21st November 2019

Royal Archaeological Institute and Roman Society Conference 2019

Dr James Gerrard will be talking at the Royal Archaeological Institute and Roman Society Conference 2019 about PCA’s excavation of a Late Iron Age/Early Roman Enclosure and a late Roman villa ahead of the construction of the Bedale, Aiskew and Leeming Bar Bypass, North Yorkshire.

The conference will be held from the evening of Friday 29th November to Sunday 1st December at Chancellor’s Hall, University of London and will focus on Romans in North-East England: Recent Research. For more details and to book tickets click here.

18th November 2019

Cambridge Antiquarian Society Autumn Conference

PCA Cambridge Supervisor Tom Revell will be undertaking his first talk for the Cambridge Antiquarian Society’s Autumn Conference this Saturday, 23rd November.

In addition to Tom’s talk about Iron Age and Romano British remains at Balsham, there is a packed programme of speakers and PCA will also have a stand containing finds from recent excavations in Cambridgeshire.

Tickets cost £10.00 at the door (£5 ‘digger rate’ with CIfA or CSCS card). The conference will be held at Room LG19, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, 10 West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DZ.  More details can be found here: CAS AUTUMN CONFERENCE 2019

14th November 2019

An open day was held by PCA on Thursday 7th November at the ongoing archaeological excavations on Barrack Street, Norwich, in line with PCA’s mission to reach-out to the public. This was organised by the Norwich Office project manager Peter Crawley on behalf of, and with the input of Hill and RPS. The open day was well-attended, despite being held during the week, with approximately 80 people visiting on the day.

The following information was given to the visitors during the tour and serves as background to the project:-‘’The project at Barrack Street has presented evidence for the earliest medieval growth of the city as a new suburb through to the final use of the site as Jarrolds’ printing works. The riverside site shows evidence for land use in what would have originally been unfavourable marshlands at the edge of the medieval city of Norwich. These marshlands were subsequently reclaimed as elements of the increasingly prosperous settlement encroached and began to take shape. The site shows evidence for the nearby Whitefriars-Carmelite Friary, an order which controlled a large stretch of land to the north east of Norwich, and which perhaps encompassed the site. The later medieval city wall transected the site, with excavation adjacent to a newly found segment of wall at the site, showing evidence for the method of construction and its original form. The excavation areas have also evidenced episodes of growth and contraction of settlement within the city. The later use of the site was largely for industrial purpose, with brewing and malting a significant presence, seemingly utilising the resources of the nearby River Wensum, but also with a large area of Victorian tenement housing, which was cleared after World War Two’’.

The open day consisted of a series of guided tours, expertly delivered by Jon House, the Senior Supervisor of the project, plus a display of the finds and an accompanying slideshow in the main Hill site office. Tea and/or coffee for the guests was supplied by Hill. Many thanks to Hill for providing refreshments and a venue.

The tours were well received by all the invited guests, who Peter believes appreciated the attention to the detail, clarity of presentation and dry gallows humour, the site work being undertaken during and after a month of almost continuous rainfall.

Attendees included PCA visitors, PCA Directors Gary and Josephine, Mark Hinman Director and Eastern regional manager, Sian O’Neil Finds and Environmental Manager, who presented the finds display and Rory Fisher of the Pampisford Office who operated the gate and directed people towards the tour. Richard Mortimer represented RPS and contributed useful information to the tours.

Other attendees included:- Lara Emerson, senior planner at Norwich City Council with colleagues; Phillip Bodie of Fielden and Mawson Architects, who are responsible for the design of the scheme at the site; John Percival, James Albone and Steve Hickling, (all local monitors of Norfolk Historic Environment Service); Jo Clarke (Senior Lecturer), Staff and students of the University of East Anglia’s Archaeology Department; local archaeologists and specialists Alice Lyons, Sarah Percival, Sue Anderson, David Adams, Mick Boyle, Matt Williams (Local Geologist), Sophie Cabot (Young Archaeologists Club) and Karl Hanson (Parker Planning). There were numerous people who attended from prominent local societies, including The Norwich Society, The Norfolk Archaeological and Historical Research Group (NAHRG) and the Norfolk and Norwich Archaeological Society, amongst many others.

Peter would like to thank all involved with organising the open day and in particular the excavation team for their great efforts in the rain on the day (it’s not pleasant being stared at when working!) and throughout the project for working in extremely trying-wet conditions. Many thanks to all who came to see this waterlogged part of Norwich!

11th November 2019

PCA staff working at an airfield in Kent joined staff and local veterans in a poignant Remembrance Day service at 11am today (11/11/19).

24th October 2019

Sadly, we must bid farewell to Dorothy Prince-Davis next week as she will be retiring after over 15 years of working for PCA as part of the administration team.

Although Dorothy is retiring, she won’t be putting her feet up as she plans to use her time volunteering at her local hospital and will also be fitting in lots of travel. Enjoy your retirement Dorothy and thank you for all your hard work over the years – you will be missed!

22nd October 2019

Watch out for PCA’s team of archaeologists who will be featuring in the last episode of ‘Inside the Tower of London’.

The team uncover some fascinating finds which include the discovery of some complete skeletal remains buried outside of Henry VIII’s chapel. Catch it tonight (Tuesday 22nd October) at 9pm on Channel 5.

9th September 2019

If you commute through London Bridge Station or happen to be passing through on a day out in the ‘Big Smoke’, take time to pause and look at the new display of some of the finds from the OA-PCA Thameslink London Bridge excavations which are now on display in the concourse (conveniently located beneath one of the departure boards, next to The Body Shop!).

If you are interested in finding out more about the discoveries from the excavations undertaken in this fascinating part of London, go to the Publications page of our website where you can buy monographs from OA-PCA’s Thameslink Archaeological Series https://www.pre-construct.com/publications-2/

14th August 2019

Pre-Construct Archaeology Limited (PCA) invites applications of the post of Archaeologist (Grade 3) based at the company’s head office in south-east London.

We are expecting an extremely busy autumn, and primarily the site work would be at sites in the central and Greater London area.

We are looking for applications, via CV, from candidates who possess the following:

Essential:

• At least three months experience in commercial archaeology in the urban environment
• Use of single-context recording methods
• Valid CSCS cards

Highly-desirable:
• CIfA membership
• Clean driving license
• First-aid training

If you are interested in being considered please send your current CV by email only to: careers@pre-construct.com.

We are expecting to require field staff from early to mid-September 2019, and to offer an initial full-time contract of 6 months. A probationary period of 3 months applies to all new staff. We will seek to extend contracts for staff beyond initial contracts if the work is available. Gross pay for non-trainee field archaeologists at Grade 3 will be £451.50 pw (£23,478 pa).

PCA is committed to a comprehensive equal opportunities policy in which individuals are selected and treated on the basis of their relevant merits and abilities without regard to race, religion or belief, colour, sex, age, national origin, disability or sexual orientation. All applicants with the relevant qualifications and experience are welcome to apply for this opportunity.

Please be advised that we may not be able to reply to every email, and we will not necessarily confirm receipt of applications. In accordance with our GDPR policy, we will not keep unsuccessful applicants’ details or CVs on our system, unless you expressly request that we do.

5th August 2019

One of PCA’s archaeological excavation display boards has been used as a prime example of public dissemination in a piece by Norman Redhead of Greater Manchester Archaeological Advisory Service about ‘Research, Impact and Legacy’. The article, which features on P26 of the 2019 CIfA Year Book and Directory  ‘explores ways in which archaeologists can engage with the public and local societies in planning led archaeology’. The board for 74-88 Great Ancoats Street, Manchester (which can be viewed here) was created by PCA to provide a permanent display in the new building and details the findings from the 2016 excavation on behalf of Mulbery City.

The Chartered Institute for Archaeologists 2019 Yearbook and Directory.

31st July 2019

We are pleased to announce that our latest publication in the OAPCA Thameslink Series is available to purchase today from the Publications page of our website.

The Thameslink Project provided the opportunity to investigate the archaeology of a broad swathe of the north island of Roman Southwark revealing details of the development and occupation of Roman Southwark’s north island including early clay and timber buildings, extensive burnt horizons, interpreted as the residues of the Boudican revolt and redevelopment, with many well-appointed new buildings constructed in stone. A substantial masonry bath house, largely preserved in situ and now scheduled, represents one of the most significant findings of the project.

This monograph, ‘ A Bath House, Settlement and Industry on Roman Southwark’s North Island: Excavations along the route of Thameslink Borough Viaduct and at London Bridge Station’, presents the archaeological sequence encountered, set alongside themed discussions which focus on aspects of the settlement’s development, chronology, infrastructure and economy, while specialist artefactual and ecofactual sections present the significant and extensive finds assemblages in detail. To purchase a copy of this superb new monograph, click here.

29th July 2019

Victoria Ridgeway takes up her new position today as a Director of PCA. Vicki joined PCA in 1995 and alongside her role as Head of Post-Excavation, she will now assume the role of Director.

4th July 2019

Please note that from 29th July 2019, PCA Warwick will have moved to its new office. The address is:

PCA Warwick
2 Plestowes Barn,
Hareway Lane,
Barford,
Warwick,
Warwickshire
CV35 8DD

The Council of British Archaeology in the East is holding an event to celebrate the CBA’s 75th Anniversary. It is on
Saturday 28th September 2019 at Ipswich IP-City Centre, 1 Bath Street, Ipswich. For details of the event and for a booking form, click here: CBA Event Conference (1)

Staff from the Newark office have been involved in carrying out historic building recording at Helpringham in Lincolnshire. Manor Farmhouse, the subject of the survey, is a listed building described in the citation as late 17th century, altered in the 19th century. However, there has been a lack of clarity with the dating and to address this a programme of dendrochronology was required.

Tree ring specialist, Robert Howard of the Nottingham Tree-Ring Dating Laboratory, visited the farmhouse and took a series of samples from various timbers in the building. Many of the examined timbers had sapwood, with several retaining full sapwood which allowed the tree felling dates to be identified. Several timbers in the roof were found to have the same felling date, 1704.

At first glance, comparing this to the suggested dating in the listed building citation, this may appear to indicate an early 18th century re-roofing of the building. However, the PCA staff undertaking the building recording identified a long-obscured datestone in the building – positioned high on the gable of the main range but covered over by an extension of probably late 18th-early 19th century date. This datestone is inscribed in Latin ‘MDCCV’ – 1705. The correspondence of this inscribed date with the chronology indicated by the tree-ring dating is a splendid validation of the accuracy of dendrochronology as a dating technique.

The time has come around again for PCA Cambridge to host four Sawston Village College Students for two weeks. This year, one week into their placement we accepted an extra two students as their placement was no longer able to host them. As usual we have put together a series of talks by various members of staff to give a flavour of the sort of work that archaeologists do and the skills and knowledge that are required. This includes stratigraphy, osteology, environmental sampling, finds illustration, GPS and CAD. We even managed to squeeze in a field trip to a local community dig which Mark Hinman (Director and Regional Manager) is directing in his free time!

On the 12th June a group of students from the local primary school came to visit PCA Cambridge excavations at Bawdsey, Suffolk, where they enjoyed a tour of the site from Supervisor Tom Revell. They also had a go at metal detecting with our resident metal detectorist Dave Curry! There will be a follow up talk from Sîan O’Neill at the school in the next couple of weeks.

Director and Regional Manager (Cambridge and Norwich) Mark Hinman spoke at Loves Farm House for the St Neots Local History Society about “The Archaeology of Loves Farm” on Friday 14th June. There was an attendance of approximately 100 residents, from which we have gained a new volunteer for the Cambridge office.

PCA Cambridge has made headway with the deposition of project archives in East Anglia over the past few months. Forty nine project archives from the Cambridge office and two from the Newark office were deposited with the Cambridge County Council Historic Environment Team (CCCHET). They will continue to deposit other projects in the near future.

29th May 2019

The National Trust at Sutton Hoo presents ‘Fashion of Archaeology’…

The National Trust at Sutton Hoo are preparing for a temporary exhibition and need your help!
They will be delving through the wardrobes of archaeologists both past and present in this temporary exhibition. Whether practical, corporate or personal, each item has a story to tell. Interested?

To learn more about how you can submit photographs or items of clothing to the exhibition, go to nationaltrust.org.uk/suttonhoo  or please email suttonhoo@nationaltrust.org.uk.  A copy of the submission form can be downloaded here.

23rd May 2019

Last night, Director Chris Mayo and Post-excavation Manager Jon Butler attended a private view of Fulham Palace including the new museum, restored courtyard and garden to celebrate the completion of the restoration project. PCA was the archaeological contractor engaged for Stage 1 (2005-6) and Stage 2 (2010-11). We have also provided specialist support to Fulham Place since 2012 over the course of three community archaeology projects, and during the recent, final Stage 3 project.

The Stage 3 project has seen the creation of a new museum space which highlights the archaeology of the site and its fascinating garden history. PCA is delighted to be thanked on the museum’s walls. The extent of our work with the Palace is illustrated in the plan of investigations completed over the last 15 years.

Chris’ lasting memory of the enjoyable opening will be standing at the entrance to the Tudor courtyard and looking through the 15th -16th century gate and remembering the same view he photographed in October 2005 during our excavations as part of Stage 1. How times change.

The transformation work at Fulham Palace is a credit to the Trust, its dedicated team, and all who have worked tirelessly on the project. PCA is proud to have contributed, and we recommend that people pay a visit. https://www.fulhampalace.org/

May 2019

Succession planning is an important part of the life-cycle of most businesses and PCA is pleased to announce the creation of four new company Directors. These are being rolled out progressively over the next 6 months starting in May with Mark Hinman and Christopher Mayo, currently Regional Manager of the PCA Cambridge office and Project Manager at the PCA London office respectively, followed in three months by current Publications and Monographs Manager Victoria Ridgeway and three months after this by Helen Hawkins currently a Project Manager at the PCA London office. All four have demonstrable skills, and understanding of Pre-Construct Archaeology and its business ethos, and considerable enthusiasm for the challenges ahead. The ‘old-guard’, and remaining original Directors, Gary Brown, Josephine Brown and Peter Moore very much look forward to working alongside them.

Separately, and with immediate effect, Victoria Ridgeway has been appointed as the Company’s Head of Post-Excavation. Vicki has been with PCA since 1995, and has had a variety of post-excavation roles within it since 2004, and as such she is the ideal person to take on this role from Frank, with whom she is liaising closely to ensure a seamless switch from one to the other.

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Project in Westminster, for which PCA undertook the archaeological works wins RICS London Project of the Year 2019. Click here for more details.

May 2019

After twenty one years of dedication and hard work on the Board of Pre-Construct Archaeology as well as fulfilling his key operational roles of being Head of Post-Excavation and Head of Health and Safety for the company Dr Frank Meddens has decided to step away from all such responsibilities and has resigned both from the Board and as Head of Post-Excavation.

The last few years have been particularly hard on Frank, with firstly being diagnosed with, and then successfully fighting off, a rare form of cancer for which treatment is still on-going, and, in February 2018, losing his beloved wife Beverley (Bev) after she succumbed to cancer, which itself was diagnosed at a time when she was supporting Frank through his own struggles. Inevitably these two major events, coupled with the stress of Directorial and Managerial responsibilities, have proved too onerous and Frank, after a year of quiet contemplation made the decision to step down.

However, stepping down does not mean stepping away as Frank will remain with PCA on a part-time basis as a contributor to the post-excavation team and will assist all PCA offices as required.

A team from PCA’s Winchester office have been excavating at Barton Farm, on the northern edge of the Hampshire city, since January 2015. This exciting site has produced a remarkable array of archaeological finds, with large quantities of pottery, animal bone and other artefacts recovered from features dating from the Neolithic period through to the 19th century. But one recent find, a Beaver tooth (incisor), excavated from a pit dated to the later Neolithic or early Bronze Age (3000-1500 BC), has a been a particular talking point.

The Eurasian Beaver (Castor fiber), which was originally native to the UK, has been extinct in England for over 400 years, but these animals would once have been found across the country. Although relatively rare, artefactual evidence for the exploitation of Beavers, including teeth, bones and fragments of gnawed wood have been recovered from a number of prehistoric sites in Southern England, with particular concentrations recovered from wetland areas. Butchery marks on the bones show that beavers were used for their skins as well as their meat.

Interestingly, at Barton Farm, there was no sign of any other part of the beaver’s skeleton within the pit that produced the tooth, suggesting that just this item had been kept. It is unclear why the tooth was retained, but the piece, which is a striking, bright orange colour, something characteristic of the species, has unusual patterns of wear; a fact which has lead PCA’s archaeological animal bone specialist, Kevin Rielly, to suggest the item had perhaps been kept as either a keepsake or to be reused as an ornament or tool. Examples of such uses are known; Beaver incisors recovered from grave assemblages within Early Bronze Age barrows near Stonehenge, may have been selected for their ornamental value, whilst anthropological evidence indicates that beaver incisors can be hafted in to a handle for use as a woodworking tool.

May 2019

Well done yet again to all involved in the production of ‘An Immense and Exceedingly Commodious Goods Station; The Archaeology and History of the Great Northern Railway’s Goods Yard at King’s Cross, 1849 to the Present Day’ as it has been awarded ‘Archaeology Book of the Year’ at the RCHS Transport History Book Awards 2019. Becky and Guy were present to receive the award at the ceremony in Furness Abbey.

If you would like to purchase your own copy, it is available to buy on our Publications page, along with our other monographs.

April 2019

Since July 2017 PCA has made numerous visits to Bristol to undertake targeted phases of archaeological investigation during the reconfiguration of the Temple Circus Gyratory system close to Bristol Broadmead station, recording the medieval and post-medieval development of the area. As the scheme nears completion we will shortly be returning to undertake the final phase of archaeological investigation, focussing primarily on the detailed recording of a southern section of the Portwall, the 13th-century city wall. Click here for more information on the scheme.