York Archaeology | |
Company type | Charity |
Industry | |
Founded | 1972 |
Headquarters | York , United Kingdom |
Revenue | 5,496,904 pound sterling (2021) |
Number of employees | 196 (2021) |
Website | www |
The York Archaeological Trust for Excavation and Research Limited (YAT) is an educational charity, established in 1972 in the city of York, England, and trading under the York Archaeology brand. The charity presents archaeology to the public through visitor attractions and events, and its commercial arm carries out archaeological investigations, fieldwork, excavation and research in York and throughout Britain and beyond.
YAT was established in 1972, [1] became a registered charity in 1979, [2] and incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in the same year. [3] Peter Addyman, an archaeologist and later a professor at the universities of Bradford and York, was instrumental in its creation and was the body's first director, holding that position until his retirement in 2002. [1] Addyman led excavations in York's Coppergate area between 1976 and 1981, [4] and in 1984 the trust opened the Jorvik Viking Centre on the site, in order to share the discoveries with the public and educate visitors on the significance of the Vikings in York and the British Isles. [5]
Patrick Ottaway was head of fieldwork at YAT for a time until 2006. [6]
Since October 2023, York Archaeology has been the trading name of all YAT's activities. [7]
YAT primarily provides archaeological services to fulfil planning conditions, serving clients from private individuals to local authorities and commercial developers, as a company operating within the commercial archaeology sector.
In 2011, Trent and Peak Archaeology was taken over by YAT, allowing extension of their commercial archaeology operations to Nottingham. [8] YAT also operated ArcHeritage, providing archaeological services in Sheffield, [9] and Northlight Heritage in Glasgow, a social enterprise promoting better use of heritage resources. [8] [10] In November 2021, the three archaeological services – York, Trent & Peak and ArcHeritage – were brought together under the York Archaeology brand. [11]
The Trust created and runs the Jorvik Viking Centre in Coppergate Walk, York, which is noted for its living history approach. The centre is on the site of the Trust's 'Viking Dig' which contributed to archaeologists' knowledge of town life in Viking Age England. [12] Other sites in York run by the Jorvik Group are:
From 2014, the Trust operated two small museums in gatehouses of York's city walls: the Richard III Experience at Monk Bar and the Henry VII Experience at Micklegate Bar. Both closed in 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, owing to their limited capacity for social distancing. [13] In April 2022, the Henry VII Experience was replaced by the City Walls Experience. [14]
Since the 1980s, the Jorvik Viking Festival has been run by YAT each February half term. [15]
The trust publishes printed and web-based reports, popular books and information resources. It offers opportunities to take part in archaeological investigation through its annual training excavation 'Archaeology Live', and hosts the Community Archaeologist for York.
MOLA is an archaeology and built heritage practice and independent charitable company registered with the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA), providing a wide range of professional archaeological services to clients in London and across the country. It is one of the largest archaeological service providers in the UK, and is the only one with IRO status.
The Richard III Experience at Monk Bar was located in Monk Bar, the tallest of the four gatehouses in the historical city walls of York, England. It described the life of Richard III, the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty.
The Lloyds Bank coprolite is a large coprolite, or fossilised specimen of human faeces, recovered by the York Archaeological Trust while excavating the Viking settlement of Jórvík in northern England.
The history of York, England, as a city dates to the beginning of the first millennium AD but archaeological evidence for the presence of people in the region of York dates back much further to between 8000 and 7000 BC. As York was a town in Roman times, its Celtic name is recorded in Roman sources ; after 400, Angles took over the area and adapted the name by folk etymology to Old English Eoforwīc or Eoforīc, which means "wild-boar town" or "rich in wild-boar". The Vikings, who took over the area later, in turn adapted the name by folk etymology to Norse Jórvík meaning "wild-boar bay", 'jór' being a contraction of the Old Norse word for wild boar, 'jǫfurr'. The modern Welsh name is Efrog.
The Anglian Tower is the lower portion of an early medieval tower on the city walls of York in the English county of North Yorkshire. It is located on the south-west (interior) face of the city walls, currently in the grounds of York City Library and accessible on foot both from there and the Museum Gardens.
The Coppergate Helmet is an eighth-century Anglo-Saxon helmet found in York, England. It was discovered in May 1982 during excavations for the Jorvik Viking Centre at the bottom of a pit that is thought to have once been a well.
DIG is an educational resource in York, England, which aims to increase understanding of archaeology and related matters.
The Jorvik Viking Centre is a museum and visitor attraction in York, England, containing lifelike mannequins and life-size dioramas depicting Viking life in the city. Visitors are taken through the dioramas in small carriages equipped with speakers. It was created by the York Archaeological Trust and opened in 1984. Its name is derived from Jórvík, the Old Norse name for York and the surrounding Viking Kingdom of Yorkshire.
Coppergate Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in York in North Yorkshire, England. It is named after Coppergate, one of York's medieval streets.
The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust was an educational charity, the objective of which was ‘to advance the education of the public in archaeology’. CPAT was established in 1975 and dissolved in 2024, when it merged with the three other Welsh Archaeological Trusts (WATs) to create Heneb: the Trust for Welsh Archaeology.
York and its district, the City of York, has many distinct localities, suburbs and villages.
Peter Vincent Addyman,, known as P. V. Addyman, is a British archaeologist who was Director of the York Archaeological Trust from 1972 to 2002. Addyman obtained a degree in archaeology at Cambridge University, after which he lectured at Queen's University Belfast and the University of Southampton, while also conducting excavations. In 1972 he was offered the directorship of the newly founded York Archaeological Trust, the creation of which he had proposed; along with excavation work in York, he oversaw the development of the Jorvik Viking Centre, the Archaeological Resource Centre, and Barley Hall. In 2000 he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
The City Walls Experience at Micklegate Bar is located in the southern gatehouse of the historical city walls of York, England. It is operated by the Jorvik Group and uses maps, display screens and video presentations to tell the story of the fortifications surrounding the city.
Julian Daryl Richards is a British archaeologist and academic. He works at the University of York where he is Professor of Archaeology, director of its Centre for Digital Heritage, and director of the Archaeology Data Service (ADS). He is also co-director of the academic journal Internet Archaeology, and contributed to the founding of The White Rose College of the Arts & Humanities. His work focuses on the archaeological applications of information technology. He has participated in excavations at Cottam, Cowlam, Burdale, Wharram Percy, and Heath Wood barrow cemetery.
Elizabeth Grayson Hartley, was an American archaeologist and curator. She spent most of her career as the Keeper of Archaeology at the Yorkshire Museum in York.
Dominic Tweddle,, is an English archaeologist specialising in Anglo-Saxon studies and the director general of the National Museum of the Royal Navy. Previously he spent time as a research assistant at the British Museum and as the assistant director of the York Archaeological Trust, where he helped develop the Jorvik Viking Centre. He is also an honorary professor at the UCL Institute of Archaeology and the University of Portsmouth.
Castlegate is a historic street in York, England, which leads to York Castle.
Richard Andrew Hall was an English archaeologist who specialized in Viking activity in the British Isles.
Patrick Ottaway,, is an English archaeologist and author.