4.13 The Central Archaeology Service (7 of 7)
Raunds Area Project, Northamptonshire, analysis of the Iron Age and Romano-British evidence
Analysis of the extensive Iron Age and Romano-British settlement at Stanwick, Northamptonshire, has continued, with two stratigraphic analysts and two Roman pottery researchers being added to the in-house project team since the start of 1998. The analysis is investigating the development of the landscape and of the numerous and varied building complexes within it. This will provide a framework into which the artefactual and environmental evidence can be integrated. The activity spans the period from the start of the Iron Age to the early Saxon period, and the project will examine some key questions about the development of rural settlement and economy during this time.
A new computerised project database was commissioned from Bedfordshire County Archaeology Service to simplify interrogation of the very large amount of data recovered, and to facilitate the stratigraphic analysis and phasing of the site. This is now in use. Other work carried out this year includes chemical fabric characterisation of the mortaria at the Royal Holloway (ICP analysis), and residue analysis of Iron Age pottery at Bristol University. Some further work on the plant macrofossils has also taken place. Analysis of the Redlands Farm site by the Oxford Archaeology Unit is also continuing.
Geographical Information Systems for World Heritage Sites
During the past year the Central Archaeology Service has created a Geographical Information System for the Avebury landscape, Wiltshire, as part of the development of a management plan for the World Heritage Site. The database has been based upon experience gained during the earlier development of a similar system for Stonehenge and contains many of the same elements. These include 1:10,000 digital base maps, recorded archaeology, land use, land ownership, relevant boundaries, and a digital elevation model. More work is currently being undertaken to include information on listed buildings and also areas that have undergone non-intrusive survey. So far the system has been used to provide statistical data for the Management Plan, and to produce many of the publication figures, as well as acting as a repository for work carried out by specialist consultants.
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Once the management plan is published the system will begin to be used as a tool to aid the implementation of the agreed recommendations. A detailed research agenda will accompany the management plan, which will include a section on the potential of the Geographical Information System for further research within the Avebury area.
The Stonehenge World Heritage Site Geographical Information System continues to act as an essential tool in informing the ongoing debates surrounding the future of the landscape and monuments. In the past year a number of desktop archaeological assessments have been carried out to examine potential visitor centre sites, access routes, and alterations to the A303. More detailed information about the two systems can be found at http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/cas/whs/shenge.htm
The work of the Records Section
The Records Section has responsibility for archaeological records management within the Central Archaeology Service, and provides advice to English Heritage on all aspects of archaeological archiving. In addition to providing specialist support for our own projects, we undertake developmental work, and seek to promote best practice. In the past year, the Records Section has designed and implemented a new database system, which holds core information on all our projects, together with detailed catalogues of the associated project archives. The system has been developed in line with national data standards, to facilitate the exchange of information with other organisations. As a result of this, we have begun to supply data to the National Monuments Record in digital form, and are investigating other possible means of dissemination. In conjunction with this work, the Records Section has been redeveloping the conceptual model used by the Central Archaeology Service for the description and cataloguing of archaeological archives, and the results of this will be widely disseminated to the discipline. We are also participating in new initiatives related to digital archiving, and in particular are represented on the working party that has been established by the Archaeology Data Service to produce a Guide to good practice on excavation and fieldwork archiving.
The Records Section maintains and manages a library of over 700 documents collected in the course of the English Heritage Research Frameworks initiative, and has developed a database and bibliography, currently being updated with material generated in the past two years. This database is now being prepared for mounting on the Internet, and will be made available to the archaeological community through the Archaeology Division World Wide Web site. The Records Section also provides advice in support of the Archaeology Commissions programme, and we have carried out reviews of a number of archaeological archives resulting from English Heritage-funded work, including the Boxgrove project and the archives held by Newham Museum Service.
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