Managing Archaeology in Dynamic Urban Centres

This book looks at how archaeologists in the early 21st century are dealing with the challenges and opportunities presented by development in archaeologically sensitive urban centres. Based on a session held at the 2017 EAA conference in Maastricht, the volume features case studies from across Europe and beyond – including Norway, Lithuania, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy and Israel. The chapters look both at individual projects and larger thematic issues. How has urban archaeology changed the ways in which archaeologists work? Is it possible to predict (and avoid or protect) sensitive archaeology in dynamic urban centres? Do technical solutions to preservation in situ actually work? How are the public involved and how do archaeologists promote public engagement? What are some of the issues and problems for the future? This book is the first publication of the EAA Urban Archaeology Community, and its editors hope that it will provoke debate, and inform future developments in urban archaeology in Europe and beyond.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: issues, principles and practice Jeroen Bouwmeester and Paul Belford   Gediminas Hill and the Upper Castle in Vilnius: Interactions between Nature, Heritage and a Dynamic Urban Centre Edita Povilaitytė-Leliugienė   Some more equal than others? Some issues for urban archaeology in the United Kingdom Paul Belford   The Kipdorp site: Preservation and Valorization of the 16th century Fortification at the location of the new Opera Plaza in Antwerp Femke Martens, Daan Celis, Veerle Hendriks   Archaeology-friendly building in a city centre: mission achieved or mission impossible? Maarten Groenendijk   The construction of the new Station Area in Utrecht: a decade of pressure cooker archaeology Jan Willem Oudhof   Catching archaeology in Deventer. A case study of combining two instruments to improve archaeological heritage management in urban context Jeroen Bouwmeester   Archaeology in Cologne: tradition vs. urban development Thomas Höltken and Marcus Trier   Urban archaeology and conservation of archaeological sites in Luxembourg – potential conflict or valuable addition to modern construction? Christiane Bis-Worch   Managing Archaeology in Dynamic Urban Centres in Canton Vaud Marion Liboutet   Stratigraphy as a strategy, an approach to urban archaeological excavation. The example of Aosta, NW Italy Claudia De Davide   Exploring the archaeological potential of the Esquiline hill in Rome Valeria Boi   Following the Developers – Salvage Archaeology and Urban Archaeological Management, The Israeli Experience Jon Seligman   Managing archaeology in dynamic urban centres: challenges and opportunities Paul Belford and Jeroen Bouwmeester

About the Author :
Dr. Paul Belford is an archaeologist who has excavated in a number of towns and cities in Europe and elsewhere. He holds a BSc and an MA from the University of Sheffield, and a PhD from the University of York. Paul’s main interests in urban archaeology are the development of early industrial centres at the end of the medieval period, and the creation and perception of urban landscapes in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He is currently the Director of the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust, a not-for-profit educational charity that provides regional planning and commercial archaeology services in Wales. Paul previously worked for an international private-sector heritage consultancy; before that he spent ten years in charge of archaeology in the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site. Paul’s formative archaeological years included ten years in various muddy holes in medieval and later urban centres in Germany and the UK. Dr Belford is a Member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (MCIfA) and currently serves on its Board; and was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA) in 2008. He is also a non-executive director of the Black Country Living Museum. Since 2009, Jeroen Bouwmeester MA has been employed by the Cultural Heritage Agency as a senior researcher of medieval and early-modern cities. He studied the archaeology of Northwest Europe at VU University in Amsterdam. After his graduation in 1997, he worked as a senior archaeologist at BAAC and as director of Synthegra. During this period, Jeroen directed large-scale excavations near Zutphen (Bronze Age-Middle Ages). His research at the Cultural Heritage Agency focuses on the development of expectation models of (sub)urban areas by combining historical, geographical, archaeological, and building historical data. He devotes special attention to the development of houses and other buildings in relation to urban planning, a topic which is being developed further in his PhD research.

Review :
…this book represents a significant step towards a better understanding of this field, which will aid its future development. An insightful read, and one that will doubtless influence the way archaeology takes place in urban centers in the future.