologicalstratigraphy and requires careful assessment andmonitoring. Other areas will be allowed to continueeroding. As shoreline erosion increases, so manyenvironments of the high shore, mudflats andsaltmarshes are becoming subject to ‘coastalsqueeze’, the area between an eroding face toseaward and the fixed barrier of sea walls becomingever smaller. Habitats of nature conservationimportance are thereby dramatically reduced.Governments respond to this challenge by settingtargets to increase the areas of ecologicallyimportant habitats as part of sustainability policies.In the case of saltmarshes the only way to do this isto abandon some sea defences and allow theformation of new saltmarshes in former agriculturalland. This ‘managed realignment’ makes goodsense, not only in terms of nature conservation, but

Sand dunes with soil

horizons and midden

traces, Constantine Bay,

Cornwall. Photograph:

Martin Bell

A storm at Goldcliff, Wales on

30 August 1992 brought many

new archaeological sites to

light. Photograph: Martin Bell

CLIMATE CHANGE AND COASTALARCHAEOLOGY:ADAPTING TOCHANGE Martin Bell

32 33T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

lobal warming is now

accepted as a reality, with the 2007

report of the Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

noting that wide-ranging impacts

have been observed in Europe,

consistent with predictions made in

their first report in 1990. Eleven of

the last twelve years (1995-2006)

rank among the twelve warmest

years since records of global surface

temperature began in 1850 (IPCC,

2007a, p5).

The report predicts that sea levels will continue torise and that episodes of stormy weather willincrease in northern Europe. Surges of wind-drivenwaves will hit the coast with greater intensity andfrequency. Some of the more sheltered orgeologically hard parts of Britain’s coast will be ableto withstand such climatic conditions, but areas ofsoft sediment will be vulnerable.

Sites at riskScotland has an enormous coastline, dividedbetween the mainland and over 130 inhabitedislands. It is estimated to be second longest coast inEurope, over 15,000 km. Much of this is softcoastline, with numerous sandy beaches and themachair plains, areas of fertile organic sand thathave been a focus of settlement for millennia. It isrich in archaeological sites, with many outstandingmonuments perilously close to the coast edge. Sites

also in the context of the dramatically acceleratingcosts of sea defence against sea-level rise driven byglobal warming.

MESOLITHIC EXPOSURESThus, in the context of future shoreline managementplans, unpopular decisions are being made toabandon some sea defences and concentrateresources on upgrading others. This autumn planshave been announced to create a vast new wetlandreserve in Essex by managed realignment. Suchschemes increase areas designated for conservation,but they have consequences for archaeology as

Porlock, Somerset illustrates. Here it was decidedno longer to enhance a natural shingle barrier withregular bulldozing but to allow erosion to take itscourse. Rapidly the barrier was breached, anextensive new saltmarsh formed over what hadbeen agricultural land and as the water regularlydrained from the saltmarsh on a falling tide it cut adramatic gully through the Holocene sedimentsequence in the breach. These sediments containedMesolithic flints, a submerged forest and fish traps,though none, thankfully, at the spot the breachoccurred. The dramatic nature of this Porlockerosion explains this writer’s extreme nervousnessover proposals for a managed realignment schemeon the Gwent Levels in South Wales, the area ofmajor Mesolithic to Romano-British intertidalarchaeology. The huge tidal range of the SevernEstuary (14.8m) means that a gully cut by theretreating tide could trigger catastrophic erosion ofsediments rich in archaeology.

Past communities flourished by adapting to thechallenges of a dynamic coastal zone. Howadaptable will archaeologists be to the challenges ofglobal warming? We will need to develop particularexpertise in coastal environments and thedistinctive forms of archaeological evidence theycontain. The situation also demands integratedconservation strategies which balance heritage andnature conservation issues.

Martin BellDepartment of Archaeology, School of Human andEnvironmental SciencesUniversity of Reading

at risk cover all periods and a range of types.Famous examples include the Neolithic village ofSkara Brae, Orkney and the prehistoric, Norse andmedieval settlements at Jarlshof, Shetland, bothexposed during past storms. There are also brochs,burial sites, chapels, industrial remains and secondworld war structures, many sitting at the coast ingood states of preservation but threatened by thesea. Excavations in advance of coastal erosion havebeen an established feature of Scottish archaeologyfor many years, and each year brings forward morecontenders.

To quantify risk to the historic environment, HistoricScotland has commissioned a series of Coastal ZoneAssessment Surveys (see TA 63), managed, since2001, by the SCAPE Trust. Copies of all reports canbe found on the publications page of SCAPE’s

W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6

The eroding sites onScotland’s coast

Tom Dawson

Mesolithic human

footprints at Goldcliff

Wales are being rapidly

eroded. Photograph:

Martin Bell

Bell M 2007 Prehistoric CoastalCommunities: the Mesolithic inWestern Britain. York: CBA

Bell M and Walker MJC 2005 LateQuaternary Environmental Change:physical and human perspectives.Harlow: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Fagan B 2000 The Little Ice Age.New York: Basic Books.

St Piran’s church Cornwall,

threatened by coastal sand dunes

since 1281 but finally engulfed

and abandoned in 1804. It has

recently been partially excavated

in now stabilised dunes.

Photograph: Martin Bell

Unst Archaeology

Group helping to

reconstruct Pictish

structures

G

34 35T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

website (www.scapetrust.org). These surveys havecovered over 4600 km of the most vulnerable partsof the Scottish coast, and almost 11,500 sites havebeen recorded. Survey guidelines require that a briefrecommendation is given stating whether furtherwork is needed, and over 3500 (30%) were noted asneeding monitoring, surveying or excavation.

Nature’s courseThese surveys, and climate change predictions,don’t suggest that things will improve. Even when itis technically possible to build protective coastaldefences, these can be costly to maintain and maysimply deflect the power of the sea elsewhere.

Coastal managers are increasingly deciding to allownature to take its course, meaning that mostarchaeological sites will be lost.

Although it is easy to view the threat to coastalarchaeology pessimistically, it is equally the casethat some of these high quality sites are presentingan opportunity. If building a coastal defence is notan option, then questions of preservation in situ donot arise with many sites; we either use them or losethem. Such sites should be seen as providingarchaeologists with a chance to answer researchquestions whilst allowing similar, unthreatened sitesto remain undisturbed. They can also provide anideal focus for engagement with local communities.

Community valueData are being analysed and sites will be prioritisedusing a range of criteria, to ensure that resources arespent where they will do most good. Some sites arealready being investigated, including severalcommunity-oriented excavations, managed bySCAPE as part of their award-winning Shorewatchproject. With support from Historic Scotland, theHeritage Lottery Fund and other partners,excavations are being undertaken by local groupsworking alongside professional archaeologists.Community or public value should have animportant role when prioritising action, and theseeroding sites were selected by the local groupsbecause of the value that they placed on theremains.

Pictish structureIn 2007, three community excavations took place onthe north, east and west coasts of Scotland. InShetland, Unst Archaeology Group, working witharchaeologists from GUARD, finished uncovering aPictish structure on the coast at Sandwick. Thegroup then teamed up with the Council for ScottishArchaeology’s Adopt-a-Monument scheme(www.scottisharchaeology.org.uk/project/adopt.html) to consolidate some of the excavated structuresand to rebuild others for display. As erosion is anever-present reality, they wanted the reconstructionmade on the same spot as the original site, and theywill chart its inevitable destruction. They will alsomake educational use of this gradual process,teaching visitors about the site, the destruction itfaces and coastal erosion in general, using aninterpretive panel, local display and leaflet.

Burnt moundA slightly different collaborative project is currentlybeing planned on another Shetland island next year.A group on Bressay wishes to excavate an eroding

burnt mound containing stone cells and an inclinedpassageway leading to a tank. Once recorded, theywill transport the numbered stones to their HeritageCentre, where the structures will be rebuilt and willact as an educational resource for experimentalarchaeology and a valuable tourist attraction.

Iron Age wheelhouseOn the island of Baile Sear, North Uist, the AccessArchaeology Group has been uncovering remains ofan Iron Age wheelhouse and cellular structurewhich were exposed on the beach after thehurricane-force winds of January 2005. Since beinguncovered in the storm, the remains have beeneroding rapidly, and the beach has retreated by fivemetres. The excavation attracted numerousparticipants and visitors who were keen to seeaction taken at a site that would otherwise havebeen washed away.

Industrial salt productionThe village of Brora, north of Inverness, was hometo the most northerly coal mine in Britain. Coal wasused to heat sea water to produce salt, withindustrial production starting by at least 1598. TheClyne Heritage Society has been monitoringstructures eroding from the dunes for several years,and working with professional organisations,including CFA Archaeology, had surveyed theseremains. The excavation revealed several well-

preserved buildings buried in the sand, including apossible salt pan complete with hearths.

Training These three projects have rescued valuableinformation whilst giving local group members theopportunity to participate and receive training inarchaeological techniques. All have received strongsupport from the local community, and open daysand site visits have been well attended.Interpretative material has been prepared fordisplay either in the local heritage centres or on-site.Findings from the Unst excavation have beendisseminated on the Shorewatch website and pagesare currently being designed for the Brora and BaileSear digs (www.shorewatch.co.uk).

Coastal erosion will continue to destroyarchaeological sites, and archaeologists have to turnthis into an opportunity. With appropriate supportsomething can, and will, be done at some of thevaluable sites most at risk. Resources will continueto present a problem, but public involvement isalready unlocking resources where traditionalrescue archaeology has failed. Longer term,increased public engagement and commitment will,we hope, impact on national funding levels.

Tom DawsonUniversity of St Andrews/The SCAPE Trust

W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6

The community

excavation at

eroding Iron Age

structures on the

beach at Baile Sear,

North Uist

Remains of the salt

pans under

excavation by the

Clyne Heritage

Group at Brora,

Sutherland. Here,

remains of the

Saltman’s House

are being

excavated.

Photograph: Nick

Lindsay

36 37

An archipelago of approximately 200 islands, islets and rocks situated 45km (28 miles)

south-west of Lands End, the Isles of Scilly have a unique environment where the

relationship between land and sea provides a distinctive cultural identity. The archipelago

contains wide expanses of shallow sub-tidal and intertidal environments flooded by rising

relative sea levels during the late Holocene. It has long been known that the islands in their

current form are a result of past sea rises that flooded early sites. It is therefore a valuable

microcosm for studying continuous sea level rises within an historical context as well as for

research and record of important sites that will be lost and how past populations adapted to

their shifting shores.

Making islandsSome 10,000 years ago, towards the end of the LastGlaciation, the melting ice cap led to a significantrise in sea level which separated Scilly from what isnow mainland Cornwall. Initially Scilly comprisedone island roughly 16 km long and 8 km wide; by3000 BC the rising waters had created the islands ofSt Agnes, Annet and the Western Rocks, while othermodern islands were encompassed within onelarger island, later known as Ennor, ‘The Land’.

Dating changeThere are currently two models for sea level change inScilly. The first, published by Charles Thomas in 1985,suggests this island existed until about the 5thcentury AD and would have continued to form avisible single entity at low tide until the 11th century,the final separation perhaps not occurring until theearly 16th century. In the absence of radiocarbondates, Thomas calculated the rate of sea level rise byplotting the vertical position of intertidal stoneremains which could be broadly dated from artefactsand analogy with sites elsewhere. Place-name evidencewas also used for the medieval period and later.

The second model results from analysis ofradiocarbon dates and corresponding levels fromintertidal peat deposits sampled over a five-yearperiod between 1989 and 1993 by the CornwallArchaeological Unit (now Cornwall CountyCouncil’s Historic Environment Service - HES), inconjunction with the AM Lab and Bristol University,with funding from English Heritage. This indicatesa less dramatic rate of sea-level rise, and GISmodelling suggests that the islands could have beenseparated at high water from around 1000 BC. Theprocess of inundation is ongoing; the latestprediction provided by the Environment Agencysuggests a rise of 0.57m by 2050.

Islands in a Common Sea In 2004 HES compiled a Rapid Coastal ZoneAssessment Survey of the Islands for EnglishHeritage and since 2005 have worked in partnershipwith Cardiff University’s School of History andArchaeology (HISAR) on the Islands in a Common Seaproject which considers a range of archaeologicalissues in Scilly, including erosion of coastal sites, withparticular reference to the Cornish mainland andother Atlantic maritime communities. The project isreassessing the results of previous investigations,defining new areas for research and undertakingtargeted fieldwork and laboratory analysis.

LyonesseEnglish Heritage has recently commissioned HES to

prepare a project design for further investigation ofthe evolution of Scilly during the Holocene – theLyonesse Project. The proposed 3-year project willdraw on an unusually wide spectrum of expertise:palaeotidal modelling, marine geophysics, Holocenegeology and palaeoecology, archaeology, and history.It will be inclusive, involving the local community,divers and maritime archaeological societies.

Sea level change and predictive modellingThe aim of the project will be to reconstruct theevolution of the physical environment of Scillyduring the Holocene, the progressive occupation ofthis changing coastal landscape by early peoples,their response to both marine inundation andchanging marine resource availability. Of particularimportance nationally will be the collection andanalysis of data that will increase knowledge of sea-level change during the past 12,000 years and enablepredictive modelling of future sea-level rise in Scilly.

The project will involve the biostratigraphic analysisof coastal, intertidal and submerged sediments atselected locations around Scilly and will develop amore refined methodology for use of geophysicaltechniques to identify and map intertidal and sub-tidal sediments and cultural remains.

RecommendationsAn additional outcome will be recommendations fora minimum standard for preparation ofcharacterisations and ‘plans’ of landscape-scale sites,monuments and palaeoenvironmental resources forpotential designation or to inform offshore planningapplications, to assist implementation of any newHeritage Protection legislation.

The main project partners will be HES; HISAR;University of Wales (Bangor), School of OceanSciences; Plymouth University, School ofGeography; English Heritage and the Cornwall andIsles of Scilly Maritime Archaeological Society.

Charles Johns, Senior ArchaeologistHistoric Environment ServiceCornwall County Council, Kennall BuildingOld County Hall, Station RoadTruro TR1 3AY 01872 322056chjohns@cornwall.gov.uk

Jacqui Mulville, Senior Lecturer in BioarchaeologySchool of History and ArchaeologyHumanities Building, Cardiff UniversityColum Drive, Cardiff Wales CF10 3EU 029 2087 4259mulvilleja@Cardiff.ac.uk

Aerial view of Tresco. © Gibson Collection

The prehistoric settlement and Romano-British shrine on Nornour, one of the sites threatened

by coastal erosion. © Cornwall County Council

Fieldwork on Par Beach, St Martin’s, September 2005.

© Cornwall County Council

Field boundaries in the intertidal zone on Samson Flats, 2005.

© Cornwall County Council

T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

Drowned landscapes past and future: the Isles of Scilly Charles Johns and Jacqui Mulville

W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6

38 39

Working in the Mesolithic forest

For the archaeologist the most intriguing layer wasthe large submerged forest associated with peatfrom the relic valley floor. Within this, lithics (cores,flakes and bladelets) were found in the upcast of alobster burrow. In 2003 English Heritage funded aproject to identify the potential of the site andanalyse the relationship of the archaeology to thelandscape. At the foot of the cliff was found anactive fluvial system that had been subject to freshwater inundations before being overtaken by thesea. Gravel at the base of the section dated to 6090-5980 cal BC. Above this there was a sand bar, then apeat-covered gravel lens which in turn was covered

Location of Bouldnor Cliff, on the northern coast of Isle of WightExcavated flints in front of lobster burrow

Section through the submerged Bouldnor Cliff

T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

Archaeologists seeking to understand past

climate change find some of their best evidence

beneath the sea, where flooding has preserved

traces of human activity and environmental

data that would be desiccated on dry land. Such

sites present the clearest evidence that sea

levels can change radically in quite short

periods, with catastrophic results for those who

cannot quickly change their settlement patterns.

Incursions

Underwater work is currently in progress atBouldnor Cliff in the western Solent, which wasformed as sea levels rose during the FlandrianTransgression. It was once the location of a rivervalley that drained what is now part of the NewForest and the Isle of Wight. As sea water came intocontact with run-off from the land, fine sedimentsdropped out of the water column to form mud flatswhich covered the landscape beneath, sealing andpreserving the environment and archaeologicalremains therein. Now this estuarine valley is an

open seaway through which tides pass unhindered,an area of active erosion rather than deposition. Thecentre of the Solent has been scoured while infilldeposits only remain on the more sheltered fringes.

Protection and erosion

As the sea continues to slice through the middle ofthe channel an underwater cliff off Bouldnor hasbeen formed, rising from -12m to -4m OD, withvertical profiles and overhangs. It runs parallel tothe coastline for just over a kilometre, off the north-west shores of the Isle of Wight. It survives withinthe shelter of a small bay where it is protected fromthe most aggressive currents, although erosion ratesof 100 to 200mm per year suggest its long termfuture is unsustainable.

Coastal Change, Climate and Instability, a project ledby David Tomalin to research Bouldnor Cliff withthe aim of defining its relationship between sea-level fluctuations and the geomorphologicalevolution of the coast, revealed lenses ofenvironmental data and how these had formed. Thecliff comprises unconsolidated brackish alluvial siltwith laterally consistent laminations of peat. Peatover this deposit forms a plateau in -4m of water; itoutcrops at -5m and forms a 10 to 20m-wideplatform at the foot of the cliff. The bases of thesedeposits were radiocarbon dated to 4525 – 4330 calBC at -4.1m OD, 4920 – 4535 cal BC at -5.1m ODand 6615 – 6395cal BC at -12m OD. The sequencetells of estuarine conditions subject to rising waterlevels in the order of 1m in 200 - 250 years. The sealevel was seen to stop or regress at -5m and -4mOD, allowing plants to become established.

by the brackish alluvial silt. The top layer provideda date for sea level rise at -10.4m OD of 6000-5840cal BC. Human activity was principally associatedwith the fresh water sand bar.

Ongoing survey has revealed several other sitesincluding an area covered in burnt flint andcharcoal found eroding from the peat platform. Asteady loss of seabed and exposure ofarchaeological material has been monitored and,last summer, evaluation trenches funded by theLeverhulme Trust and the Royal ArchaeologicalInstitute revealed a broad distribution of burnt flint,wood chippings, carbonised wood fragments,worked wood and occasional flint tools.

Log boat manufacture

Boat-building is suggested to be a feature of this site.The flints had been repeatedly heated to a hightemperature and appear to have been stored in pitsbefore reuse, processes akin to those used whenconstructing logboats, and amongst the finds were apointed stake, a large piece of round-wood with cutmarks and a two overlapping timbers 300mm wideand over 1m long. These large pieces of timber haveyet to be fully analysed but initial interpretationsuggests the remains of a fixed structure or walkwayplaced on fashioned wood as support. It is clear wehave a terrain that is embedded with significantMesolithic archaeological material.

Submerged prehistoric landscape at risk

Erosion at Bouldnor Cliff is providing access to thesubmerged prehistoric landscape that will be shortlived. To read the archaeology within it we need tounderstand the taphonomic context within whichthe artefacts were deposited, geomorphologicalprocesses that protected them as the land adaptedto sea level change and the forces at play that arenow removing it. The importance of the site cannotbe overstated. We are not just dealing withhabitation loci that hold nice artefacts but an arenaof occupation that can cast light on a period of ourpast we know little about.

What we do know is that the window ofopportunity will soon be shut as this ancienthomeland is dissipated by the sea.

Drowned in the Mesolithic:

life beneath the SolentGarry Momber

W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6

Garry MomberHampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime ArchaeologyRoom W1/95, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton

Research Fellow, Department of Archaeology, University of York

4140

In Europe, oak tree-ring chronologies were not

constructed with climate in mind. Their purpose

was purely to date things. However, once long

year-by-year tree-ring sequences were available it

was obvious that they contained records of both

long-term changes and short-term ‘events’. These

changes are not easily interpreted in terms of

instrumental-style temperature and rainfall

records, thus workers interested in reconstructing

climate have chosen to ignore oak and look instead,

with considerable success, to temperature-sensitive

species such as high latitude or high altitude pines.

Global eventsWhat no one was prepared for was the observationthat there were some growth downturns that werevisible in long tree-ring records all around theworld. When tree-ring chronologies from Siberia,through Europe, to North and South America allshow severely reduced growth at the same time – as they do around AD 540 – then the concept of aglobal environmental event raises its ugly head. It issafe to say that neither archaeologists nor historianswere prepared for such a concept. Taking the 540event as an example; it coincides alarmingly withthe outbreak of the Justinian plague; the date sits ina period widely regarded as a ‘Dark Age’; it is veryclose to the start of the ‘Maya hiatus’; it is just whenJustinian’s push to re-establish the Roman empirewent into reverse. To a palaeoecologist this packagemakes it look as if the 540 event was catastrophic incharacter; a global environmental catastrophe.

Environment and politicsArchaeologically, AD 540 is quite recent; howeverthere were other severe reduced-growth events in

the 12th century BC, the 24th century BC andaround 3200 BC. It did not require a genius torecognise that those were no arbitrary dates. Thestart of the Greek Dark Age is around 1150 BC; inthe British Isles, the end of the Neolithic is around2350 BC, while the Mid-Neolithic transition isaround 3200 BC. There are two ways to look at suchobservations: either we are looking at a series ofcoincidences or the severe environmentaldownturns indicated by reduced tree-growth wereinvolved in these archaeological transitions.

Such thinking opens up interesting possibilities.Early agricultural societies were at the mercy of anysevere climate events that lasted for more than twoor three years; it would be reasonable to state that,in prehistoric times, more than three consecutivefailed harvests would have dumped populationsback into a Mesolithic lifestyle. So, consideration ofsuch extreme issues raises the prospect that tree-ring chronologies do indeed contain highly relevantinformation that is fundamentally climatic incharacter.

Precise dating and extreme eventsTree-rings provide other insights. Between AD 880and 910 Irish and English oak chronologies – whichare normally similar – suddenly show oppositeresponses. English oak remained similar tocontinental chronologies, thus it was Irish oak thatwas behaving differently; some aspect of localclimate had changed. Looking more widely the endof this same thirty-year period saw the collapse ofthe Chinese Tang Dynasty and the end of theMayan civilisation in America. Such insights, andthere are numerous other examples, effectivelypaint a backdrop for understanding thearchaeological record; we should expect to seearchaeological effects between 880-910 in the sameway that we should expect to see effects around AD

T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

540 or 1150 BC. The widespread availability ofprecisely-dated tree-ring chronologies now allowstheir interrogation for extreme events, and forsimilar and dissimilar responses.

Much of the information at this stage is qualitative –‘bad’ or ‘different’ or ‘good’ or ‘similar’ – ratherthan quantifiable in degrees centigrade orcentimetres of rainfall – however, the power of thetree-ring information lies in is its precise dating,which allows comparison with ice-core records andhistorical sources. Thus, when oxygen isotoperecords from Greenland show severe cooling aroundAD 910 a whole 880-910 ‘package’ starts to takeshape.

Black Death contextIn similar ways, the observation of a less severe butglobal tree-ring downturn in the AD 1340sdemonstrates that the Black Death had anenvironmental context. It is now known that 1349-1353 is another severe temperature anomaly in theice records in Greenland. Archaeologists can nowlook forward to a developing ‘climatic’ backdrop formuch of the last six millennia against which to fittheir archaeological findings – if they can date them,of course. That said, back in 1974 Valmore LaMarchepublished a multi-millennial record of bristleconepine ring widths from the White Mountains ofCalifornia. Because these pines grew at altitudesover 3000m LaMarche reasoned that their ringpatterns would be a good reflection of globalsummer temperature. His curve is still one of thebest estimates of climate change for the last 5000years and a copy of it should be on everyarchaeologist’s wall.

A wider lesson is that extreme and sudden climatechanges do occur, and not infrequently. When theydo, environmental impacts have an immediate andoften disastrous effect on human behaviour.Archaeologists are in a unique position to explainwhat such impacts have been, and so what might beagain.

Mike BaillieSchool of Geography, Archaeology and PalaeoecologyQueen’s University, Belfast

Baillie MGL 2006 New light on the Black Death: thecosmic connection. Tempus, Stroud

LaMarche VCJ 1974 Palaeoclimatic inferencesfrom long tree-ring records, Science, 183, 1043-8

SOME CLIMATE CHANGESOF THE PAST:the value of tree-ring data

Mike Baillie

W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6

Bristlecone pine ring

widths are suggested to be

a good proxy of temperature.

Note the clear occurrence

of the Medieval Warm

Period and the Little Ice Age.

It has to be assumed that

the remainder of LaMarche’s

record is also a valid

reflection of global

temperature. Data smoothed

from LaMarche 1974

The decade-long growth

reduction in English and Irish

bog oaks across 2350 BC

Graphs shown here have been reproduced

for illustrative purposes only.

Synchronous abrupt growth

reduction in European and

American trees in the

3190s BC indicating a wide-

scale climatic event that

could have affected early

agricultural societies

Building up a picture of a

past environmental event.

Gaps in local tree-ring

chronologies coincide

with reduced temperature

from Greenland ice (data

courtesy of JP Steffensen),

and with collapses of

dynasties in China and

America

Irish bog oak

English bog oak

European oak

American bristlecone pine

-2380 -2370 -2360 -2350 -2340 -2330 -2320 -2310 -2300

Date BC

180

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

140

120

100

80

60

40

-33.5

-34.0

-34.5

-35.0

-35.5

-36.0

-36.5

-37.0

-37.5

-38.0

-38.5

-39.0

-39.5

-40.5

-40.0

-41.5

-41.0

0.7

0.5

0.3

0.1

-3220 -3215 -3210 -3205 -3200 -3195 -3190 -3185 -3180

Date BC

600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300

Date AD

-3500 -3000 -2500 -2000 -1500 -1000 -500 0 500 1000 1500 2000

Date BC

Rin

g w

idth

(m

m)

del

ta O

-18

Rin

g w

idth

ind

ices

Rin

g w

idth

ind

ices

Ring-width for

high-altitude

bristlecone pine (after La Marche 1974)

Co

ld

War

m

War

m

Maya 909

Tang 906

887

894

960 Sung

907 Pine Central Sweden

915 Oak Northern Ireland

NGRIP Oxygen-18

42 43

But some insects living in towns probably do carry aclimate signal, for example distributions of beetlesand bugs which lived on weeds in past towns canbe meaningfully compared with those in moderncontexts.

� Warmth in YorkAnalysis of this kind has barely been started, but afew insects from urban archaeological sites hint atpast climate change. The most notable is the nettlebug, Heterogaster urticae, a true ‘half-wing’ bugfound almost entirely on stinging nettles. It alsoillustrates the difficulties of working on pastclimates in the changing world of today. In the1950s, and through to the 1980s, the nettle bug waseffectively restricted to the south-eastern andsouthern part of England. Yet it was repeatedlyfound in archaeological deposits in NorthernEngland dating to the Roman and medieval periods,especially the Anglo-Scandinavian of York,suggesting appreciably higher temperatures. Thatthere had been Roman and medieval warm periodswas already generally appreciated, but the nettlebug hints at higher temperatures at other times.

This nettle bug story has a twist which is all toorelevant to modern concerns over global warming.Temperatures are undoubtedly on an upward trend, reflected in Britain in the northwardmovement of a whole range of insects includingbeetles, bugs, butterflies, moths and dragonflies.One of them is the nettle bug, which in the 1990sbecame very common again in Yorkshire after a gapof perhaps four centuries, and which has evenreached Scotland.

� Holocene picture neededWhile there has been an immense amount of workon climatic reconstruction from insects in ice age

The changing

range of the nettle

bug in Britain from

the Roman period

on. Artwork: Chris

Evans

and interglacial natural deposits, comparativelylittle has been done on Holocene ones. This is ashame, because insects are probably one of the bestsources of information about subtle climate change,as well as the environmental changes wrought byhuman activity. If we could just study more depositsdating over the past 10,000 years, and a largenumber of sites would eventually be needed, wecould probably build up a picture as impressive asthat for the Late Glacial. We are seeing massivechange in insect fauna now, as species move northand new ones arrive in Britain from the continentalmainland: but is this a significant pointer topotentially disastrous change, or just a part of aprocess that has always happened, with or withouthumans?

Harry KenwardSenior Research FellowDepartment of ArchaeologyUniversity of YorkBiol6@york.ac.uk

T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

The value of insects in tracking past ecology andclimate change has become increasingly appreciatedover the past few decades. Insects often have stricthabitat requirements for survival, and many can fly,so they invade new areas quickly, much faster thanplants, when conditions become suitable (asgardeners battling with lily beetle for example willknow to their cost). For these reasons, and becausebeetles in particular are well-studied and preservedin quite large numbers in suitable anoxicwaterlogged deposits, they are enormously useful inreconstructing aspects of the natural and humanpast.

� Rapid thawBeetles were critical in finding out just how quicklyclimate can change. It was work by Russell Coope atBirmingham that first showed that warming at theend of the Last Glaciation was very fast, with the

transition from a glacial regime to temperaturesabove those of the mid-20th century in Britainhappening in a human lifetime at most (subsequentwork hints that it may have taken only a few years).Other work has reflected the early Holoceneoptimum, when temperatures were a few degreesabove those of the mid-20th century (we have to saymid-20th century rather than ‘today’ becauseclimate is changing so rapidly, almost certainly as aresult of our pollution. The analogy with the 1950radiocarbon standard, necessitated by humancontamination of the atmosphere with radioisotopes,is hard to miss.)

� Temperatures in prehistory The archaeological community is increasingly awareof the potential of biological remains forreconstructing human activity and living conditions,with insects an important part of the mix. Insectsfrom essentially natural prehistoric deposits atarchaeological sites such as the Somerset Levelshave also been used for climate data, generally withconclusions that temperatures closely resembledthose of the mid-20th century. There are hints ofhigher temperatures in the earlier parts of ourinterglacial, though ecological change, especiallyloss of forest and wetland, may have subsequentlyrestricted or driven out insects, rather than climatechange.

� Urban bugsPeople have assumed insects from urban sites wereless reliable in reconstructing climate than thosefrom natural deposits, because towns offer aprotected environment and have probably alwayscreated ‘urban heat islands’, as they do today. This is probably true for species primarily associatedwith artificial habitats – grain and other storagepests, house insects, denizens of stables, and so on.

Insects: sensitive indicators of climate change Harry Kenward

W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6

Rapid temperature

changes at the end of the

last glaciation, based on

insect remains. Data from

Lowe and Walker 1997.

Artwork: Chris Evans

45W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6

Mediterranean, and how well can we reliably dateand correlate the tephras we find? Pleasantly theanswer to both these questions lies partly inextensive fieldwork in amazing locations. We areexamining as many suitable sites as possible over thenext few years, focusing largely on environmentalsites and Palaeolithic records. We are also testingmethods for improving the correlations betweentephras by sampling proximal deposits of ash andthen tracing them further away from the source.

Over the next few years we have the opportunity todevelop these methods and to test the applicationsto archaeology, supported by the NaturalEnvironments Research Council on a largecollaborative project, RESET (http://www.rlaha.ox.ac.uk/R/reset.php?group=R). This project is acollaboration between four universities and willintegrate tephrochronology and other datingmethods, to test the role of environmental forcingon key questions such as the replacement of archaichominid species (eg Neanderthals) by our own.

Simon Blockley. Christine Lane, Anna OhResearch Laboratory for ArchaeologyUniversity of OxfordDyson PerrinsSouth Parks RoadOxford OX1 3QYSimon.blockley@rlaha.ox.ac.uk

GREENLAND TO MOROCCOThe Research Laboratory for Archaeology in Oxford isone of several research groups now actively searchinglake and peat bog sites within Europe, as well asmarine archives from the Mediterranean and Atlantic.We work with many collaborating laboratories, mostnotably the Centre for Quaternary Research at RoyalHolloway. A recent highlight is evidence we havefound tracing the Icelandic Vedde Ash much furthersouth into Europe than previously thought, at least asfar as the Swiss Alps, working on cores provided bycolleagues from the University of Utrecht. This tephrais found in marine cores in the north Atlantic, in theGreenland ice cores and in numerous Atlanticseaboard terrestrial records. This widespread markerhorizon is well dated in the Greenland ice core recordto around 12,000 BP. In theory it is now possible todirectly correlate records from the Greenland ice coresacross the whole of the north Atlantic seaboard and asfar south as Switzerland. Outside Europe we aretesting the potential of this and other approaches forthe Palaeolithic archaeology of North Africa,collaborating with Nick Barton in Oxford andAbdeljalil Bouzouggar, from INSAP, Morocco, whoare working on important Palaeolithic sites inMorocco.

TRACING TEPHRAKey questions we are testing include: what are theextents of tephra presence in Europe and around the

Christine Lane sampling

volcanic ash deposits in an

archaeological site

Ash layers embedded in

a peat unit in Iceland

Tephra sampling in a

cave site in Morocco –

part of the RESET project

CHRONOLOGICAL TOOLS FOR STUDYING HUMAN INTERACTION WITH PAST ABRUPT CLIMATE CHANGE

Simon Blockley, Christine Lane, Anna Oh

The influence of environmental change on humanshas long been debated in archaeology, and in recentyears researchers have been asking questionsrelating to very abrupt events. The Greenland icecore records, for example, have provided a valuableinsight into the rapidity of past environmentalchange, documenting key transitions betweenextremes of cold and warm that could occur withina couple of decades. It is important to understandthe mechanisms behind these climate changes, topredict future change, and to be able to use therecord of the past as a test bed for models of thefuture. These climatic events are also theenvironmental backdrop for the later evolution and

adaptation of our species. It seems likely, forexample, that Britain, along with Northern Europe,was subject to periods of pronounced populationexpansion and contraction during periods ofclimatic upheaval. Difficulties with very highprecision dating, however, mean that we are notsure of the precise relationship between differentrecords of climate change in the past, nor theevidence for human responses. Dating the eventsthat occurred many thousands of years ago, to aprecision of a couple of decades, is a tall order.

VOLCANIC ASHThese problems apply to many fields based onunderstanding past climate change, and one datingtool that is being widely adopted to help istephrochronology. This technique is the use ofvolcanic ash (tephra) layers as a dating andcorrelation tool. In many cases explosive volcanoescan deposit ash layers thousands of kilometres fromthe source volcano. Often these layers are invisibleto the naked eye meaning sediments have to beextensively tested for tephra. In many cases thesetephra layers can be chemically correlated back toindividual eruptions and dated using a variety ofmethods. The power of the technique rests on thisdual potential: not only can a tephra layer provide adate for a site, but it can stratigraphically linknumerous records, providing a framework forunderpinning other chronologies.

44 T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

View from a cave site in Morocco,

from a site prospecting trip

47W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6

A major component of government strategy forreducing CO2 emissions is a move to renewableenergy sources. Wind, wave and tidal power will bevital. The first offshore projects are now operational,there are experimental wave power devices inScotland, and consent has been given for anotherwave energy test facility off Cornwall (WaveHub).Licences have been granted for several moreoffshore wind farms in strategic locations, includingthe Thames estuary, the north Wales to LiverpoolBay area and the Greater Wash.

These generation plants, like all developments,present risks to the environment, including thehistoric environment. A registered charity, COWRIE(Collaborative Offshore Windfarm Research Into theEnvironment), was established to promote,encourage and support generic environmentalresearch, improve understanding of potentialimpacts and opportunities for their mitigation, andto raise awareness of marine renewable energygeneration (www.offshorewind.co.uk). COWRIEhas commissioned several projects relating to themarine historic environment; January 2007 sawpublication of Historic environment guidance for theoffshore renewable energy sector, prepared forCOWRIE by Wessex Archaeology. COWRIE thencommissioned Oxford Archaeology to prepareguidance on the cumulative impacts on the historicenvironment from offshore renewable energy.

Cumulative impact assessment is a requirement forStrategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for wideareas, and for Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA) on projects, and appropriate mitigationstrategies must be incorporated into planningdecisions. Cumulative impacts on coastal andterrestrial areas must be considered as well as thosein the marine environment itself. Traditionally themajor impact has been visual, but as moreinformation emerges about palaeoenvironmentaldeposits, these too have become increasinglyimportant. One positive benefit is that surveys in

advance of development add to the knowledgebase, but at the moment lack of understanding ofthe marine historic environment means that impactssuch as changes to scour patterns and toenvironmental conditions are difficult to predict.

COWRIE guidance to be published in 2008 willprovide a framework through which historicenvironment specialists and the principaldevelopers can identify potential sources ofcumulative impact and suggest appropriatemitigation. It is essential that historic environmentspecialists are involved in the process as early aspossible and that there is effective communicationbetween specialists from different disciplines: theguidance shows how this can happen at each stageof the assessment process. Effective mitigation relieson the monitoring process so that new informationcan be incorporated into work practices and futureplanning.

There is currently little guidance on assessment ofcumulative impacts on the historic environment forterrestrial archaeology, and so the methodologyproposed for offshore projects might prove to havea wider application for environmental assessmentin general.

Jill HindHeritage Management ServicesOxford Archaeology, Janus HouseOsney Mead, Oxford OX2 0ES

Cumulative impacts from offshore renewable energyJill Hind

eastern and southern England? Dating from thelater Saxon period up to the 13th century, thesefinds suggests local cultivation.

This proposition raises an intriguing question ofclimate change. A period of climatic warming (themedieval warm period) is known to have occurredbetween c. 800/900 AD to 1350, peaking towardsthe end of the 10th century. Domesday Book containsnumerous references to vineyards in southernEngland.

The finding of lentils on rural English sites duringthis period, followed by a general absence after 1300which is generally regarded as the lead in to the‘Little Ice Age’, suggests a clear association of thecultivation of this crop with a warming of theclimate that was recognised by opportune Saxonand early medieval farmers.

Chris StevensWessex Archaeology

Lentils as climaticindicators?Chris Stevens

Lentils had long been established as a

crop within many parts of the ancient

world, but it was the Romans who first

brought them to Britain, their charred

remains having been recovered from

sites such as Colchester, London, and

the fortress of Isca, Caerleon.

Today, lentil cultivation is usually favoured in thoseparts of the world with warm summers and milderwinters, such as the Mediterranean. That the lentil isless suited to cultivation within the English climatehas led archaeobotanists to suggest that during theRoman occupation it was imported to Britain,apparently corroborated by the fact that it is rarelyfound outside more Romanised settlements.

But what of the increasing number of Saxon andlater finds of lentil from rural sites in central,

46 T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

Lentils – a crop of a warmer Britain?

jill.hind@oxfordarch.co.ukOxford Archaeology 2007 Draft guidance for assessment of cumulativeimpact on the historic environment from offshore renewable energy.Commissioned by COWRIE Ltdwww.offshorewind.co.uk/KnowledgeBase/CIARCHReport.aspx

Wessex Archaeology Ltd 2007 Historic environment guidance for theoffshore renewable energy sector. Commissioned by COWRIE Ltdwww.offshorewind.co.uk/Downloads/archaeo_guidance.pdf

48 T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t

As part of a wider initiative to assess the state of

all designated historic assets, English Heritage is

seeking to understand current management

patterns upon England’s Protected Wreck Sites,

their likely future trajectory and how that can be

influenced to ensure their significance is

maintained. The identification of risks to such sites

will be key to how they are managed. As wreck

sites may contain the remains of vessels, their

fittings, armaments, cargo and other associated

objects or deposits, they may merit legal

protection as they contribute significantly to our

understanding of our maritime past.

We have therefore developed a Risk Management

Handbook which assesses risk systematically by

gauging information against a set of standard

terms. This Handbook describes a methodology to

be adopted by English Heritage, contract

archaeologists, Licensees and others engaged in the

risk assessment and risk management of England’s

Protected Wreck Sites. It is anticipated that the

methodology will be refined and eventually

extended to the non-designated wreck resource.

Three broad factors have been considered whenassessing risks• condition: the current condition of the wreck,

whether in optimal condition, generallysatisfactory, generally unsatisfactory or havingextensive problems

• vulnerability: natural and anthropogenicinfluences

• trajectory: an assessment of the managementregime and whether the monument’s conditionremains stable or is experiencing unmanaged orinappropriate decline.

We will also monitor the medium risk category sinceit is at this point that action can be taken to preventfuture damage, decay or loss, which is better thantrying to repair it. A free copy of the Handbook isavailable from maritime@english-heritage.org.uk.

Further information on Protected Wreck Sites isavailable on www.english-heritage.org.uk/maritime

Mark DunkleyMaritime ArchaeologistEnglish HeritageFort Cumberland, EastneyPortsmouth PO4 9LD

Before joining English Heritage I was developing

project designs to look at construction impacts

on archaeological remains for the Department of

Civil and Structural Engineering at the University

of Sheffield. This focused on piling impacts, and

as an archaeological science advisor it was clear

that guidelines on the subject were needed. With

Jane Sidell and Ian Panter I began work on a

guidance note, with detailed analysis of piling

techniques and their impacts on archaeological

deposits.

Impacts from displacement pilesFollowing a paper by Martin Biddle at the 1994 IFAconference which highlighted the potential damagecaused by displacement piles (those driven straightinto the ground, forcing soil aside) there was abacklash against these in favour of replacementpiles (where a core of soil is removed). However,little research was directed towards understandingthe impacts from displacement (or any) piles. Therewere few documented examples of piling impacts,and the best examples remained those published byBiddle. Archaeologists have convinced themselves

that there is little point excavating adjacent to oldfoundations because of the damage caused duringtheir installation, and so avoid collecting data onspecific construction impacts.

We have therefore used results from engineeringprojects and field-scale tests. These demonstratethat, despite variations in layer composition andthickness, and pile shapes, the zone of deformationstayed roughly the same, with an impact four timesthe area of the pile. Understanding this zone ofdeformation has been crucial for development ofthe guidelines, and allows us provide sufficientinformation for local authority officers to makeinformed decisions.

Future foundation reuseAt the 2006 IFA conference in Edinburgh, Isummarised my recent involvement with an EC 5thFramework project investigating reuse of foundations,called RuFUS (www.reuseoffoundations.com). Akey element of that project is future-proofing, sothat foundations can be reused in the future. Thisincludes retention of relevant information relatingto those foundations. As archaeologists we shouldbe particularly keen to see this on sites where, as part

Farrier Street, Worcester, again! This image was used by Martin Biddle to highlight damage

caused by displacement piling; sadly few other examples of piling impacts have been

collected, and this remains on of the best recorded examples of damage. © Worcestershire

Archaeological Society and Worcestershire Historic Environment and Archaeology Service

of the mitigation strategy, piling has been undertakento leave archaeological remains in situ. It seemsparadoxical that a site is significant enough to bepreserved but that adequate records of the location,load and other technical details are not kept. In theguidelines we recommend storage of suchinformation within the HER or site archive. Perhapswe should now think about how to collect datarelating to all preservation in situ schemes utilisingpiled foundations since implementation of PPG16.

The guidance is available in hard copy fromcustomer@english-heritage.or.uk or can bedownloaded from www.helm.org.uk.

Jim WilliamsEnglish Heritage archaeological science advisor forthe East Midlands Region. jim.williams@english-heritage.org.uk07801 213300

This image shows quite clearly that replacement (rotary bored) piles

can cut quite cleanly through archaeological remains without

significant impact on the adjacent areas. Image from Gresham Street,

London. © MoLAS

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Piling and archaeology: English Heritage guidance noteJim Williams

W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6

Protecting wreck sitesMark Dunkley

Student’s Recording the

Swash Channel

Protected Wreck Site,

Poole Bay. Photograph:

Bournemouth University

P.S. IKUWA3: The Third International Congress on Underwater ArchaeologyThe Third International Congress on Underwater Archaeology (IKUWA3) is to be held in London in July 2008. Further information is available fromhttp://www.ikuwa3.com/index.php.

BEN

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This year’s BEN (Black Environment

Network) conference was held in London

at ‘Roots and Shoots,’ a charity providing

vocational training for young people from

London’s inner city. Delegates reflected a

range of cultural backgrounds and

interests, from community workers to bat

conservationists. BEN conferences provide

a reminder that archaeology is one aspect of

the environment that can improve people’s

quality of life and mutual understanding.

The heritage sector was well represented, withRichard Fitzherbert of the Historic HousesAssociation (an exhibition on slavery at TissingtonHall), Taja Sidhu of the BEN Discover Heritageproject (connecting groups to Scotland’s natural andbuilt heritage), Angela Dove of Heritage Link(engaging diverse groups in heritage), AndrewFitzpatrick of Wessex Archaeology (the sinking ofthe SS Mendi, a forgotten contribution to WW1),Sajida Aslam of the National Trust West Midlands(interpretation at National Trust sites), and RachelHasted of English Heritage (introducing the ‘Sites ofmemory’ publication). For me however it was non-archaeological presentations that were mostinspiring. There are so many approaches to reachingout to community groups, and ideas we could learnfrom. A tour of gardens established by the BanksideOpen Spaces Trust culminated at Tate Moderncommunity garden. This incorporated artefactsgathered from the river bank, under the supervisionof archaeologist Fiona Haughey, and used to makedecorative mosaics.

Angela Dove presented a selection of quotes thatcould be discussed in group work. One, ‘Diversity,the art of thinking independently together,’ (MalcolmStevenson Forbes) seems particularly pertinent toIFA, as the broadening scope of the professionforces us to redefine ourselves. Archaeologydepends on diversity, in the range of skills andinterests required to bring any project to

completion. We therefore need to be continuallychallenging ourselves if we are failing to engagewith a wide cross section of the community. Adelegate hinted at one problem ‘I feel challenged bythis term “hard to reach groups”. Maybe the heritagesector just isn’t effective in finding ways of reaching us.’

Perhaps we are the “hard to reach group”!

A taster session of BEN training, run by consultantMax Ghani and Saleem Oppal of BEN, showed howperceived difficulties of widening access, such aslanguage, cultural sensitivities or just not knowingwho to approach, can be overcome. This wouldmake an excellent IFA professional training seminar.

I encourage anyone who is involved in outreach or training to find out more about BEN(http://www.ben-network.org.uk/). Broadeninginvolvement in heritage is not just about tickingboxes and widening the customer base. Thisconference illustrated how much our professionstands to gain, how much we have to offer, andhow this is refreshing and fun.

Jane EvansFreelance specialistcjrompot@waitrose.com

Thousands of planes have crashed into the sea

around Britain, many during the second world war.

At the time, planes and crew were presumed lost

for ever. But today they are being found, by divers

and, increasingly, in dredging for gravel and other

aggregates.

The crash sites of military aeroplanes are given

automatic protection under the 1986 Protection of

Military Remains Act. The problem is that their

location is rarely known and, as archaeologists have

been discovering, some wrecks thought to be ships

have turned out to be aeroplanes. Much of the sand

and gravel used in Britain’s construction is gathered

by dredging out at sea, and one unexpected result of

a recent scheme to report the discovery of shipwrecks

and other finds of interest to archaeologists by

dredgers has been the routine identification of plane

crash sites, sometimes with human remains.

Graham Scott of Wessex Archaeology explained‘staff on board the dredgers and on the wharveswhere the aggregates are processed are helped toidentify archaeological finds so they know when tocall in archaeologists. A web based reporting systemmeans that there is prompt expert feedback. Evenwhen finds are only identified on the wharves it isstill possible to track back where the gravel wasdredged from.’ Planes identified this way include aFleet Air Arm Supermarine Attacker, one which iseither an American B-25 or P-51 bomber, and aGerman Junkers JU-88 bomber. Many families todayare still touched by this issue. It represents achallenge, both ethical and logistical, for the marineaggregate industry and heritage professionals.

The marine aggregates operators follow a protocolthat requires an Exclusion Zone to be set up aroundthe site to prevent further dredging. The possiblepresence of the crew and passengers and alsounexploded munitions are assessed. This can putlarge areas of the seabed out of bounds, so furtherwork is done to narrow this down.

A preliminary study of the issue by WessexArchaeology has been commissioned by EnglishHeritage, funded through the Aggregate LevySustainability Fund. Wessex Archaeology are nowasking individuals and organisations with recordsor specialist knowledge of aircraft crash sites orlosses at sea to come forward with any informationthey have, and also to use the project blog.

For further information see http://blogs.wessexarch.co.uk/aircraftcrashsitesatsea

Euan McNeillWessex Archaeologye.mcneill@wessexarch.co.uk

Lost at sea: New study of plane crash sitesEuan McNeill

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W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6

Part of a Supermarine Attacker from off the Sussex coast, examined

during one of our British Marine Aggregates Producers Association

(BMAPA) Awareness Programme sessions. Photograph: Elaine A

Wakefield, Wessex Archaeology

Part of a German

saddle drum

magazine for a

MG15 machine-gun

from a crash site off

the Suffolk coast,

probably of a

Henkel He. 111

bomber.

Mosaic under

construction at Tate

Modern Community

Garden. Photograph:

Synthia Griffin,

Curator Family &

Community

Programmes, ©Tate

Modern

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New members

ELECTED Member (MIFA)

Caroline Earwood

Jonathan Gill

James Gossip

Graeme Kirkham

Kenneth Lönnqvist

Minna Lönnqvist

Richard Massey

Jacqueline Pearce

Jane Richardson

Stephen Upex

Gary White

Associate (AIFA)

Sophia Adams

Anne Boyle

Tom Davies

Robert De’Athe

Peter Dudley

Carole Fletcher

Taleyna Fletcher

Marike Fourie

Michael Fradley

Teresa Gilmore

Jane Phimester

Alexandra

Pickstone

Mary-Anne Sloane

Thomas Small

Robert Travis

Sophie Watson

Jennifer Wylie

Practitioner (PIFA)

Steve Brown

Laura Cassie

Jane Harris

Alison Kelly

Gareth Rees

Sian Reynolds

Freddie Scadgell

Georgina Slater

Claire Statter

Mark Tidmarsh

Daniel Watkeys

Student

Alex Allen

Amy Barsby

Lloyd Bosworth

Ashley Coutu

Erica D’Amico

James Doeser

Chris Ferguson

Tara Fidler

Anna Finesilver

Georgette Gormley

Janelle Harrison

Paul Holmes

Alison Klevnäs

Caroline Mawer

Margaret

McCartney

Helen Meadows

Philip Parker

Sascha Priewe

Anya Rardin

Dianne Scullin

Daniel Stirland

Shanna Streich

Emily van

Haersma Buma

Adam Waite

Affiliate

Elspeth Alphey

Andrea Borgius

Gemma Bradley

Steve Burch

Caroline Butler

Benjamin Carroll

Denis Carter

Ian Clarke

Genevieve Close

Robert Elliott

Rupert Goulding

Claire Halls

James Hare

Matt Johns

David Lang

Ellen McInnes

Barbara Mills

Katrina-Rhianno

Nicholas

Roy Nicholls

Steven Rathgay

Peter Reed

Karen Rogers

Slawomir Szyszka

Peter Twinn

Scott Vance

Debra Wallace

Richard Whyte

Affiliate

Catherine Barton-

Jones

Boel Bengtsson

Nicola Bettley

Daniel Brace

Rebecca Briscoe

Chloe Brown

David Brown

Sophie Butler

Jill Campbell

George Carstairs

Aiji Castle

Deborah Charlton

Eleanor Collier

Meredith Coney

Richard Constable

Kerry Dean

Jonathan Dudley

Bruce Dunsmore

Matt Edmonds

Edward Fitzgerald-

Clark

Asuka Gamo

Peter Gane

Oliver Good

Amy Gray Jones

Christopher Green

Sue Hanshaw

Lucie Hawkins

Joanne Hawkins

James Howe

Miles Hutchinson

Karl Jones

Victoria Kew

Emma Knight

Elizabeth Logan

Lynne Lowrie

Affiliate (cont)

John Macken

Zsolt Magyar

Gary Manning

Carol Mansfield

Panagiota

Markoulaki

Eloise Markwick

Catrin Matthews

Sarah McNaughton

Jeffrey Mikamo-

White

Mark Mitchell

Bryan Moore

Gemma Mutch

Aisling Ni Labhrai

Lucy Parker

Melanie Partlett

David Pearce

Zara Pryce-Maher

Rebecca Riley

Graham Ritchie

Sarah Ritchie

Hayley Roberts

Michael Shaw

Meryl Shriver-Rice

Rachel Simmons

Kathryn Smith

Rachel Smith

David Sorapure

Jason Stewart

Nyssa Venthem

Katharine Walker

Sarah Ward

Angela Wesley

Hannah White

Suzanne Wood

Member (MIFA)

Mark Allen

John Mabbitt

Andrew Manning

Associate (AIFA)

David Gilbert

Samuel Harrison

Teresa Hawtin

Jason Mole

Felix Riede

Andrew Sage

Matthew Smith

Practitioner (PIFA)

Graham Arnold

Charlotte Coles

Elise Fraser

Gina Jacklin

Avis Lloyd

Jane Lloyd

Simon Reames

TRANSFERS

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IFA is delighted to welcome two new organisations as registered archaeological organisations (RAOs).

Hampshire & Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology/ Maritime Archaeology LtdHWTMA is a charitable trust which was formed in 1991 to promote interest, research and knowledge ofmaritime archaeology and heritage. Our core activities, which include a research-led field programme,education and outreach initiatives and a wide range of representation and promotion, are based in the Solentand adjacent south coast areas. Archaeological research projects include work on submerged prehistoriclandscapes, shipwrecks, foreshore hulks, waterside infrastructure sites and maritime cultural landscapes.Further details of our work can be found at www.hwtma.org.uk

In response to growing demand for commercially led maritime archaeological services, MaritimeArchaeology Ltd (MAL) (www.maritimearchaeology.co.uk) was established in 2004. The company providesmarine heritage-related services. All profits generated from MAL are used to support the work of HWTMA.

HWTMA divers at work

Members news

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T h e A r c h a e o l o g i s t W i n t e r 2 0 0 7 N u m b e r 6 6

Historic environment service, Cornwall CountyCouncilThe service began in 1975 as Cornwall Committeefor Rescue Archaeology, changed to CornwallArchaeological Unit in 1987 and took its current titlein 2002. Our web name is Historic Cornwall,www.historic-cornwall.org.uk. We have alwaysbeen both Curator and Contractor. This wasoriginally a response to geographical isolation but isnow a clear preference. The county has benefited bybeing able to retain a significant reserve of staffexpertise and by creating projects that fulfilplanning conditions as well as addressingknowledge gaps and new research. An in-houseproject team allows us to retain and absorb newinformation that better informs our advice andinformation service.

We protect the distinctive culture and historiccharacter of Cornwall through advising localauthorities and partner organisations on mattersrelating to the historic environment, includingmanagement, conservation, development control,policy, and strategy ensuring that the CountyCouncil fulfils its statutory duties and manages theheritage assets in its care delivery of HeadlineActions in Cornwall’s Community Strategy carryingout projects for research and providing information,

advice and interpretation on historic sites andbuildings implementing the Cornish Mining WorldHeritage Site Management Plan

Jane Evans, MIFA 2224Next May Jane will be participating in UNICEF’s‘Trek for the children of Peru’ to raise money forUNICEF. A number of IFA members will haveworked on archaeological projects in Peru; otherswill have worked with Jane over the past 25 years;some may just relish the image of a small, middleaged, Roman pottery specialist having to go outsideand do some hard graft! If you would like tosponsor her this can be done securely online atwww.justgiving.com/cjaneevans or contact her on01684 567131 or cjrompot@waitrose.com

Phoenix Mine (Bodmin Moor)

in the snow, part of the Cornish

Mining World Heritage Site.

Photograph: © Cornwall County

Council

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Obit uary

Robina started in archaeology at Carn Euny as ateenager in 1968, and then took a degree at theInstitute of Archaeology, UCL. Later, with her firsthusband Bevis Sale, she ran excavations in the Povalley foothills on Bronze Age settlement sites. InBritain they both worked for the Clwyd-PowysArchaeological Trust in its early years. After sometime in Chester she became freelance, excavatingand publishing sites in North Wales and Cheshire.Her work at Nantwich was particularly significant,revealing timber wich houses (domestic factories for boiling brine to produce salt) from the 12thcentury. She was involved when Lindow Man wasdiscovered and took many of the iconic sitephotographs.

She moved to Manchester in 1987, as Senior FieldOfficer within a small professional archaeologicalteam based in the University of Manchester. Sherecognised the historic potential of Manchester, inparticular the major monuments of the IndustrialRevolution, and much of her work thereafter wasgeared to enhancing awareness of the importance ofManchester to world heritage as the first integratedindustrial city.

The Manchester team grew, eventually providingjobs for over 500 long-term unemployed. Sheundertook an enormous range of field projects andbecame the County Archaeologist for GreaterManchester. Key projects included survey work at

the army range on Holcombe Moor, where shehelped to chart and preserve one of the best relictindustrial landscapes in the country, and StaircaseHouse, Stockport, one of the last medieval urbanhouses surviving within the conurbation. Hercreativity was evident when she used Lego bricks to model the development of the house and devised an accessible history, with stick people toexplain its changing form and functions. She waspassionate about exploring historic buildings andarchitecture and was the editor of the GreaterManchester Heritage Atlas. She was also editor forIFA’s Buildings Archaeology Group, where herbelief in an archaeological approach to buildingswas contagious.

Her commitment to preservation led to manybattles, especially in central Manchester. Some ofthese contests were lost but those that were wonserved to re-establish in the public mind the uniquerole of the area, in industrial history, agriculture,politics and social change.

Robina was aware of the need to build partnershipsat all levels. She worked enthusiastically with localgroups to develop ‘Dig Manchester’, the largestcommunity archaeology venture in the country. Sherecognised too that awareness of the importance ofthe historic environment to economic regenerationand social cohesion was necessary, and played a keyrole in development of the European Route ofIndustrial Heritage – the pan-European scheme todevelop site tourism – as well as on the WorldHeritage Committee of ICOMOS-UK. She sought toconvey the importance of urbanism as a positiveforce by organising urban sessions for the EuropeanAssociation of Archaeologists. She was passionateabout her own city, working to promote Manchesteras a World Heritage Site at the time of her death,and was proud of successes such as the display ofthe medieval Hanging Bridge within ManchesterCathedral Visitor Centre where she was CathedralArchaeologist.

She is survived by her second husband Brian Ayers,County Archaeologist in Norfolk.

John Walker with contributions by Brian Ayers andBevis Sale M

EM

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RSMembers news

Robina McNeil, MIFA 709, FSA

1950-2007

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Dear Editor

The future of the Institute of Field Archaeologists

I would like to support wholeheartedly IFA’s initiative

in proposing a complete re-think on the future of our

Institute. The historic environment world is now very

different compared to 25 years ago.

Encouraged by IFA, the heritage professions have been

converging for several years now, but my own

experience on the DCMS Heritage Protection Review

Steering Group has led me to believe that our sector has

reached a tipping point. In many ways the Heritage

White Paper has settled for the next generation some

crucial relationships: between protection of the historic

environment and the needs of economic development;

between the heritage sector and the wider community;

and the duties of Government, English Heritage and

local authorities

Perhaps most important is the implicit cross

cutting thread that runs through the White Paper that

our sector is now firmly the Historic Environment Sector,

and also part of the wider Heritage Sector that includes

archives, local studies libraries and museums as well as

the historic environment. Thus we should now see

ourselves as historic environment practitioners with

particular expertises in (for example) archaeological

techniques, historic buildings analysis,

palaeoenvironment, geotechnics, artefact studies,

architectural history, conservation works, documentary

research etc.

Two important services that IFA, IHBC, ALGAO and

English Heritage can together render the emerging

historic environment sector are to reorganise our historic

environment institutions, and to better define what local

authority historic environment services should be

providing. In times of change, organisations need to

become more focused, more effective and more visible.

Our sector is small and fractured. It is fractured into

archaeology and buildings because its institutions were

built to reflect prevailing historic legislation and the

1974 reorganisation of local government. The Heritage

White paper will unify the former and the current round

of local government changes the latter. The world is

changing beneath our feet. In Cornwall we may have a

unitary authority with a unified Historic Environment

Service. The county council pays fees for membership of

professional institutions. It is however quite beyond me

to explain why the new authority should pay for two

overlapping institutions, as well as for ALGAO.

My strong recommendation to Council is that they

consider creating a new professional institute that will

oversee professional standards, register historic

environment organisations and lobby for the professions

within the historic environment world. Naturally this

would be best formed out of a merger of IFA and IHBC

but if this is not possible then we must consider IFA

going it alone. In addition, a new public sector historic

environment services association should also be formed

out of ALGAO and part of IHBC that would represent

the interests of local authority/public sector/curator

historic environment services. This will create a clearly

defined and inclusive professional institution that will in

time (perhaps) become a chartered institute and will deal

with professional standards and training. The association,

on the other hand, will deal with the issues around the

delivery of services. The logic of this seems wholly

convincing. We are but small fish in a very large

pond…..we need to shoal together. The government has

shown that it has very little sympathy with sectors that

cannot get their act together.

We are acutely aware that many local authority historic

environment services are under threat from budget cuts

and barbarism, and yet we have no yardsticks to

measure what any particular area can expect of its HE

services. We also have no means of measuring what

resources are needed to carry out these services. We are

at the mercy of budget decisions based variously on the

skills, persuasiveness, incompetence or prejudices of

individual officers and councillors. Virtually all other

parts of local authority services know more or less what

they are expected to deliver and have nationally agreed

funding formulae against which they can bid. If we are to

deliver HPR then we must have a means of assessing

need, based on standard national criteria for measuring

the heritage resource of an area, and the degree of

development and change (and therefore workload) in an

area, and an agreed list of duties and responsibilities of

local authority historic environment services. As you are

aware we are using a list in Cornwall that has been

compiled with help from IFA, ALGAO and IHBC

members in Cornwall and the South West, as well as IFA

and IHBC members in Scotland.

There is a strong case to be made for the whole sector to

work together in reorganising itself and agreeing what

services it should be delivering against an agreed

financial resources scale. I would hope that IFA, along

with IHBC, ALGAO and English Heritage will address,

with renewed urgency, these important issues on behalf

of the sector. Perhaps we can then hope to have

professional yardsticks against which we can judge our

individual conducts (via a new institute) and service

performance yardsticks against which we can judge our

collective performances(via a new association).

Nicholas Johnson MBE, MA, Bsc, MIFA, FSA,

Historic Environment Manager, Cornwall County

Council

More comments on this (and other) issues are welcome

for this page (Ed).