AW/AE April 2020 Newsletter

Due to the ongoing situation regarding COVID-19, we made the decision to stop fieldwork projects as it was the responsible thing to do, but this doesn’t mean we’ve stopped work. Far from it! Our teams are currently working on numerous Desk-based Studies, Building Surveys and post-excavation reports, and even undertaking site visits and WB monitoring – where enhanced H&S is stringently enforced.

Looking forward, we are encouraged by the new procedures that many construction companies have put in place and are confident that some projects can resume without risk to our staff or the wider community. Every project will be carefully evaluated before deciding whether to proceed. We will endeavour to keep working where and when we are able.

Onwards and upward!


Mark Houliston – Managing Director

AW Post Excavation for Romano British Site


The AW post-ex team are currently working towards the completion of the assessment stage of a large Iron Age/Romano British settlement near Newport, South Wales.

The assessment stage follows excavation and provides the initial interpretation of the site, quantifying the findings and assessing the potential for further investigation during the final analysis stage. The assessment results in a report that is used by curatorial archaeologist in Wales (County Archaeologists in England) to make decisions on any further work or mitigation that may be necessary prior to development.

The assessment of this particular site has drawn together the expertise of seven external specialists along with AW’s own internal specialists to cover the 17 different finds categories, environmental and osteoarchaeological remains recovered from the site.

Our archaeologists are now bringing all the evidence together along with the stratigraphic information to highlight the potential of the findings and make recommendations for further analysis.

AE Community Engagement During a Global Pandemic

Archaeology England has had to swap open days for digital engagement in response to COVID-19.

Between November 2019 and March 2020, Archaeology England undertook an excavation at Regent Road car park in Altrincham. The excavation revealed several foundation structures belonging to Georgian terraces located on Albert Street, Chapel Street, Hope Square and Lloyd Square. The terraces had been demolished towards the end of the second world war, leaving behind the cellars and foundations, but also a number of artefacts linking back to the previous inhabitants.
Public interest in the history of the local area is high, particularly due to the famous reputation of Chapel Street as being “the bravest little street in England,” after 161 men from just 60 houses joined the war effort in the first world war. Therefore as part of the project design, an open day for the local community had been scheduled in. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, this was, understandably, unable to take place, so instead an online web page was created on our website to allow local inhabitants to see what had been found. As further research is undertaken, which will include census investigations, this web page will be updated with findings and updates will be posted on our social media platforms.

It is hoped that this format of community engagement will become a more common occurrence for both AE and AW (though will not replace open days and talks once these are possible again). We have created a new “News” section on our websites which will act as a more public facing dissemination tool for projects where public interest is high and in order to fulfil public engagement conditions where they have been placed on projects.

Contact Information
If you have any questions about the work of either company or if you want to discuss a potential project, please contact Rowena Hart (rowena@arch-england.co.uk or rowena@arch-wales.co.uk) or Mark Houliston (mark@arch-england.co.uk or mark@arch-wales.co.uk).

Useful Links:
www.arch-wales.co.uk/
www.arch-england.co.uk/
www.facebook.com/archaeologyengland/
https://www.facebook.com/archaeologywales1/
https://twitter.com/Arch_England_
https://twitter.com/Arch_Wales

Useful Phone Numbers:
Manchester – 0161 870 0146
Birmingham  – 0121 270 0843
Bristol / Torquay – 01173 700 763
Llanidloes – 01686 440371
Treforest – 02920 020 136
Swansea – 01792 344 206
Conwy – 01490 340 029

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