Book Review
DAVID G. PASSMORE & CLIVE WADDINGTON. Managing archaeological landscapes in Northumberland (Till-Tweed Studies Volume 1). xxiv+400 pages, 260 illustrations, 57 tables. 2009. Oxford: Oxbow; 978-84217-345-9 hardback £45.
Review by Robert Bewley
Ashton Keynes, UK
(Email: bob.bewley@btinternet.com)
This report is a paradox: it reflects both the good in British archaeology and what is missing. Some developments in methodology and practice in British archaeology are highlighted, but it also represents a missed opportunity. A mixture of approaches (involving survey, excavation and archaeological science) are portrayed and credit must be given to the editors for bringing these together. It is however unfortunate that they do not flow as a piece of question-oriented research; the report is a compilation of disparate research projects rather than the culmination of a developed research strategy. A promised companion volume which will present 'an integrated archaeological and historical synthesis for the whole region' will, it is hoped, alleviate this problem and prove invaluable for the understanding of two important river valleys, the Till and the Tweed, on the borders of England and Scotland.
The disjointed nature of Volume 1 of the Till-Tweed Studies series is not the fault of the editors but is, in part, a result of the funding for this research. The Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund, created from a tax on mineral and aggregate extraction to improve our understanding of the history and archaeology of areas affected by the removal of sand and gravel deposits, provided an opportunity for a strategic approach targeting areas under most threat. There was not much forethought about how this money would be spent, partly because there was little time to develop strategies. So the emphasis was on doing what archaeologists do quickly and easily — excavation —and getting the money spent. Nevertheless, despite the lack of a considered strategy, the research in Northumberland, on the Millfield basin especially, is a good demonstration of why the principle that the polluter pays is a good one.
Managing archaeological landscapes in Northumberland is an attempt to understand the interaction of geology and archaeology to help others (planners, archaeologists, interested lay people) manage them for their preservation and enjoyment. It is a study which looks at the landscape as a whole — and through time (in this case prehistoric, Roman and early medieval) — regrettably in the form of disjointed chapters. The section on aerial archaeology by Gates and Deegan (very good in its own right) appears to be an afterthought; I suspect it had no impact on the survey and excavation strategy. Thus the opportunity to make connections between thirty years of aerial reconnaissance and mapping, leading to a series of questions and an analysis of why certain cropmark sites were chosen for investigation over others, is missed.
There are many ways this report will be used and it is always difficult to satisfy all its potential users. The standard layout suggests, however, that insufficient planning went into the presentation of the report, particularly of its 260 illustrations and 57 tables. Some could have been omitted altogether, or reduced in size, or placed in an appendix or website. Having full-size tables of sediment logs (pp. 60-4) seems over-generous, but conversely the digital (lidar-derived) elevation models would have been more useful if much bigger (pp. 61 and 64).
The inclusion of chapters by other authors is to be welcomed, especially the work of Alison Deegan of England's National Mapping Programme which builds on Tim Gates' excellent 30-year aerial reconnaissance and survey work in Northumberland, the subject of a substantial section (pp. 129-71) by Gates himself.
The limitations of this publication are unfortunately an all too common symptom of current thinking amongst archaeologists in Europe and elsewhere. The aerial photographic surveys are used as a backdrop against which small-scale excavations are 'dropped in'; yet the interpretative process which created the often complex map of cropmark sites is nowhere to be seen or understood. A report which purports to be about landscape archaeology should, at least, contain a short explanation of the features seen on the aerial photographs. Maelmin West — one of the very few early medieval royal palace sites known in Britain —will serve as an example: the archaeological interpretation (derived from air photographs) is on Figure 5.51 but all the caption says is 'Maelmin West location plan'. The archaeological features are 'greyed out' and the field boundaries are bold in black. Why diminish the visual representation of this very important ancient landscape and highlight the more recent?
This excavation-focused approach to archaeology is beginning to change, not least because of the success of the results of the National Mapping Programme which is transforming our understanding of England's hidden example in Northamptonshire, published by Alison Deegan and Glenn Foard in 2007; reviewed in Antiquity 83 (2009): 521-3). Tlandscapes (forhere they discovered over 5000 Iron Age/Romano-British enclosures, suggesting a much larger population than once imagined.
This study, intended to enlighten those with the responsibility for the future management of Northumberland's landscapes, has, we are told, developed a new approach: the Landform Element Approach. I had to re-read the relevant pages (pp. 281-2) as I thought there was a page missing. On p. 281 we are about to find out what the landform element approach is, only to be told that aggregate extraction is damaging to landscapes! It is not new to state that damage to different landforms (in the geological sense) depends on the nature of the landforms and the nature of the archaeological sites within them: this is first year undergraduate material. To wrap statements of the obvious in a greater theoretical framework does the work no service. This is a shame because the report represents a decade of dedicated archaeological research, and includes fine work by a variety of specialists (on radiocarbon dating, environmental analysis, field survey, aerial survey, air photographic interpretation) who have produced a substantial report, which will, despite its flaws, be of benefit to professionals and public alike.
Reference
- DEEGAN A. & G. FOARD. 2007. Mapping ancient landscapes in Northamptonshire. Swindon: English Heritage.
Heritage Technology
