The Archaeology Data Service and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Helen J. Glass
Senior Archaeologist, Arup.
The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) project had a long gestation period, commencing in the early 90s with route selection, the subsequent environmental statement in 1994 and the CTRL Act which was passed in 1996.
In tandem with the development of the engineering design, the Archaeology Programme was also progressed. Work from 1996 onwards built on the detailed assessment work and took forward the mitigation required.
At an early stage of the project it was realised that the digital information which would be produced by a range of organisations required definition and the 'Guide for the Production of Electronic Datasets for Archaeological Fieldwork' was prepared by Robin Boost of Cambridge University (1996). The overarching purpose was to make this electronic information resource effective for the management of the project by the CTRL archaeology team, archaeological contractors, statutory consultees and for future researchers.
At the same time the CTRL Archaeology Research Strategy was developed by Peter Drewett (then at the Institute of Archaeology UCL) which sought to look at the route in wider landscape terms and provided a framework for the decision making on research value.
It was quickly realised by the CTRL archaeology team that the digital elements of our work and that of the specialist archaeological contractors formed not only a key part of the archaeological research archive but also a potential key method of dissemination.
The idea to more fully progress this opportunity arose at the EAA conference in Bournemouth. There, my CTRL colleague Jay Carver (now with Scott Wilson) and Julian Richards discussed the possibilities that the presentation of CTRL information on the ADS could offer. From that initial conversation, Jay developed a proposal which would place the digital material and its presentation on the ADS website as a fundamental component of the CTRL dissemination strategy.
The direction of the CTRL dissemination strategy in many ways encapsulates the ever increasing momentum of opinion that was emerging in policy and guidance for digital information and dissemination throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
What has emerged through our collaboration with the ADS is a structured archive of digital resources. The deposition of information was not intended to be a full web-based interactive publication, but rather to provide a facility which would allow others to access a significant amount and variety of material. Our first 'deposit' was in 2004 and included evaluation and interim fieldwork reports. The next phase in early 2007 will include the full analysis and excavation databases, specialist studies and final site reports from the first section of the CTRL. The second section of the CTRL (from Gravesend to London) will be deposited over the next couple of years and discussions to finalise that are on-going.
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| View along newly laid rail tracks at Northumberland Bottom. |
I think of it as an interactive museum - there is much that can be seen by a quick visit, but to truly appreciate all that is there takes frequent revisiting and a little personal effort. We have been keen to ensure that the curation of all the digital data is secured in the same way that fragile pieces of pottery and metalwork are carefully conserved, so our data will be maintained on the ADS, allowing future researchers free access to the material.
Some concerns were raised about the extent of the 'publication' especially of integrated site reports, which are traditionally published as monographs, but we firmly believe that the level of detail about all aspects of the project makes the posting of information on the ADS a logical location for our work. There have been thousands of hits on the site since we posted our work.
It is also, we will admit, a cost effective and efficient method of dissemination. There has always been a commitment to value for money on the CTRL and the ADS clearly offers that. The expert advice from ADS staff, coupled with an understanding of how the commercial side of archaeology works and good client service, have added to the experience of developing this specific aspect of the CTRL project.
CTRL Archive: http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?ctrl_2003
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