Wessex Archaeology Rochester

Children from a local primary school were given an introduction to archaeology at the offices of Wessex Archaeology in Rochester last week.

The budding young archaeologists were shown some of the work that goes on at the office including washing pottery and drawing some of the finds we get from site.

Some of the children were quick to grasp the idea that finds can be used to assess the status of a site!

In the afternoon the children were then given an introduction to some of our work in underwater archaeology and identifying some of the finds, including a cannon ball and a mammoths tooth.

And we shattered some illusions - archaeologists today are more likely to wear high visibility vests and hard hats than embarrassing jumpers.

Dressing up in high visibility clothing

The children seemed to thoroughly enjoy their day (although the most popular part were the biscuits) and we received some most welcome thank you cards. We would have been equally happy with wine though..

The day organised by Helen Glass of Wessex Archaeology and Wendy Rogers of Kent County Council and carried out by Katie Card one of Wessex Archaeology’s specialist learning and access officers. Please contact Helen about regarding our outreach programmes and how Wessex Archaeology can add value to a development using our experienced team of specialist learning and access officers.

As Britain moves into another tempestuous Autumn/Winter with our staff employed on numerous wet watching briefs and muddy evaluations we thought it would be a good opportunity to report on some of the research work conducted by our staff in more exotic (and sunnier) locations around the world this year.

The Forum at Pompeii

Daniel Jackson, one of our archaeologists based in Rochester, spent part of the summer working with the Via Consolare Project, a multinational team researching the ancient city of Pompeii, Italy. The VCP have been working in Pompeii since 2005 recording and analysing two important, and often overlooked, areas of the city. This year the focus of the research was Insula VII, 6, a city block close to the main forum of Pompeii which was heavily damaged during the Second World War.

Surveying the excavations in the front rooms of two shops in Insula VII.6

Using a combination of geophysical survey, historic building recording and targeted excavation the team have been able to reveal a large amount of information about the development of the area as well as providing an important permanent record of the current condition of the remains. The research has demonstrated that although the structural remains in the area were very badly affected by the bombing the subsurface stratigraphy appears to have remained well preserved. The investigations have produced important new information regarding not only the final phase of the city, prior to the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD, but also the development and evolution of this key central area.

Wessex Archaeology is fully supportive of staff continuing academic research as it is often through this interaction between the commercial and academic communities that new techniques and technologies are developed and improved. By taking advantage of these advances in archaeological computing and fieldwork we can work more efficiently and offer innovative high tech solutions to our clients.

It’s exciting times for Wessex Archaeology in the south east region where our Maidstone office has now become our Rochester office.  We have just moved to our new permanent home at Bridgewood House on the edge of Rochester.  Mirroring the HQ in Salisbury, we are next to an airport, although the company plane will have to wait!

We are still settling in, unpacking boxes and deciding where everything should go but we’ll have everything straight soon and we look forward to welcoming you to Bridgewood House.

In the last six months we have almost doubled our staff numbers; it was useful to have a few extra pairs of hands to help with the move.  So we are delighted to now have room to expand properly, enabling us to provide even better archaeology and heritage services to our clients and the community. At some 6,500 square feet we certainly have space for our expected future growth.

The expertise throughout Wessex Archaeology already allows us to offer a full range of services, but we are keen to add key specialised roles here at Rochester as soon as possible.  We will shortly be appointing someone to develop our finds capability and other posts in built heritage.

New and ongoing projects include pipelines and housing developments covering a range of interesting sites. Our Desk-based assessments team have been keeping busy with plenty of work doing research into the history of buildings and the landscape, while our work with communities is growing with workshops on researching the 19^th and 20^th century history of the Olympic Park and Medway Mosaics; a programme of workshops for the communities of the Medway Gap.

Bridgewood House: Historical Connections

The name of the building has historical connections, having been named after Fort Bridgewoods located just north of our new home.  The fort was built in the late 19th century as one of a series that defended the landward approach to Chatham Dockyard.  Fort Bridgewoods protected the approach from Maidstone and the flank of nearby Fort Borstal.

For more information about the history of the Fort visit:

http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/f/fort_bridgewoods/

http://www.medwaylines.com/fortbridgewoods.htm

Bridgewood House

The common perception of archaeology is of digging holes in the ground, but here at Wessex that’s just one aspect of the service we provide to our clients. When new developments are proposed, the impact on the entire historic environment – above ground, below ground, and sometimes underwater – needs to be carefully considered.

As a Senior Heritage Consultant my role is to advise our clients on how to make best use of the historic environment within their schemes, and how to promote that idea through the planning process. One of the areas we specialise in is the recording of the built environment, and these skills were recently put to the test on a project at The White House in Chatham. This is a key development in the regeneration of the town – the building is in a highly prominent position, and is scheduled for refurbishment as part of the Chatham Dynamic Bus Station Scheme.

The White House, Chatham

The White House, built in 1816, has strong associations with Chatham’s military history, and our research found that the building sits within the footprint of ‘New Gun Wharf.’ The White House was occupied by military personnel and was in use as both offices and residential quarters throughout its history.  The wharf originally formed an extension to the Ordnance Depot of the Chatham Historic Dockyard – a highly significant complex that is currently short-listed for World Heritage Status.

The White House is not a listed building, but the association with Chatham’s military history meant that it was a key facet in the planning process and decision. Having worked on a number of other projects in Chatham Dockyard, we were ideally placed to advise our clients on the best course of action to the satisfaction of all stakeholders. The final design for the Bus Station firmly retains The White House’s prominence in the modern streetscape and ensures its future for the next generation to enjoy.