We’ve recently taken on the archives of Margaret Worthington who, with David Hill, ran the Offa’s Dyke Project through the University of Manchester. Sophie has been working her way through it, scroll through to her introduction to the archive.
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A vital part of the work undertaken by the Trust and other archaeological contractors is to collate all the information generated from archaeological projects into a stable, ordered and accessible archive. This can be both the physical archive, such as site records, drawings, finds and samples as well as the digital archive, and this information is kept for future research and analysis.
We recently received a large archive from Margaret Worthington, who, alongside David Hill, ran an extra-mural project through the University of Manchester known as the Offa’s Dyke Project. The majority of the archive details work undertaken during the 1970’s and 1980’s, examining the construction and extent of Offa’s Dyke and other linear earthworks. Over 100 excavations were undertaken as well as numerous surveys and over the years, this work has accumulated a significant archive which includes site note-books, diaries, photographs, correspondence, drawings, diagrams, maps and finds. As the archive is currently uncatalogued, Sophie is working through the documents to produce a detailed catalogue of its content and condition. In time it will be re-ordered and re-boxed and deposited with relevant repositories for long-term storage. We also hope to enhance the relevant Historic Environment Records with any new information that comes to light.
Over the coming weeks we will be showing you some of the contents of the archive and giving you a glimpse of some of the other work archaeologists get involved in away from the trenches!
