After a report in British Archaeology last month that pointed out BAJR had no Blog.. well... what could I do... and now you have not one! but TWO!

BAJR has a slightly naughty one
http://www.bajr.org/BAJRBlog

and for more info on World Archaeology and Volunteer Opportunities
http://pasthorizons.wordpress.com

Have a look... tell people and watch out for the new improved BAJR 2.5 in January... as well as a youTube for Archaeology
http://www.pasthorizons.tv

ooooh... we been busy...

there will also be a big change with the BAJR forum... more soon

If anyone can post this on Britarch.. please do.


"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

M74 Dig Talks

A series of free Saturday morning talks focussing on the main archaeological sites along the route will be held at the M74 Dig Discovery Centre. The archaeology being uncovered at each site will be discussed in relation similar sites in the city and collections of finds in Glasgow’s museums by a variety of speakers. Each talk will focus on one of the three main sites on the route: the Pollokshaws Road Tenements site, the Govan Ironworks and the Caledonian Pottery. A question and answer session will be held at the end of each talk, and there will be a chance to see recent finds.

Saturday 24 November 10.15-12.25 – Subject: Pollokshaws Road Tenements Site

The Tenements site is located between Eglinton Street and Pollokshaws Road and comprises two blocks of 19th century tenements. The earliest development on the site is Rosehill, comprising two early 18th century tenement buildings on Pollokshaws Road, which had spiral staircases to the rear. The site also contained Queen’s Park Terrace on Eglinton Street, designed by Alexander ‘Greek’ Thompson, the foundations of which are yet to be uncovered. As well as the remains of tenement houses and a church, evidence of small-scale industrial activity such as a cooperage has been uncovered.

The talk will consist of an introduction to tenement life in Glasgow, from Lorna Hepburn, the Property Manager for the National Trust Tenement House. Fiona Hayes from Glasgow Museums will then discuss the Museum’s social history collections. The final part of the talk will be from Mike Bardill, the site director of the Tenements site, who will discuss the excavations so far and what finds have been found.

Saturday 8 December 10.15-12.25 – Subject: Caledonian Pottery

The Caledonian Pottery was located on Farmeloan Road, Rutherglen from 1870 until 1929. The pottery produced various stoneware items, including a range of embossed, leaf-patterned tableware in ‘translucent green glaze’, teapots, acid jars, cream jars and, latterly, Hartley’s jam jars. Parts already uncovered include the bases of kilns, underground brick flues, a series of linear brick lined sunken structures containing thick clay deposits, evidence for clay storage and a short gauge rail line. Pottery dumps at the site have also been investigated: these are extensive and contain pottery and saggar wasters, and fuel and kiln waste up to 10m in depth.

The talk will consist of an introduction to Glasgow’s potteries in the latter half of the nineteenth century by Henry Kelly, chairman of the Scottish Pottery Society. Alison Brown from Glasgow Museums will then discuss the Museum’s Scottish pottery collection, and Katinka Stencroft will discuss the Museum’s industrial period pottery collection. The final part of the talk will be from Candy Hatherley, the site director of the Calendonian Pottery site, who will discuss the excavations so far and what finds have been found.

Saturday 15 December 10.15-12.25 – Subject: Govan Ironworks

The Govan Ironworks, popularly known as 'Dixon’s Blazes', was founded in 1837 by William Dixon for the manufacture of bar iron and the production of iron castings for steam engines and general engineering products. Two areas of the ironworks are being investigated: the Foundry and the Lower English Buildings, two ranges of domestic buildings, between the Foundry and Cathcart Road. The foundry comprised boilers, an engine house, a turning shop, a fitting shop, a moulding shop, a pattern shop, a boiler shop, a smithy and banks of coke kilns and tanks. It is assumed that the Lower English Buildings these buildings represent workers’ housing and associated outhouses built by Dixon for his workforce.

The talk will consist of an introduction to iron founding in the west of Scotland from 1830 to 1914, from John Hume, the chairman of the Royal Commission. David Mitchell from Historic Scotland will then discuss Glasgow Architectural Iron Founders. The final part of the talk will be from Dan Atkinson, the site director of the Ironworks site, who will discuss the excavations so far and what finds have been found.

The talks will all take place at the M74 Dig Discovery Centre at Scotland Street School Museum. Please click here for access information. (Link to venue details: http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/deta...venueid=12)


"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

I am a newly appointed researcher for the History, Classics and Archaeology Subject Centre at Liverpool University. I am currently working on a project which is interested in archaeology graduates and in particular the types of jobs and careers archaeology graduates enter as well as their views about how their degree has helped them acquire skills and employment.

Would you like to share your thoughts and experiences in a survey I have created online? This online survey is for archaeology graduates since the year 2000 and I was wondering if you would like to contribute?




https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/survey/arch <https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/survey/arch>




I would love to hear your views or if you know anyone else who could help me please feel free to forward on this email.

Your help would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks

Vicky



Victoria Jackson Research Assistant History, Classics and Archaeology Subject Centre Higher Education Academy http://www.hca.heacademy.ac.uk/archaeology

SACE, Hartley Building, University of Liverpool L69 3GS

T: 0151 794 5039 F: 0151 795 5057 E: victoria.jackson@liverpool.ac.uk


"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

Although it will need some polishing here and there a new version of our website http://www.eurorea.net is up so I can finally announce that EuroREA 4 is out. If you are interested in experimental archaeology or reconstructions, please take a look.

Informing the Future of the Past: Guidelines for Historic Environment Records (Second Edition)

Edited by Paul Gilman and Martin Newman


The essential set of working guidelines appropriate to all HERs, large and small, and for all staff, volunteers and students involved in managing, running, using or supporting an HER.

These guidelines have been developed to assist those who manage, work in and use Historic Environment Records (HERs). They provide an introduction to the HERs and the services that they provide, set out agreed guidelines for working practices, support the delivery of training information and advice, and provide a guide to all aspects of HER management, working practices, standards, systems and services.

This edition constitutes a major revision and expansion from the first edition to include recent developments and to cover Wales and Scotland as well as England with numerous case studies. It is available free to view on line at http://www.ifp-plus.info. The publication is the result of a collaboration between English Heritage, Historic Scotland, the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW), the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers UK (ALGAO UK) and the Archaeology Data Service (ADS).

This online manual for HERs is available as both standard web pages (html) and split into sections as Adobe PDF documents for you to freely download and printout for use in your HER.

http://www.ifp-plus.info



"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

This is very interesting. There is obviously no doubt that the terms and conditions offered meet (or perhaps exceed) the BAJR requirements for pay... however it is certainly an unusual form of job advert, nonetheless.

I am curious as to why, if work is available for 4-12 weeks, contracts could not be offered? "Self-sufficient in the field" - does this mean no welfare facilities? What are the implications for Health and Safety? Obviously there will be no SSP or other benefits either...

I not seeking to make or imply any criticism of SWAT and/or its management, performance or quality of work. I am just curious to know why this particular form of employment has been decided upon in this instance. What are the benefits for the employer? And what are those for the employee? Does this represent something we are likely to see more of in the future?

Anyone have any views?

Need 4 people to help me comment on a new document intended to cover Aggregate Extraction Related Archaeology

A draft has been created.. and this is in need of review... I have my own comments and the comments of others but would appreciate some additional input from those who have an understanding.

please email me - info@bajr.org and I will pass on the documetn and what I am looking for - This is not a public document yet, and is in draft phase... so comments from consultants, contractors or curators who have had experieince of Aggregate Related Archaeology please :face-huh:

"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

Well that was a revelation... no, sitting around drinking port and stroking cats while sitting in leather chairs.. I was up at 5am to get down to London, and was not the only earliy riser. with council being drawn from all over the UK.... and in my humble opinion, representing everyone from field to curator, from contractor to academic. A lot was talked.. and strangely.. a lot was done... Things are pushing forward. 2008 will be a big year for all of us I can say... mostly in a good way. am I proud I am part of it... yes... has it been worth the slog to get this far? yes... who would have thought that BAJR would one day sit on the IFA Council. and I have to say that it is beacuse of all of you.. (and absent trolls!) You have given me the confidence and the insights to move BAJR from a little troublemaker, into a big one... more to do ... but thanks.

I liked the description that one Councilman said... " we arelike the commons MPs, who ensure the Ministers can be held to questions and are grounded in whats going on out here.

Look forward to more... roll on 2008... this has to be the big push

"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

A brief update on the Campaign for a Living Wage: after sending out the initial campaign poster back in March , we waited to see what level of response we received from the fifty or so unit directors it was mailed to. Initially, not to our great surprise, the response was muted to say the least.

We decided to follow things up with a letter addressed directly to unit managers (also attached), which was sent out in September. The response to the letter has been far more encouraging. We've had several responses, many of whom have replied in detail and the majority have been supportive of what we're trying to achieve. We've also had a message of support from the CBA, who along with Rescue have expressed a willingness to support the campaign/Forum. I'm still receiving replies, but I imagine everything that's going to turn up will have arrived in the next month or so. Once we've collated info from all replies, we'll summarise the response in a new poster. We'll also be meeting with reps from Prospect, IFA and David Connolly from BAJR to see how we can step up the campaign and keep the momentum going.

We'll also organise the next, long-delayed Forum meeting, with a view to discussing the campaign in a public arena. In the meantime it would be good to hear any feedback about the campaign or other relevant issues, so please don't hesitate to get in touch....

Tel: 020 7410 2242
Email: JTaylor@molas.org.uk



IFA guidelines state that as a Special Interest Group we have to hold an AGM. We had planned to hold the AGM in conjunction with our next general meeting, but we've had to put that on hold for the time being.

The AGM will be held on Tuesday 4th of December 2007 at 6.30 pm. We've booked the upstairs room in the Kings Head pub in London, which is located at:

Kings Head Yard
45-49 Borough High St
London SE1

The pub is about five minutes walk from London Bridge station; about one minute walk from the Borough High St exit from London Bridge tube station.

The AGM meeting will only take half an hour or so, so we wouldn't expect people to travel in from far and wide, but it would be great if Forum members who live locally can come along. We fully intend to have a few beers and make an evening of it once we've sorted out the business side of things.

There is a serious side to the meeting though. At the moment we're not managing to achieve anywhere near as much as we would like. There's three of us running the Forum as members of the executive committee and a volunteer group of seven, who help out with editing duties when they can. However, we're all trying to fit this stuff in round full time jobs, so time is always limited. We would very much like to get more people involved on a regular basis so we can step things up a gear or two. There are currently up to four spaces that need to be filled on the executive committee (must be IFA members). I've attached a nomination form - if you're interested in taking on one of the positions, please fill out the form and post (or fax) to me at:

J. Taylor

C/O Museum of London Archaeology Service
46 Eagle Wharf Rd.
London
N1 7ED

NB Please get forms back to me by Friday 16th of November 2007

As well as the four exec. committee posts, we would also like to extend the volunteer group to include more people who would be able to help run the Forum on a regular basis (membership of the IFA not necessary). It would be especially helpful if we could find volunteers who live locally enough (to London) that they'd be able to meet up on a fairly regular basis - say once a month or so. We know we need to avoid becoming too 'London-centric', but we've found that being able to meet up face to face tends to makes life easier than relying on phone and email. If any of you think you may be able to help out, please feel free to email me, or call on 07951 024197 or 0207 410 2242, and I can explain in detail how we're trying to move things on.

Tel: 020 7410 2242
Email: JTaylor@molas.org.uk

"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

What are the best gloves for the various activities we do on site in terms of comfort, protection, robustness etc.

Clearly the choice is more restricted for using surveying equipment or cameras. For photography in the depth of winter I use a pair of "extremities".

Peter
(David/Maggie can you look at PPE in general and start stocking the harder to find kit.)