Cambridge Archaeological Unit

Cambridge Archaeological Unit
Name	Cambridge Archaeological Unit
Caption	Excavation at a Cambridge site
Established	1976
Location	Cambridge, England
Parent organisation	University of Cambridge

Cambridge Archaeological Unit is a research and contract archaeology unit based in Cambridge, England, associated with the University of Cambridge and operating within the context of British and European archaeological practice. The unit has conducted excavations, surveys, and consultancy across England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and internationally, contributing to investigations of prehistoric, Roman, medieval, and modern sites. It engages with heritage bodies, museums, and academic publishers to deliver reports, site archives, and public outreach.

History

The unit was founded in the late 20th century amid changes in planning and heritage policy that followed debates around the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, and the development of field units sympathetic to the needs of local authorities such as Cambridgeshire County Council and national bodies like Historic England. Early directors and staff included archaeologists trained at institutions such as the Institute of Archaeology, UCL, the School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, and the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, who had field experience on projects associated with the Ordnance Survey, the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, and campaigns coordinated with the Society of Antiquaries of London and the British Academy. The unit responded to legislative, commercial, and academic pressures shaped by cases like inquiries influenced by the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and by frameworks promoted by the European Archaeological Heritage Convention.

Structure and Organization

The unit operates as an applied research centre affiliated with the University of Cambridge and interacts with university departments such as the Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, University of Cambridge, and the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. Governance has involved oversight from university bodies comparable to the Faculty Board and engagement with governance practices like those of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists. Staff profiles have included field archaeologists, finds specialists, environmental archaeologists, surveyors, illustrators, and post-excavation managers trained alongside peers at the University of York, the University of Sheffield, the University of Leicester, and the University of Durham. Operational logistics have linked the unit with commercial partners and contractors comparable to Oxford Archaeology, Museum of London Archaeology, and regional units serving the National Trust and the Royal Household on specific projects.

Research Projects and Fieldwork

The unit has undertaken multi-period fieldwork ranging from Neolithic causewayed enclosures and Bronze Age barrows to Roman villas, medieval settlements, and industrial archaeology sites. Projects have included investigations near Ferrybridge, surveys connected to the A14 road improvements, assessments for the High Speed 2 corridor, and excavations adjacent to heritage sites such as Ely Cathedral, Hadrian's Wall, and landscapes comparable to Fenlands of East Anglia. Fieldwork employed methods shared with campaigns like the Rural Settlement of Roman Britain Project, the Horizon Archaeology Project, and rescue excavations reminiscent of those led for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. The unit has produced datasets useful for comparative studies with assemblages from sites like Stonehenge, Avebury, Vindolanda, Caerwent, Fishbourne Roman Palace, and urban excavations in Colchester and London.

Methodology and Techniques

Methodological approaches blend stratigraphic excavation, geophysical survey, and environmental sampling. The unit used prospection techniques akin to those employed by practitioners at the British Geological Survey and sampling regimes parallel to standards from the Environmental Archaeology Unit and laboratories such as the NERC Radiocarbon Facility, the Oxford Archaeology Laboratory, and the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre. Techniques include magnetometry, resistivity, ground-penetrating radar, LIDAR survey comparable to work by the Centre for Digital Antiquity, photogrammetry and 3D modelling practiced at the Digital Humanities Lab, University of Cambridge, flotation and micromorphology often studied in tandem with the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, and osteoarchaeological analysis referencing collections like those at the Natural History Museum, London and the British Museum.

Publications and Outreach

The unit publishes grey literature reports, monographs, and journal articles with outlets including the Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, the Antiquaries Journal, Britannia, Medieval Archaeology, and regional series such as the East Anglian Archaeology Reports. It has contributed finds and archives to repositories like the Cambridgeshire Historic Environment Record, the Cambridge University Museums, and the National Monuments Record of Wales. Outreach activities have linked to festivals and institutions, including the Cambridge Science Festival, the National Trust, the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge, and public lectures in coordination with the Cambridge Antiquarian Society and the Society of Medieval Archaeology. Educational collaborations have connected with school programmes run by the Council for British Archaeology and public media projects in the style of broadcasts by the BBC archaeology series.

Collaborations and Partnerships

Collaborative work has included partnerships with academic centres such as the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, the Centre for Landscape and Climate Research, and university laboratories at University of Cambridge Department of Earth Sciences, as well as joint ventures with commercial units like Oxford Archaeology and MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology), and regional heritage organisations such as Historic England, the National Trust, English Heritage, and county services like Cambridgeshire County Council Archaeology Service. International links have included cooperation with teams from the University of Leiden, the University of Bonn, the University of Copenhagen, and field collaborations reflecting networks seen in projects with the European Research Council and the Horizon 2020 framework.

Category:Archaeological organizations Category:University of Cambridge