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We recently included in our Diary Dates notice of a talk to be given by Roger Farnworth later this month, not knowing at the time that he had sadly passed away earlier in the year. We offer our apologies and condolences to his family and friends. The following short article appears in the latest Meyn Mamvro magazine, to whom we are indebted for permission to reproduce the article here.
Roger Farnworth sadly and unexpectedly died from lymphoma at the end of January this year. Roger was an original thinker and researcher of Cornwall’s ancient sites, and was a member of the Cornwall Archaeological Society, to whom he gave a talk in November 2012 on “Platform Cairns and the winter solstice alignments on Rough Tor”, a talk that he was planning to write up for Meyn Mamvro. He was a MM subscriber and contributor, and was particularly interested in alignments and other kinds of ‘alternative archaeology’. He wrote a two-part article on “Sightlines to the Tors and Stars” in MM63 & 64, in which he examined the relationship of the Hurlers stone circle on Bodmin Moor to the prehistoric pole star Thubon, and the ‘view frames’ that he believed were deliberately created amongst the tor rocks to highlight significant features in the Bodmin Moor landscape. As interesting as these ideas were for readers, his lively mind extended in many other directions, and he had completed two original articles for MM, one on an idea about the use of fogous, and a longer piece on the significance of cliff castles (that he was due to talk about at Pathways to the Past in May this year). MM will be publishing both of these articles, and in the current issue (no.81) are his ideas on a possible use of fogous.
More detailed obituaries, covering Roger’s wider interests can be found here and here.
Our next willing subject is someone who’s been in the news quite a bit just recently, talking about plans and progress for the new Stonehenge Visitor Centre – it’s Sue Greaney, Senior Properties Historian with English Heritage.
Brief Bio:
Sue studied archaeology and prehistory at Sheffield University, worked very briefly for ARCUS and then took an MSc in Professional Archaeology at Oxford University Department of Continuing Education. Placements with Oxford Archaeology, the Institute of Archaeology in Oxford and the archaeological survey team at English Heritage led to her securing a temporary job with English Heritage’s Properties Research team in 2005. This work was focused on researching and writing interpretation for the free and unstaffed sites, ranging from industrial buildings to Neolithic long barrows, and including sites from the Isles of Scilly to Hadrian’s Wall. Since 2009, Sue has been working on the exhibition and interpretation planned for the forthcoming new Stonehenge visitor centre.
The Ten Questions:
What sparked your interest in Archaeology?
It must have been studying ‘the Vikings’ and ‘the Romans’ at primary school, because I remember announcing aged 7 that I wanted to be an archaeologist. And I never changed my mind. Pretty soon I was a member of the local of the Young Archaeologist’s Club and a few years later Time Team started – after that at least friends at school stopped thinking I wanted to be an architect!
How did you get started?
My first excavation was two weeks work experience aged 14 with Northamptonshire Archaeology, on a DMV site near Rugby. I enjoyed it so much I asked to come back and volunteer in my summer holidays. After that I excavated at community projects including Piddington Roman Villa and Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project in Norfolk, spending a summer supervising there in 2001. By then I was in my first year at Sheffield University, studying archaeology and prehistory.
Who has most inspired your career?
Credit has to go to my university tutors, particularly Mike Parker Pearson and Mark Edmonds, who told me to question everything and how to interpret landscapes – they both made prehistory so exciting and accessible. Mark Bowden at English Heritage, who led one of my masters placements, taught me a lot about landscape survey and archaeology, and my first manager at English Heritage, John Goodall managed to instill in me a love of medieval abbeys and castles too. And all my archaeological friends from many conversations in the pub!
Which has been your most exciting project to date?
It has to be the one that I work on now, the new Stonehenge visitor centre. I’m the archaeologist/historian working on the new exhibition galleries, all the new interpretation from the website to the audio tour, the temporary gallery, the permanent gallery, the films and interactives. Now is an incredibly busy time as we open later in 2013. Within the larger project there are lots of exciting pure research things – getting new radiocarbon dates on a burial from Winterbourne Stoke long barrow, interpreting the new laser scan of Stonehenge, building our replica experimental Neolithic houses… I have to pinch myself sometimes!
What is your favourite British archaeological site… and why?
The Ring of Brodgar, Orkney. It’s a spectacular site, in a beautiful location. And it’s one of those crucial sites for understanding the late Neolithic. It’s also where I got engaged in 2008! The whole of Orkney is just packed with such great archaeology.
What is your biggest archaeological regret?
Personally, I’d have liked to have spent more time digging! Although I worked in commercial archaeology for a while, and did lots research and community excavations, sometimes I don’t quite feel that I’ve earned my digging ‘stripes’ as it were. For the sector as a whole, I regret that there remains so much unpublished archaeology out there. There’s a huge backlog of important research excavations which have never seen the light of day – Lydford, Devon; Wolvesey Castle in Winchester; barrow excavations in the Stonehenge landscape…
If you could change one thing about current heritage protection legislation, what would it be?
Funding for post-excavation and publication (ideally open-access) should be made integral to current systems. I’d also want to see all the scheduling descriptions, but particularly those sites still with old county numbers, to be updated and revised based on current knowledge.
If you were able to address Parliament for 30 seconds on archaeology what would you say?
I’d like to stress how vitally important archaeology, history and heritage is for the well-being of our communities and for our understanding of where we are today. It’s not just heritage tourism that is important, but the way that archaeology contributes to a sense of place for everyone. Please, please don’t make further cuts to funding for English Heritage – the damage done by the last spending round cuts may not be particularly visible to people outside, but we have lost so much expertise – our budgets are tiny compared to other spending, and yet the work we do is so important.
If your career hadn’t worked out, what would you be doing now?
I’m not sure – possibly graphic design or maybe running a book shop!
Away from the ‘day job’, how do you relax?
Swimming, going for country walks, real ale in the pub with friends, reading, visiting museums… Once the Stonehenge project is over I’ll hopefully have time to take up kayaking again.
We’d like to express our thanks to Sue for her responses, particularly at what is a very busy time for her.
Previous articles in this series can be found here, or by using our Search Bar, and the term ‘Inside the Mind’.
If you work in community archaeology or heritage protection and would like to take part, or have a suggestion for a suitable willing subject, please contact us.
Another in our occasional series where we peek Inside the Mind of an archaeology heritage professional. This time round it’s the turn of Keith Parfitt of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust.
Brief Bio:
Keith’s archaeology career began whilst still at school in Dover in 1972, working on the Market Street site, then under excavation by the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit. Returning home in 1978 after obtaining an honours degree in British Archaeology at University College, Cardiff, he joined Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit on a full time basis until he joined the Canterbury Archaeological Trust in 1990.
Significant digs include the line of the new A20 which culminated in the discovery of the Bronze Age Boat in 1992; the Buckland Anglo-Saxon cemetery in 1994, the medieval site off Townwall Street in 1996; Ringlemere the gold cup site, 2001 and ongoing; and Folkestone Roman villa 2010-2011.
Running parallel with this career, Keith has also been involved with the amateur Dover Archaeological Group. Founded in 1971, before there were any professional units doing rescue work in the county, he has been Director of Excavations for the Group since 1978, and much of his spare time is now devoted to writing-up sites.
He was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in May 2000.
The Ten Questions:
What sparked your interest in Archaeology?
Not sure, but it was before I went to primary school.
How did you get started?
Joined a new amateur archaeology group just starting in Dover (December 1971) – I now direct it.
Who has most influenced your career?
Pitt-River, Mortimer Wheeler (through their writings); Brian Philp (on site when I was young digger).
Which has been your most exciting project to date?
Dover Bronze Age Boat, Sept 1992.
What is your favourite British archaeological site… and why?
I have many – but I suppose it needs to be Richborough – a key site in Romano-British archaeology and very near home. And, if I am allowed a second site, Dover Castle because I see it everyday and its a ‘proper’ castle.
What is your biggest archaeological/heritage regret?
All those important sites lost without record in pre-PPG 16 days, especially during the 1960s and 1970s. Important excavated sites that will never be published (for whatever reason).
If you could change one thing about current heritage protection legislation, what would it be?
Extend it to non-Scheduled sites. Maybe we need a list of sites of County importance?
If you were able to address Parliament for 30 seconds on archaeology what would you say?
Try to understand that ‘Heritage’ is not just about the built heritage – its the below ground stuff as well. The significance of the buried archaeology so often tends to be ignored/overlooked at Government level – I think, because no one really understands (excluding APPAG of course, who seem to be trying). Compare the legal protection given to bats and lizards with that given to non-Scheduled ancient monuments.
If your career hadn’t worked out, what would you be doing now?
Difficult to gauge – nothing of any great note, I suspect. Maybe something in the building industry.
Away from the ‘day job’, how do you relax?
A combination of visiting archaeological sites and country pubs.
Many thanks to Keith for taking part and providing his answers. Previous articles in this series can be found here, or by using our Search Bar, and the term ‘Inside the Mind of’.
If you work in community archaeology and would like to take part, or have a suggestion for a suitable willing subject, please contact us.
The latest in our occasional series takes a peek Inside the Mind of Tom Goskar, Digital Archaeologist.
Brief bio:
Tom Goskar is an independent archaeologist and digital heritage specialist living in west Cornwall. After a decade working for a commercial archaeology unit, he now works freelance.
The Ten Questions:
What sparked your interest in Archaeology?
I grew up in rural Cornwall and was fascinated by the ruins of old tin and copper mines, abandoned clay workings, and anything old. Family picnics on Bodmin Moor near stone circles, and days out to Truro visiting the Royal Cornwall Museum (especially the mummy of Iset Tayef Nakht) got my imagination racing. I can remember being 9 years old and wanting to be an archaeologist. That wasn’t a fashionable ambition to have in the playground, when everyone else wanted to be a fireman or racing car driver, but I stuck with it.
How did you get started?
After college I studied archaeology at Southampton University. During the degree course I volunteered for whatever practical work I could, from cataloguing pottery to geophysical surveys, to digging test pits. I loved it. After finishing the degree I worked at Surrey History Centre for a year, helping people undertake research and answering written enquiries about the archive’s holdings. Then I returned to Southampton to embark upon the MSc in Archaeological Computing. It was hard work, but very rewarding, helping me learn to deal with large quantities of archaeological information, digitise, and interpret it. After the degree, and a bit of piecemeal work for the Archaeology Department, I got a job at Wessex Archaeology doing monument condition assessments. I was suddenly a professional archaeologist!
Who has most influenced your career?
I’ve worked with some great people over the years, in many different areas of archaeology, and it would be tough to weigh everyone’s influence on me to list here!
Which has been your most exciting project to date?
The laser scanning and analysis of three stones at Stonehenge back in 2002-2003 was just fantastic. We discovered previously undiscovered rock art and demonstrated the potential of 3D technologies at Stonehenge to a global audience. From the initial “wow” of the discovery to the crashing of our website due to the sheer number of visitors, and the publication of my first article, I will always remember it. Recently I have begun to record medieval inscribed stones in west Cornwall, getting me out into the open again, capturing my own data. I’m testing some new methodologies for digitally enhancing 3D surface detail. Testing past interpretations and maybe lining up some new ones. That’s what’s exciting and gripping for me right now.
What is your favourite British archaeological site… and why?
Chysauster, which is a courtyard settlement in west Cornwall. The excellent preservation of the houses and a ‘street’, coupled with the incredible views over Mounts Bay, make it a stunning place to visit (in good weather!). There’s much to wonder about – and being able to walk into rooms built around 1,800 years ago – can still set the imagination going.
What is your biggest archaeological/heritage regret?
Upon leaving university, access to journals and mapping data becomes difficult, and I’m certain that it causes the unhelpful division in the archaeology sector between academic and commercial archaeology
(and anyone else for that matter). I am looking forward to the change towards open access, and further democratisation of information.
If you could change one thing about current heritage protection legislation, what would it be?
I would make Historic Environment Records statutory. I would also make all information held by them publicly accessible via the web using open formats, for good or for bad. Heritage in general needs to be protected and enjoyment of it encouraged, and open information about it is key.
If you were able to address Parliament for 30 seconds on archaeology what would you say?
I would remind the House that heritage is a huge draw for millions of tourists visiting the UK each year, who in turn generate billions of pounds for our economy. It’s time to fund archaeology and heritage accordingly.
If your career hadn’t worked out, what would you be doing now?
I would probably be working in an antiquarian book shop, designing theatre lighting, or be involved in television production. Although I have managed to do the latter two within an archaeological context…
Away from the ‘day job’, how do you relax?
Listening to lots of music, reading, cooking Indian food, learning to play the Irish Bouzouki, staring out to sea, and drinking scrumpy. I also like to walk the West Penwith footpaths when the weather allows, but living here, it invariably involves archaeology somewhere along the way!
As always, thanks are due to Tom for answering our questions. We hope to take one of those walks with him later this year.
Previous articles in this series can be found here, or by using our Search Bar, and the term ‘Inside the Mind of’.
If you work in community archaeology and would like to take part, or have a suggestion for a suitable willing subject, please contact us.
William Borlase was born on this day, February 2nd 1695 in Pendeen, Cornwall. It is said that he was born in the farmhouse where the Pendeen Vau fogou is located. The family descended from an old Norman family who took the Borlase name from the farm where they had first settled, just northwest of St Wenn. The family moved to Pendeen in the mid-17th century. There is still a Borlase Farm at St Wenn today.
He attended Exeter College at Oxford and was ordained as a deacon in 1719, and a year later as a priest. He returned to Ludgvan in 1722 and ten years later following the death of his brother (the incumbent) was also presented with the vicarage of St Just, the parish of his birth. William married Anne Smith, a rector’s daughter, in 1724 and they had six sons though only four survived infancy – three of whom became churchmen like their father. Anne died in 1769, aged 45.
As an antiquarian he is best known for his ‘Antiquities of Cornwall’, first published in 1754, but he was also known as a naturalist and geologist as well as being vicar of Ludgvan for 50 years before his death in 1772.
Living in a strong mining area led to an interest in geology and collection of mineral samples, and from this came an interest in the natural history of the county, and the various ancient monuments there, many of which still survive.
In 1730, he became acquainted with Alexander Pope (for whose grotto at Twickenham he later supplied many the fossils and minerals), Ralph Allen, and other persons of eminence and ability and began a correspondence with them, and other distinguished persons whose acquaintance he afterwards made. This continued throughout his life, and a considerable archive of his letters exists.
Visiting Exeter in 1748 for the ordination of his eldest son, he met with Dean Lyttelton (afterwards bishop of Carlisle). This acquaintanceship seems to have led to the publication of William’s essay ‘Spar and Sparry Productions, called Cornish Diamonds‘ in the ‘Philosophical Transactions’. Shortly after this, in 1760 he was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society.
‘Cornish Antiquities’ was published in 1754, with a second edition released in 1769, complete with many plates based upon his sketches, including depictions of Zennor Quoit prior to it’s partial destruction and subsequent restoration, and Lanyon Quoit before it’s collapse in the early 1800′s.
‘Senar Cromlech’
In 1766 his account of the Scilly Islands, ‘Observations on the Ancient and Present State of the Islands of Scilly, and their Importance to the Trade of Great Britain’ appeared, being an extension of an earlier essay in the ‘Philosophical Transactions’. 1758 saw the publication of his ‘Natural History’, also illustrated with numerous plates from his own drawings.
Shortly after 1758 he presented his collections to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. In acknowledgment of this gift, and in recognition of his distinguished services to literature and archaeology, the university conferred upon him by diploma, in 1766, the degree of doctor of laws.
William died at Ludgvan on 31 Aug. 1772, aged 77. Only two of his sons survived him: the Rev. John Borlase, and the Rev. George Borlase.
A ‘scholarly biography’ is available from the Cornish Bookshop.
Quote obtained from Engravers World Ltd (with whom we have no connection whatsoever. Other suppliers are available!)
(The suggestion isn’t appropriate for London of course as EH will recommence there soon no doubt).
The latest in our occasional series takes a peek Inside the Mind of Lorna Richardson, well known to many archaeology users of Twitter.
Brief bio:
Lorna is a PhD candidate at the UCL Centre for Digital Humanities, and an Honorary Research Assistant at the UCL Institute of Archaeology, where she researches the intersection of Public Archaeology and digital technologies. Lorna is the co-founder of the Day of Archaeology, a global blogging project for archaeologists, who record a day in their working lives and share it online on one day in the summer. She is also a member of the advisory committee for CASPAR (the Centre for Audio-Visual Study and Practice in Archaeology) and a member of the council for the British Archaeological Trust (RESCUE).
The Ten Questions:
What sparked your interest in Archaeology?
Regular visits to Norwich Castle museum, and living in a landscape rich in archaeology and history. I grew up with a Neolithic monument complex, a Roman fort, 2 Medieval castles, umpteen Medieval churches and a standing stone, all within spitting distance.
How did you get started?
I joined the YAC in my early teens, I volunteered at the Castle Mall excavation in Norwich when I was in the sixth form, and got involved with the field walking by Norfolk and Norwich Archaeology Society. I then did a degree in Medieval archaeology with Martin Welch, James Graham-Campbell and Gustav Milne. I still have all the reading lists from the Medieval archaeology courses Martin taught – Goths, Huns and Lombards was my favourite.
Who has most influenced your career?
Mum and Dad for encouraging me to go to university in the first place – the first in my family to get any qualifications!
Tim Schadla-Hall and Don Henson are great inspirations and have helped me immensely.
And I owe everything to Guy Hunt, Andy Dufton and Stu Eve at L-P Archaeology, who gave me the opportunity to do my first ever digital Public Archaeology project at Prescot Street.
Which has been your most exciting project to date?
The Day of Archaeology. It sprang from a Twitter conversation of all things, and has become a huge project, drawing from almost all continents, and it’s all organised and run for free with huge passion from everyone involved. I hope it continues to grow in years to come, and that it shows the world the variety of interesting and important work happening in archaeology. There is so much more to do in the next Day of Archaeology iterations. It’s exciting, heart-warming stuff with so much scope to involve new audiences.
What is your favourite British archaeological site… and why?
Burgh Castle on the river Waveney in Norfolk. It has an amazing landscape setting, and my many visits there as a child really sparked my imagination about the Saxon Shore. It’s cold and windy, but a great place to exercise your archaeological imagination!
What is your biggest archaeological/heritage regret?
That archaeology is not part of the National Curriculum. Yet.
If you could change one thing about current heritage protection legislation, what would it be?
I would enshrine protection for HER officers in local authorities– too much expertise has been lost already.
If you were able to address Parliament for 30 seconds on archaeology what would you say?
If you want a longer narrative of British history in the curriculum, better educational opportunities for children outside the classroom, opportunities for people to get active outdoors, points of focus and cohesion for communities, and a vibrant and profitable tourism industry, stop cutting budgets for heritage and start supporting a part of the economy that a) actually attracts paying visitors to this country b) can be used in numerous ways in the National Curriculum and c) is unique, at risk, and deserves protecting.
If your career hadn’t worked out, what would you be doing now?
I would be a mental health nurse. I trained as a nurse at Barts after finishing my first degree in the mid-90s, and it is my eternal regret that I never finished the last six months of the course due to illness. Perhaps I will get a chance to combine Public Archaeology and therapeutic work somehow in the future.
Away from the ‘day job’, how do you relax?
I walk my dog, watch films, read books and row for my local rowing club. That, and drink plenty of real ale. Archaeological tradition.
Many thanks to Lorna for taking part and providing her answers. Previous articles in this series can be found here, or by using our Search Bar, and the term ‘Inside the Mind of’.
If you work in community archaeology and would like to take part, or have a suggestion for a suitable willing subject, please contact us.
Our next subject in this series is Professor Timothy Darvill, who took time out of his busy schedule to provide us with some answers to our usual questions as once again we probe ‘Inside the Mind…’
Brief Bio:
Professor Timothy Darvill studied at the University of Southampton graduating with a first degree in archaeology in 1979, a PhD based on a study of the Neolithic of Wales and the west of England in 1983, and a DSc on the subject of prehistoric Britain in 2006. He is probably best known for his publications on prehistoric Britain and his excavations in England, Wales, and the Isle of Man. The author of over twenty books and more than 200 papers and articles, he has served as Chairman of the Institute of Field Archaeologists, Vice-President of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and was a Member of the Council of the National Trust. He is Professor of Archaeology in the School of Applied Sciences at Bournemouth University.
Recognized as one of the leading authorities on Stonehenge and the British Neolithic, in April 2008 together with Professor Geoffrey Wainwright he co-directed excavations within the circle at Stonehenge to examine the early stone structures on the site. The work featured heavily in a BBC Timewatch programme which examined the theory that Stonehenge was a prehistoric centre of healing. Beyond Britain, he has worked on projects exploring aspects of the Neolithic in Russia, Greece, Germany and Malta. He was appointed OBE in the 2010 Queen’s Birthday Honours.
The Ten Questions:
What sparked your interest in Archaeology?
Visits to prehistoric and Roman sites in the Cotswolds where I was lucky enough to grow up. My parents were always keen to visit historic and ancient sites and I remember a fair few school visits to places such as Chedworth Roman Villa and Belas Knap long barrow.
How did you get started?
One of my school teachers put me in touch with a teacher at another school who was running an excavation at Wycomb Roman town at weekends and in the school holidays so I used to go along there whenever I could.
Who has most influenced your career?
Colin Renfrew, who was one of my supervisors as a student. I particularly admire his interest in looking at the big picture of how things might have been in the past and his ability to combine theoretical archaeology with a practical focus.
Which has been your most exciting project to date?
Without doubt my work in the Stonehenge landscape which has engaged me for more than 20 years now and culminated in 2008 with the chance for Geoff Wainwright and I to excavate within the central stone circles. We were the first to do that for more than 40 years so it was great responsibility but we learnt a lot about the site and its development.
What is your favourite British archaeological site… and why?
Stonehenge. Because it holds so many challenges that need to be resolved through further detailed study. It seems to have an inexhaustible capacity to engage and surprise.
What is your biggest archaeological/heritage regret?
There is nothing that I particularly regret, although like many I am continually saddened by the on-going destruction of key sites and monuments around the world, not least through conflict and war at the present time.
If you could change one thing about current heritage protection legislation, what would it be?
To make financial support for archaeological work stronger in terms of providing secure funds for excavation, outreach, analysis and publication as a total package rather than itemized separate projects.
If you were able to address Parliament for 30 seconds on archaeology what would you say?
My main point would be that our archaeological remains are important to many people and that for this reason we need to develop far more joined-up thinking on conservation, preservation, and the funding of research to tell us more of the story of our Island over tens of thousands of years rather than the limited view of ‘history’ that so often dominates education programmes.
If your career hadn’t worked out, what would you be doing now?
A mechanical engineer I think, or maybe a lawyer!
Away from the ‘day job’, how do you relax?
Travel, music, DIY, and playing lead guitar in The Standing Stones.
Many thanks once again to Tim for taking time to provide us with his answers. Previous articles in this series can be found here, or by using our Search Bar, and the term ‘Inside the Mind of’.
If you work in community archaeology and would like to take part, or have a suggestion for a suitable willing subject, please contact us.
As regular readers will be aware, I recently met with James Gossip at Carwynnen Quoit, and during our conversation I managed to convince him to give us all a glimpse ‘Inside the Mind’…
Brief Bio:
James Gossip has been working as an archaeologist since 1987.
He has no international reputation but is known by a small bunch of interested types for his dedication to all things relating to Cornish archaeology, particularly his striving to involve the amateur voluntary sector whenever possible in professional archaeological work. James dug on the circuit for various units around southern England and the Midlands (and briefly in Italy) until coming to Cornwall in 99 when appointed as an archaeologist at Cornwall Council’s Historic Environment Service (formerly Cornwall Archaeological Unit).
He is president of the Meneage Archaeology Group, a small amateur archaeology society based on the Lizard Peninsula and in addition to his work for Cornwall Council has run excavations for Cornwall Archaeological Society.
James is married to an archaeologist, Jo Sturgess and has two children with no discernible interest in archaeology whatsoever – perhaps they’ll be able to support him in old age after all. He became a MIfA in 2007.
The Ten Questions:
What sparked your interest in Archaeology?
I used to love digging up Victorian bottles as a child in Wales….and generally playing in the mud, so I expect that’s where it all started. Oh…and castles – as many castles as I could drag my parents around. After leaving school fairly unqualified I had a semi-homeless stint in London and the British Museum was a great place to keep warm – although I was aware of all the treasures from around the world I think it was then that I started to appreciate the richness and variety of British archaeology for the first time.
How did you get started?
Luck. After a series of rubbish jobs and unsuccessful interviews I saw an advert for a ‘Trainee Archaeologist’ in Oxford job centre and was lucky enough to secure a 12 month contract on the Manpower Services Commission’s ‘Community Programme’ at (then) Oxford Archaeological Unit. After the initial delirium caused by success in a job interview I was brought back down to earth by realising that in fact they were obliged to take anyone on this scheme. I really started to enjoy both the work and the social aspects of being part of a digging team, meeting a wide range of individuals, and during my second year with OAU began to think about taking it further by getting a degree. Having left school without A Levels that meant it was off to night school after a hard day’s digging – a bit of a struggle sometimes! I was accepted onto the archaeology degree course at Leicester University, which I loved, and during holidays got digging jobs with the Local Authority unit there (now defunct).
Who has most influenced your career?
Simon Palmer at Oxford Archaeology who actually made me realise I could have a career in archaeology, Richard Buckley and Patrick Clay at ULAS for giving me a break, and my great friends Lynden Cooper (ULAS) and James Meek (Dyfed Archaeological Trust) who made me persevere when times were tough. And all the friends I’ve made along the way.
Which has been your most exciting project to date?
There have been so many! Tempted by No 1 Poultry in the City of London, where preservation was second to none, or Tremough, near Penryn, where digging over the past 10 years has revealed a complex ceremonial and settlement landscape spanning several millennia. But I think it has to be the excavation of a Bronze Age roundhouse and Iron Age fogou at Boden on the Lizard Peninsula where I’ve had so much fun with the many volunteers whilst finding such amazing archaeology. The investigation and ultimate re-erection of Carwynnen Quoit (a Neolithic portal dolmen) is an ongoing project that would be up there too!
What is your favourite British archaeological site… and why?
Tricky. Possibly the courtyard house settlement of Carn Euny (magical, tranquil and a little unkempt), Boden fogou, a place where I feel totally at peace with the world, or Carreg-y-Bwci (The Goblin Stone, Carmarthenshire) a round barrow and Roman signal station where I would sit as a child and look out over the imposing hills and mountains of West Wales.
What is your biggest archaeological/heritage regret?
Personally no regrets, just thankful for all the lucky breaks – after all I’m still working in professional archaeology 25 years on – and I still get my hands dirty from time to time!
If it’s a regret about working in the sector, it’s that there’s still such a divide between professional (at times over-precious and snobbish) and amateur (often lacking confidence and difficult to gain experience).
If you could change one thing about current heritage protection legislation, what would it be?
The government are good at saying all the right things, but rarely seem to put them into practise.
I don’t see any real evidence that the historic environment is considered as an important economic or social asset which can benefit the lives of communities. And important as it is, there is a worrying shift of emphasis onto the built environment and away from the buried archaeological resource.
If you were able to address Parliament for 30 seconds on archaeology what would you say? That it’s time to teach children from primary age onwards the importance of the archaeology of their own cultures when attempting to make sense of the past. Ancient Egypt is all very exciting, but how about learning about the communities of the British Neolithic or Iron Age? Children that grow up caring about their ancient past and loving their historic environment will have a better idea how to protect it as adults.
If your career hadn’t worked out, what would you be doing now?
Driving up and down Route 66 with a dusty, battered guitar case. Or cooking sardines on an Italian beach.
Away from the ‘day job’, how do you relax?
Playing the guitar and cooking, eating and drinking with friends, preferably in sight of the sea. And pretending to still be a young person at festivals.
Many thanks once again to James for submitting himself to our scrutiny. Previous articles in this series can be found here, or by using our Search Bar, and the term ‘Inside the Mind of’.
We are particularly interested in getting more community archaeologists and FLOs involved in the series. If you would like to take part, please contact us.
The latest participant in our series is Kris Lockyear, Lecturer in Archaeology at IoA, UCL and director of the Welwyn Archaeological Society in Hertfordshire.
Brief bio.
Having worked in commercial archaeology before and between his degrees, taken at Durham, Southampton and UCL, Kris joined UCL as a researcher on the “Celtic Inscribed Stones Project” in 1996. It was a surprising job for someone specialising in Roman coins and eastern Europe, but Kris’ field skills, photographic knowledge and computing expertise were what was needed. In 1999 Kris became a Lecturer in Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL, where he still works. He teaches courses on various aspects of the Roman world, as well as practical archaeology courses. In 2002 he returned to the county of his birth, Hertfordshire, and subsequently became director of the Welwyn Archaeological Society in 2009. Each year Kris contributes towards the US National Park Service course on Remote Sensing in Archaeology, as well as running his own projects in Romania and Hertfordshire.
The 10 Questions:
What sparked your interest in Archaeology?
Every four years my junior school used to visit St Albans and then put on an exhibition about the town. In my class we were looking at different periods of the town’s history, and I decided to work on the Roman period. From there on, I was hooked.
How did you get started?
I joined the Welwyn Archaeological Society in December 1975 at the age of 11 and went on my first excavation the following Easter. I worked with the Society from then on, and also spent my summers from 1980 to 1984 digging with Philip Barker at Wroxeter.
Who has most influenced your career?
That is a difficult question! Quite a few people have had a big influence on me, but a passing comment by Andrew Burnett in 1990, then Keeper of Coins and Medals at the British Museum, changed the course of my career enormously. He mentioned that the Dacian copies of Roman Republican denarii were an interesting and difficult problem. That comment led me to research in Romania where I have been almost every year since 1992.
Which has been your most exciting project to date?
Another difficult question! My project at Noviodunum, in eastern Romania, is probably the most exciting one so far. We were investigating a late Roman to late Byzantine fortress on the Danube and its hinterland. The excavations recovered huge quantities of material including a tonne and a half of medieval pottery and 200,000 fish bones! Over the ten years the project ran about 300 people worked on it to whom I am very grateful. I am now working on writing up the project and processing the Roman ceramic building materials.
What is your favourite British archaeological site… and why?
If we can think of a piece of landscape as a ‘site’, I would pick the area between the villages of Watton-at-Stone and Datchworth in Hertfordshire. This small part of the county contains a Roman road, Iron Age enclosures, a Roman cremation cemetery, a bronze age “deposit”, a medieval chapel and associated earthworks amongst other things, and we are still discovering new stuff. It is also beautiful in an understated way. It is the first place I worked in 1976, and I have gone back to working there more recently. It also goes to show what a team of dedicated amateurs can discover given access, time and hard work.
What is your biggest archaeological/heritage regret?
The development of competitive tendering. Perhaps I should explain. I attended an Institute for Field Archaeologists conference in the 80s which included a session on the development of competitive tendering. In that session a representative of Ove Arup, a major developer, stood up and said he could not understand why archaeologists were going down this route. He went on to explain that they put tasks such as putting in drains out to tender, but they simply commissioned other aspects of developments from firms they trusted, for example the architects for a project. He, and his colleagues, had seen archaeology in the latter category rather than the former, and would have preferred to keep working in that way. As it is, competitive tendering has forced commercial units to cut costs, and therefore the quality of their work, and keep field archaeologists on pitifully low wages. Although the development of PPG16 and its successors has resulted in a huge increase in the amount of work undertaken, the cut-throat nature of much commercial archaeology has its negative impacts.
If you could change one thing about current heritage protection legislation, what would it be?
Working out some way of improving the funding available to field units so their staff can be paid a living wage. We lose so much expertise simply because people can no longer afford to keep working in archaeology.
If you were able to address Parliament for 30 seconds on archaeology what would you say?
I’d like to highlight the damage the current austerity measures are having on local museums, and how once we have lost them it will be extremely difficult to get them back.
If your career hadn’t worked out, what would you be doing now?
I have no idea! Archaeology has been part of my life for so long I find it difficult to imagine what else I would do. I may have gone into computing, perhaps.
Away from the ’day job’, how do you relax?
I am a very keen amateur photographer and like to combine that with my love of walking in the English countryside.
Many thanks to Kris for his participation and prompt response to our invitation. We’re always looking for more willing subjects, so if you work in the Heritage or Archaelogy arenas and would like to be part of this series, please email us on info (at) heritageaction (dot) org (dot) uk
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