| August 2010
St Mary Magdelen's Church Saturday 11th September 2010 @ 2pm
Senior archaeologist Alistair Douglas will be speaking on the history and archaeology of the Cluniac abbey at Bermondsey. It will run from 2pm - 5pm, light refreshments provided, Free entry, but please book a place by telephoning Stephen Humphrey on 020 7735 6716.
July 2010
PCA is featured on the online Norman Walk at New Romney and now
also as a linked audio guide from the BBC Hands on History website
See:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/kent/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8780000/8780962.stm
 June
2010
Fragment of Hunting Past Discovered in Shoreditch
A recent excavation in Shoreditch has uncovered a remarkable fragment
of carved stag horn which is believed to come from a 16th-century
hunting crossbow. The fragment, which is nearly 6cm high, shows
a naked figure holding two leaves in its left hand, a design which
is very suggestive of an Adam and Eve motif. The fragment was associated
with pottery from the first half of the 16th century, a period in
which crossbows were highly decorated and often incorporated motifs
such as hunting scenes, courtly lovers and representations of Adam
and Eve. The mount would have been fixed along the central section,
or 'tiller', of the crossbow and may have looked something like
this fine Bavarian example from the
Wallace Collection.
Although we are not able to identify the origins of this piece, the
Embriaci style carving suggests that it is European and crossbows of
this style were produced in many places during this period.
January 2010
A remarkable discovery of prehistoric animal bones has been made
The find is in fact a near complete aurochs skull. Click
here to read more.
December 2009
 New
Monograph Published
Pegswood Moor, Morpeth
A Later Iron Age and Romano-British Farmstead Settlement
By Jennifer Proctor
PCA Monograph No. 11
Lying 8km inland on the Northumberland Coastal Plain Pegswood Moor
seems to have attracted its first permanent settlers around the
4th century BC. Initially a small and apparently isolated farmstead,
by the 2nd century BC this had expanded into an organized enclosed
settlement with areas set aside for stock-keeping, habitation, manufacturing
and processing activities, including pottery production. Evidence
suggests a mixed agricultural economy, whilst a droveway leading
towards the coast and field systems extending away from the focus
of habitation point to extensive exploitation of the wider landscape.
Towards the end of the 1st century AD there was a fundamental change
in the management of this landscape, with new boundaries established
on different alignments. Most striking was the construction of a
substantial timber enclosure built through the line of several roundhouse
dwellings - a seemingly deliberate and pointed statement. Tantalizingly,
no associated focus of habitation was found within the area of excavation
and, as with the majority of other excavated settlements in the
area, evidence for occupation after the 2nd century was absent.
The impetus for this sudden yet short-lived change can only be speculated
on - but the arrival of vast numbers of Roman troops in the region
with all their attendant requirements must surely be in part responsible.
Little artefactual evidence to indicate the influence of Rome was
recovered. However, the site did produce one of the largest assemblages
of native tradition pottery from the region, along with fragments
of briquetage suggesting connections with the coast. The presence
of whole quernstones, quern rubbers and mortars emphasises the importance
of crop processing to this community – that these were found
whole in boundary features suggests they held a symbolic significance.
As this publication shows, the extensive archaeological investigations
at Pegswood Moor have contributed greatly to our developing understanding
of settlement patterns in the Northumberland Coastal Plain during
the Later Iron Age.
PCA monograph 11 ‘Pegswood Moor, Morpeth’, 115 pp colour
throughout, price £14.95 is available from PCA (download
order form) or from Oxbow Books www.oxbowbooks.com
 PCA
Publishes new book:
Secrets of the Gardens: Archaeologists Unearth the Lives of Roman
Londoners at Drapers' Gardens
Beneath Drapers’ Gardens, on Throgmorton Avenue, in what
was once a damp and uninviting quarter of the Roman city of Londinium
lies a buried valley, the Walbrook. Excavations by Pre-Construct
Archaeology between 2006 and 2007 provided further confirmation
that this area was home to some of the more unpleasant industries
of the town, as well as producing some remarkable and unexpected
finds, including a hoard of metal objects buried in a fourth century
well.
Buried along with the rest of the settlement under centuries of
detritus the land was bought from Henry VIII in 1543 by the Drapers’
Company, regulators of the cloth trade in the City of London. The
Company’s ‘Great Garden’ remained largely undisturbed
for over 400 years, an oasis of calm in the thriving and bustling
financial centre. This resulted in fantastic preservation of the
Roman remains buried beneath, despite the construction of one of
the tallest buildings in the City here in the 1960s. These conditions,
combined with the particular soil conditions of the Walbrook Valley
and the sheer size of the area excavated, led to the remarkable
survival of a near complete urban street with associated buildings
spanning many years of the Roman occupation.
Illustrated in full colour throughout Secrets of the Gardens is
aimed at the general reader and presents a picture of the site as
revealed by a selection of the structures, watercourses, outstanding
finds and environmental evidence uncovered. It includes the story
of the excavations themselves and the problems inherent in excavating
a site whilst simultaneously demolishing one of the tallest towers
in London, a history of the Draper’s company and the planning
and design that has gone into the new building.
80 + viii pages in full colour, includes DVD showing
the excavations in progress, Secrets of the Gardens is available
from PCA directly or from Oxbow Books www.oxbowbooks.com
price £9.95
November 2009
PCA publishes new Monograph
 The
Sea and the Marsh; The Medieval Cinque Port of New Romney
revealed through archaeological excavations and historical research
Gillian Draper and Frank Meddens,
with Philip Armitage, Geoff Egan, Damian Goodburn, Chris Jarrett
and Ian Riddler
Today New Romney sits a couple of miles inland from the sea but,
in common with many towns along this stretch of coast, was once
a thriving seaport. Archaeological excavations here by Pre-Construct
Archaeology recovered a remarkable assemblage of metal finds and
identified evidence for medieval occupation, fishing and seafaring
on the long beachfront at the northeastern end of the town.
Crucial to its medieval success, the sea also contributed to the
town’s ultimate decline- a series of calamitous storms ravaged
this part of the coast particularly through the 13th century. The
strand area was seriously ravaged by these storms, as dramatically
demonstrated in the archaeological record, the harbour began to
silt up, the settlement became land-locked and the community turned
to the marsh, and the grazing of sheep, for its income.
This publication investigates the relationship between town and
sea by presenting the results of archaeological excavations alongside
a much broader historical background to the town. New Romney’s
role as a Cinque Port, its early development, street layout, government,
welfare provisions and its connections with licensed piracy are
all explored through contemporary sources and standing building
evidence.
PCA monograph 10 ‘The Sea and the Marsh’ price £16.95
is available from PCA or from Oxbow Books www.oxbowbooks.com
Look out for our forthcoming Monographs:
A Later Iron Age and Romano-British Farmstead Settlement, Pegswood
Moor, Morpeth
By Jennifer Proctor
(January 2010)
June 2009
PRE-CONSTRUCT ARCHAEOLOGY LAUNCHES NEW OFFICE!
 Flying
in the face of current economic indicators Pre-Construct Archaeology
Ltd has expanded its capabilities across the UK and is delighted
to announce the opening of its third office. In addition to well
established and successful London and Durham offices, our new office
will be in Sawston Cambridgeshire*. The new office is to be known
as PCA South Central and will provide a wide range of professional
services to the surrounding counties. An indication of the areas
covered is shown in blue on the accompanying map, but of course
if you have project outside of the region please ask for a quotation,
as PCA offers a nationwide service.
The key contact for PCA South Central is Peter Moore (Director).
The South Central Office will be responsible for undertaking all
below ground and built heritage projects across central England.
If you require heritage advice for projects in this region please
contact us on the details below:
Peter Moore
Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd
3 Bowers Terrace
Mill Lane
Sawston
Cambridgeshire
CB22 3JE
Tel: 01223 832385
Email: info.southcentral@pre-construct.com
*Please note we are independent of and not affiliated to Pre-Construct
Archaeology (Lincoln).
May 2009
PCA Publishes our new Monograph - On the Boundaries of Occupation:
Excavations at Burringham Road, Scunthorpe and Baldwin Avenue, Bottesford,
North Lincolnshire
By Peter Boyer, Jennifer Proctor and Robin Taylor-Wilson. View the
summary here.
February 2009
Romano-British pottery from Drapers’ Gardens
The excavations at Drapers’ Gardens produced a vast quantity
of Romano-British pottery. Almost 45,000 sherds were recovered weighing
1.57tonnes and the process of identifying, dating and quantifying
these sherds has just been completed, although analysis of the data
is still in its very early stages. See more pictures of the Roman
pottery here.
December 2008
 King’s
Cross Central: Eastern Goods Yard
A programme of archaeological watching brief and excavation was
carried out by Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd at the Eastern Goods
Yard, King’s Cross Central. The site was located to the north
of King’s Cross Station and comprised a fine example of a
near-complete 19th century railway Goods Yard. The site is to be
converted for use as a University, and will also have shops, commercial
and residential areas. Much of the site lies within a Conservation
Area and many of the buildings are listed. See more of this article
here.
Novbember 2008
 Pre-Construct
Archaeology would like to thank British Archaeology for short-listing
us under the ‘Best Archaeological Discovery’ section
at the British Archaeological Awards ceremony held at the British
Museum on Monday 10th November. We would also wish to congratulate
all winners and nominees in each of the categories up for an award.
Unfortunately on this occasion Pre-Construct Archaeology was not
itself the winner, but we are extremely happy to have received a
‘Highly Commended’ certificate from Carenza Lewis of
Time Team fame for our wonderful Roman altar from Manchester.
Further details of the altar - dedicated by one Aelius Victor,
almost certainly in the Roman military and potentially from the
Rhineland - can be found here.
 Links:
www.britarch.ac.uk/awards
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