Birmingham Archaeology

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Birmingham Archaeology (formerly Birmingham University Field Archaeology Unit (BUFAU)) is the commercial arm of the Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity at the University of Birmingham. [1] Birmingham University Field Archaeology Unit was founded in 1976 under its founder-director Martin Carver. [2] Birmingham Archaeology closed down in 2011, although a small computer GIS unit still remains.

University of Birmingham university in Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

The University of Birmingham is a public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham and Mason Science College, making it the first English civic or 'red brick' university to receive its own royal charter. It is a founding member of both the Russell Group of British research universities and the international network of research universities, Universitas 21.

Martin Oswald Hugh Carver, FSA, Hon FSA Scot is Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at the University of York, England, director of the Sutton Hoo Research Project and a leading exponent of new methods in excavation and survey. He specialises in the archaeology of early Medieval Europe. He has an international reputation for his excavations at Sutton Hoo, on behalf of the British Museum and the Society of Antiquaries and at the Pictish monastery at Portmahomack Tarbat, Easter Ross, Scotland. He has undertaken archaeological research in England, Scotland, France, Italy and Algeria.

In its current guise Birmingham Archaeology comprises three distinct teams; Birmingham Archaeology Heritage Services, the Visual and Spatial Technology Centre (VISTA) and Birmingham Archaeo-Environmental (BAE). Each of the groups is responsible for the undertaking of commercial projects and services, the development of research projects and the delivery of postgraduate and professional training via taught Masters programmes and CPD workshops.

In 2009, Birmingham Archeology was co-responsible for the archaeological recovery of the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found. [3]

Staffordshire Hoard Hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork discovered in 2009

The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork yet found. It consists of over 3,500 items, amounting to a total of 5.1 kg (11 lb) of gold, 1.4 kg (3 lb) of silver and some 3,500 pieces of garnet cloisonné jewellery.

Hoard Collection of valuable objects or artifacts

A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of later recovery by the hoarder; hoarders sometimes died or were unable to return for other reasons before retrieving the hoard, and these surviving hoards might then be uncovered much later by metal detector hobbyists, members of the public, and archaeologists.

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Mercian Trail

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Shorwell helmet Anglo-Saxon helmet from the early to mid-sixth century AD found near Shorwell on the Isle of Wight

The Shorwell helmet is an Anglo-Saxon helmet from the early to mid-sixth century AD found near Shorwell on the Isle of Wight in southern England. It was one of the grave goods of a high-status Anglo-Saxon warrior, and was found with other objects such as a pattern-welded sword and hanging bowl. One of only six known Anglo-Saxon helmets, alongside those from Benty Grange, Sutton Hoo, Coppergate, Wollaston, and Staffordshire, it is the sole example to derive from the continental Frankish style rather than the contemporaneous Northern "crested helmets" used in England and Scandinavia.

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Staffordshire helmet

The Staffordshire helmet is an Anglo-Saxon helmet discovered in 2009 as part of the Staffordshire Hoard. It is part of the largest discovery of contemporary gold and silver metalwork in Britain, which contained more than 4,000 precious fragments, approximately a third of which came from a single high-status helmet. Following those found at Benty Grange, Sutton Hoo, Coppergate, Wollaston, and Shorwell, it is only the sixth known Anglo-Saxon helmet.

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References

  1. ↑ "The difficulties of digging up files". The Times Higher Education Supplement. 2005-11-04. p. 55. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
  2. ↑ Buteux, Simon (2006). "Thirty years of Birmingham archaeology: A career in ruins" (PDF). Rosetta. 1: 41–50.
  3. ↑ "Huge Anglo-Saxon gold hoard found". BBC News. 2009-09-24. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
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