On the face of it, the construction industry and the archaeological profession would appear to have very little in common beyond a shared tendency to dig holes in the ground. After all, construction鈥檚 all about progress and development whereas archaeology is focused entirely on what has gone before.
But as many recent discoveries have demonstrated, these two activities are intimately connected 鈥� to the extent that the vast majority of archaeological discoveries in the UK today occur on construction sites. Indeed, archaeologists are often members of the project team, especially on major infrastructure projects.
This article was first published in the聽March 2022聽issue of The 羞羞视频 Magazine.听听Sign up online聽
It wasn鈥檛 always like this, though. In the bad old days, 40 or more years ago, the discovery of a few mediaeval coins or a Roman mosaic was about as welcome on a construction site as a colony of great crested newts or rare orchids. In other words, it meant a costly and disruptive intrusion into the build programme.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not like that any more,鈥� says Andy Crockett, A303 Stonehenge project director with Salisbury-based Wessex Archaeology. 鈥淎ny confrontation between contractors and archaeologists is long gone; it鈥檚 a much more collaborative relationship today,鈥� he adds.
With about 40 years鈥� experience, Crockett can remember when the relationship was more adversarial. 鈥淎ccess to the site was in the gift of the developer and there was always a degree of suspicion on both sides 鈥� we regarded each other as the enemy,鈥� he admits.
That changed fundamentally in 1990 with the introduction of Planning Policy Guidance 16: Archaeology and Planning (PPG16) which advised planning authorities that the presence of archaeological remains should be a 鈥榤aterial consideration鈥� in applications for new development.
Under PPG16 (since replaced by the National Planning Policy Framework) the developer became responsible for funding archaeological investigations as an extension of the 鈥榩olluter pays鈥� principal 鈥� in other words, if you are to profit from a development you must pay to investigate, preserve and record any archaeological discoveries that arise.
Although the ball was now firmly in the developer鈥檚 court, the new regime worked well for all stakeholders and the archaeologist became part of the project team, rather than a third party with its own agenda.
鈥淣ow, right up front, the archaeologist will know if their client has any archaeological constraints before work starts,鈥� says Crockett. 鈥淭hat means the developer can plan for it and budget for it.鈥�
According to Crockett, it is now very rare for archaeology to cause major delays to a project and, in many cases, the archaeological element provides an invaluable opportunity for publicity and positive public engagement, not just with the local population but often nationwide.
This is demonstrated nowhere better than on HS2, which has produced a steady stream of significant archaeological finds. Earlier this year, HS2 announced the discovery of a 鈥渧ast鈥� Roman settlement on the route of the new railway line in south Northamptonshire.
The site at Blackgrounds Farm near the villages of Edgcote and Chipping Warden was once the location of an Iron Age village dating to about 400BC. But the team of archaeologists from Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) has unearthed a much larger Roman settlement that grew up later on the site.
Artefacts including coins, pottery, glass vessels and jewellery were found, plus several 鈥渂eautifully preserved鈥� wells and a 10m-wide Roman road 鈥� described as 鈥渆xceptional鈥� in size. Such was the interest generated by the discovery that the site was featured on BBC television鈥檚 Digging for Britain series in February.
Assessing the archaeological status of a proposed project is usually the responsibility of the county archaeologist. 鈥淭heir role is central to the work of archaeological intervention,鈥� says Crockett. 鈥淣early all county councils have an in-house archaeologist, and although I wouldn鈥檛 say they were a dying breed, funding for these departments is constantly under pressure and they鈥檙e all struggling鈥�.
The archaeology starts right at the beginning of the planning process, says Crockett. 鈥淪ay it鈥檚 a new road: National Highways will develop a planning proposal and apply for a development consent form 鈥� and pretty much the first person to be consulted on that will be the county archaeologist.
鈥淭hey will advise on any preparatory work that鈥檚 required 鈥� identifying any scheduled monuments, historic buildings and so on 鈥� and will produce a list of recommendations.
鈥淣ext comes the environmental impact assessment, which also includes any archaeological considerations. After that the client or main contractor will go out to tender for an archaeological contractor,鈥� he says.
The archaeologist usually starts with desk-based work, says Crockett. This detailed study of maps, documents and local records will yield important information about the likelihood of archaeological discoveries and their possible location.
Armed with this data, the archaeological team will go out on site and conduct a targeted evaluation by digging trial trenches and test pits. 鈥淭he county archaeologist will typically adopt a sample level covering roughly two to five percent of the surface area of the proposed development. Then we will go out and dig buckets鈥�-width trial trenches in selected positions across the site,鈥� says Crockett.
鈥淚f your geophysical survey found any anomalies you鈥檇 put a trial trench across that area to find out what鈥檚 underneath. If you find something of interest, there鈥檚 the opportunity to hand-excavate for a closer look 鈥� though we try to avoid a trial trench becoming a mini-excavation,鈥� he adds.
Very often, the items of interest would be overlooked by a casual observer. It might be just a change in the colour of the soil, indicating a back-filled ditch marking an enclosure, or building foundations. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e looking for subtle differences in soil structure 鈥� for example between the natural undisturbed subsoil and an area in which the soil has been mixed with other materials,鈥� says Crockett.
Of course, occasionally something more interesting is unearthed: 鈥淚t you find any human remains, you can鈥檛 keep digging,鈥� Crockett says. 鈥淭he Burial Act makes it illegal to disturb a grave, so you have to stop and notify the authorities straight away. Luckily, most archaeologists can tell human bones from animal remains 鈥� there鈥檚 no mistaking a human femur.鈥�
Even if nothing of great intrinsic significance is found, these preliminary trial trenches can yield vital clues as to what might be encountered in other parts of the site. 鈥淚f I鈥檓 finding tiny fragments of Romano-British pottery that have been extensively broken and abraded I know that I鈥檓 probably not close to a settlement,鈥� says Crockett; 鈥淚t鈥檚 probably night-soil taken from a midden and scattered on the fields as fertiliser.
鈥淏ut if I鈥檓 finding fresh, large chunks of pottery I know I鈥檓 more likely to be closer to a settlement or dwelling.鈥�
Not every site results in a major archaeological dig, of course, and Crockett is keen to stress that this is not the main objective. 鈥淭he overarching consideration is preservation in-situ,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e won鈥檛 dig if we don鈥檛 have to because it鈥檚 always best to leave something undisturbed if possible.鈥�
The archaeological contractor鈥檚 role is therefore to carry out a thorough investigation for its client. 鈥淲e鈥檙e a commercial business working under contract to the developer or contractor. We have a commercial interest and our job is to report our findings and advise,鈥� explains Crockett.
鈥淎ll the decisions 鈥� about whether or not construction work can go ahead 鈥� are made by the county archaeologist. They sign it off; it鈥檚 not our call,鈥� he says.
As his job title indicates, Crockett is currently focused entirely on Stonehenge and the proposed tunnel. 鈥淭he original consent order was quashed last year, but National Highways is resolute and keen for us to continue our work,鈥� he says. However, no more digging can continue on site until legal challenges by campaign groups have been resolved.
Crockett completed the evaluation work on the project in 2019, but given the scale of the site and its status as a UNESCO World Heritage site, Wessex Archaeology has plenty of work to do preparing method statements, heritage management plans and carrying out other due diligence.
Rather surprisingly, Crockett isn鈥檛 expecting any major discoveries at Stonehenge. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 a good thing,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e know we鈥檒l find archaeological remains, mainly isolated early to late neolithic graves and Beaker burials; we鈥檙e almost certain to find a handful of those 鈥� in fact we鈥檝e found a few already,鈥� he says.
After four decades in the profession, the Stonehenge tunnel will probably be Andy Crockett鈥檚 last major contract. 鈥淪ome of my first assignments were on Stonehenge, so if and when this goes ahead it will be quite fitting,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to bookend my career鈥�.
This article was first published in the聽March 2022聽issue of The 羞羞视频 Magazine.听听Sign up online聽
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