Saturday 6th Decmber at 3.00PM in the John Gibbins Gallery
Many people’s perception of archaeology is determined by the media. From films such as the
Indiana Jones series and Lara Croft franchise which variously depict archaeologists as stuffy, slightly
dusty academics, swashbuckling comic-book heroes or, as in the case “Stargate” a nerdy academic.
The excellent “Time Team”, and more recently “The Great British Dig” and “Digging for Britain” have
gone some way to redress this and provide a more authentic image of the discipline. Nonetheless,
the majority of excavations depicted are academically lead, research investigations generally
undertaken by some of the UK’s pre-eminent universities or local amateur organisations.
Emma proposes to introduce to a whole new world of archaeology that we may or may not be
familiar – the world of commercial archaeology. This can consist of investigation across many
kilometres of new road, cable routes or railways or small investigations ahead of the construction of
an extension to a domestic property or modifications to a listed building. Providing examples from
her own career, she will discuss this type of archaeological investigation from design and on site
investigation, to working with the engineers to design away from key assets to post-excavation
analysis.
To illustrate this, she will largely draw on her own experience on major infrastructure projects such
as Clyde Wind Farm, which during construction was the largest civil engineering project in Europe.
Staffordshire Alliance, which saw the removal of the last pinch-point on the West Coast Main Line
and East Anglia One which required 37kmn of archaeological investigation between Bramford and
Bawdsey.
Tickets; £8 From Eventbrite, https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/construction-integrated-archaeology-tickets-1971787352049?
From, The Longshed Gift Shop
