PicturesfromthePast:APictorialSurveyofFieldwork

between1999and2003toMarktheCentennialofthe
Archaeology and Anthropology Tripos at the
UniversityofCambridge

DavidBarrowclough
MAandPhDWolfsonCollege,PresidentoftheArchaeologicalFieldClub20012002
Fellow,TutorandDirectorofStudiesWolfsonCollege.Email:dab32@cam.ac.uk

ABSTRACT

The Archaeology and Anthropology (Arch and Anth) Tripos is a hundred years old in 2015. To mark the
centennial the activities of the Department and Archaeological Field Club (AFC) around the turn of the
millenniumfrom1999to2003arerecalledthroughphotographsandthepersonalmemoriesoftheauthor.
Aswithallhistoryandhistoriography,thisisafragmentaryandpartialaccountofthoseyears,dictatedby
theactivitiescapturedonfilmandbythememoryoftheauthor,nonethelessitprovidesaresourceforthose
whose research focuses on the historiography of archaeology and academic departments, as well as
rekindlingmemoriesamongstthosewholivedthroughandparticipatedintheeventsrecalled.Inparticular
itprovesinformativenotonlyontherangeofarchaeologicalfieldworkundertakenatCambridge,butalso
on the levels of student diversity in the realms of gender, ethnicity, nationality, age, disability and socio
economicfamilybackground.

KEYWORDS

ARCHAEOLOGY, BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, CAMBRIDGE, ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELDCLUB (AFC), TROINA, ALS, EVORA,
ICKLINGHAM, WESSEX FIELDTRIP, BOYNE VALLEY, KNOWTH, DOWTH, NEWGRANGE, JESUS COLLEGE, WOLFSON COLLEGE,
COLIN RENFREW, JANE RENFREW, CHARLES FRENCH, CATHERINE HILLS, MARIE LOUISE STIG SRENSEN, JD HILL, SAM
LUCY,CORNELIUSHOLTORF,ELIZABETHDEMARRAIS,DAVIDREDHOUSE,PRESTONMIRACLE,PAULBAHN,MARTINJONES,
DILIP CHAKRABARTI, CARLOINE MALONE, SIMON STODDART, DAVID BARROWCLOUGH, MARY CHESTERKADWELL, PIPPA
PAYNE,MARYLEIGHTON,EMMAROUSE,NAJATELHAFI,MEGANGOOCH,KATEROBERTS,ALICESTEPHENSON,JOWILSON,
GRAHAME APPLEBY, LAURA BURNETT, ANDREW SHAPLAND, JANE MATTHEWS, RIK SAYER, NICK GILMOUR, NAOMI
FARRINGTON, JUDY STANWELL, FRANCIS MORRIS, JULIE TAYLOR, HELEN FAIRCLOUGH, CATHERINE COOPER, ALEKS
PLUSKOWSKI,PIPPATRICK,KIERANWESTLEY,MATTBRUDENELL,FRASERSTURT,ALIDRAPER,KATIEBARNES,ALLEGRA
STRATTON, ADAM SCOTT, ANNE CLIFFORD, BRONWEN PRICE, FELICITY MCNAE, TEAGAN SCHWEITZER, V. KYRIAKEDIS,
POLLY GROOM, E. LAURIE, HELEN FARR, J. MEADE, C. BOSTON, R. EVANS, NICO TYACK, ALISON LEPPARD, J. MOODY, H.
MARSHALL, RUTH EVANS, JO BENDING, JESS TIPPER, SHEILA KOHRING, SARAH PARCAK, LILIANA JANIK, SIMON KANER,
LINA TAHAN, GIANA AYALA, NICOLE BOIVIN, LEO WEBLEY, DAVID BERESFORD JONES, MARYCATE GARDEN, IAIN
MORLEY,LAMBROSMALAFOURIS,JESSICARIPPENGAL.

Note: Names adopted here are those used by people during the period 1999 to 2003 and so do not take
accountofnamechangesduetomarriageorforotherreasons.Althoughallreasonablestepshavebeentaken
to ensure accuracy and completeness it has not always been possible to identify all the people in the
photographs. If you are able toidentifyanyadditionalpersonalities,ortocorrect anyerrors,please contact
the author by email and the paper will be amended accordingly. He will be glad to hear from you anyway.
Copyrightofallthephotographsfeaturedvestsintheauthor,andimagesmaynotbereproducedwithouthis
expresspermission,exceptforthepersonaluseofthereaderpermissionforwhichisgranted.

INTRODUCTION

OnehundredyearshasnowpassedsincethestartoftheArchaeologyandAnthropologyTripos,known
commonlyasArchandAnth,attheUniversityofCambridge.Tomarkthecentennialoftheactivitiesof
the Tripos, and in particular those of the Department of Archaeology and the Archaeological Field Club
(AFC), a pictorial account of the years between 1999 and 2003 is presented. The vast majority of the
images featured here have never been seen by the public, coming as they do from my own personal
collection.Whilsthavingtheadvantageoffreshnesstheyarenecessarilyapartial,fragmentary,recordof
thefieldworkactivitiesoftheDepartment,representingthoseactivitiesinwhichIparticipatedandchose
at the time to photograph. In a world before the widespread adoption of digital cameras, let alone
innovations such as Google Glass, photography featured less in our daily lives than it does today,
nonethelesstheaccountwhichfollowscannotincludeallthephotographsfromtheauthorsarchive,but
instead consists of a representative sample, which it is hoped does justice, without causing
embarrassment,tothesubjects.

Asarchaeologistsknowaswellasanyone,allhistoricalnarrativesarenecessarilyincompleteandpartial,
inthepresentcasealthoughdictatedbytheactivitiescapturedonfilmandbythememoryoftheauthor,
the account that follows will, it is hoped, provide a resource for those whose research focuses on the
historiographyofarchaeology,andacademicdepartments,aswellasrekindlingmemoriesamongstthose
who lived through and participated in the events recalled. In this it fits with the existing studies of the
historiography of archaeology produced by Pamela Jane Smith (Smith 2009; Barrowclough 2010). In
particular it proves informative not only on the range of archaeological fieldwork undertaken at
Cambridge,butalsoonthelevelsofstudentdiversityintherealmsofgender,ethnicity,nationality,age,
disabilityandsocioeconomicfamilybackground.

The pictorial account that follows is arranged in chronological order. The descriptions of the fieldwork
are kept deliberately brief, as these have of course been published separately by the project directors,
insteadasmuchspaceaspossibleisgivenovertotheimagesthemselves.

AUTUMN1999.WESSEXFIELDTRIP:PART1ARCHAEOLOGYANDANTHROPOLOGY

By tradition the Part 1 students were all taken on a weekend jaunt to look around the famous
archaeologicalsitesofWessexduringlateOctober.Theideawastowhettheirappetiteforarchaeology,
althoughthisbeingEnglandandOctober,moreoftenthannotitwasawettingthattheygot.Thefieldtrip
of1999wasnoexception.OurfirststopwasDaneburyHillFort,andasthephotographshowstheparty
was already somewhat bedraggled (Figure 1), before heading off for Stonehenge, Avebury and West
KennetLongBarrow.

Biological Anthropology has no equivalent fieldtrip, but handson classes allowed students to handle
skeletalmaterial,aseitheroriginalorascopies,atfirsthand.Asfigures2and3demonstratethiswasan
effectiveployonthedepartmentspart,andcertainlymadeanimpactonthoseofusthattookpart,evenif
welateroptedtotakePartIIArchaeology.

Another feature of the Part I course was the interdisciplinary paper (4A), which brought together the
diverse elements of Archaeology, Biological Anthropology and Social Anthropology in which students
were encouraged to make their own links across the Tripos. To me this was the most rewarding and
intellectuallystimulatingcomponentofthefirstyear.Teachingwasbywayoflecturessupplementedby
seminarsrunby,inmycase,MarieLouiseSorensen,whichtooktheformofateapartyheldinherrooms
at Jesus College (Figure 4). Alas, this course fell victim to the rearrangement of the Faculty and is no
longerrun.

Figure1.Part1WessexFieldtrip1999.AverywetweekendaswealltrailedroundDaneburyHillfort.

Figure2.NajatElHafiinPart1BiologicalAnthropologyclass.

Figure3.DavidBarrowcloughwithoneofhiscousins.Part1BiologicalAnthropology.

Figure4.Havingtea.MarieLouiseSrensenwithherPart1studentsatJesusCollege.
Backrow:NajatElHafi.MiddleRow:secondfromleftRuthEvans.Right:MarieLouiseSrensen,JulieTaylor.
Front:FelicityMcNae.

EASTER2000.TROINA,SCICILY

InthehillsofSicilyatTroinaweexcavatedaNeolithicbuildingfrombeneaththousandsofyearsofbaked
colluvium,directedbyCarolineMalone,thenDirectorofStudiesforArchaeologyatNewHallCollege.The
goingwashardintheheat,butwemanagedtounearththewallsofapresumedhousetogetherwithpits
andpottery(Malone,CandStoddart,S.2000).

JoBending,whobythenhadleftCambridgeforSheffield,ledthewetsieving,whichwesharedinhelping.
Workingwiththewaterwasareliefaftertheheatofdigging.DavidRedhouseledthesurveyingwithhis
characteristichumour,whilstCarolineMalonesupervisedtheexcavations.Excavationwasundertakenby
a group of hardy students from Cambridge who included Trinidad Rico, Najat El Hafi, and David
Barrowclough, along with students from Sicily. We were later joined for the final week by Matthew
BrudenellandFraserSturtwhohadbeenparticipatingintheDepartmentfieldtriptoMalta.Studentswho
hadworkedontheprojectinthepreviousyearincludedMaryChesterKadwell.SimonStoddarthadalso
beenonMalta,andsoarrivedlatertodealwiththeessentialworkofwininganddiningthelocalofficials
toensureourpermitswereinorder.

Figure5.Left(bending)CarolineMalone.Right(standing)FraserSturt.

Figure6.JoBendingandDavidBarrowcloughwetsieving.

Figure7.DavidRedhouseandCarolineMalonediscussingtactics.

Figure8.Coffeebreakintheshadeofanolivetree:DavidBarrowclough,TrinidadRico(seated),JoBending,
andNajatElHafi.

Figure9.DavidRedhousecaughtoffguard.

Figure10.TrinidadRicoandJoBendingmakinglunch.

Figure11.Ablackday.Minglingwiththelocalsonarestday:JoBending,TrinidadRicoandNajatElHafi.

SUMMER2000.ALS,DENMARK

This landscape project was jointly directed by Marie Louise Srensen of Cambridge, Sam Lucy, who at
that time was at Durham University and JD Hill who was in the process of leaving Southampton
University to take up his post at the British Museum (Figures 13 to 15). As a consequence there were
students from all three university departments working and socialising together, which made for an
entertaining time. The project had been running over several seasons. In 2000 the Cambridge
undergraduatestudentsincludedTrinidadRico,JulieTaylor,AliceStephenson,KieranWestleyandDavid
Barrowclough(Figures1620).GraduatestudentLeoWebleyalsocamealong.DavidBarrowclough,along
with Mary ChesterKadwell, visited again in 2001 when passing through Als in order to undertake
researchfortheirundergraduatedissertations(Barrowclough2004).StudentsfromCambridgein1999
includedCarlCoulbyandLorienPiling,andthosefromDurhamincludedKateMorrison.

Fieldworkincludedamixofexcavationandfieldwalking.Excavationsintheexceptionallysandyground
revealedoccupationfromtheNeolithicthroughtotheearlymedieval(Viking)period(Figure12),whilst
fieldwalking produced stone tools including axes and dagger fragments (Srensen, Hill and Lucy 2001;
SrensenandLucy2002).Althoughimportant,themostmemorabledayoftheseasonmusthavebeenthe
triptoLegoland.

Figure12.DavidBarrowcloughexcavatingafeatureintheverysandysoil.

Figure13.MarieLouisepointingoutfeatureswhenlookingforNeolithicbarrowsinthewoodsonAls.

Figure14.AratherunflatteringphotoofSamLucy(inblue),withTrinidadRicointheforeground.

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Figure15.JDHilllostinhisownthoughts,ormaybejustenjoyinghiscake.Studentswereintriguedtoknow
whattheJDstoodfor.

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Figure16.JulieTaylorlookingalotmorecheery.

Figure17.JulieTaylorlookingonasAliceStephensonexamineshergift.

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Figure18.AliceStephensonmakesasmallacceptancespeech.

Figures 19 and 20. A day at Legoland: Julie Taylor, David Barrowclough and Kieran Westley on a
rollercoaster ride. After the fun back to work: David Barrowclough complete with Legoland hat.

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LATESUMMER2000.ICKLINGHAM,SUFFOLK

CatherineHillsexcavationatIcklingham,closetothefamousWestStowAngloSaxonvillage,focusedon
theinvestigationofacrosssectionofRomanroad(Figure21).ThesmallandenthusiasticteamofMary
Leighton, Anne Clifford, Jo Wilson, David Barrowclough was supplemented by visits from Jess Tipper
(Figures22to24)andStanleyWest.Wecampedinanearbyfieldandenjoyedalternateredandgreen
meals,sonamedafterthedominantcolourofthefood.Despitebeingfloodedoutseveraltimesbysome
of the worst thunder storms in years (Figures 25 and 26) this was the most enjoyable of all the
excavationsIwaspartytothatyear.

The excavation was made especially memorable by the events of the last day. When trowelling back in
ordertocleanthesurfaceforsitephotographsasmallstonerevealeditself.Asitwascleanedbackitgrew
andgrew,untilitwasclearthatthiswasnostone,butwasthecraniumofsomepoorsoulwhohadbeen
unceremoniallydumpedintheditchbesidetheRomanroad.Thediscoveryofaskeletonontheverylast
day of fieldwork is the stuff of horror for archaeologists and led to serious thinking on the part of all
involved. Eventually the decision about what to do about this find fell to Catherine Hills with only a
matterofhoursleftonsite.

Figure21.AnneClifford(left)andJoWilson(inred).

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Figure22.Top:CatherineHillsandson,Will,JoWilson,MeganGooch.Right:JessTipper.

Figure23.CatherineHillsrecordstheexcavations.

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Figure24.MaryLeightonkeepsacarefulrecordwhilewrappedupagainsttherain.

Figure25.DavidBarrowcloughtryingtoexcavateafteraheavyshower.

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Figure26.Eventuallywehadtoconcedetotherainandtookshelterinanearbymedievalchurch.
Lefttoright.JoWilson,WillandCatherineHills.

OCTOBER2000.STUDENTPARTY

Itwasnotallarchaeologyandwork.TrinidadRicodecidedweallneededtogettogetherandsoinvited
theentirecoursetodinneratGonvilleandCaiusCollege.IthastobesaiditwastheworstmealIhave
evereateninmyentirelife,Ijestnot,butthispaledintoinsignificancewhenIrecallthefunandlaughter
weallhad.AfterdinnerweallpackedintoTrinisroomfordrinksandconversation(Figures27to32).

Figure27.TrinidadRicoplayingthehostess,withKateRobertssatbehind.

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Figure28.Front:MaryChesterKadwellwithbestfriendfromNewHallLauraBurnett(Fairhair).

Figure29.Left:AliceStephenson,MeganGooch(seated)andAllegraStratton(window)

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Figure30.LeoWebleyandJulieTaylorenthralledbysomethrillingbonmot.

Figure31.Phil(front),KateRobertsandMattBrudenell(behindKate).

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Figure32.NajatElHafi(seated)andTrinidadRico.Notetheladendrinkstable.

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2000.ARTANDARCHAEOLOGYCOURSE:TOUROFJESUSCOLLEGEART
COLLECTION
In2000ColinRenfrewandCorneliusHoltorfdevelopedanewcourseontherelationshipbetweenartand
archaeology,itprovedtoberefreshinglyoriginalandunderpinsmuchofthetheoreticalunderstandingof
archaeology that students from Cambridge have taken with them around the world. Following a
successfultourofTateModernandtheBritishMuseum,ColinRenfrewledahighlypersonaltourofthe
artcollectionhousedatJesusCollege.ThehighlightsofthetourincludedaclosereadingofRichardLongs
mudhandcircle(Figure33)andthemacquetteforEduardoPaolozzisbronzestatue,basedonWilliam
Blake'sstudyofIsaacNewton(Figure34)andoneofAnthonyGormleysbronzefigures(Figure35).

Figure33.ColinRenfrewproudlyexplainsJesusCollegesexampleofoneofRichardLongsmudhandcircles.

Figure34.BronzemacquetteforEduardoPaolozzisstatue,basedonWilliamBlake'sstudyofIsaacNewton,
JesusCollegelibrary.

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Figures35and36.OneofAnthonyGormleysbronzefigures.ColinRenfrewatJesusCollege.

Figure 37. Left: Lina Tahan, MaryCate Garden, Elizabeth Humble, Teagan Schweitzer Matt Brudenell, Katie
Barnes(centre),LambrosMalafouris,ColinRenfrewlecturing,CorneliusHotorf(extremeright).

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20002001.ArchaeologicalFieldClubCommittee

A traditional feature in the annual calendar is the AFC feast, a chance for students and staff to let their
hairdownandenjoyfood,wineandgoodcompany.

Figure 38: The 20002001 AFC Committee. Standing: Jo Wilson, David Barrowclough, Kate Roberts, Mary
Leighton.Seated:MeganGooch,MattBrudenell,AliceStephenson.

Figure:39.Back:FSturt,PrestonMiracle,AliDraper,KatieBarnes,CharlesFrench,EmmaRous,AllegraStratton,BronwenPrice,Tegan
Schweitzer,DavidBarrowclough,AClifford,V.Kyriakedis,MeganGooch,AleksPluskowski,PollyGroom,E.Laurie.Secondrow:Helen
Farr,J.Meade,C.Boston,R.Evans,JaneMatthews,NicoTyack,AndrewShapland,J.Stanwell,F.McNae,AlisonLeppard,J.Moody,Mary
ChesterKadwell,LauraBurnett,CatherineHills,H.Marshall.Frontrow:ColinRenfrew,JoWilson,MaryLeighton,GrahameAppleby,
CarolineMalone,DaiMorganEvans,SimonStoddart,MattBrudenell,AliceStevenson,AdamScott,KateRoberts.

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Figure40.Relaxingafterthefeastwasover.MaryLeighton,DavidBarrowclough,JoWilson,MeganGooch.

2001.FIELDTRIPTOCOLCHESTER,ESSEX

TheIronAgecoursetaughtbySimonStoddartgotofftoachillystartinJanuary2001withafieldtripto
ColchesteroneSaturday.PackedintothebackofSimonsLandroverweheadedoffingoodspirits(Figure
41). Arriving in Colchester Grahame Appleby recalled his favourite stories about the local archaeology,
making Simon laugh, and no doubt impressing Jo Wilson, as well as the other students present (Figure
42).AfterawalkingtourofColchesterwehadlunchwithPhillipCrummy.Wehadthenplannedtovisit
GosbecksbutFootandMouthDiseasehadstruckandallfieldswereofflimit.Insteadwehadtomakedo
withatourofthecastle(Figure43).

Figure41.MaryLeighton,JoWilson,SimonStoddart,LauraBurnett,GrahameAppleby,NajatElHafi,Nico
Tyack,ElizabethHumble.

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Figure42.IcantrecallwhatGrahameApplebywassaying,butitseemedtoamuseSimonStoddart.

Figure43.TouringColchesterCastleDavidBarrowcloughendedupaslavetoarchaeology.

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EASTER2001.EVORA,PORTUGAL
Directed by Cornelius Holtorf (Figure 44) the excavations at Evora focused on the idea that all time
periods are equal, hence our multitemporal approach (Figures 458; Holtorf 2010). Trinidad Rico
focused her attention on the excavation of a Neolithic megalith, finding a medieval Arab coin in the
process, whilst Mary ChesterKadwell and David Barrowclough focused their attention on a Roman
periodbuilding,findinglargeslabsofpithoswithinitswalls.HighlightsofthedigwereanonsiteEaster
egghunt,andnighttimedarksurvey(seehttp://web.comhem.se/cornelius/Igreja/home.htm).

Figure44:CorneliusHoltorfbehindthelens,Ymke(red)andTrinidadRico(left)Insideamegalith.

Figure45.MaryChesterKadwellandTrinidadRicoinsideamegalith.

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Figure46.Acutemegalithcompletewithportholewindow.

Figure47.MaryChesterKadwellononeofthefallenmegalithicstones.

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Figure48.Atthetrowelsedge:whosbeenworkingthehardest

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SUMMER2001.OVER,CAMBRIDGESHIRE
TheannualtrainingdigorganisedbyCharlesFrenchtookplaceattheendofthesummertermatOverin
theCambridgeshirefens.ThesiteconsistedofanEarlyBronzeAgebarrowandhadbeenexcavatedover
several seasons (French 2004). Charles French began by taking the students on a site tour (Figures 49
and50)beforethehardworkbegan(Figures513).

Figure49.Day1.CharlesFrenchgivesasitetouroftheOverbarrow.
Left to right: Najat El Hafi Skeate, Alison Leopard, Jane Matthews,, Nico Tyack, Bronwen Price, Helen
Fairclough.

Figure50.MaryChesterKadwellandJoWilsonlookonasCharlesFrenchcontinuesthetour.

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Figure51.Thendowntowork.HelenFaircloughplanningaholewhileJessicaRippengalmakeslightworkofhercorner.

Figure52.LauraBurnettseemstohavefoundsomething,ormaybeitsastone.

Figure53.JaneMatthewsfoundthemostexcitingfeature.Hersheexcavatesacremation.

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20012.ARCHAEOLOGICALFIELDCLUBCOMMITTEE

Theannualfeastfor20012washeldatWolfsonCollegeforthefirsttime(Figures54and55).

Figure54.Standing:GrahameAppleby,JoWilson,EmmaRouse,AndrewShapland
Seated:MaryChesterKadwell,DavidBarrowclough,MaryLeighton,LauraBurnett

Figure55.AnnualDinneratWolfsonCollege.Frontrow.CatherineHills,MaryLeighton,AndrewShapland,JoWilson,CharlesFrench,
Colin Renfrew, Paul Bahn, David Barrowclough, Mary ChesterKadwell, Grahame Appleby, Martin Jones, Simon Stoddart, Preston
Miracle. Also in the photo: Pippa Payne, Dilip Chakrabarti, Judy Stanwell, Francis Morris, Jane Renfrew, Elizabeth DeMarrais, Aleks
Pluskowski, Pip Patrick, Kieran Westley, Helen Fairclough, Jane Matthews, Sarah Parcak, Liliana Janik, Catherine Cooper, Matt
Brudenell,SheilaKohring,BenRoberts,LeoWebley,SimonKaner.

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2001.ARCHAEOLOGICALFIELDCLUBCHRISTMASPARTY

The2001Christmassocialattendedbybothstaffandstudents.

Figure56.MaryCateGarden(leftbackground),DavidBarrowclough,JoWilsonandKatieBarnesdanceon.

Figure57.MaryLeightonandPipPatrick.

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Figure58.MeganGoochgetsintothemoodalongwithKieranWestley.

Figure59.Davidenjoyshimselfwhilstotherslookonindisbelief.

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Figure60.PipPatrickandCorneliusHoltorfenjoyachat.IainMorleyinthebackground.

Figure61.AsdoCharlesFrench.AliceStephensonandTrinidadRicoshareajoke.

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Figure62.HelenFaircloughenjoysadance.

Figure63.NicoleBoivinandGianaAyalaarecontenttowatchfromthesidelines.

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Figure 64. The organisers. Kate Roberts, Alice Stephenson, Megan Gooch, Matt Brudenell, Jo Wilson, David
Barrowclough(seatedfront)

DECEMBER2001.AFCFIELDTRIPTOBOYNEVALLEY,IRELAND
After term ended field club members, Najat El Hafi, Mary Leighton, Grahame Appleby, David
Barrowclough, Laura Burnett, Jo Wilson, Francis Morris, Andrew Shapland, Mary ChesterKadwell and
HelenFairclough,flewouttoIrelandforatouroftheBoyneValleymonuments(Figures6570),before
attendingtheannualTheoreticalArchaeologyGroupconference.OnarrivingatKnowthonaveryfoggy
daywemetGeorgeEoganwhogenerouslygaveaguidedtourofthesite,includingcrawlingtothevery
centreofthemonument.AfterthiswevisitedDowthandNewgrangebeforecontinuingtoTaratocatch
theverylastofthelight(Figure71).

Aseverwitharchaeologicaltripsthereweresurprisesontheway.Onthisoccasionitturnedoutthatthe
minibus driver booked to take us around the valley had never been there before, indeed he seemed
rarelytohaveventuredoutsideDublin.EquipedwithlittlemorethanatouristmapDavidBarrowclough
satalongsidehimattemptingtonavigatethenarrowcountrylanespackedthickwithfog.Itseemedlike
wemightnevergettoKnowth,butwelivedtotellthetale.

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Figure65.TheBoyneValley,Ireland.

Figure66.Dowth.Back:NajatElHafi,MaryLeighton,GrahameAppleby,Front:DavidBarrowclough,Laura
Burnett,JoWilson,FrancisMorris,AndrewShapland,MaryChesterKadwell,HelenFairclough.

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Figure67.KnowthNeolithicmonument.

Figure68.TheexteriordecoratedkerbstonesaroundKnowth.

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Figure69.Newgrangemonumentwithitspeculiarreconstruction.

Figure70.TheentrancetoNewgrangemonument.

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Figure71.Tarainthemistasthesundipsbelowthehorizon.

20023.ARCHAEOLOGICALFIELDCLUBCOMMITTEE
Figure72,the20023fieldclubcommitteeandannualfeast(Figure73).

Figure72.RikSayer,GrahameAppleby,PippaPayne,NickGilmour,MaryChesterKadwell.
Front:DavidBarrowclough,AndrewShapland,MaryLeighton,EmmaRouse,FrancisMorris.

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Figure73.Frontrow:PippaPayne,MaryChesterKadwell,EmmaRouse,AndrewShapland,FelicityMcNae,
MaryLeightonFrancisMorrisElizabethDeMarrais,HelenFairclough,GrahameAppleby.
Kneeling:DavidBarrowclough,NickGilmour,RikSayer.AlsointhephotoareCatherineHills,LauraBurnett,
NaomiFarrington,JoWilson,PrestonMiracle,MattBrudenel,FraserSturt,KieranWestley,DavidBeresford
Jones,LilianaJanik,JaneMatthews,SarahParcak,JudyStanwell,SheilaKohring.

DECEMBER2002.AFCFIELDTRIPTOSCOTLAND

FollowingthesuccessofthefieldtriptotheBoyneValleywedecidedtoorganisearepeatinDecember
2002.ThankstoMaryLeightonweregainedtheuseofacottageinScotlandandthusitwasthatFrancis
Morris,AndrewShapland,Jonathon,MaryLeighton,DavidBarrowcloughandEmmaRouseallheadedoff
at the end of term. Travelling north the weather quickly turned cold, then frosty, and by the time we
arrivedinScotlandtherewassnowandiceontheground.

Thepicturesquecountrycottagehadbeenemptyformonthsandsoitshouldhavecomeasnosurpriseto
find that the water, supplied via hosepipe from a nearby well, had frozen solid. Whilst David
Barrowclough and Mary Leighton set off to find water, the rest of the group stayed behind to light the
fires. An hour later Mary and the author returned, having attempted, and failed to break the ice in the
well, to find the cottage filled from floor to ceiling with smoke. At least we had taken the precaution of
bringingasupplyofwhiskywithus.

Thearchaeologywasofcourseamazing,andwehaddaysofdiscoveringpanelsofrockart(Figure74),
andasatreatendedthetripatGlengoynedistilleryfortheirtourandtasting(Figure75).

OnthewaysouthwestoppedoffatHadriansWall.Itwasblanketedwithfreshsnow,andwehadtherare
opportunitytohavethesitetoourselves(Figure76).

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Figure74.MaryLeightonatdusklookingforrockart.

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Figure 75. In the Glengoyne distillery. Francis Morris, Andrew Shapland, Jonathon, Mary Leighton, David
BarrowcloughandEmmaRouse.

Figure76.Onthewayhome:HadriansWallinthesnow.

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DISCUSSION

TheforegoinghasprovidedareviewofsomeofthefieldworkactivitiesoftheDepartmentofArchaeology
between 1999 and 2003 with particular emphasis on the work of the student led Archaeological Field
Club. In so doing it documents by way of photographs aspects of this fieldwork and provides faces to
accompanymanyofthenamesonemayencounterwhenreadingaboutthisperiod.

Althoughlighthearted,theaimofthepaperhasalwaysbeentodomorethancelebratetheactivitiesof
the Department, conscious of the possibility that this study may descend into inwardlooking back
slappingforwhichCambridgeisoften(sometimeswithmorejustificationthanothers)accusedof.Simply
eyeballingthedatahasthepotentialtoofferfreshinsightsandtriggernewquestions,aswellasoffering
avisualrepresentationtobeconfirmed,ornot,byfurtherresearch.

A clear example of the possibilities of the photographic documentation is provided by looking at the
composition of the people in the photographs. Notably absent from the images are people of black and
Asian ethnicity, confirming the popular prejudice that both the University of Cambridge, and the
discipline of archaeology, are the preserve of white middle and upper middle class people. Such a glib
interpretation fails to recognise the international composition of the students featured in the images.
Amongst them are people from Canada, the USA, Argentina, Scandinavia, Germany, Greece and many
other European countries, together with people from the Middle East and Australasia. That allowed, it
was true that at the turn of the millennium there were few students from Asia studying in Cambridge,
something which has changed dramatically in the last fifteen years. The University of Cambridge in
general, and with it the Department of Archaeology, has seen large numbers of students from China, as
wellasJapanandSouthKorea,inrecentyears.AlthoughstudentsfromAsiatendtofavourengineering
and science subjects, there have been students with an interest in heritage and archaeological science
studyingatCambridge.

Whilst numbers of students from Asia have changed dramatically since the year 2000 the absence of
studentsofAfricandescenthasremainedaconsistentfeatureoftheDepartment.Thereasonsforthisare
toodeepseatedandcomplextodojusticetohere,andjustifyaprogrammeoffocusedresearchintheir
own right. My subjective feeling is that for whatever reason archaeology is not considered either as a
priority,orevenasdirectlyrelevant,tomanypeopleofAfricanheritage.Thismayinpartbeduetothe
earlyhistoryofarchaeology(andalsoanthropology),whichwerealliedtocolonialism.However,thereis
aneedforempiricalresearchinthisareatounderstandthenuancesofpeoplesattitudestoarchaeology.

Alsoabsentfromthephotographsarepeoplewithphysicaldisabilities.Evenallowingforthefactthatnot
all disabilities are visible it is noticeable that during the years 1999 to 2003 there were no students
within this category. With the introduction of legislation outlawing discrimination of the grounds of
disabilityitmaybethatthissituationwillchangeinthefuture.Althoughexcavationhasobviousphysical
demandstherearemanyofficeanddeskbasedroleswithinarchaeologyopentothosewithdisabilities.

Ifoneweretocomparethephotographsfromtheturnofthemillenniumwiththoseoffiftyyearsago,or
even one hundred years ago, perhaps the most striking change would be in the balance of the genders.
Archaeologyhasprovedapopularchoiceforwomenstudents,especiallyatundergraduatelevel,where
women outnumber men most years. This contrasts with some other subjects taught at Cambridge, for
examplethemathematicalsciences,wheremenstilloutnumberwomen.Indeeditisthecontributionof
subjectssuchasarchaeologythatallowtheUniversityoveralltohavearoughlyequalgenderbalance,a
factoftenoverlooked.

What is more difficult to determine from photographs alone is the socioeconomic and educational
background of students. Perceptions of Cambridge still present the University as the preserve of a
privatelyeducatedelite.TheUniversitywouldprefertopresentitselfasameritocraticinstitution,with
entry determined by academic ability. The difficulty is that schools in the independent sector tend to
disproportionatelyproducestudentswiththestrongestacademiccredentials,resultinginabiastoward
the admission of these students to the University. This longstanding inbalance can only be rectified
throughchangesinpublicpolicy,butoftenleavetheUniversityinadifficultpoliticalsituation.

The strength of the Cambridge Archaeology degree for those intelligent, highly motivated and focused
students is the range of opportunities available to them. The survey of just a few years fieldwork

44

demonstratesthenumberofexcavations,tripsandsurveysonoffertothosewillingtotakethemup.This
isperhapsevenmoreremarkablewhenoneremembersthatthisreviewisbynomeansexhaustiveofthe
fieldworkundertakenduringtheperiodbytheDepartment.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

IamindebtedtomyfriendsandcolleaguesattheUniversityofCambridge,bothpastand present,who
made this pictorial history possible, in particular to all those friends who shared the running of the
ArchaeologicalFieldClubandfeaturedinthephotographs.

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