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Creswell Crags and Heritage Area is one of the most significant Pleistocene archaeological landscapes in England. Within the Creswell Heritage Area there are approximately sixteen sites associated with material of palaeolithic date. Other caves and rock shelter sites are known but are currently unexplored and add to the potential for further Pleistocene sites. The landscape context of these sites therefore greatly enhances their group value. They represent a large proportion of the Scheduled Ancient Monuments of palaeolithic date in this country. Creswell Crags itself is both a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Geological Site of Special Scientific Interest, a twin status which recognises its national importance as a pleistocene resource.
From the mid 1870s up to the late 1980s, Creswell Crags and the other local cave sites have been the subject of large and small scale investigations by archaeologists and geologists. This work has resulted in the creation of substantial collections of archaeological material and has made the Magnesian Limestone landscape around Creswell one of the key locations for future study of the Pleistocene and prehistoric hunter-gatherer adaptive responses to dramatic environmental change.
Artefact assemblages from several of the caves have been assigned to the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic periods and include the type assemblage for the Creswellian Upper Palaeolithic stone industry. Cultural assemblages also include some of the most significant engraved bone artefacts in this country. In addition to the archaeological material, a huge body of faunal material has been recovered extending back at least as far as the Ipswichian interglacial.
The collections recovered from Creswell Crags and other sites within the Creswell area (informally designated as the Creswell Heritage Area) present a number of opportunities and potential. The list of excavators who have been and continue to be involved with these sites include many notable palaeolithic specialists. The most recent excavations in Pin Hole Cave have clearly demonstrated the quality of the resource for palaeolithic research.
The Crags and other sites in the Heritage Area contain information about landscapes and lifestyles that have accumulated over 100,000 years. In particular, the evidence they provide for life after the last ice age (some 12,000 years ago) is of international significance. The sites provide data on how our ancestors coped with survival in environments recovering from the effects of glaciation and with communities of plants and animals which were also in the process of re-establishing themselves.
At this time the people living at Creswell were among the most northerly human beings on earth. The archaeological and environmental evidence records what they did and how they survived. It is a detailed record that is in need of co-ordinated management, having been excavated over many years by many different people. It would benefit from being supplemented by new excavation and research designed to explore the links between the archaeological sites in the region.
It is very easy to demonstrate that the Crags and associated sites in the Creswell area contain a wealth of scientific information relating to local and regional archaeological questions. The international importance rests on the light this same evidence can shed on questions of world significance which can only be answered in a locality with the advantages of Creswell Crags. These questions include the behaviour of human and animal species at the extremes of their geographical ranges, adaptive responses of human and animal species to extreme change in climate and biome and processes and trends in animal extinctions.
Since 1986 Creswell Crags has been a candidate for World Heritage Status and more recently the central plank in a regional scheme for the regeneration of the coalfields known as the Creswell Initiative. The nationally and internationally important heritage landscape has the potential to enhance the image and identity of the area. This requires the highest possible standards of conservation and management of the key archaeological sites and their collections. The Creswell Initiative is supported enthusiastically by the private, public and community sectors. Seven Trent Water has contributed £4.2 M to relocate the sewage works at Creswell Crags and Redland Aggregates have recently agreed to fund the relocation of the B6042 road through the Creswell Crags gorge.
Given the level of interest, the research value and the statutory protection, it might be expected that Creswell would be one of our best understood and most comprehensively published archaeological sites. Unfortunately this is not the case. The archaeology of Creswell is widely, but superficially, known. The most comprehensive publication is a British Archaeological Report (Jenkinson 1984), which deals primarily with the fauna from early excavations. More recent research has led to a number of PhD, MPhil and undergraduate dissertations but none of these have resulted in a major publication. Small scale work continues on extant collections, but the collation of the results is urgently required.
The first step towards a much deeper understanding and synthesis of the Creswell material and the creation of strategic policies relating to the management and research of these sites will be an assessment of the excavation archives and creation of a bibliographic list for every site within the locality. This project is a vital link with proposed conservation plans for Creswell which are the subject of a current bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund.
At present collections are dispersed amongst various curating institutions and individual holdings have never been formally assessed. The basic archive of unpublished work has never been examined as a means of assessing the quality and quantity of the Creswell resource and ongoing work by Palaeolithic specialists needs to be documented.
This proposal is designed to allow a thorough assessment of existing archives and collections as a means of allowing more effective targeting of research and management initiatives.
The potential and long term aims of the archive assessment can be summarised under three main headings - management, research and interpretation / presentation.
The Creswell cave landscape and the associated collections represent a major archaeological resource for our understanding of the Pleistocene. The effective management of that resource will never be totally effective until there is a comprehensive overview and review of extant material and in-situ deposits.
The assessment will provide invaluable information for future sensitivity surveys and conservation plans by contributing to our knowledge and understanding of the range, condition and extent of material still in situ. This in turn will enable the implementation of appropriate management prescriptions for individual sites and the Magnesian limestone landscape based on a thorough knowledge of the resource.
An understanding of the range, condition and value of extant material will also enhance the national Pleistocene database and provide a basis for future recommendations in respect of scheduling as well as strengthening the case for World Heritage status and regional landscape importance.
In the Creswell area there is a strong link between English Nature and English Heritage through the joint designation of sites as Scheduled Ancient Monuments and Sites of Special Scientific Interest based on their Quaternary archaeological and geological significance. This assessment will add further momentum to collaborative conservation initiatives such as the Limestone Strategy which is supported by English Nature, Groundwork Creswell, Creswell Heritage Trust, local Wildlife Trusts and Local Authority Planning and Conservation Departments. This strategy seeks to strengthen the management framework of archaeological , natural historical and geological sites throughout the region through joint working and networking. An assessment of the archaeological archives will add greatly to this and future collaborative projects by providing base-line information and contributing towards joint management goals.
An assessment of the archives will make a significant contribution to the development of more effective regional and possibly national research frameworks for the Palaeolithic. The collections and caves represent a large proportion of known palaeolithic sites in this country, material identified by English Heritage as one of their key academic objective areas (English Heritage 1991, 1997).
The work proposed in this assessment will identify the research value of these collections and will collate bibliographic indexes of published and unpublished work. This will in turn provide the basis for future synthesis of palaeolithic research and facilitate the development of targeted research strategies and frameworks by the proposed regional research centres (English Heritage 1997). The archive assessment will help in the identification of potential subjects for publication and will create a platform for further work..
The assessment project will also enhance steps to create and add to a national data bank of archaeological collections regarding the Palaeolithic as well as helping to build dynamic links with European sites and collections. In terms of palaeolithic archaeology this is especially desirable with respect to the mobility of hunter gatherer populations and the impact of environmental change during the Pleistocene.
Management policies for sites and landscapes focus sharply on opportunities for interpretation and presentation. This is especially true with regard to the caves which are attractive places to visit. Creswell Crags receives approximately 30,000 visitors every year.
The proposed assessment will underpin more effective presentation and interpretation at key sites and provide opportunities to increase and engender a greater understanding of the uniqueness and value of this palaeolithic resource. Through this understanding there will develop a wider appreciation for preservation issues and the need to look after these sites and landscapes.
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identify museums which currently curate archaeological collections from Pleistocene sites within the Creswell Heritage Area.·
identify the range of the archives·
identify the size and condition of the archives·
clearly establish the history of research on these collections, at Creswell Crags and at other Pleistocene sites in the Creswell area.·
clearly establish the status of current research·
identify the value and future potential of the collections for research, management and interpretation.·
disseminate the results of the assessmentThe collaborative approach between the Creswell Heritage Trust, curating institutions holding Creswell material and palaeolithic specialists identified in the earlier project outline has been formalised as part of the development of this project design and is now in place for further assessment of the Creswell material.
The work undertaken to date has included:
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the systematic search of card indexes and the computerised database at Creswell Crags Visitor Centre. This has assisted in the identification of museums that currently curate archaeological material and has provided estimates of sizes of collections. The Creswell Index concentrates on the faunal collections from previous excavations and discussion with specialists has identified additional locations of archaeological collections·
liaison with key palaeolithic specialists, notably Dr. Roger Jacobi. Discussion with Dr. Jacobi has enabled us to substantiate information regarding the location of material as well as adding to the list of museums through his detailed understanding of the artefact collections as well as the fauna. Dr Jacobi has also been able to provide some detail regarding the presence of documentation and helped to establish the scope of the assessment·
liaison with museum curators and preliminary assessments at four museums; Creswell Crags Visitor Centre, Manchester, Buxton and SheffieldThe work undertaken to date has resulted in the production of a draft pro-forma which identifies the questions and assessment criteria. The final version of this pro-forma will be written at the early stage of the project and will include definitions and glossary control to establish consistency of data collection and to assist the computerisation of the records.
The following task areas have been identified for future work:
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the further desk top assessment of material through liaison with specialists, museum curators and indexes held at Creswell Crags Visitor Centre·
the development of a brief and standardised format for assessing the archives. This will include and assessment of compatibility with the National Pleistocene Record·
museum visits to assess collections and interview museum staff using a standardised assessment format to record quantity, range, quality, condition, accessibility of collections·
the writing a report on the results of the assessment as a basis for conservation plans and future research·
dissemination of the results of the project through the production of a published note.The proposed assessment represents an initial audit of the collections and seeks to answer the following questions:
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Date of fieldwork·
Principle fieldworker·
Collection details:Location of material collectionThe condition survey will use the following assessment criteria:
| Level 1 | Item is in excellent condition and needs no attention. |
| Level 2 | Item is in good condition and may need minor treatment. |
| Level 3 | Item is in a stable condition but will need attention in three to four years. |
| Level 4 | Item is in poor condition and will deteriorate if not given urgent attention |
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Identify research carried out on each collection and whether this has led to published or unpublished reports·
Description and status of current researchWhile this assessment is primarily concerned with Pleistocene material, the presence of Holocene material will be recorded where this information is readily available.
The information recovered during the audit will be computerised and stored within a database. To speed up the process of data collection and analysis a laptop computer will be used to record and manipulate data on-site. The availability of an on-site computerised database will allow the project to be more flexible regarding modifications to the software once the assessment is under way. The database will be a modified version of existing condition survey software currently in use by English Heritage. The data structure used for the assessment will be compatible with software being developed as part of a separate project design titled "Creswell IT Support" which underpins other projects currently being funded by English Heritage.
Attention will be drawn to the completion of the project and a summary of the results will be presented in a short published note in a national journal.
English Heritage 1991 Exploring our past English Heritage, London
English Heritage 1997 Draft research agenda English Heritage, London
Jenkinson R.D.S. 1984 Creswell Crags: Late Pleistocene Sites in the East Midlands British Archaeological Report British Series 122.
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