Starting point
Since the passing of new planning guidelines in 1991, most
archaeology in the UK has been carried out by developer-funded
professionals. Much excellent work has been done, but this kind of
development-led archaeology, by definition, can only be reactive. In
historic market towns such as Faversham where there has been no
large-scale development, little archaeological investigation has
taken place and almost none at all in what is thought to be the
oldest area. Many questions remain unanswered, as the Kent document
makes very clear.
In 2004 archaeologist Dr Pat Reid embarked on a project to form a
local archaeology group to undertake light-touch archaeological
research using local volunteers who had an interest in archaeology
and history yet who had little or no experience in archaeological
excavations, recording and processing. What they did possess however
was a passion for knowledge of their local history.
The first thing to establish was a research aim. There were a number
of criteria that needed to be fulfilled. These were:
1. That the group’s activities did not trespass on the province of
professional/commercial archaeological units.
2. That the investigation should touch an aspect of Faversham’s
history that had previously been neglected.
3. That the investigation did not, to begin with, require levels of skill unlikely to be
possessed by novice volunteers.
The Kingsfield burial finds suggested strongly that there was a
settlement of some importance in the area in the Saxon period, and
this was supported by references in various documents. On the basis
of this, the research decided on was:
- Where did the Saxons live in the area?
- What kind of settlement was it and how did it evolve over
the years?
Plan of action
A proposal was drawn up for the Faversham Society Council (The
Faversham Society -established 1962- is the local amenity and
history society serving Faversham and its surrounding parishes).
This included research aims, procedures and a Health and Safety
policy. In Spring 2005, an appeal was made through the local
newspapers for volunteers, gardens in the ‘Saxon Archaeological
zone’ and for equipment. Provisions had been made to set up base at
a local pub within the area of interest where temporary storage and
a water supply were available.
Contact was made with the owners of the gardens being volunteered.
Each was visited and details taken. Permission was obtained to dig a
1m x 1m ‘test pit’ to a maximum depth of 1.2m (for health and safety
reasons). The landowner was also informed that they have the
ownership rights to all finds made. Strata, features and artefacts
would be carefully recorded, and plotted on a large-scale map of the
area. The findings were to be well publicised and archived in the
Fleur de Lis library, with and exhibition in the Fleur Gallery later
in the year.
Practical points considered:
- Equipment: Most of the equipment was to be very
simple and easy to borrow at no cost. No heavy equipment such as
mattocks or machinery would be used. It was envisaged that
should any specialist equipment be required, then this could be
borrowed from one of the regional archaeological units.
- Training: All volunteers were to be given compulsory
training prior to the start. The training covered Health and
Safety, excavation and recording techniques, and historical
context. This was undertaken by Dr Pat Reid and her husband.
- Work Schedule: Work was scheduled to take place 6
days a week leaving one day free (to recover). Each test pit
would involve 2-4 people, one of who would be acting as
supervisor. It was thought that there would probably be 2 pits
running at the weekend (close together), and usually only 1
during the week. The Health and Safety Officer would be present
throughout. The aim was to involve around 20/30 individuals over
the whole month, with some only doing a few days and some having
a longer commitment. Not everyone would dig – there would be
many other tasks such as finds processing, recording and making
cups of tea.
- Work Base: A sheltered space with water supply for
equipment storage/ finds storage/ cleaning/ follow up etc during
the life of the project was required. It was absolutely
essential that discussion and interpretation continued
throughout and involved all participants, so the work required
the availability of maps, documents, photocopies of photographs
etc to enable this.
- Health and Safety: A Risk Assessment had been carried
out and a Health and Safety policy drawn up. A member who had
previous H&S experience acted as Health and Safety Officer and
was present during each excavation. The lower age limit for
excavation work was decided to be 16, although younger people
were able to help with finds processing (provided they were
accompanied by a responsible adult). First Aid kits were to be
provided. The Civic Trust Insurance used by the Faversham
Society confirmed in writing that this project came under their
cover. It was therefore a condition that volunteers were members
of the Faversham Society to be covered by their insurance.
- Publicity: The local newspapers were used to
publicise the group’s activities. It was also planned to contact
the local schools for possible 6th former involvement. Posters
were displayed for the Open House weekend (an annual event), and
the project covered in the May, June, July and August
newsletters of the Faversham Society.
- Recruitment: Participation was restricted to locals,
who would be required to be Faversham Society Members (see under
Health and Safety). There was to be no charge for volunteers
participating in the project.
- Dissemination of findings: This was to take place
through the local newspapers, lectures, and an exhibition in the
gallery at the Fleur de Lis Heritage Centre. For any important
discovery, then the KAS and Kent County Archaeology service were
to be notified, with the agreement of the Society, and finds
catalogued on the HER.
- Archiving of donated finds: A designated area was
established through the Faversham Society for archiving all the
materials from the excavations.
Next Steps
As a result of the advertising, some 28 gardens in the research area
had been volunteered and 25 individuals wishing to participate came
forward. Equipment had been loaned or donated to the group, and a
range of consumables purchased. A meeting was called where the
volunteers had the opportunity to meet up for the first time. The
group consisted of people from a wide range of backgrounds,
disciplines and interests, ranging in age from 16 to 70. Most had no
formal archaeological training but everybody had one thing in common
– a passion and enthusiasm to discover their local history. A
practical training day was set up and all the volunteers took part.
The training covered:
- Health and Safety: Health and Safety for both
volunteers and landowners was of paramount importance. Points
considered were (1) the maximum safe depth of the excavation
(based on a 1m x 1m pit) was to be restricted to 1.2m. (2) The
safe use and storage of equipment. (3) Open pit access and
safety.
- Excavation Techniques: Since most volunteers had
little knowledge of excavation techniques, excavation by ‘Spit’
method was adopted. This was the process of removing 30cm
‘slices’ of soil. Spit 1 was therefore the soil from the ground
surface down to a depth of 30cm, Spit 2 the soil between 30cm
and 60cm depth etc. ending at the maximum depth with Spit 4. All
the soil that was removed was to be sieved so as to obtain 100%
recovery. All materials and items (other than those that were
considered to be naturally occurring) were to be kept and
recorded. Any single items that had the potential for dating
capabilities (such as coins, button, bottles etc) were to be
classified as ‘small finds’. At the end of excavation, the soil
would be replaced and the area made good.
- Recording Procedures: On the day of the excavation,
the location of the test pit would be determined partly by
accessibility, and partly by underground services and
obstructions. Once this was established, the exact location was
to be recorded on the record sheet by taking measurements from
the property to the corners of the test pit. Photographs would
be taken throughout the excavation process with the photograph
numbers being recorded in the photo register. Small finds were
to be recorded in the small finds register, and at the end of
each Spit dug, the materials removed and the composition were to
be recorded in the Spit register.
- Post Excavation Processing: All material and small
finds from the excavation were to be taken to the working base.
Materials were to be sorted into categories (bulk material),
treated (washed, brushed etc), weighed, and recorded in the
appropriate register. Any small finds were to be further
investigated and individually recorded on a small finds record
sheet. This was to include details such as description,
measurements, weight, a sketch, cleaning and / or conservation
methods, and then entered onto a database.
After the excavations had taken place and the results compiled, a
report was to be written as a permanent record of the findings. A
copy was to be given to the landowner and another to be published.
The importance of publication could not be underestimated since the
whole purpose of the activities was to disseminate the newly
discovered information to the local people. Various publication
methods were considered. One of the group members were interested in
computers and had some (limited) experience in websites. It was
decided that the best publication tool was to be the Internet. This
would allow for a wide audience for viewing the reports at a minimal
financial outlay. A website domain (name) was registered
‘community-archaeology.org.uk’ where all the findings were made
freely accessible to all. The group defined community archaeology as
being “Archaeology by the people, for the people”. and
has now been adopted into mainstream archaeology.
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