Is Preservation In Situ an Unacceptable Option for Development Control? Can Monitoring Prove the Continued Preservation of Waterlogged Deposits?

Abstract

This paper will outline the approach taken for monitoring of two waterlogged areas in England: the multi-period deposits beneath the historic town of Nantwich, Cheshire, and the Bronze Age timber platform at Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire. These two examples allow contrast and comparison between urban and rural contexts, and between multiple ownerships and single development. The projects also illustrate how English planning guidance can be variously interpreted dependent on conflicting aims and objectives. The paper will describe the characteristics of the sites, their past history and present threats, and the suggested management strategies for each. The duration, spatial interval, and methods of monitoring (including use of in situ redox probes, Time Domain Reflectometry, sediment geochemistry, and water-level measurement) will be discussed, and how short-term data-gathering is actually what influences decision-making.

Keywords:

• archaeological site monitoring
• UK planning legislation
• waterlogged sites
• UK

The work presented in this paper would not have been possible without the input from the following individuals: Mark Swain (SLR Senior Geotechnical Engineer), David Morgan (SLR Technical Director), Claire Parsons (SLR GIS and data management), Caroline Malim (SLR Senior Illustrator), John Carrott (Palaeoecological Research Services who assessed the level of preservation of the bioarchaeological remains), Mags Felter (YAT), Steve Boreham (University of Cambridge), David Gibson and Mark Knight and their team from the Cambridge Archaeology Unit who excavated the site at Must farm. In addition the Nantwich project has been made possible through the vision and invaluable input of the steering group: Jill Collens and Mark Leah (Cheshire East Council), Sue Stallibrass (English Heritage Regional Science Advisor), and Jennie Stopford (English Heritage, Inspector of Ancient Monuments).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tim Malim

Tim Malim is the Technical Discipline Manager for Archaeology and Heritage at SLR Consulting Ltd. He has been involved in wetland archaeology and monument conservation since being part of English Heritage’s Fenland Survey team in the 1980s, and designed archaeological investigation, reinstatement, and monitoring at the Iron Age fort of Stonea Camp whilst head of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Archaeological Field Unit in the 1990s.

Correspondence to: Tim Malim, SLR Consulting Ltd, Mytton Mill, Forton Heath, Montford Bridge, Shrewsbury sy4 1ha, UK. Email: [email protected]

Ian Panter

Ian Panter is Principal Conservator for the York Archaeological Trust and specializes in the assessment of organic archaeological remains, geochemical investigations, and deposit monitoring. Ian is currently working on the Nantwich study and Must Farm in situ preservation schemes as well as aspects of the marine environmental characterization of the designated wreck, the Royal Anne Galley.

Correspondence to: Ian Panter, York Archaeological Trust, 47 Aldwark, York yo1 7bx, UK. Email: [email protected]