Digging up your own past

[Paul Belford]

One of my staff has been researching her family history for the last few months. She has just discovered that her great-great-uncle worked in an ironworks, a site that we excavated about three or four years ago. She worked on the excavation (obviously before realising that her ancestor had also worked on the site).

I found this quite amazing, and wondered if anyone else had excavated (or had heard about someone excavating) the home or workplace of one of their own ancestors?

[tom wilson]

One of my friends (not an archaeologist) is half Canadian. His father and three uncles were all born in a small cabin built by their father in the middle of nowhere shortly after WW2. The father died very young and the family moved to England, but all four brothers emmigrated back as adults. A few years ago, my friend and his father went and found the site of the cabin, now just a scatter of timbers, and had a scratch around to see what they could find.


Their recording was shocking though.

[Gog]

I did read once that Richard Morris, formerly of the CBA, did excavate the AA gun battery that his father served on in the war - the archaeological evidence diverged in a number of ways from his father's memory, which is interesting. Wish I could remember where I read it (possibly British Archaeology magazine).

[mesolithic viking]

I once dug with someone who researched his family tree. One ancestor had about ten kids then his wife died and he married his oldest daughter and had kids with her. And there was an Uncle Lancelot who nobody talked about for some reason, which was believed to involve young boys. Sometimes it's best to dig up someone else's past and use the spoil to bury your own.

Careful, it might be hallucinogEeEe**33nnnn..

[Digger]

We had a volunteer on a community project wo got to excavate the cellar (now in a park) of the house she grew up in. Made finds id quite simple, especially when she found her mums old hairdrier!

[kevin wooldridge]

Once made up the numbers on an internal job interview board at the Museum of London. One of the candidates was asked why he was interested in an upcoming job (an evaluation in the basement of a bank building somewhere on the City outskirts). He replied that his first job on leaving school was an office junior at said building and he had fond memories of that particular basement!! And you wouldn't believe which archaeological unit he is now managing.....

[BAJR Host]

I once dug up my own grave.. and... oh ...hold on..... just what sort of mushrooms are these!....flibble

seriously though... this is a brilliant thread!

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

[m300572]

Worked at Aberdulais Falls with a Cornish bloke whose Grandfather had worked in quarries in the area.

[Smaze]

I realise this is a little off the thread, but is paul belford the same person who owned a blue P4 and excavated on the yorkshire wolds many many years ago ?

No Sleep Till Natural.

[BAJR Host]

I should have thought about this one...

recorded a hospital before demolition where my mother had worked for 30 years - I often went there as a kid.. it was odd to know your way around, but now it was empty, apart from the odd broken bed or stationary cabinet.. needless to say I ensured my mothers office was well recorded .. and it added a new dimension to recording the past.

I am also now asking for a condition on a currently working Bus Station, where I want it recorded while still working.. SO instead of a record of empty rooms, it will have bus drivers and engineers, passenger rooms and busses actually in the bus garage.. Seems sensible to do it now rather than after it has closed.. ?? Should we do this with older mills and factories.. is our past disappearing before us?

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