JOHN SCHOFIELD (ed.). Great excavations: shaping the archaeological profession. x+308 pages, 147 colour & b&w illustrations, 5 tables. 2011. Oxford & Oakville (CT): Oxbow; 978-1-84217-409-8 paperback £36.

In the decades from 1960, the United Kingdom saw the emergence of a new approach in archaeology and one that today we may find difficult to envisage and at times appreciate. The words 'rescue archaeology' come to mind, but it was far more than that; these decades also contained episodes of basic research, opportunistic activities, single-minded pursuits and achievements we can but marvel at, now that they have come (mostly) to an end. Threatened sites in both urban and rural contexts were explored, others lay at peace yet posed intriguing questions that demanded answers, and individuals rose to the challenges offered by such sites.

In this book of Great excavations we are entertained, educated and frustrated, sometimes all three at the same time, by the accounts of authors who long ago might have been described as young Turks, immersed in activities for which funding structures were haphazard, risk-assessments often ignored, post-excavation procedures as a requirement unacknowledged. Archaeologists presented with the opportunities to approach and attack sites of all periods faced fewer restrictions than today, and they could invent and conduct manoeuvres both on and off sites to fulfil their own aims and aspirations. The period offered these people a unique chance to explore aspects of the past that would, and did, soon vanish as commercial and urban growth increasingly invaded the landscapes and settlements, cemeteries and industrial sites of the past.

The 14 principal authors here have been encouraged to write about their own ancient excavations, or to provide accounts of particular sites whose directors are no longer here or able to undertake the task. We begin however with a personal account by the editor of how and why he got immersed in the subject, on the Sweet Track in Somerset, on Hambledon Hill in Dorset and in the Pontnewydd Cave in South Wales, and here in the last-named he had one of his greatest achievements, dealing with a thief of priceless treasure.

There are about 20 major excavations and sites from the UK that receive comment in the book, some such as Sutton Hoo and Maiden Castle already worked long ago by earlier archaeologists, others newly-identified in the 1960s, and all or nearly all pursued as major projects for many years — 10, 20 or more. Some are still undergoing post-excavation work, several are not yet fully-published although many interims have appeared.

The treatment afforded these Great excavations has clearly been dependent upon the aims and whims of the directors or their representatives. Around half the sites receive at least a basic account of their histories, Birdoswald and Coppergate in York for example, but few are succinctly summarised for innocent readers such as me. Preaching and polemics are thankfully rare. Personal accounts, how sites were looked at, how the volunteers performed their tasks, how the directors survived, all receive adequate details — sometimes too many — and it is a plurality of personalities, pubs, pairings, problems and productions that is presented to us. An appropriate slip of the pen occurs on page 256 where the author talks of '...sampling very much lager areas...'; perhaps he meant it. Apart from the usual 'horde' for 'hoard', and the occasional mistake in a reference, the book is well-produced except for a duplicate paragraph on page 157.

Although each and every site pursued here is a worthy target for analysis and comment, two deserve special commendation in my opinion. The medieval manorial and monastic site of La Grava near Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire was almost completely excavated in the years 1973 to 1985 in advance of deep quarrying of sand of such a quality that it was exported to Saudi Arabia. Post-excavation work followed for the next 23 years, with full publication by Evelyn Baker now in press. The account of the work here is part anecdotal and part an overview of the complex governmental and other schemes of make-work, with volunteers, professionals and students all involved to differing degrees and accomplishments on and off site. It is a remarkable achievement to have completed such a project.

The seemingly everlasting excavations at Mucking in Essex are equally significant, and based primarily upon the unswerving dedication of Margaret Jones, who drove the work forward just in advance of gravel quarrying, and uncovered a multi-period palimpsest of settlements, burials, field systems, enclosures and much more, with over 5000 volunteer excavators of many nationalities involved for short or long periods of work. Some, not all, would subscribe to a view expressed in 2001 'To have dug with Margaret Jones at Mucking remains a badge of honour', and the work done was truly historic, rewarding, instructive and inspiring. We who sat in our comfortable rooms and institutional libraries might criticise and mutter about the methodology and research frameworks at Mucking but few of us, myself included, who visited came away without feeling the emotion generated by it all.

These are but two of the sagas presented here and the book does, by the end, illuminate these decades of our discipline, with innovation and determination the overriding factors. In the concluding section of the book, various commentaries and opinions are expressed, and a final word comes from Geoff Wainwright (formerly of English Heritage). He provides, appropriately here, some brief accounts of his own career, meeting a 'flame-haired thespian' at the Shakespearean Rose Theatre site in London, and dealing with a misguided soft-boiled egg at Hod Hill in Dorset; I suppose it could have been the other way around. He picks out from the book various projects and sites as particularly influential in the development of archaeology in the United Kingdom, pronouncing Danebury 'the greatest of the great'. We may well agree with that.

A final comment here. The publishers have missed a good sub-title for this book: Great excavations: great explanations.

Book Review