IINN TTOUCHOUCH Issue 39 OOxfordxford ArchaeologyArchaeology RRevieweview 22015/16015/16 FFeaturingeaturing oourur ccollaborationsollaborations Welcome to In Touch Trekking through the Karakoram Mountains in Pakistan for three weeks this summer provided plenty of me for refl ec on on OA’s achievements past and present, our role in the archaeological world, and our rela onships with others. Apparently simple pleasures like walking and climbing require the support and co-opera on of quite a number of other people: people to organise permits and logis cs, skilled local guides, porters to carry tents and food, and fellow trekkers to provide camaraderie and encouragement. Similarly, though in a much more Gill on the Gondagora La, with K2 in complex way, OA has benefi ed the background immeasurably from working in partnership with others. such as Ramboll. The work has percentage approach that we have included excava ons in advance of inherited from PPG16’s ‘preserva on The introduc on of Planning Policy development (such as Stoke Quay by record’. It used a rela onal Guidance Note 16 (PPG16) in 1990 with Pre-Construct Archaeology), database linked to GIS mapping, and provided a huge boost to archaeology, involvement in academic research specialist feedback was provided embedding it within the planning (such as the Lost Landscapes of to teams in the fi eld (all things that system and providing the means to Palaeolithic Britain project for Historic would be more easily achieved now). excavate sites that would otherwise England), cu ng-edge scien fi c It resulted in be er archaeology but, have gone unexamined. As a result, research, and more besides. We also, more cost-eff ec ve archaeology, our understanding of Britain in have featured a number of these accep ng that not everything can or the past and the places in which collabora ons in the pages of this should be examined. we live has advanced enormously. review. Working on such projects has It also made archaeologists more We need to revisit the ‘Framework been exci ng and hugely benefi cial professional and sharpened up our approach’ again. It will mean for OA, and I hope for our partners, methods and our business prac ces. breaking down a level of mistrust crea ng new ideas, furthering But it introduced compe on that has grown up, post-PPG16, archaeological research and reaching between organisa ons that had between curators and contractors, a out to a wider audience. Our most previously worked alongside each suspicion that decisions about what recent JV is COPA, which we have other and, with it, an element of to excavate and what to leave will formed with Cotswold Archaeology suspicion and secrecy. Hence, the be based on fi nancial rather than and Pre-Construct Archaeology in crea on of Framework Archaeology archaeological judgements. The order to tender for work on HS2. in 1998 as a joint venture (JV) of OA credibility of our profession depends and Wessex Archaeology to undertake Working in the Framework on rebuilding these partnerships to work for BAA was a momentous step. partnership also provided another create sustainable research goals Building the trust that is an essen al learning experience. Encouraged by for archaeological sites, and more part of a JV was an important learning the consultants, Gill Andrews and meaningful outcomes for the public. experience. John Barre , and supported by BAA, who had a strong ethos of inves ng in Gill Hey Since then, OA has gone on to upfront development while expec ng form JVs with other companies in Chief Executive Officer, con nuous improvement from the addi on to the frui ul partnerships Oxford Archaeology contractor, an innova ve excava on we have developed with a host of strategy was developed. Those who other organisa ons, among them worked on the site will tell you how universi es, par cularly the University exci ng that was, for it involved them of Oxford, with which we have had in research-focused decision-making long-standing es since our incep on on site, rather than the blanket in 1973, and commercial consultants, 2 In this issue The theme of this special review edition of In Touch is ‘Working in partnership with others.’ We take a look at some of the joint ventures, collaborations and partnerships we’ve been involved in over the years. We also have our regular round-up outreach, publication and staff activities from the past financial year, and we revisit some of our recent projects. Welcome to In Touch ..............................................2 In This Issue .......................................................................3 Joint Adventures in Archaeology ...............................................4 Spotlight on Geoma cs ....................................................................8 Housing and Mixed Development ....................................................... 11 Minerals and Aggregates / Find spot ........................................................ 13 Partners in Time ............................................................................................ 14 Environment .....................................................................................................16 Burials ................................................................................................................... 17 Find spot / Geoarchaeology .....................................................................................18 Urban Regenera on / Find spot ................................................................................. 19 The Great Fen Spi ire ...................................................................................................20 Training and Capacity Building ........................................................................................22 Historic Buildings .............................................................................................................. 23 Working Together on Human Remains ..............................................................................24 Hinxton: Where the Past meets the Future .........................................................................25 Public and Community ......................................................................................................... 26 U li es and Renewables .......................................................................................................27 Find spot / Heritage Services ................................................................................................. 28 Transport and Infrastructure ................................................................................................. 29 OA in Print ............................................................................................................................. 30 Out and About: OA at Conferences and Talks / Best Archaeological Project ........................31 A Year of Outreach ............................................................................................................... 32 Who makes Oxford Archaeology .........................................................................................34 Our Work and Collabora ons in 2015-16 ...........................................................................36 JOINT ADVENTURES IN ARCHAEOLOGY Oxford Archaeology has long recognised the enormous value of working in partnership with others, in order to share knowledge and expertise and develop innovative ways to meet our corporate objectives. Our joint ventures with other commercial archaeological organisations have been among our most successful projects, and have uncovered some amazing archaeology that has transformed our understanding of past landscapes. Here we take a look back at some of our ‘JVs’. Framework Archaeology in 2006 and 2010, and the project was awarded the Best Framework Archaeology was not only the fi rst joint Archaeological Project prize at the Bri sh Archaeology venture that OA was a part of but was also the fi rst joint Awards in 2008. Major excava ons covering some 30ha venture formed between archaeological organisa ons were also undertaken at Stansted Airport between 2000 anywhere in the country. If for no other reason, and there and 2004, and the results of this work were published in are plenty of other reasons, Framework Archaeology March 2008. forms a signifi cant part of Oxford Archaeology’s story. The Framework came to an end in 2015. In its 17-year Formed in 1998 as a joint venture between history, there can be no doubt that Framework OA and Wessex Archaeology, Framework Archaeology had a major impact on Bri sh Archaeology (FA) was set up to provide archaeology. archaeological services to Bri sh Airports Bronze Age wooden bowl Authority. While the ini al impetus was the proposed construc on of a 5th terminal at Heathrow, FA eventually carried out signifi cant excava ons and evalua ons at Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick, with smaller scale work at Southampton and Edinburgh. In addi on, FA also undertook a range of heritage audits, desk-based assessments and Environmental Impact JOINT VENTURES Assessments. Highly innova ve in its recording systems and interpreta ve approach, FA carried out some of the largest excava ons in Britain. Between 1999 and 2007, FA excavated around 80ha of mul -period archaeology at Heathrow. The results were published in two volumes, Oxford Wessex Archaeology: M6 Toll later prehistoric and Roman se lement in the area. Some Framework Archaeology set a trend for joint archaeological aspects of construc on-related