Jon Milward's blog

Wessex Archaeology’s geomatics team has recently concluded a laser scanning project at St. John’s Church in Bemerton, near Salisbury in Wiltshire. This was undertaken for Bemerton Community who, with the assistance of Paul Stevens Architecture, are in the process of converting part of the church for use as a community centre.

This most recent phase of work at St. John’s involved using a laser scanner to digitally record both interior and exterior surfaces of the church and its lych gate to millimetric precision. This data will be used by the architect to plan detailed aspects of the construction and it will also serve as a pre-alteration heritage record for posterity.

This work complements a geophysical survey that was undertaken in the churchyard by Wessex Archaeology prior to the installation of services earlier in the year. This survey successfully identified a number of unmarked graves dating from the mid 19^th Century as well as potential elements of the Church’s foundation structure.

A more detailed case-study of the laser scanning project will follow shortly, watch this space!

A Leica C10 laser scanner taking measurements inside the church

Rectified photographic
image of Little Ben
created during the
historic building recordingThe Built Heritage Team at Wessex Archaeology was recently commissioned by VINCI BAM Nuttall JV to carry out historic building recording of the Clock Tower on Victoria Street, London affectionately known as 'Little Ben'.

Little Ben was erected in 1892 by the renowned clock maker Gillett & Johnston of Croydon and is a fine example of Victorian craftsmanship. Clock towers of this type rose in popularity during the late 19^th – early 20^th centuries as objects of commemoration and many examples can be found throughout the country, built not only in cast iron but also in brick and stone.

Little Ben in 1900

Little Ben was removed from its original location following road widening works in 1964. Following a significant programme of renovation, which included the installation of a completely new mechanism as well a fresh coat of paint, the clock tower was re-erected near to its original location on 6th December 1981.

The Little Ben clock tower is scheduled to be temporarily removed as part of the upgrade works to Victoria Underground Station. It will be reinstated in its present position following the completion of the work.

Little Ben in its current location (May 2011)

Wessex Archaeology has just completed a four week excavation within the southern part of the Charles Street Development in Dorchester. Neil Holbrook, of Cotswold Archaeology has been acting as archaeological consultant on behalf of the developers, Simons Developments and WDDC. A watching brief is currently being maintained on groundwork being undertaken by Cowlin Construction and their subcontractors associated with the construction of West Dorset District Council’s new offices, library and adult learning centre.

As the site occupies an area near to the southern edge of the Roman town of Durnovaria it was predicted evidence of Roman town life would be uncovered during the works. The prediction proved correct; immediately below the modern overburden, the remains of Roman houses were uncovered.

These buildings were built around 100AD and were orientated according to the town’s street plan, which it has been possible to map using evidence from other excavations in Dorchester.

Site location plan showing features of the Roman town of Durnovaria

These houses were in the vicinity of the southern wall of the Roman town and the public baths. They were well built with stone wall foundations and according to convention at the time were adorned with painted plaster walls, areas of mosaic floors and tiled roofs. As represented by the discovery of a column base one house may also have had a colonnaded walkway, perhaps around a courtyard or garden area.

Deposits associated with these buildings contained artefacts representative of everyday domestic life including pottery, coins, animal bones and also the burial of a baby.

An Archaeologist investigating Roman floor layers

The houses survived until they were systematically demolished around 300 AD. After this no further structures were built and robbing of useful building material continued right up until the 17^th Century.

Beneath the floors of the Roman houses large deposits of rubble had been used to level off the site prior to their construction. Amongst this material were finds including a fragment of a Kimmeridge shale bracelet, pieces of Spanish amphora (used to transport olive oil) and a collection of gaming counters made out of chalk and pieces of pottery.

After the results of the fieldwork have been assessed if you would like to learn more about this site and the inhabitants of Roman Durnovaria, Wessex Archaeology will be hosting a talk on the project, details of which will be posted here. There will also be a report which will be available to download from our archaeological reports section. On completion of the project, all finds will be deposited with the Dorset County Museum in Dorchester.

Find out more about our work and discoveries at Charles Street, Dorchester.

A team from Wessex Archaeology’s Sheffield Office has just finished excavating at the site of a late 19th century New Don glass bottle works in Mexborough, an important site in South Yorkshire’s glass making past.

This excavation has been undertaken by our clients Lidl, who will shortly commence development of a new community food store on the site.

One of the most interesting finds unearthed during the excavation was part of a Siemens-Martin tank furnace which would have been one of the earliest regenerative furnaces in Yorkshire. The waste heat and gases were reused to heat the tanks, allowing for continuous glass production and the use of less fuel.

The Wessex team on site recording remains of 19th century industrial buildings

Other finds included hundreds of marbles that were used to ‘stop’ early carbonated drinks bottles, called Codd bottles after their inventor Hiram Codd. The bottles themselves are very rare as many were recycled or smashed by children to retrieve the marbles!

An intact Codd bottle and a collection of stopper marbles from the Mexborough glassworks site

Following on from survey work at Wakehurst Place in East Sussex Wessex Archaeology’s Built Heritage team has also been undertaking survey work at Avebury Manor, a National Trust property in Wiltshire.

This is a fascinating property with a building and gardens dating from the 16th century. Work is currently being undertaken in a number of rooms in the manor to recreate elements of interior design that will reflect the main periods in its long history.

The house is currently closed to the public but it is due to re-open in the autumn.

View of Avebury Manor from the south

Wessex Archaeology has just started archaeological work on the southern part of the Charles Street development site in the historic town of Dorchester, Dorset.

Wessex Archaeology is extremely pleased to be involved in this project and is working on site with Cowlin Construction, the development partners Simons and West Dorset District Council and their archaeological consultant Cotswold Archaeology.

Wessex Archaeology has a long tradition of working in and around Dorchester having been involved in such sites as Greyhound Yard, the County Hospital, the Poundbury development and the redevelopment of the old Eldridge Pope Brewery in Brewery Square.

Excavations undertaken around Charles Street by Wessex Archaeology during the 1980s found remains relating to the development, use and disuse of the Roman town of Durnovaria. The new excavation is expected to provide further information about the history of Durnovaria and its inhabitants, what they did, and what happened here before and after the relatively well documented Roman occupation.

Find out more about the excavations at Charles Street, Dorchester.

Roman buildings found in a Wessex excavation on land adjacent to Charles Street in 1989.

Wessex Archaeology was recently commissioned by the National Trust to carry out extensive survey work at Wakehurst Place - an Elizabethan Mansion set in 188 hectares of parkland estate in West Sussex. In collaboration with Richard Griffiths Architects, Wessex undertook a Historic Buildings and Structures Survey as part of the preparation of a Conservation Management Plan to guide and inform decisions regarding the future of the property.

Following a programme of geophysical survey and the main survey and analysis of the buildings, a programme of archaeological evaluation trenching was carried out. This confirmed that the Elizabethan mansion originally had a south range, and revealed the stone foundations of the southern half of the west wing which was demolished in the mid 19^th century. Earlier stone walling, a chimney base and a brick hearth of likely fifteenth or early sixteenth century date were also found, which showed that the earlier Wakehurst house had been situated immediately to the south of the Elizabethan one. Other features relating to garden landscaping were recorded to the south of the present mansion.

Wessex is pleased to continue its involvement in this project with the commissioning of a landscape survey of the wider estate. This has been commissioned by Kew Royal Botanic Gardens who are long term tenants of the National Trust at Wakehurst. The landscape survey of the parkland and wider estate is being undertaken by Wessex Archaeology’s specialist Historic Landscape team and they are working in partnership with landscape architects, GROSS. MAX. The survey will aim to reveal the possible larger extent of the formal gardens around the mansion, the nature of the Weald woodland landscape and increase the understanding of water management within the estate.

Our work at Wakehurst Place plays on our strengths of being a practice with extensive in-house capabilities encompassing heritage consultancy, historic buildings survey and analysis, historic landscape study, geophysical survey, excavation and reporting. Negotiations are now underway with the National Trust with a view to possibly undertaking further works at the estate in the autumn.

Find out more about our services.

Exposing structural remains in an evaluation trench

The Survey Association (TSA) is a professional organisation representing survey companies and Wessex Archaeology has just been accepted as a member, joining luminaries like the Ordnance Survey and English Heritage. This recognises the excellent standards of the work we do with respect to our survey operations (including laser scanning and metric survey) and also geophysics.

The application process required references from our clients, all of which were highly complimentary.

If you would like to find out more about survey services available from Wessex Archaeology please contact Chris Brayne on 01722 326867. Find out about our fleet of survey instruments.

3D laser scanning at Sandsfoot Castle

We are pleased to announce that an archaeology and heritage consultancy service is now operating from our recently opened Edinburgh office. Wessex Archaeology has been working in Scotland since the 1990s and has been established for over 30 years.

The heritage consultancy service is complemented by our Edinburgh Coastal and Marine Team. Together they provide an integrated and seamless approach to the historic environment and in particular to the renewable energy sector.

Our UK wide Heritage Team currently stands at over 20 consultants in four offices and their expertise covers buried archaeology, historic buildings and landscapes.

The team work to support property managers, developers, designers and construction professionals throughout the planning and development process. They are clearly focussed on client needs and deliver effective practical solutions cost effectively.

For more information please contact Candy Hatherley on 0131 524 9561