News
March 2010
 |
Archaeological Research Services Ltd have produced a guided walk leaflet for the Crowtrees Heritage Group exploring the history and archaeology of Crowtrees Colliery in County Durham. The colliery, situated five miles south-east of the city of Durham, was in operation during the 18th and 19th centuries and encapsulates the history of coal mining in this region. Originally opened in the late 18th century, the coal was won close to the surface and sold locally. In the 1830s the colliery was bought by locomotive pioneer William Hedley who expanded operations and shipped the coal by rail to Teeside. The colliery then passed through the hands of various owners, including W. Morrison who built the remains that can still be seen on site today, before finally closing in 1897.
ARS Ltd have a special link to the colliery, as Project Manager Ben Johnson’s great-great grandfather and great-grandfather both worked as miners at Crowtrees in the late 19th century, when census records showed they lived at the long-since vanished settlement of Cold Knuckles above the colliery.
Follow this link to the Crowtrees Colliery website, where a copy of the leaflet can also be downloaded.
February 2010
 |
In 2009 Archaeological Research Services Ltd and Longstone Local History Group investigated the hillfort at Fin Cop, which overlooks Monsal Dale in the Peak District. The project was a great success and a large amount of information was revealed about the hillfort and also archaeological remains from other periods on the site. The reports detailing the various stages of the project are now available to download from the Fin Cop Projects page.
 |
 |
In January 2010 ARS Ltd completed the field survey element of the North East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment on behalf of English Heritage. This second phase of work follows on from the desk-based assessment and aerial photographic survey of the coastline between Whitby and Berwick-upon-Tweed, which was completed by ARS Ltd in 2009. The project will provide detailed information about the archaeological remains along the North East Coast and assess the level of threat that they face from erosion. This data will then be used to better inform the ongoing management of these sites. Sites investigated ranged in date from the Mesolithic period through to the Cold War with many sites recorded for the first time.
In January 2010 ARS Ltd began the task of surveying and investigating Second World War defences within the Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The survey is intended to allow a better understanding of the nature of the surviving remains and to record any previously unknown evidence of World War II defences within the AONB. A walkover survey was undertaken with extensive photography and accurate mapping of the remains using GPSsurveying equipment. It is hoped that this fascinating work will help to interpret the surviving remains and also to inform on how sites such as these can be managed in the future.
 |
 |
|
A WWII pillbox with Dunstanburgh castle in the background |
A pillbox near Dunstan Steads that was constructed using concrete-filled sandbags |
 |
In 2008 ARS Ltd carried out an investigation at John Smeaton's Snuff Mill at Chimney Mills in Newcastle. This month, the site and details of the excavation appear in the 2009 Autumn edition of the 'Journal of the Association for Industrial Archaeology: Industrial Archaeology Review'. The article, written by Christopher Baglee and John Nolan of Northern Counties Archaeological Services analyses the results of the complete programme of works that was carried out on the site including the building recording and evaluation undertaken by ARS Ltd.
January 2010
 |
On Saturday 16th January ARS Ltd took part in the annual Derbyshire Archaeology Day which is organised by the Peak District National Park Authority and Derbyshire County Council. The day-long event included presentations from various historians and archaeologists about the most recent investigations across Derbyshire. The community-led excavation on Fin Cop Hillfort by Longstone Local History Group and ARS Ltd was featured with a presentation that revealed all the current information about the site and also the story of how it was investigated. The sold-out event was a huge success with around 400 members of the general public.
 |
 |
ARS Ltd have launched a subsite dedicated to Tarmac's Lanton Quarry in Northumberland and the excavations that have been carried out there in 2005 and 2008/2009. Archaeological fieldwork at the site recorded the surviving artefacts and structural remains, and this website provides information on how the excavations were carried out and what they can tell us about the past of north Northumberland.
Additionally this month, archaeological magazine 'Current Archaeology' features a lead article about the Lanton Quarry excavations. For information on how you can order a copy of this month's magazine please click on the magazine cover opposite.
November 2009
ARS Ltd have recently celebrated five successful years as a limited company with a celebration for staff, friends and clients at the Mercure St. Paul's Hotel in Sheffield. Lord Redesdale attended to make an address on the current work of the All Party Parliamentary Archaeology Group, and Dr. Clive Waddington, Managing Director, reflected on the varied projects and events of the last five years.
As well as being an enjoyable night for all, a number of awards were presented to members of staff by Andy Topley, Director of Regeneration at Creative Sheffield. The winners were:
-
Discovery of the Year - Philippa Cockburn
- Publication of the Year - Ben Johnson
- Employee of the Year - jointly awarded to Jessika Shakarian and Brian Marshall
- Special Award for Services to the Company - Jim Brightman
Also in November 2009...
From November 2009 ARS Ltd. is adding in-house Geophysical Survey to the list of services that they provide. Magnetometry will now be offered to assist with exploring and investigating potential archaeological sites. For more information see our Services page.
In addition to this, ARS Ltd can announce the publication of the Cheviot Quarry Excavation Report in The Archaeological Journal. The report is the result of a series of archaeological investigations that were commissioned by Tarmac Northern and were carried out at Cheviot Quarry, Northumberland in 2005 (see Cheviot Quarry on the Projects page).
A vision statement for Sheffield Castle is now available to download from our Projects page. For more information and to download the document please see the Sheffield Castle Project page.
(Picture reproduced from Armstrong's 1930 report)
August 2009
A three week community excavation project has just concluded at an Iron Age hillfort near Monsal Head in the Peak District, which provided unexpected discoveries.
Schoolchildren from Longstone School found hundreds of Mesolithic chipped stone artefacts while excavating test pits in the interior of the hillfort. The test pits also produced over 150 sherds of late prehistoric pottery and a flake from a Neolithic polished stone axe.
A trench over the main rampart of the hillfort provided the most unexpected find of all when a human skeleton was found in the ditch, amongst the destroyed remnants of the bank, suggesting that the hillfort had come to a grim end.
The project was undertaken by Longstone Local History Group with ARS Ltd and was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
For coverage of the discoveries in the wider media please follow the following links:
BBC News Website
Derbyshire Times
Buxton Advertiser
Matlock Mercury
The Star
June 2009
As part of an ongoing project, it came to the attention of ARS Ltd that on a particularly weather-beaten stretch of the North East Coast, there were what appeared to be Bronze Age cairns and cremation burials being actively eroded from the sand dunes.
ARS Ltd undertook a rescue excavation at Low Hauxley to preserve what was left of the remains and now analysis of the pottery vessels and burnt remains will provide not only information about the people who were buried here, but also allow us to date the burials.
February 2009
A team from ARS Ltd battled through the recent snowstorms to uncover multi-period archaeological remains in a second phase of work at Tarmac's Lanton Quarry in Northumberland.
Archaeological finds included:
- Midden pits containing prehistoric pottery
- A number of post-built structures including a roundhouse
- Two unusual stone cists - one containing human remains.