The end of the wooden road

Some 'heritage' is neither very old nor very impressive, and is perhaps little more than a local idiosyncrasy; however it can provide a marker for a more significant series of events which carries a wider resonance. Such is the case with the 'wooden road' at Jackfield, in the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site.

Parts of the Gorge are well-known for their geological instability, with landslides reported from the early eighteenth century. At Jackfield a series of events occurred in the early 1950s which completely transformed the landscape. Over the winter of 1951-52 a stretch of ground between the Jackfield Tile Works (shown above) and the 'Half Moon' pub began a slow slide into the River Severn. This dramatically accelerated in February 1952 and affected several houses which had to be evacuated, and later demolished.

According to a report by the geologist A. W. Skempton: 'Six houses were completely broken up, gas mains had to be relaid above ground, the railway could be maintained only by daily adjustments to the track and a minor road along the river had to be closed to traffic.' (Skempton 1964). During 1952 and 1953 the slip continued to work its way upslope. By the end of 1953 around 300,000 tonnes of ground had moved; the slip was about 215m long and 200m wide - and the width of the river had been reduced from 38.1m to 24.4m (High-Point Rendel 2005).

This photograph shows the central part of the landslip today, with the water main and other services still carried above ground alongside the road.

Further movement has continued since 1953. Between 1966 and 1971, for example, there were slippages on Salthouse Road, 'which involved some further 8m movement towards the river and 2m of subsidence' (Halcrow 1990). In 1984 part of Salthouse Road was lost completely. This is when the wooden road was constructed, along the line of the former railway.

This detail of the wooden road shows how it has been constructed: a series of articulated iron-bound timber planks to enable the road to accommodate ground movement. The above-ground water main is also visible here. The wooden road was a unique response to the unique geological circumstances of Jackfield; simple, functional and undramatic, it nevertheless serves as a reminder of the 1952 catastrophe and its aftermath.

Sadly, the days of this local landscape feature are numbered. Over the next few years the Jackfield Stabilisation Project will improve drainage and attempt to reduce ground movement through piling; Salthouse Road will be re-routed to the north of the present road. The wooden road will be no more. A similar scheme undertaken a few years ago at The Lloyds had a design life of 100 years, but the river and land here is still recovering from the last ice age and there is ultimately nothing that can be done to stop it.

Whilst access for visitors and residents alike will no doubt be improved, another little piece of late twentieth century history - and a reminder of the unstoppable forces of geology - will disappear from the Ironbridge Gorge.

References

Skempton, A. W. 1964, 'Long-term stability of clay slopes', Geotechnique, 14, 77-101.

Halcrow 1990, Landslides at Ironbridge: Jackfield and Lloyd’s Coppice. Report on Hazard Mapping, report for Shropshire County Council.

High-Point Rendel 2005, Ironbridge Gorge Instability: The Interpretation of Ground Investigations at Jackfield and the Lloyds, report for Telford and Wrekin Council (R/2088/01).

IfA Conference 2013

This year the IfA Conference took place in Birmingham, at Aston University. The theme ('Making Waves') was about impact, and the sessions mostly addressed various ways in which archaeology relates to the rest of society. Other commitments meant that I could only be there on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday, so sadly I missed a couple of sessions on Friday which sounded very interesting. As ever, this is an entirely personal account of my own impressions, and does not represent the views of any of the organisations with which I am associated.

On the whole I thought this was a great conference. Inevitably there are always minor niggles, but generally the venue, food and organisation were good. The papers were also to a high standard, and - at least in the sessions which I attended - there was thoughtful and useful discussion. The social events (and subsequent activities) were also good fun. The wine reception and dinner at the Hotel du Vin were excellent, although the Rose Villa Tavern was perhaps a bit too small for the party.

Opening session

The conference opened at about the same time as Baroness Thatcher's funeral. IfA Chief Executive Pete Hinton wisely avoided any political references. However Jan Wills (IfA Honorary Chair) did bring her own political views close to the surface: talking about a 'Conservative' government (it is a coalition) and 'cuts to public services'. This was regrettable. Her talk was also quite Anglo-centric. I found this to be a disappointing address, partly for these reasons, but mainly because I felt that it didn't strike the inspirational tone which the Institute needs in this time of internal and external change.

The keynote address was made by Gareth Maeer, Head of Research at the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). He spoke about the HLF's ongoing programme of research into the values and benefits of heritage. Understanding the outcomes of such research was clearly important to delegates: when asked, the vast majority considered such information 'essential' to their work. Gareth demonstrated the very real ability of 'heritage' generally to have economic and social impact on society more widely. Although the ways in which the HLF measures 'values and benefits' could be seen as rather narrow at times (mainly focused on economic value), it is clear that their methodologies are continually evolving and they are open to new ideas. Particularly interesting was Gareth's analysis that 'well-being' policy is still on the UK government agenda despite the pressures of the current economic situation.

Paying dividends

After lunch I (along with, I suspect, the majority of the conference) attended a session entitled 'Paying dividends: securing the impact of development-led archaeological work'. Jay Carver talked about some really impressive outreach associated with the London Crossrail development, John Blair (University of Oxford) and Michael Fulford (University of Reading)described the role of grey literature in enhancing academic understanding of the Anglo-Saxon and Roman periods respectively, and there were some thoughtful concluding remarks by Tim Darvill (University of Bournemouth).

Two papers really stood out for me. The first was Hilary Orange (UCL) describing her survey of how commercial organisations are able to incorporate various types of public outreach into their projects. Despite a technical issue which meant that she had no slides, Hilary nevertheless painted a vivid picture of how it is possible to do effective public engagement with very small actions. She spoke about the value of social media and of websites such as 'academia.edu' in enabling the commercial sector to make the results of archaeological projects more widely known more quickly.

Wendy Morrison (University of Oxford) spoke about an incredibly ambitious project to synthesise several decades of fieldwork by half-a-dozen organisations in the gravels of the upper Thames valley. This is not merely a synthetic overview of sites (dots on the map) but an incredibly detailed GIS-based plotting of individual features. As well as enabling fresh archaeological insights, the project is also delivering useful analysis of archaeological method and practice.

The social benefit of archaeology

On Thursday I was torn between two sessions. Mike Hodder (Birmingham City Council) and Ian George (English Heritage) were running a session on 'urban design and the historic environment'; I gave a paper in their similar session at the IFA Conference in Bangor exactly ten years ago, and it was tempting to revisit the debate. However in the end I chose to go to the session on the social benefit of archaeology.

The session began with Caroline Pudney (Cadw) describing her MORTARIA project. The acronym stands for 'Motivating Offender Rehabilitation Through Archaeological Recording, Investigation and Analysis', and this is exactly what the project is attempting. Working within HMP Parc (Bridgend), Caroline had achieved some impressive results with young offenders, and I found this to be an extremely inspiring project - with relevance to the work which the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust is doing with offenders at Beacon Ring hillfort.

Rob Hedge (Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service) then spoke about work with visually impaired school children; a really nuanced approach involving a wide range of oral and tactile resources. This was followed by an overview of recent community projects in south Wales by Janet Bailey (Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust). The first part of the session was rounded off by a moving film introduced by Tara-Jane Sutcliffe (CBA) on behalf of the Workers' Educational Association. This described work in Yorkshire with stroke victims, and clearly demonstrated the quite remarkable transformative impact which archaeology can have. You can see it here.

John Schofield (University of York) gave a thoughtful and wide-ranging paper describing his own work in Malta and Bristol with marginalised groups and individuals, within the framework of widening participation expressed by the Faro Convention. Having spoken about Faro myself at TAG last year, I found this a very useful contribution. This led onto a lively discussion which explored a range of issues: the importance of place, the different role of public- and private-sector organisations, and the ethics of public engagement.

Observations

In the afternoon I joined the tour of the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter led by Simon Buteux. The visit to the Newman Brothers Coffin Fittings Factory was particularly interesting to me as I had led the recording and clearance project on this site back in 2007. Restoration of the now-empty building is imminent; good luck to the Birmingham Conservation Trust in developing a sustainable business involving a mixture of heritage attraction and lettable space.

One very interesting element of the conference this year was the changing demographic. One result of the CBA and IfA bursary schemes has been the introduction of a 'New Generation' of younger delegates at the conference, and I do hope that this continues. Another aspect of this is reflected in the gradual rise of my own generation to more senior positions within the profession, and hopefully this will also make a positive impact in the future.

This conference was also noteworthy for the success of the social media policy. Lots of people were busy Tweeting (search the hashtag #2013ifa for a blow-by-blow account of proceedings). My only regret was that due to WiFi and battery problems I was not able to make much of a contribution on the Twitter front.

It was lovely to meet many old friends, and to make some new ones. Many thanks to the IfA for a highly enjoyable meeting; I am already looking forward to the Glasgow conference next year.

Iron Age East Yorkshire

The Historical Metallurgy Society Archaeology Committee Spring Workshop took place in March. Despite snow and icy winds, we all enjoyed a fabulous meeting which had been organised by Peter Halkon and Yvonne Inall from the University of Hull. A combination of museum visits and field trips was arranged to illustrate the theme of Iron Age ironworking. The meeting began with a Friday evening reception at the aptly-named Treasure House in Beverley. This combined library, archive and museum building opened in 2007 and holds the archaeological collections of the East Riding Museums Service. Here, delegates were able to see the very impressive cache of Iron Age swords from South Cave, discovered by metal detectorists in 2002. Some members of the group also took advantage of the opportunity to wield a replica sword, made in 2009 by Roland Williamson.

After the reception delegates repaired to the accommodation in Hull, at the delightful Endsleigh Centre. This was built in 1901 as a Convent of the Sisters of Mercy and included a training College. The College closed in the 1970s and since 1995 the Endsleigh Centre has been a retreat and conference centre – still run by the very friendly and welcoming Sisters.

Overnight snowfall greeted delegates the following morning. Undeterred, the group boarded the minibus to explore some Iron Age sites and landscapes under the expert leadership of Peter Halkon, who has known this landscape since childhood and has been involved in many of the most important excavations. Some delegates took a while to get accustomed to the East Yorkshire definition of ‘hill’; however the icy Russian wind and drifting snow encountered at the famous Arras burial ground convinced most people that this was indeed high ground.

The trip then moved into the relatively low-lying area surrounding the River Foulness, which in the Iron Age was a much larger body of water feeding into the Walling Fen and thence to the Humber. The group investigated two sites, on either side of the former Fen. The first of these was at Moore’s Farm, Welham Bridge, the scene of substantial bog-ore smelting – indeed this was the site of the excavation of the largest slag heap ever found in Iron Age England. Weighing a massive 5338kg, this represented the production of up to between one and two tonnes of bloom. Undeterred by the snow and freezing temperatures delegates enthusiastically began fieldwalking, returning to the minibus proudly bearing bits of slag.

The second site was at Hasholme. Famous for its log boat excavated in 1984, the trip explored an adjacent enclosure and again discovered various lumps of slag and bog-ore – along with a very nice decorated greyware rim-shed. A recent scheme has restored a small area of adjacent wetland to very much its Iron Age appearance, so there was a vivid impression of the former shoreline of the Walling Fen. The farmhouse kitchen provided a welcome warm break during which delegates were able to inspect an impressive collection of portable antiquities discovered by the farmer over the years.

After a substantial sandwich lunch at the Red Lion in Holme-upon-Spalding Moor, the workshop returned to Hull where an enjoyable afternoon was spent in the East Riding Museum. Peter provided a guided tour of the galleries. Although the focus on the Iron Age meant inevitable enthusiasm for items such as the North Grimston Sword, there was also an impressive collection of Roman and medieval metalwork. The Museum also houses the Hasholme boat, although sadly the conservation programme was stopped in 2009 leading to some deterioration in its condition.

A quick pint at the Black Boy was followed by a very nice dinner at Princes Quay, and some delegates followed this with further drinks at the George.

Sadly the trip planned for the following morning was cancelled, due to snow and flooding. Some delegates made their way to Beverley, for an pleasant morning inspecting the Minster and various items of cast-iron street furniture. This was a hugely enjoyable meeting, despite the weather; many thanks to Peter and Yvonne for organising it.

Stirchley Furnaces revisited (V)

As usual the work-rate of our volunteers is frightening - compare the photographs in this post with the ones on the first day! We have just finished another couple of days (our last for now) on the site, and as usual we have had to spend some extra time recording everything.

I am still not certain that the structure in Trench 5 is a refinery. There is no evidence for water cooling, and it seems unusually small for a refinery. It is also not clear what the running-out arrangements were. Whatever it is, it is an intriguing and important discovery from this increasingly marvellous site. The photograph below shows the full extent of it after cleaning.

The three hearths which we have excavated have survived differently, but together provide a very helpful picture of the process. We have been very lucky this time to be able to take samples which will be analysed over the coming months to confirm the provisional diagnosis. The photograph below shows the central hearth (No.2), as seen looking south from the running-out area.

Meanwhile, up at the embankment, further excavation revealed the complex mysteries of a large culvert, some brick walls and some other structures. The photograph below shows the quite magnificently crafted brickwork above the flue; the one below that shows the whole structure at the end of yesterday's mammoth effort - more sterling work by the marvellous volunteers in what was by this time quite heavy rain.

 

Compare this photograph with the 'before' photograph in the first post of this sequence to see just how much work has been achieved. In the same vein, somehow Malcolm and Nigel found time to go back up to the calcining oven and clear away the vegetation. This was the result...

...again, it is worth comparing the 'before' and 'after' views from Friday's post to show just how hard everyone has been working. In fact at some point I will compile 'before' and 'after' photographs of various elements of the whole Town Park project just to show how proud I am of all of our lovely volunteers, without whom none of these exciting discoveries would have been made.

So what next? Well, we do hope to return to the furnaces in 2013, and we are planning to undertake further work on other elements of this fascinating industrial landscape as well. Unfortunately our current round of Lottery funding has come to an end... however we are hoping to put together a bid for more money to continue our research, as well as undertaking the conservation of this and other sites.

Finally - and most importantly - regular readers of this blog (and indeed project participants) will have noted the absence of our most important volunteer. Moss has developed a liver infection and has had to go into a veterinary clinic for emergency treatment. She is fighting hard, and we all have our fingers crossed for her... many thanks to everyone around the world who have sent their best wishes to Moss. Despite her illness she found time to visit the site on Saturday morning in order to make an inspection.

 

Stirchley Furnaces revisited (IV)

Another exciting day of continuing unexpected and - for the time being at least - mysterious discoveries! Today the whole team mostly worked on Trench 5, further investigating what is clearly a very substantial structure.

As you can see, in contrast to yesterday's very windy and sometimes drizzly conditions, today we has blue skies and sunshine. This rather frenetic scene was captured the the beginning of the day, as the realisation dawned that Brian's multi-flued structure was actually part of a much larger entity. In fact there are four sets of identical flue arrangements (although we are only excavating three of them). Here is another view towards the end of the day, with the easternmost structure in the foreground.

It is difficult to work out what this is - at the moment I am inclined to suspect it is the refinery. The purpose of the refinery was to remelt the cast iron from the furnaces before it went up the road to the puddling furnaces. Certainly it contains a series of flues (perhaps refinery hearths?) each served by two sets of three downward-pointing flues on each side; at the end each 'hearth' is a cast-iron plate, beyond which the level drops into what could be be the running-out bed. However these structures do not correspond in detail either with the description of the refinery here in 1856 or other published contemporary accounts.

The alternative is that these are the four hot blast stoves, also described in 1856. However, again, they are different from published plans of hot blast stoves; also it is not clear how they would have worked. What's more they are about 30 metres away from the nearest furnace - surely too far?

So the mystery continues for now.

Other work today included drawing the wall in Trench 7 that we uncovered yesterday. I also discovered what seems to be a calcining furnace at the far northern end of the site - this was for roasting the ore before smelting. Malcolm also discovered a wall made of slag blocks.

So we have quite a lot to do tomorrow - including, of course, the all-important recording - before this year's work at Stirchley comes to an end.

Stirchley Furnaces revisited (III)

The final stage of the 2012 volunteer excavations at Stirchley Furnaces began today, very much picking up where our work in August had left off.

We split into two groups to tackle two key research questions. The first was to understand more about the very complex series of buildings which lay between the chimney and the furnaces, and which must have included the boilers, steam engine, blowing apparatus, hot air ovens and refinery. To investigate, we effectively continued Trench 5 to the south - beyond the walls we uncovered last time and towards the very curious-looking 'humps and bumps' beyond. The team needed to remove a few saplings which had rooted themselves into the structure - here Sohail and Brian are seen winning the battle with an ash tree!

 

Meanwhile, a smaller group were trying to find out about the buildings at the edge of the site. We had noticed brick and stone walls here before, and I have always assumed that they were 'ore bins' and suchlike to store raw materials as they were tipped from the mineral railway. (The line of this railway is now a path running along the east side of the site). So we decided to excavate Trench 7 across this feature. In the tradition of this project, here is a photograph taken at the beginning of the day...

... and here is one at the end.

Quite a lot of earth was moved, and some very intriguing structures were revealed as a result. The jury is still out on the interpretation, and we shall learn a great deal more tomorrow, no doubt - once the team have rested overnight!

Meanwhile, in Trench 5, a very curious structure was emerging. This has multiple flues running in various directions; there is a lot of heat damage to parts of it as well. Some of the flues appear to have been deliberately filled with greensand.

There are also at least two phases of construction and redevelopment, as revealed by today's exciting brick finds! The first definitely belongs to the 1820s Botfield ironworks, as the principal parts of the structure - including the flues - were built using 'Lightmoor' bricks made by the Coalbrookdale Company.

The Botfield accounts show that the Coalbrookdale Company supplied these bricks in the 1820s and 1830s. At some stage the structure (whatever it was, and we will learn more tomorrow) was rebuilt, or perhaps repaired, during the occupation of the Wellington Coal and Iron Company. The evidence for this comes in the form of firebricks supplied by Harris and Pearson of Stourbridge, who also provided the furnace bricks for the furnace linings which we discovered last year.

The weather was better today than we had hoped, although it was sufficiently windy to blow a tree over and across Trench 5 during the course of the afternoon. Many thanks to the Friends of Telford Town Park for the loan of their gazebo! More news tomorrow (hopefully)...

Newcomen 300 Conference

The 300th anniversary of the first recorded Newcomen steam engine was celebrated in style this weekend at the Black Country Living Museum.

This international conference brought together a wide range of people who have spent many years exploring various aspects of the Newcomen engine. Over 80 delegates included members of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Newcomen Society, the Historical Metallurgy Society and a range of enthusiastic supporters of the project.

The photograph above shows the Black Country Museum's replica Newcomen engine in steam at night - a special treat for the conference delegates at the conclusion of the first day. The engine, and aspects of its restoration, also featured last night in the Channel 4 series 'How Britain Worked'.

The first day of the conference (9th November) began with an opening lecture by Jim Andrews - Secretary of the Midlands Branch of the Newcomen Society - who outlined the biography of Thomas Newcomen and provided an overview of how the eponymous engine was developed. The Black Country context was then provided by Trevor Raybould, who, in an entertaining lecture, gave an excellent overview of the geology of the Black Country - with particular focus on the role of the Earl of Dudley in developing the area's industrial pre-eminence.

Trevor's lecture was followed by the presentation of the Engineering Heritage Award to the replica Newcomen engine at the Black Country Living Museum. The prize was presented by John Wood, Chairman of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Heritage Committee.

The delegates then split into two groups. One went for a tour of the Black Country Living Museum, the rest of us spent an absorbing hour learning all about the steam narrow boat 'President' from some of the 'Friends of the President' who restore and maintain this unique vessel. Richard Thomas, the Friends' archivist, provided an overview of her history down to about 1983 (when she came to the Black Country Living Museum); this was followed by a technical account of her various restorations by chief engineer Dave Stott. Luckily 'President' passed her boiler inspection in the nick of time to appear on the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant.

We were then treated to a fascinating film by independent film-makers Rob and Yuehong Dickinson. This looked at the 'Olean' sugar mill in East Java: a fully steam-powered mill which opened in 1860 and is powered by a variety of ancient engines. It lies at the hub of a network of narrow-gauge railway lines, the cane being brought into the mill by four 1920s steam locomotives. One wonders quite how much longer this set-up will survive.

The day concluded with an opportunity to go and see the Newcomen engine in steam.

There were also demonstrations of ironworking and iron rolling by the Black Country Museum staff and volunteers. This was the first time the rolling mill had been in operation for some time and it was great to see it alive again (particularly for me, after my experiences rolling iron at the Blists Hill mill some years ago). This was followed by a pint in the pub, and an excellent dinner at the new Workers' Institute Cafe.

Day two (10th November) began with a lecture by David Perrett entitled 'The Archaeology of the Newcomen Engine'. David - a chemist and professor of Bioanalytical Science - gave an interesting paper which covered many of the well-known and less well-known sites of Newcomen and other engines, along with entertaining stories of Henry Ford's trips to the UK in the 1920s in which he acquired over 50 engines of various sorts for his museum.

This was followed by an exemplary paper on the history and rediscovery of Boulton and Watt's Soho Manufactory by the leading expert on the subject - George Demidowicz.

Returning to the engine itself, Geoff Wallis provided a full account of its recent restoration, demonstrating the value of building replicas in enabling us to understand the various skills that were needed to keep such engines in operation. This was followed by Steve Grudging's presentation on John Wise - an overlooked but long-lived and prolific Newcomen engine-builder, who was responsible for the Chelsea Water Works engines as well as various mining installations in Warwickshire, the Bristol area and Cornwall.

Finally, the conference concluded with a look forward to future energy provision by Richard Coakley, past President of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Many thanks to all at the Black Country Living Museum for an excellent conference - including very generous and tasty refreshments throughout!

Salaries and the IfA

The Institute for Archaeologists (IfA) has opened a window for consultation with its members on Recommended Minimum Salaries. If you are a member, you will have had an email about this. It is a very short window (the closing date is 9th November). The consultation response will inform Council's decision-making on this issue. I urge you to respond, because this is a very serious issue for all of us.

 

The IfA has suggested several options for the Recommended Minimum Salaries. Option 1 is no increase; Options 2-6 are increases of various levels. I actually disagree with all of these options, and this is why.

 

In my view the IfA should not even be in the business of setting salary levels. The IfA is a Professional Institute, it is not a trade union nor an employers' federation. By recommending salaries it runs the risk of bringing itself into disrepute through being seen to support a 'cartel' of its Registered Organisations (ROs). Salary levels should be the subject of discussions between trade unions and employers' federations (in our case that effectively means Prospect and FAME).

 

Other professional bodies have abandoned setting minimum salaries. RICS makes it clear that individuals are on their own when negotiating salaries with prospective employers. RIBA has an 'indicative salary' scheme for students only.

 

Following on from this, I fear that the IfA's continuing involvement in recommending salary levels may endanger its application to the Privy Council for Chartered Status. Chartership for the IfA is something which I wholeheartedly endorse, as in the long run it will be of much greater benefit to the profession as a whole than tinkering with salaries. I am concerned that setting minimum salaries may prejudice how the Privy Council will view the IfA's application.

 

Regrettably the IfA is not proposing to end the practice of recommending minimum salaries.

 

My greatest worry, in the present economic situation, is that many ROs could not actually afford to pay higher salaries. In fact perhaps the majority of ROs - of all sizes - are in this position. The economic downturn is severe and prolonged, and it has seriously eroded any reserves which archaeological organisations may have built up before 2008. Many ROs may feel that a wage rise is unrealistic at this time, and, by being tied to IfA salary minima they lack the flexibility to make adjustments which are necessary for real-world survival. Indeed, in the present circumstances some employers may wish to temporarily reduce salary levels below IfA minima in order to ensure that they survive in the short term. Such solutions are actually acceptable to employees, who regard it as better to have a job at a lower salary than no job at all.

 

An increase in the IfA recommended minimum salaries in 2012-13 is likely to mean that some archaeological organisations will have to chose between remaining an RO or staying in business.
 

(Also, increases in the IfA recommended minima have in the past caused concern for archaeologists in the public sector, where pay might be frozen or reduced, and where there isn't the flexibility for wage maneouvre across a whole local authority).

 

Increasing salaries at this time may cause firms to close, and levels of archaeological employment will therefore reduce even further. It also limits the flexibility of organisations to offer jobs to new entrants, a situation recently seen in the legal profession.

 

The RO scheme is an excellent system for maintaining professional standards in the broadest sense. Increasing pay minima is likely to endanger the scheme. The withdrawal of significant and influential ROs from the scheme is one probable short-term consequence of an increase in the recommended salary minima. In addition there may be pressure on individual employees within ROs (or former ROs) to leave the IfA, as their individual acceptance of the Code of Conduct would be incompatible with the adjusted wages policy for these firms.

 

I think that salaries in the historic environment professions are too low. However setting and increasing salary minima by the IfA is absolutely not the way to go about changing this. The consequence of this is potentially the collapse of the RO scheme, loss of IfA members, loss of credibility for the wider profession and perhaps even the end of the road to Chartership.

 

By abandoning wage-setting and focusing on the broader strategic objective of improving professional standards, the IfA will attract members, retain the integrity of the RO scheme and gain Chartered status for the profession. That is the only sustainable way to improve salaries in the long term.

 

 

 

[Please note that these are entirely my own opinions and not those of any of the organisations with which I am associated].

IfA Chartership Seminar and AGM

Members of the IfA (Institute for Archaeologists) gathered yesterday at Burlington House to hear a review of progress towards Chartership and to discuss possible ways forward.

Chartership is the process of seeking the formal approval and support of the Crown for the IfA - and thus enhancing the status of the archaeological and historic environment professions. It is an essential step - both for the IfA and the profession - if we are to gain 'parity of esteem' with other professions (such as architects, engineers and surveyors) with whom we often work closely.

Already in the last three years the IfA has made significant progress towards Chartership. At the last AGM the membership approved a resolution to allow Council to continue progress on this front - specifically drafting the necessary documents (with legal advice and support) and beginning discussions with the Privy Council. At yesterday's seminar the IfA published the drafts of four key areas of documentation, and invited members to comment on them and discuss the implications.

A full summary of events will no doubt appear on the IfA website, and it is not my intention here to provide a full record. Instead I just want to record some impressions whilst they are still fresh in the mind. Firstly, however, I have to say that I was slightly disappointed by the turnout - only 1% of the IfA membership were present in the room (with a further 3% represented by proxy for the subsequent AGM). I guess this means that the other 99% (or 96%) are quite happy with the direction the IfA is going.

Although Chartership was the basis of the meeting, the main areas of discussion concerned the underpinning documents. These were the outcome of the long Council debates about governance reform which have dominated our thoughts for the last couple of years. Because the structure of the organisation will effectively be 'fixed' by a Royal Charter, it is essential that the IfA has an appropriate structure that will work well long-term.

In fact, governance reform is essential, whether the IfA is successful in its application for Chartership or not.

This is because at the moment the IfA has a single Council of 20-24 people that simultaneously considers both the day-to-day management of the Institute, and the longer-term strategic issues which beset the profession. Perhaps inevitably, more time is spent on the former than the latter; and despite having an 'Executive' which considers much of the day-to-day aspects, constitutionally all decisions need to come back to Council - resulting in a lot of 'double handling'.

The proposal therefore is to split the role of the current Council between two bodies - a Board of Directors (a fiduciary body of 10-12 people meeting six times per year) and an Advisory Council (a strategic planning body of up to 40 people meeting no less than twice a year); the Advisory Council also represents the Special Interest Groups and the broader membership.

Consequently, there are effectively three tiers of documentation - the Charter itself, the by-laws (which also form part of the formal Charter), and the regulations. Changes to the Charter and the by-laws need approval from the Privy Council, so these are as broadly-worded as they can be. The Regulations are derived largely from the current Code of Conduct and Articles of Association. IfA members can find all the background here.

Despite the relatively low turnout, discussion at the meeting was well-informed, robust and analytical. We began with a discussion about the philosophy of archaeology and its role in Society. Whilst this was brought up initially in relation to the name of the Institute (Chartered Institute for Archaeologists = CIA?!), questions and discussion also addressed the relationship of the IfA to community archaeology and to the wider European family of archaeologists.

Further and more detailed discussion included some very helpful questions from the floor about the composition of the Board of Directors, the relationship between it and the Advisory Council (and communication between the two bodies), and the question of liability for those on both bodies. These were, of course, issues that we had been grappling with in Council, but it was interesting to hear some similar concerns raised from different perspectives by other members. The international relevance of the IfA was a theme which recurred throughout - and admittedly this is an important aspect which has not always been uppermost in Council's mind.

The seminar concluded with a short discussion about the (still highly theoretical) routes to individual Chartered status, should the IfA be successful with its application. Kate Geary gave an excellent overview of the situation in comparable professional bodies, including the Landscape Institute, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, the Institute of Environmental Management, the Royal Town Planning Institute, the Royal Institute of British Architects, and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. A wide range of options and possibilities were presented.

Finally, Pete Hinton gave a quick review of what would happen if the IfA's application for Chartership was unsuccessful... it was not the 'end of the world', but it would mean that the profession would take a lot longer to reach 'parity of esteem'.

There is of course still time - until the end of the week - for members to respond to the consultation. For those who are still unconvinced by the importance of Chartership, here is an interesting article in the Guardian.

The AGM saw some significant changes to Council members and Officers. Gerry Wait stood down after six years as Chairman, during which time he has been a very positive force for the development of the IfA and the profession; his elected successor is Jan Wills. Also after a six-year stint, Martin Newman stood down as Treasurer, leaving his successor with a healthy surplus on the books.

This was also my last day as a Member of Council after three years. I decided not to seek re-election, as in the last few months I have not been able to commit as fully as I should like to the role, and it is much better that someone takes my place who can make a full contribution in this important time of change.

I wish all the new and continuing Council members 'good luck' for the next few years. Hopefully it will be possible to sustain the momentum and make a Chartered institute - and indeed Chartered Archaeologists - a reality.

Riga

Whilst en route to the EAA conference in Helsinki, we had a short holiday around the Baltic. After a day in Copenhagen, we flew to Riga for three days in that fascinating and beautiful city.

Lying on the River Daugava, Riga was founded early in the thirteenth century, and became a member of the Hanseatic League in 1282. For three hundred years its role in this trading bloc ensured relative prosperity and stability. Many of the buildings in the Old Town relate to this period, including the city walls, the churches, and some merchants' houses and warehouses - as well as the impressive buildings of the 'Blackheads' guild.

'The Three Brothers' - a row of merchants houses; the one on the right dates to the fifteenth century, the others are later.

However the decline of the Hanseatic League from the early sixteenth century made for a more difficult period. After a period as a self-governing city under the Holy Roman Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, it became part of the Swedish Empire in 1621. Nevertheless Riga retained a great deal of autonomy, and resisted Russian advances - including a prolonged seige during the mid-1600s - until the early eighteenth century.

 A group of late medieval houses in the square alongside St. Peter's Church.

Our first day (Kate's birthday) was spent exploring the cobbled streets and squares of the Old Town, which is actually very compact. Although the Old Town is the most 'touristy' part of Riga, there are still quite a few quiet places away from the main sights. Kate's birthday meal took place in 'Rozengrals' medieval cellar-restaurant - which was good fun if not quite as authentic as it claimed to be!

Unrestored post-Hanseatic warehouses within the Old Town walls.

After another Russian seige in 1709-10, Riga became part of the Russian empire. During this period it grew into an impressive industrial city and major port, with a mixed and vibrant population and culture. The town expanded beyond its medieval core, with grid-plan suburban areas being laid out in the 1760s and in 1815. This latter rebuilding took place after a disastrous fire in 1812, apparently started by Russian troops in a pre-emptive 'scorched earth' tactic anticipating an attack by Napoleon (it never came, he attacked Vilnius instead).

Astonishingly, large chunks of these nineteenth century suburbs - largely built in timber - have survived, and some of our second day was spent exploring these.

This abandoned landscape of houses from the first rebuilding is just to the north of the city centre - although it is not clear for how much longer it will survive.

Perhaps even more remarkable was the suburb of Maskavas Forštate, to the south and east of the city centre. Another grid-planned suburb aligned along Maskavas Street, this was the home to the city's Jewish population for most of the nineteenth century and some of the twentieth.

Many of the buildings here are derelict, or only partly occupied, and there were virtually no cars or people around. With grass growing up through the cobbles, and hordes of feral cats, there was a slightly unreal 'wild west' atmosphere to the place. The whole area had an air of faded grandeur - and again the future of these buildings seems to be quite perilous... we saw a number that had been burnt out and others more likely to collapse.

The sunset of the Russian empire in the early twentieth century was a period of great prosperity for Riga, and was accompanied by a greater self-confidence and emerging 'national awakening'. Perhaps the most impressive legacy of this period was a whole suburb of Art Nouveau apartment buildings, to the north and west of the city centre.

These included some very impressive examples (such as the one below) designed by Mikhail Eisenstein - father of the film director of 'Battleship Potemkin' fame.

The rise of Latvian nationalism in the latter part of the nineteenth century came to a head during the Russian revolution. The Germans took Riga in 1917, and acquired Latvia by treaty early the following year; however that treaty was revoked under the Armistice, and so Latvia was able to declare independence - which it did on 18th November 1918.

This independence was short-lived, but saw many changes to the city. This included the extension of the railway network, and the addition of a new central market in the 1920s - built using five former Zeppelin hangers. These still survive today and make a quite marvellous market complex.

Former Zeppelin hangars at the city market.

The Russians invaded in 1940, and the country came under German occupation between 1941 and 1944. During this period the suburb of Maskavas Forštate became the Jewish ghetto. The Russians recaptured Riga in October 1944 and the long period of Soviet occupation began, which ended in 1991.

Hammer and sickle motif surviving on the river embankment (most have been removed). The main railway bridge and the Soviet-era 'Academy of Sciences' are in the background.

The revival of Latvia in the last twenty years after independence has been astonishing. Happily Riga has preserved much of its historic character and has - on the whole - remembered all of the different aspects of its often turbulent history.

We didn't spend much time in museums, but the Museum of Occupation is interesting, and the National History Museum (pictured below) is very informative about the broad sweep of Latvian history (if a little old fashioned). Finally it is worth mentioning the Hotel Justus where we stayed - right in the city centre, full of character with excellent and friendly service (and a chauffeur-driven Mercedes greeted us at the airport).

On Sunday morning we left by Lux Express for Estonia, and the very different Hanseatic city of Tallin... the subject of a future post.

More photographs of Riga can be found on my Flickr page.

Stirchley Furnaces revisited (II)

Day two of our second phase of excavations started well. Sohail and Nigel were able to clean up another of the internal walls of the Engine House - a slightly detached extension of Trench 5.

On the basis of the levels we took last year, these bits of brickwork are actually the upper half-metre or so of buildings that survive to a much greater depth beneath later tipping. We estimate that most of the ironworks structures will survive to a full height of around two metres - and some much more substantial than that. As usual, all of our Telford Town Park record photographs have the additional 'Border Terrier' scale provided by Moss.

Caroline and Sohail began the drawing of Trench 5.

Meanwhile, in Trench 6, we faced a typical archaeological problem - the interesting bit was under the spoil heap! So the first part of the morning was spent moving yesterday's spoil heap and extending the trench to confirm our identification of the walls here as being part of the other set of furnaces.

Unfortunately, for the first time ever in all of our Town Park excavations, it began to rain! Nevertheless the team heroically carried on extending the trench, despite the onset of an increasingly heavy downpour.

Luckily I had a tarpaulin in the car, so it was possible to rig up a makeshift 'site hut'.

Unfortunately the rain persisted, and after a very soggy lunch, we decided to abandon the site. Trench 6 was simply too dangerous, and - understandably - nobody was particularly keen to record the rest of the site in heavy rain which had soaked us all to the skin.

I was able to take an interim record photograph of Trench 6 - if you compare this with yesterday's view of the trench you can see just how much earth was shifted today by our magnificent volunteers. I am pretty convinced that this stonework is part of the second pair of furnaces.

The apparent gap in the wall is probably a consequence of post-1880s modifications. It is not wide enough to be an original blowing arch, and it is in the wrong location for a communication passage (assuming both banks of furnaces were more-or-less parallel). Of course this stonework is still at least a metre or so above the original 1820s ground level!

We still need to clean this up properly and record both trenches. However we have another half-day next Tuesday and I am sure we can do it.

Once again many many thanks to all of our volunteers for remaining cheerful, enthusiastic and hard-working in such appalling conditions.

Stirchley Furnaces revisited (I)

Today the interpid team of Town Park archaeology volunteers reunited for the second time in 2012, and the second 'bash' at Stirchley Furnaces. We were also joined by some new recruits!

Previous relationships were rekindled.

After last year's excavations at the furnace site we were keen to learn more about the different parts of the complex. Not only does this help us understand more about the operation of the ironworks, but it will also give us a good idea of how well preserved it is and how to tackle future conservation and interpretation.

As usual, the quality and quantity of the work undertaken has exceeded all expectations. Here is Trench 5 at 10.00 this morning...

... and here it is just after lunch!

What's more, we have made two extremely important discoveries today.

Firstly, we have explored some of the mysterious 'humps and bumps' in the woodland between the chimney and the furnaces which we excavated last year. We know that this area must contain the boiler house, engine house and blowing apparatus (as well as the refinery and perhaps the earliest hot air ovens in the world). However because there is no plan of the site, we have no idea where all the various components are.

Today the team uncovered two substantial brick walls, which seem to be part of the interior of the engine house. Hopefully tomorrow we will learn more about the internal arrangement of this important building.

Our second discovery was less impressive visually, but arguably even more significant. We knew there were four furnaces on this site by 1828, but so far had only found two of them. The location of the other two was not certain, but a large mound to the east of the surviving furnaces - and roughly the same size and shape - seemed a likely candidate.

Our trench here showed that they had been demolished and at least partly concreted over during the 'Stirchley Chemical Works' phase of the site - but the stonework below the concrete was identical to that of the furnaces we excavated last year. It's early days, but it looks like we have found the other furnaces!

More work tomorrow!

More information about previous work on this site.

Information about all of the archaeology we have done in Telford Town Park.