Laboratory
The Ancient Monuments Laboratory was based in 23 Savile Row since 1972 when it was relocated along with the former Directorate of Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings from Sanctuary Buildings in Westminster and Lambeth Bridge House. The move brought together all of the then archaeological science activities and enabled their expansion to meet the increased demands that were being made by archaeologists in the field. By 1998 the Laboratory included Environmental Sciences, Conservation, Technology, and Archaeometry teams. However, because of the continued pressure to accommodate key staff in Savile Row it was decided to relocate the AML to Fort Cumberland, Portsmouth, and combine our archaeological science activities with the Central Archaeological Service.
Fort Cumberland, located at Eastney Point four miles from the centre of Portsmouth, was built to defend the entrance to Langstone Harbour. With the exception of the guardhouse and the storehouse, no traces of the original 1747 fort now survive above ground. The present fort was constructed between 1785 and 1812; it is a bastioned trace fort of pentagonal plan, with barrack accommodation in casemates below the ramparts on the landward curtains, and is one of the best preserved examples of a late 18th/early 19th century fort in this country. The fort was scheduled in 1964, and taken into Guardianship in 1975 following the departure of the Royal Marines, the last military unit to be based there.
Since 1975 Fort Cumberland has been the base of English Heritage’s Central Archaeological Service (CAS) which occupied one of the internal buildings (the officers’ quarters houses 1 and 2) as their main operating base, using other buildings for storage, and finds layout. Two casemates have been used by the AML as a field equipment store and for occasional project work. English Heritage has tried to find acceptable commercial uses for the vacant buildings on the site, but without success. The transfer of the AML to the fort provides the opportunity for the beneficial reuse of the buildings and hopefully will act as a catalyst for the regeneration of the casemates which have the potential to be used for a wide range of associated activities.
The combined team based at Fort Cumberland will be the largest and most comprehensive body for archaeological investigation in Europe. It will play a leading role in the research and development of new innovative archaeological and scientific methods and techniques, and their application to the historic environment. The team will provide training opportunities and give educational support to the professional and non-professional archaeological community, and contribute to the educational work of English Heritage. The development of formal links with a number of universities, and the planned development of an outreach centre at the fort, will provide a major educational resource and opportunity for the future to increase public understanding and enjoyment of the heritage, to broaden public support for the work of English Heritage, and to influence the wider archaeological community. The integration of the AML and the CAS will create unparalleled opportunities to develop multi-disciplinary research initiatives concerned with identifying, recording, interpreting, and understanding all aspects of the historic environment, both within the new English Heritage, and in collaborative partnerships with other organisations.
We intend to develop Fort Cumberland into a major centre for archaeology, and we are encouraging cognate bodies to use space on the site. The Nautical Archaeology Society have already moved their offices to the Fort and occupy refurbished casemates as the new base for their operations. Their work will be greatly facilitated when the former guardhouse has been converted to use as an outreach centre: we plan to use the ground floor to interpret the fort and to explain the work carried out there; the upper floor will become a lecture theatre where courses can be offered to specialists and presentations given to the general public. Formal links have been established with the Universities of Southampton and Portsmouth giving staff at the fort access to the facilities of both universities, and providing the universities access to the expertise of English Heritage staff. Collaborative research projects with the universities will be developed, and links are also being forged with the local museums and the Mary Rose Trust (with which the AML has a long standing association).
The main laboratory building created from the former Motor Transport maintenance building. This was built in the 1920s and was more amenable to internal modification than other buildings on the site. The upper floor forms the conservation and technology laboratories, the lower floor the environmental science, radiography and wet laboratories, and a mezzanine floor will be inserted to provide office space. The archaeometry team is located in the refurbished officers’ quarters houses 3 and 4 along with the IT and records management teams. The former hospital block provides the reception and library as well as housing the common room and meeting rooms. The Garage and cookhouse form the stores, and houses 1 and 2 will remain as offices.
